MetaFilter posts tagged with Books and design

It's real! You can touch it!

You Should See the Other Guy — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 06:49:17 -0800

Remember Paper is a blog with photos of interesting magazines, books, and other paper-based ephemera. NSFW.

Vintage Graphics Resource

netbros — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:53:39 -0800

Grain Edit is focused on classic design work from the 1950s-1970s and contemporary designers that draw inspiration from that time period. Site content includes interviews, articles, designers’ libraries, as well as examples of rare design annuals, type specimens, ephemera, posters and vintage kids books from their bookshelves.

Online Gallery and Visual Archive

netbros — Sat, 16 May 2009 05:33:24 -0800

Blanka is a collection of original, vintage, and limited edition posters and prints.

Classic Covers of Penguin Science Fiction Books

Kattullus — Thu, 07 May 2009 19:22:02 -0800

The Art of Penguin Science Fiction is a historical guide to the design of book jackets in the Penguin SF line by James Pardey. But before reading the essay I recommend looking at some of the wonderful cover designs, for example We, Deathworld, Rork!, The Drowned World, Star Maker, The Evolution Man, Fifth Planet and Alternating Currents. They certainly don't make SF book jackets like they used to. All hundred plus covers can also be browsed alphabetically by author. [via The Guardian Books Blog]

The Book Cover Archive

Rumple — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 12:16:51 -0800

The Book Cover Archive presents "an archive of book cover designs and designers for the purpose of appreciation and categorization". via

(laws of human stupidity)

kliuless — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 06:33:00 -0800

Why systems fail - Review of the book: Systemantics; how systems work... and especially how they fail by John Gall. New York, Pocket Books, 1978. {via}

At last those concerned with social change have a basic textbook to explain why "things generally are indeed not working very well" despite our many efforts. As is remarked on the cover: "Have you ever wondered why the unsinkable Titanic sank... or the poor in India eat better bread than the rich in America... or hospital patients are blamed for not getting well... or why, in general, things that don't work badly don't work at all?" Similar questions are of deep concern to those working in international organizations. "The religious person may blame it on original sin. The historian may cite the force of trends such as population growth and industrialization. The sociologist offers reasons rooted in the peculiarities of human associations. Reformers blame it all on 'the system', and propose new systems that would, they assert, guarantee a brave new world of justice, peace, and abundance. Everyone, it seems, has his own idea of what the problem is and how it can be corrected. But all agree on one point - that their own system would work very well if only it were universally adopted. "The point of view espoused in this essay is more radical and at the same time more pessimistic. Stated as succinctly as possible: the fundamental problem does not lie in any particular system but rather in systems as such. Salvation, if it is attainable at all, even partially, is to be sought in a deeper understanding of the ways of systems, not simply in a criticism of the errors of a particular system."

cf. Peter Klausler's Principles of the American Cargo Cult & Axel Boldt's Political Opinions and Other Thoughts

Dust Jackets from American and European Books, 1926-1947

Kattullus — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 22:17:10 -0800

Over 2500 dust jackets of American and European books from the years 1926 through 1947. Here are some that caught my eye: Burned Evidence, If You Know What I Mean, Ikaria, Murder for the Millions, Dream of the Red Chamber and A Farewell to Arms. Finally, I can't help but link to a German book about Russian book jackets, the subject of an old post by Alvy Ampersand.

Some readers will appreciate their typographic form, while others will see further strategies at work — informational, strategic, philosophical, literary. There are odd, even anachronistic cultural references, gestures that date these books in a manner oddly soothing.
The Next Page: Thirty Tables of Contents I found the Design Observer setup to be a tad cumbersome, so here's one of the editors' flickr photoset.
Bonus link from the same user: 33 Covers from Poetry Magazine

On this day of resurrection...

kliuless — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 07:22:16 -0800

Speaking of speeches, David Eggers delivers one at TED on grassroots community tutoring for kids who need help with their English homework: "There's something about the kids finishing their homework in a given day, working one on one, getting all this attention. They finish their homework, they go home -- they're finished. They don't stall. They don't do their homework in front of the TV. They're allowed to go home 5:30, enjoy their family, enjoy other hobbies, get outside, play and that makes a happy family. A bunch of happy families in a neighborhood is a happy community. A bunch of happy communities tied together is a happy city and a happy world, right? So, the key to it all is homework." Love him or hate him (mefi consensus) it's a great example of ~~nervous energy~~ microphilanthropy, social entrepreneurship and, if I may make the connection, machines of loving grace. [previously]

