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Judging By Their Cover: 7 Books We Haven't Read But Wish We Owned
I like a good book. But I love a good book cover. Whether it's a best seller, new arrival, or totally obscure, we're compiling a list of cover art that makes us want to turn our office into a library. Here's 7 for this week. Goodbye, Vitamin: A Novel by Rachel Khong Description: Freshly disengaged from her fiancé and feeling that life has not turned out quite the way she planned, thirty-year-old Ruth quits her job, leaves town and arrives at her parents’ home to find that situation more complicated than she'd realized. Her father, a prominent history professor, is losing his memory and is only erratically lucid. Ruth’s mother, meanwhile, is lucidly erratic. But as Ruth's father’s condition intensifies, the comedy in her situation takes hold, gently transforming her all her grief. Told in captivating glimpses and drawn from a deep well of insight, humor, and unexpected tenderness, Goodbye, Vitamin pilots through the loss, love, and absurdity of finding one’s footing in this life. Amazon rating: 4/5 We Begin Our Ascent by Joe Mungo Reed Description: Sol and Liz are a couple on the cusp. He’s a professional cyclist in the Tour de France, a workhorse but not yet a star. She’s a geneticist on the brink of a major discovery, either that or a loss of funding. They’ve just welcomed their first child into the world, and their bright future lies just before them—if only they can reach out and grab it. But as Liz’s research slows, as Sol starts doping, their dreams grow murkier and the risks graver. Over the whirlwind course of the Tour, they enter the orbit of an extraordinary cast of conmen and aspirants, who draw the young family ineluctably into the depths of an illegal drug smuggling operation. As Liz and Sol flounder to discern right from wrong, up from down, they are forced to decide: What is it we’re striving for? And what is it worth? We Begin Our Ascent dances nimbly between tragic and comic, exploring the cost of ambition and the question of what gives our lives meaning. Reed melds the powerful themes of great marital dramas like Revolutionary Road with the humor, character, and heart of a George Saunders collection. Throughout, we’re drawn inside the cycling world and treated to the brilliant literary sports-writing of modern classics like The Art of Fielding or End Zone. Amazon rating: 4.5/5 Happy Doomsday By David Sosnowski Description: Welcome to the end of the world. One minute, people are going about their lives, and the next—not. In the wake of the inexplicable purge, only a handful of young misfits remains. When it all went down, “Wizard of Odd” Dev Brinkman was seeking shelter from the taunts of his classmates. Goth girl Lucy Abernathy had lost her best friend and had no clue where to turn. And Twinkie-loving quarterback “Marcus” Haddad was learning why you never discuss politics and religion in polite company—or online. As if life when you’re sixteen isn’t confusing enough, throw in the challenges of postapocalyptic subsistence, a case of survivor’s guilt turned up to seven billion, and the small task of rebuilding humankind… No one said doomsday would be a breeze. But for Dev, Lucy, and Marcus, the greatest hope—and greatest threat—will come when they find each other. Amazon rating: #1 bestseller Turtles All The Way Down By John Green Description: Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett’s son, Davis. Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts. Amazon rating: 4.5/5 A Separation By Katie Kitamura Description: A young woman has agreed with her faithless husband: it's time for them to separate. For the moment it's a private matter, a secret between the two of them. As she begins her new life, she gets word that Christopher has gone missing in a remote region in the rugged south of Greece; she reluctantly agrees to go look for him, still keeping their split to herself. In her heart, she's not even sure if she wants to find him. As her search comes to a shocking breaking point, she discovers she understands less than she thought she did about her relationship and the man she used to love. A searing, suspenseful story of intimacy and infidelity, A Separation lays bare what divides us from the inner lives of others. With exquisitely cool precision, Katie Kitamura propels us into the experience of a woman on edge, with a fiercely mesmerizing story to tell. Check it out on Amazon Exit West By Mohsin Hamid Description: In a country teetering on the brink of civil war, two young people meet—sensual, fiercely independent Nadia and gentle, restrained Saeed. They embark on a furtive love affair, and are soon cloistered in a premature intimacy by the unrest roiling their city. When it explodes, turning familiar streets into a patchwork of checkpoints and bomb blasts, they begin to hear whispers about doors—doors that can whisk people far away, if