31/08/10 – The cover for Agatha Christie’s Death comes as an end is an example of a standard Penguin crime title from the 1950s. The simple (and now classic) design belies the force of its impact and the finesse and sophistication of its layout. (more…)
24/08/10 – A second selection of matchbox labels produced by the Solo match factory in Lipnik, Czechoslovakia, on the occasion of the National Spartakiad held in 1960. The text, “Nacvicujte s nami,” translates as, “Train with us.” (more…)
30/07/10 – National Spartakiad matchbox label designs from Czechoslovakia circa 1959. The Spartakiads were mass sporting competitions created by the Soviet Union originally meant as an alternative to the Olympic movement. Competitions took place either in the summer or winter and brought together competitors on regional, national and international levels. (more…)
5/07/10 – Series of twelve stamps with floral motifs issued in 1972 in Czechoslovakia. Original artwork by Ivan Strnad translated into postage stamp format by well known engravers Josef Hercik and Milos Ondracek. (more…)
26/05/10 – Series of matchbox labels advertising hotels, restaurants, bars and cafes in Prague, Czechoslovakia dating from 1968. (more…)
![Avenue of Flags, Chicago World's Fair [WF-50]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3074/4553204057_eecb273f47.jpg)
27/04/10 – A small selection of ‘linen-finish’ postcards from the Chicago World’s Fair in 1933. All cards printed by Curt Teich & Co., Inc., Chicago, and marked ‘Art-Colortone’. (more…)
25/03/10 – In his book, The forms of colour, Karl Gerstner examines the interactions of colour and form. The book begins with an analysis of existing graphical colour spaces and the advantages, as Gerstner sees them, of the ‘uniform colour space’ (UCS) developed by Günter Wyszecki. He then goes on to examine form systems, i.e., developments in geometry since Euclid, including perspective, topologies and fractals. (more…)
22/03/10 – A small selection from the 1,836 examples outlined in C.P. Hornung’s Handbook of designs and devices (1946): (more…)
16/03/10 – A selection of excerpts from the second edition of Eric Gill’s An Essay on Typography (1936). Gill’s frequent use of the ampersand (&) retained throughout.
The Theme
Even if a man’s whole day be spent as a servant of an industrial concern, in his spare time he will make something, if only a window box flower garden. (i)
The application of these principles [i.e., the the industrial and the 'humane'] to the making of letters and the making of books is the special business of this book. (ii) (more…)
28/03/10 – Between 1965 and 1966, New York book publisher George Braziller published a six volume series under the title Vision + Value. (more…)
25/10/09 – Volume one, New Worlds to Find 1000-1600, in the fifteen volume series: A New History of Canada. Educational textbook for children. Published by Editions Format in 1972 in Montreal. (more…)
31/08/09 – Second installment of 1960s & 1970s Scandinavian design logos on flickr//. Includes logos from a variety of furniture and textile firms. (more…)
17/07/09 – Selections from Design and Paper (13): Controlled Visual Flow by Ladislav Sutnar, New York (1943). (more…)
16/07/09 – Selections from Design and Paper (19): Shape, line and color by Ladislav Sutnar, New York (1945). (more…)
28/06/09 – Monograph for Czech artist and designer, Karel Teige (1900-1951): Karel Teige a typografie: Asymetricka harmonie (2009) by Karel Srp, Polana Bregantova and Lenka Bydzovska. Text in Czech. (more…)
14/04/09 – Formal typographic study of the square with 3×3 grid and variations in ratio/proportion and orientation. (more…)
11/04/09 – “The luxurious Boeing 747 is the world’s largest commercial passenger aircraft. Wing span, 195.7 ft. (59.6 meters). Length 231.3 ft. (70.5 meters). Fuel capacity 42.481 imp. gals (192,500 ltrs). Max. take-off weight, 775, 000 lbs. (351.540 kgms.) Cruising speed, 560 mph (900 kmh). The 747s are part of CP Air’s modern fleet of orange jets serving five continents.” (more…)
08/04/09 – Place d’Accueil – this is the main entrance to the Exhibition and the terminus of the mass transit. Buildings on the extensive deck are restaurants, boutiques and reception rooms.
All postcards marked: Official post card / Les Messageries de Press Benjamin Ltee / Benjamin News Co., Ltd., Montreal 3, Canada / Plastichrome of Canada / ©1963 [?] (more…)
01/04/09 – Excerpts from Bruno Munari’s Design as Art first published in 1966. Images on flickr//
Preface to the English Edition
They [artists] have realized that at the present time subjective values are losing their importance in favour of objective values that can be understood by a great number of people.And if the aim is to mass-produce objects for sale to a wide public at low price, then it becomes a problem of method and design. The artist has to regain the modesty he had when art was just a trade, and instead of despising the very public he is trying to interest he must discover its needs and make contact with it again. This is the reason why the traditional artist is being transformed into the designer, and as I myself have undergone this transformation in the course of my working career I can say that this book of mine is also a kind of diary in which I try to see the why and wherefore of this metamorphosis. (13)
(more…)
24/03/09 – Excerpts from Massimo Vignelli’s The Vignelli Canon (2008):
This little book reveals our guidelines – those set by ourselves for ourselves. (6)
Creativity needs the support of knowledge to be able to perform at its best. (ibid.)
It is not the formula that prevents good design from happening but lack of knowledge of the complexity of the Design profession. (ibid.) (more…)