editor’s picks

An interview with Andrew Shea on Designing for Social Change

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Identified as a “place to start” by renowned designer and social entrepreneur, William Drenttel, Designing for Social Change by Andrew Shea, is an insightful guidebook and designer’s co-pilot containing a compilation of case studies that illustrate project concepts, funding resources, processes, strategies, and outcomes. It is a go-to resource for any designer interested or engaged in [...]

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2012 Holiday Wish List

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Here at the Designers Review of Books we all have lengthy Amazon wish lists. While the holidays are a time of giving, they are also a good excuse to pick out one or two of the top books on our list and reward ourselves for another year of hard work, study and accomplishment. Listed below [...]

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Los Logos 6

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Gestalten recently released the sixth book in the infamous Los Logos series. This is actually the first of the series that I have had the pleasure of owning, and it definitely does not disappoint. After thumbing through it for several days and then making my way back through more thoroughly, I understand why the books [...]

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The Avant Garde Applied

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I have read a fair amount about avant garde design, as any self-respecting designer should, but I’ve never come across a text as thorough or well produced as The Avant Garde Applied (1890-1950). The book was created as a companion to an exhibition of the same name curated by the Fundación Juan March in Madrid, [...]

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Shaping Text

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Shaping Text by Jan Middendorp boldly and concisely describes itself right on its front cover. This book will show you how shaping text can help you grab, hold, direct and manipulate the reader’s attention. Within its pages you will find a wealth of information about reading behaviour, design strategies, typefaces, typesetting, technical challenges and possibilities [...]

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An interview with David Sherwin on Creative Workshop and Success by Design

Creative Workshop

As part of a new series of interviews with authors, Andy Polaine interviews David Sherwin about the background to the writing of his successful and extremely useful book, Creative Workshop and the development of his new book, Success by Design to be published in November, 2012. David Sherwin has also reviewed several books for The [...]

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Characters: Cultural stories revealed through Typography

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Review by Veronica Grow Like most typo cognoscenti, Stephen Banham is fondly known for being somewhat fanatical and nerdy on the subject of type and letters. In my opinion, it takes the obsession of one such fanatic to compile such a vast treasure of information, so clearly, in the form of this fascinating book named [...]

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Dieter Rams Double Review – Less and More & As Little Design As Possible

Double review of Less and More: The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams and Dieter Rams: As Little Design as Possible Review by Carolina de Bartolo “To design is to think.” —Dieter Rams, Industrial Designer (b. 1932–, Weisbaden, Germany) What can I tell you about Dieter Rams that you don’t already know? Since one of his [...]

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Studio Culture: The Secret Life of the Graphic Design Studio

Studio Culture

What the public eye sees most often is the finished design work – beautifully printed posters, books, websites, packaging, and signage. But little is known or said about the studios that labor day and night to deliver something creative and coherent, beautiful yet functional, all while earning enough money to survive. Studio Culture: The Secret [...]

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Design is the Problem

Design is the Problem

Review by David Sherwin “Would you like a paper or plastic bag for your groceries?” Seems like a simple question, doesn’t it? Paper should be a better choice, because it will biodegrade. Plastic will go on forever in landfills and choke our oceans. Well, my answer isn’t very well informed. There are major trade-offs in [...]

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