perilously and for a price. As the violence escalates, Nadia and Saeed decide that they no longer have a choice. Leaving their homeland and their old lives behind, they find a door and step through. . . . Exit West follows these remarkable characters as they emerge into an alien and uncertain future, struggling to hold on to each other, to their past, to the very sense of who they are. Profoundly intimate and powerfully inventive, it tells an unforgettable story of love, loyalty, and courage that is both completely of our time and for all time. Amazon rating: 4/5 On Trails: An Exploration By Robert Moor Description: In 2009, while thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, Robert Moor began to wonder about the paths that lie beneath our feet: How do they form? Why do some improve over time while others fade? What makes us follow or strike off on our own? Over the course of the next seven years, Moor traveled the globe, exploring trails of all kinds, from the miniscule to the massive. He learned the tricks of master trail-builders, hunted down long-lost Cherokee trails, and traced the origins of our road networks and the Internet. In each chapter, Moor interweaves his adventures with findings from science, history, philosophy, and nature writing—combining the nomadic joys of Peter Matthiessen with the eclectic wisdom of Lewis Hyde’s The Gift. Throughout, Moor reveals how this single topic—the oft-overlooked trail—sheds new light on a wealth of age-old questions: How does order emerge out of chaos? How did animals first crawl forth from the seas and spread across continents? How has humanity’s relationship with nature and technology shaped world around us? And, ultimately, how does each of us pick a path through life? Amazon rating: 4.5/5
Calligraphy & Print Design: 字體設計
We are starting it off with a combination of calligraphy & print design project by 行行珂 HunkXing, who is a graphic designer based in Beijing, China. To be more specific, it's a summary of some of the typography works from 2017-2018. Even though it's a different language, we still can appreciate the visual approach of the overall design. It's really enjoyable! The summary of some typography in 2017 - 2018 . Selected for "Asian Typography" More Links Learn more about on 行行珂 HunkXing Follow 行行珂's work on Behance
Experimental Poster Designs: Zero Posters Vol.1
Let's kick it off with an experimental poster design project entitled: Zero Posters Vol. 1. Designed by Alaa Tameem and tariq yosef shishani, they are following their path of Unkown territories but so awesome at the same time. So it's particularly cool to look at and let's not get into his graphic design work. It's quite breathtaking, check it out, very happy about this feature! Experimenting with new posters by exploring different techniques and styles to get out of our comfort zone. - Credits Learn about about Alaa Tameem Learn about about tariq yosef shishani More Links Learn about about Zero Posters Graphic Design
Editorial Design: Cazador Cookbook by Tim Donaldson
This is an editorial design by New Zealand-based Creative Director Tim Donaldson, it's a design of cookbook entitled: Cazador. The print material reminds me of an old cookbook which brings a great load of nostalgia. Once inside the book you are introduced to a few images which again keeps that vintage concept but you will notice the big beautiful fonts for the "chapters" and also use for a two-spread designated for quotes. Simple, lovely and quite efficient. Tim Donaldson is a Creative Director at Sea Change Studio based in Auckland, New Zealand. His work is mostly around art direction, graphic design and branding; check out more for his work on Behance. More Links Learn more about Tim Donaldson at seachange.studio Follow Tim's work on Behance Editorial Design
Brand Identity for Loupedeck by BOND Creative Agency
There's something about brand identity projects that have a dark theme. I know that it might be personal preference but black business cards or stationary definitely adds an elegant/upscale look. The Loupedeck work done by BOND Creative Agency is a great example of that. Loupedeck is a photo editing console for Adobe Lightroom. Bond created the identity and website for the start-up to help build their business. Bond’s agile and efficient process for identity and web creation allowed Loupedeck to quickly launch their product to the market. The public website features e.g. a blog, video tutorials and a support page, ensuring that visitors get all the information they need about the product. The webshop was built as a custom reusable WordPress plugin that’s based on React, Redux & Shopify SDK. This solution makes it possible to turn any WordPress page into a lightweight Shopify Store with a few clicks. Check out the website: loupedeck.com Photography: Kaapo Kamu Brand Identity
Minimal Packaging & Graphic Design: blink.watch