Beat Generation Cover Scans

dhammond — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:52:17 -0800

Book nerds everywhere will enjoy these scans of cover art from the works of Beat Generation authors William S. Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, and John Clellon Holmes. CDN: Burroughs, Kerouac, Cassady, Holmes

Elegant Pelicans

dobbs — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 18:56:15 -0800

The Pelican Project - six decades of Pelican book covers.

Judge a book by its cover.

dobbs — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 17:13:21 -0800

Site for Henry Sene Yee, book designer. Site includes finished pieces and rejected proofs.

Trigger Happier

stavrosthewonderchicken — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 01:36:59 -0800

Trigger Happier "Trigger Happy is a book about the aesthetics of videogames — what they share with cinema, the history of painting, or literature; and what makes them different, in terms of form, psychology and semiotics. It’s offered under a CC license, for a limited time only. I’m not sure how limited that time will be, so grab it while it’s hot." [drm-free pdf]

Covering Photography: Photographers and Book Design

mediareport — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 19:33:53 -0800

Covering Photography "A web-based archive and resource for the study of the relationship between the history of photography and book cover design," with lots of ways to discover photographers like Arthur Tress.

shelf life

nickyskye — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 10:46:59 -0800

A few cool shelves: a skull shelf and another, made of books by Jim Rosenau, invisible shelf, secret stash shelf, accordion shelf by Thut Möbel, maze shelf and broken shelves.

Gems of 19th and early 20th century penmanship

mediareport — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 21:40:43 -0800

Gems of Penmanship, Penman's Leisure Hour, Ninety-five Lessons in Ornamental Penmanship, The Champion Method of Practical Business Writing and other Rare Books on Calligraphy and Penmanship from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Lots of neat tidbits. [via mlarson.org]

Penguin Book Cover Design

jonson — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 10:08:11 -0800

Penguin Books is an all too brief Flickr Photoset of Penguin Book cover designs from decades past. For those interested, this book is highly recommended.

Gallery of book covers

dobbs — Wed, 24 May 2006 13:36:20 -0800

"Covers is dedicated to the appreciation of book cover design."

Hand bookbindings at Princeton

Slithy_Tove — Thu, 10 Mar 2005 22:39:06 -0800

Hand bookbindings.
web design by Mihai Parparita, via Evan Martin's LJ

Good type feels good

Robot Johnny — Mon, 31 Jan 2005 08:42:27 -0800

Thinking with Type The online companion to the book of the same name offers a nice little online primer on the finer points of typography, including my favourite new online game: Dumb Quotes. Remember kids: only you can prevent poor kerning.

Good-lookin' books.

languagehat — Sat, 18 Dec 2004 08:33:05 -0800

Czech book covers of the 1920s and '30s. Czechoslovakia was an amazingly creative place between the wars, and this Cooper-Hewitt exhibit showcases some of the book covers it produced. Here's an overview and descrption of styles; you can explore them here. I particularly like Sborník Literární skupiny, Jaroslavu Královi k padesátinám, Nejmenší dum, and the work of Karel Teige. (Via wood s lot.)

Want the clock

kenko — Sat, 27 Nov 2004 18:26:38 -0800

Too many books? Not enough furniture? Problem solved.

Visual Relationships at Amazon.com

Argyle — Mon, 03 Mar 2003 15:27:33 -0800

Visual Relationships at Amazon.com - Here's an interesting visual implementation of the Amazon API. It's almost like flipping through books on the shelf. What's next? A 3D bookstore rendered on the Quake engine?

Stan Chin — Wed, 06 Nov 2002 07:32:58 -0800

A Gallery of Bookplates. I always think it's a wonderful surprise when I'm antique bookshopping and I happen across some beautiful ex-libris. Many more links found via Joy Olivia on the Graphic Design blog Speak Up.