Peter Mendelsund
Posted by Bobby Solomon • July 21, 2010 • Books + Design

Most of the time I groan when I see that a designer or artist has a “portfolio coming soon” on their portfolio site. But then I saw Peter Mendelsund interim design and was excited to see more, almost like a JPG teaser trailer. Peter is a book jacket designer who’s body of work is epic to say the least. He’s designed jackets for all kinds of authors from Dostoevsky (which you can see above) to manga god Osamu Tezuka. Hopefully Mr. Mendelsund puts his true portfolio up soon so we can enjoy the full breadth of his work.

In the meantime you can see a ton of his covers over on The Book Cover Archive, in case the image above made you curious.

Bobby

Ryohei Yanagihara
Posted by Bobby Solomon • July 13, 2010 • Books + Design + Illustration









Ryohei Yanagihara is a Japanese illustrator and animator who founds success working with Suntory Whiskey back in the 50’s (I think). He also created a great character called Uncle Tory which became a symbol of the company that was popular at the time. The images above though are several book covers he did in the 60’s and 70’s. I love the feeling of these books, so colorful and fun. I would absolutely buy a book with covers like these. Can anyone tell me the names of the books? I’m afraid my Japanese is non-existent.

Images found through Will Kane’s Flickr

Bobby

‘Design•Taste’ by viction:ary
Posted by Bobby Solomon • July 6, 2010 • Architecture + Books + Design





As of lately my taste has turned more toward interior design, something I’ve always had a passion for but lately have been trying to find ways to actively practice it. So to get my creative juices flowing I picked up this new book by viction:ary called Design•Taste: Graphics + Interiors for Cafés, Bars and Restaurants. The title pretty much says it all, covering all kinds of space design from around the world in all kinds of ways. They even have interviews with some of the designers including Masamichi Katayama of Wonderwall and Kashiwa Sato, both of whom are big heroes of mine.

As you can see from the images above it’s an absolutely beautiful book and the construction of it is really impressive. They even included a giant poster to go with it which features both food and design related objects mixed into one. If you have any such interest in design, food, or just like pretty photos you’ll probably enjoy this book quite a bit.

I took a bunch more photos of the book as well to give a better you a better idea of it which you can find under the cut.

Continue reading ‘Design•Taste’ by viction:ary…

Space Suit of the Week
Posted by Alex Dent • June 25, 2010 • Books + Space Suit of the Week

This week’s Space Suit was suggested by helpful reader, Scott.  Thanks Scott.

In 1946, skiing on Mons Huygens would have been even more surprising than this woman’s face suggests. But scientists’ eyes were surely wider when ice was detected around the moon’s polar regions several decades later.  But at the close of World War 2, we had an immediate problem: to think of something to do with all our rockets. And attaching them to snow skis is a wonderful idea. We also had a reduced demand for aircraft and it was in this period that the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation turned its attention to space exploration and developed the Grumman Moon Suit.

But Grumman wasn’t alone when its thinking turned to space. The hundred-something Science Fiction book covers in this flickr set confirm the popularity of these titles well before we ever walked on the surface of the Moon.  And although we never drove Hispano-Suiza “Xenia” Coupes lookalikes around on the moon, the rovers we used to explore the lunar surface are still there collecting space dust. I imagine that before being scanned many of the science fiction books suffered the same fate on book shelves far away from the worlds they imagined.

Alex.

P.S. This week’s image reminds me of this poem.

Sunday are for Lovers
Posted by Danica van de Velde • June 21, 2010 • Art + Books + Food & Drinks + Illustration + Photography

In the introduction to Sundays are for Lovers, Maria Alexandra Vettese draws a line between people who approach Sunday with an element of trepidation and anxiety and people who suffuse their Sundays with a sense of languid joy and ease. While the former are overcome with the awareness that Sunday represents the final day of respite before the realities of the week take hold, the latter camp appreciate the final moments of the weekend. With a certain charm, elegance and generosity, Sundays are for Lovers is a book that celebrates the possibilities of this day.

Divided into four sections – eat, rest, laugh and love – Vettese has curated an exquisite book that features contributions from accomplished artists, illustrators, photographers, stylists and writers; each providing an insight into how they spend their Sundays. There is a selection of simple cocktail recipes from Molly Wizenberg; a wistful reflection on past lovers, as evoked through objects, by Caitlin Mociun; a photographic series that records a relaxed pub session with Albam and Brian Ferry; and playful illustrations that combine graphic beauty and cheeky word play by Deb Wood. And that is just a small sampling of what is contained within the book’s pages.

Adding another layer of intimacy, each contributor was required to answer a series of questions addressing things such as what they like to eat on Sundays and what brings out their Sunday smile. Soaking in the content of each page, as I curled up on the sofa with a cup of tea, I felt that I had experienced the ultimate Sunday in the company of an incredibly inspiring and talented group of people.

You can order a copy of Sundays are for Lovers through the Lines and Shapes shop. I seriously recommend that you do.

Danica

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