Hello December! Not a lot of days left on the calendar before the end of the year, let's go for that last stretch! Working on a brand, the user experience is everything. Not only it matters to the interactions of your site or app but it also matters on how your customers will react to your logo, product, and packaging. Let's take a look at this beautiful and minimal packaging by designers Nikhil Bapna, Ishaan Dass and Mani Singh for a smartwatch called: the Blink Watch where first impressions are everything. This project is a result of a collaboration work from Nikhil Bapna, Ishaan Dass and Mani Singh. Together on their play of this minimal product approach and yet charming on the typography; see the full project on Behance. Credits Nikhil Bapna Ishaan Dass Mani Singh More Links See the full project on Behance Packaging & Graphic Design
Introducing Volume: the first publishing platform for high-quality illustrated books
We would like to share this cool project that is currently live for support. Introducing Volume, the first publishing platform for high-quality illustrated books for visual creatives with also lovers of print. In this issue, we are taking a close and personal at the work of Anthony Burrill, designer and letterpress guru. Selecting from his private collection of printed matter, he gathered and curated throughout his career. This is a celebration of the pieces of paper that surround our everyday lives, offering a whimsical and almost philosophical perspective on how we view printed artifacts. Check it out! Image by Volume In their words Volume is a start-up enterprise powered by independent publisher Thames & Hudson. The international art publisher holds access to decades of editorial and design insight, production and printing expertise, and unparalleled distribution to the global book trade. The team is eager to pass its knowledge onto a new generation of creative talents and increasingly print-savvy audiences with Volume. Publishing is about passion, and publishers still have a vital role in helping creators find their audiences.” Volume will launch with the title Look & See, by graphic designer and letterpress guru, Anthony Burrill. As one of the most beloved creators in the UK’s lively craft printing scene, Burrill is known for his upbeat typographic posters. Look & See reflects as such, featuring Bodoniana binding and a cover silkscreened in three colors. And through Volume, Burrill will offer much more than just high-quality books to his project backers, including a specially designed print, a signed edition, a numbered limited edition in a clamshell box, and even the chance to spend a day with Burrill at his studio. Future projects include collaborations with John Maeda and Takenobu Igarashi, a reissue of a bible of Brutalism, a collection of “architectural fictions,” and a limited edition on one of videogaming’s iconic releases. “We truly hope that the new models offered by Volume will usher in a wonderful new era for books on the visual arts,” say Wall and Dietrich. More Links To learn more about Volume at https://vol.co a little glimpse
Lotta Nieminen's Whimsical Brand Identity for Maisonette.com
We fell for Lotta Nieminen's whimsical brand identity work for children’s e-tailer Maisonette.com, a site offering curated selections of the best children’s brands on the market. The site was founded by Vogue alumni Sylvana Durrett and Luisana Mendoza Roccia and stocks hundreds of coveted brands in one convenient, stylish online home. We particularly adore how the symbol – a nod to the definition of maisonette and its initial "M" – can be paired with the logotype or detached to work as a secondary logo for maximum flexibility. We're really digging Lotta's work and it's no surprise this isn't the first time the talented designer's efforts have wooed us here at Abduzeedo. As a high-end destination for all things children, the visual identity explores the playful point of view of a child juxtaposed with grown-up sophistication. A colorful doodle pattern is the hero in a joyful visual identity elevated with gold foil and a vibrant blue throughout implementations. ABOUT LOTTA Lotta Nieminen Studio is an award-winning graphic design, art direction and illustration studio, creating holistic visual solutions for clients across discpilines. Passionate about finding the best tools to execute content-driven visuals, the studio works as a creative partner in all aspects branding, bringing visual identities to life through thoughtfully crafted printed and digital implementations. Originally from Finland, Lotta Nieminen studied graphic design and illustration at the University of Art and Design Helsinki and the Rhode Island School of Design, before founding her New York based studio in 2012. She has been nominated for Forbes magazine’s annual 30 Under 30 list, the Art Directors Club Young Guns award and Print magazine’s New Visual Artist, and has given talks at conferences and educational institutions across the United States and Europe.
Graphic & Print Design: Lux Naturalis Gala Invitation
Kicking off the Weekend with a very pretty graphic & print design project by Kansas-based designer Rachel Roth. She was invited to design an invitation for the Spencer Museum of Art located at the University of Kansas. There are two things I love about her work on this project, the choice of paper and her direction of double typography laying on top to each other. Something I've rarely seen and quite creative. Rachel Roth is a designer and art director based in Kansas City, MO, USA. Unlike almost everybody else, she focus her work into print, graphic design and art direction. Definitely worth checking out her Behance. An invitation for the Spencer Museum of Art's grand reopening gala, Lux Naturalis. More Links Learn more about Rachel Roth at design-ranch.com Follow Rachel's work on Behance Graphic & Print Design
Product Design: Bringing Back Humanscale Manual from the 1970s
As of late, we've have published a series of revisited things from the past on ABDZ coming from manuals, branding items and more. It's somehow quite interesting because the things are stuff that we haven't even known its existence. It's kind of where I am heading with this Kickstarter Campaign of the Humanscale Manual originally created in the 1970s. To be specific, it was created by the team of industrial design pioneer Henry Dreyfuss and now back by the folks over IA Collaborative to publish the reissue. Give it your support! Behind this project, we have IA Collaborative is a global design and innovation consultancy based in Chicago, IL, USA. Their field of work is all around User Driven Design with research, strategy, prototyping, product development and more. Definitely check out their site to learn more. In their words These iconic, beautifully designed, and visionary tools to design for people are still so relevant today. Published between 1974 and 1981, the materials have been out of print for decades and fetch extremely high prices on the used market due to their scarcity. After finding so much value using Humanscale during the prototyping process in our own design work, we wanted to make them available at a reasonable cost to people everywhere. Photo Gallery Humanscale was published as three separate sets––Humanscale 1/2/3, Humanscale 4/5/6, and Humanscale 7/8/9. Each set includes one booklet and three two-sided selectors. More Links Learn more about Humanscale Manual: humanscalemanual.com Follow Humanscale Manual on Instagram Learn more about IA Collaborative iacollaborative.com
Editorial Design: Play, Cook, Kiss: Culinary Tricks
Happy Friday guys! We are sharing a culinary book that is everything except being conventional. Let me explain, the folks at Juicy Square did an incredible job at editorial design to express the passion for food through the pages of the book entitled: Play, Cook, Kiss: Culinary Tricks. The title says it all, the design is playful and does a play on the material too. Something we have rarely seen in this part of the industry. Mixing different mediums from sketching, typography, images and graphic design; this book is certainty a gem. Juicy Square is a studio that works mainly in graphic design, editorial design and print. Located in Vilnius, Lithuania, a city of immense allure; I love their motto about an outstanding graphic design is not only lines and figures. It must be reasonable and thought-through in order not only to be aesthetic, but also to be functional. To be complete. PLAY, COOK, KISS: CULINARY TRICKS What is the most important thing in food-making? Despite the quality products, time-tested recipes and cooking skills, it’s love. The passion. In other words – it’s courage. Being fearless leads one into the unknown areas of possibilities and sets the new plots of the future. That is the main message of the culinary book filled by wisdom and charisma of Alfas Ivanauskas, creative director and editor in chief of the Kitchen Mythbusters. It’s not just a culinary book. It’s an creative and inspirational guide in a form of diary and an album. That is why features of it were adopted and incorporated into the creative process of the design concept. And it came crafty, detail and unique in every page – full various forms of drawings, blueprints of recipes, notes and so on. All this gives vitality to the book and makes it “alive”. Even the recipes were took out of it and places in a special extra issue to make more space for the sense of philosophical culinary quest. The task for design demanded a lot of unorthodox solutions. Therefore, the visual language is vivid in it: a few different concepts and ideas interact and strengthen each other here. Various composition techniques come hand-by-hand in this book. Check out Juicy Square's site: juicysquare.com Follow Juicy Square on Behance
Graphic Design: Baugasm 365 Posters
Beware of a very long scroll feature, just because it’s quite aesthetically awesome! We are featuring the graphic design work from Vasjen Katro for his 365 poster series called: Baugasm. He is already hustling it out on his second year and it’s still going strong. This whole series is a blast of inspiration that we can all learn and get inspired from. Happy Scroll! Designed by Vasjen Katro, he is a co-founder, visual designer and creative director over Fabric Creative based in Tirana, Albania. Working in both print and web, Vasjen has proven to accomplish beautifully his Baugasm Series and now on to his second year. Make sure to follow his process on Instagram. Design a poster every day for 1 year. The first years has finished after publishing successfully every day a poster in Instagram @baugasm Now you can check in instagram the second year.
Editorial Design: Typeface Felice the Book
Nico Inosanto is a graphic designer based in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. He focus his work mainly on typography for the making of new typefaces. We are taking a look at actually a book about an elegant and classy typeface of Nico’s called Felice. Taking on the approach of its editorial design work, the book is simply beautiful and conservative with its minimal pages and some highlighting the font with composition to devour. Nico Inosanto is graphic designer that works mostly with type. Having a passion for typography, Nico spend much of his time making new typefaces. Make sure to follow his work on Behance . Credits Cover printed by Spind Intern page, HP Indigo, Z Studio Binding by Olivier Molleyres, Neuchâtel Cover: Malmero Bleu – 300g/m² Intern: Rives Sentation Tradition Matt, bright white – 120g/m² Printed in 10 copies
Eins Und Null Magazine - Editorial Magazine
Wikipedia, we all have used at least a couple times during the course of our lives to gain information on a certain subject. They are really reliable, always up-to-date and above all mostly tell the story behind what we are usually looking for. We can’t easily lose track of time and reading. How about if it was in a magazine form? Or even a popular science art magazine? Well this is what Malwin Béla Hürkey, he is designer currently based in Berlin. His work is focused on art direction for brand development, typography and of course editorial design. Hope you will like it! "eins und null" is a popular science art magazine series which is dedicated to set the existing knowledge of Wikipedia articles into a new visual context and over this course to give them a new graphical interpretation. Each issue draws its attention on two abstract opponents. Issue 001 confronts the phenomenons of physical reflection and absorption. The magazine targets to give a modest, but also adequate definition of each phenomenon, with models of practical relevance to our everyday life. The series aims to spark ones curiosity for scientifical wikipedia articles. More Information: http://huerkey.com.
Business Card Inspiration
In my opinion, with all the tech and gadgets that is available to us. I still feel that giving away your business card (after a first client meeting, interview and etc) is part of a good form of communication to explicitly define an impression of yourself on a piece of print. The first impression is always definitive for the future overcome of your intentions. I also believe that there isn’t something as a rule in designing a business card, from the design to the choice of print and paper. Let’s take a look at this sublime collection of business card designs by Anagrama Studio who is a brand development agency based in Mexico. Hope you will enjoy the variety and style of this lovely and inspiring collection. More Information: http://www.anagrama.com.
The CV Tabloid - Editorial Design
Nowadays, being unique in your work, brand or portfolio really can paid off. We spoke about reinventing the wheel and it’s still always the case. Let’s talk about portfolios for example, we follow a ”rule” about how we should showcase (in print) our portfolio, having a business card and an introductory letter. Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of your next employer, how many portfolios they have seen so far? What’s the amount of time given on a review? Being different might add to your chances? It all depends but let’s just say that it’s helpful in some way. Let’s take a look at what Charlotte Allen did for her portfolio and we can’t help to appreciate how it does stand out and it’s worth the effort to be innovative and creative. What do you think? Designing my own portfolio has proven to be one of the most challenging projects to develop, as a client to myself has verified how difficult it is to make choices that would usually come as second nature. Nonetheless, it’s one of the most exciting self-initiated projects to complete. The concept behind the delivery was to create a self-promotional package that was informal, in the format of a simple newspaper to browse in a bid to not craft something too prim. Maintaining simplicity was also vital, ensuring that the format did not overshadow the main body of work. More information: http://www.charlotteallen.co.uk.
Design Papers 2016
DESIGN PAPERS is a paper catalogue created for Europapier. The main target is the graphic industry professionals from a company with over 40 years of tradition and distributing paper in more than 13 European countries. We all know that print is always required a great attention to detail, from choosing the right paper, to proofing colors, how it feels when you touch it, there are many more variables than the digital world. Many more sensorial inputs I'd say because there's nothing better than the smell and texture of the printed paper. The idea was to add a decorative dimension to the usual functionality of a catalogue, with attention to both its visual and tactile aspects. The catalogue contains 240 types of paper; it was designed as a box divided into two colors and two groups of pictograms with a rhombus in the middle. The title “Design Papers”, positioned in the rhombus, is intersected by two areas. The rose area contains the first group of pictograms “Look, touch and feel,” emphasizing the interactive character of the catalogue and treating it as an object and packaging. The other group of pictograms has a gold foil finishing on a turquoise colored background and the words “Carefully created collection” emphasize the premium quality of the catalogue. Metaklinka Metaklinka is an independent design studio from Belgrade, established in 2008, active in the fields creative services, initiatives and production. The studio was founded at the very beginning of the global economic crisis and as such it specialized in working under unusual production circumstances. The studio cultivates a recognizable visual language and approach which exceeds the established communication characteristic of marketing agencies. The founders of the studio are Nenad Trifunović and Lazar Bodroža. Today, Metaklinika has nine permanently dedicated creative people within their ranks, as well as a wide network of collaborators throughout the region. For more information check out http://metaklinika.com Credits Client: Europapier ACC: Nenad Vulović CD: Nenad Trifunović, Lazar Bodroža AD: Nenad Trifunović D: Ivan Kostić Year: 2016