The Design Observer Twenty





2014 | 50 Covers Selections

2011-2017 Winners
2017 Books
2017 Covers
2016 Books
2016 Covers
2015 Books
2015 Covers
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2014 Covers
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2012 Books
2012 Covers
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2011 Covers

AIGA Archives
"In Dialogue," Pratt GradComD Book
AUTHOR: Pratt Graduate Communications Design
PUBLISHER: Pratt Institute
ART DIRECTOR: Jennifer Bernstein, Visiting Associate Professor, Pratt GradComD / Principal, Level Design Group
DESIGNER: Jennifer Bernstein, Sarah Bradford, Kristen Myers, Eduardo Palma, Eva Surany, Robert Wilson
DESIGN FIRM: Level Design Group


All My Puny Sorrows
All My Puny Sorrows
AUTHOR: Miriam Toews
PUBLISHER: McSweeney's
ART DIRECTOR: Dan McKinley
DESIGNER: Sunra Thompson


All Our Names
All Our Names
AUTHOR: Dinaw Mengestu
PUBLISHER: Knopf
ART DIRECTOR: Peter Mendelsund
DESIGNER: Isabel Urbina Peña


Area X: The Southern Reach Trilogy
Area X: The Southern Reach Trilogy
AUTHOR: Jeff VanderMeer
PUBLISHER: FSG Originals
ART DIRECTOR: Rodrigo Corral


Brave New World
Brave New World
AUTHOR: Aldous Huxley
PUBLISHER: Vintage UK
ART DIRECTOR: Suzanne Dean
DESIGNER: Scot Bendall, Richard Carey
DESIGN FIRM: La Boca


Can't and Won't
Can't and Won't
AUTHOR: Lydia Davis
PUBLISHER: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
DESIGNER: Charlotte Strick


Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
AUTHOR: Haruki Murakami
PUBLISHER: Alfred A. Knopf
ART DIRECTOR: Chip Kidd
DESIGNER: Maggie Hinders and Chip Kidd


Décio Pignatari Collection
Décio Pignatari Collection
AUTHOR: Décio Pignatari
PUBLISHER: Ateliê Editorial
ART DIRECTOR: Gustavo Piqueira
DESIGNER: Gustavo Piqueira, Samia Jacintho
DESIGN FIRM: Casa Rex


Fifty Mice
Fifty Mice
AUTHOR: Daniel Pyne
PUBLISHER: Blue Rider Press | Penguin Random House
ART DIRECTOR: Jason Booher
DESIGNER: Alex Merto


Friendship
Friendship
AUTHOR: Emily Gould
PUBLISHER: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
DESIGNER: Jennifer Carrow


Hiding in Plain Sight
Hiding in Plain Sight
AUTHOR: Nuruddin Farah
PUBLISHER: Riverhead Books
ART DIRECTOR: Helen Yentus
DESIGNER: Janet Hansen


HRC
HRC
AUTHOR: Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes
PUBLISHER: Crown
ART DIRECTOR: Christopher Brand
DESIGNER: Christopher Brand


Infinitesimal
Infinitesimal
AUTHOR: Amir Alexander
PUBLISHER: Scientific American / Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ART DIRECTOR: Rodrigo Corral
DESIGNER: Mark Melnick
DESIGN FIRM: Mark Melnick Graphic Design


Into the Grey
Into the Grey
AUTHOR: Celine Kiernan
PUBLISHER: Candlewick Press
ART DIRECTOR: Chris Paul
DESIGNER: Matt Roeser


Invisible Streets
Invisible Streets
AUTHOR: Toby Ball
PUBLISHER: Overlook Press
ART DIRECTOR: Anthony Morais
DESIGNER: Anthony Morais


Little Failure
Little Failure
AUTHOR: Gary Shteyngart
PUBLISHER: Random House
ART DIRECTOR: Paolo Pepe
DESIGNER: Rodrigo Corral Design


Lost for Words
Lost for Words
AUTHOR: Edward St.Aubyn
PUBLISHER: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
DESIGNER: Jennifer Carrow


Love Me Back
Love Me Back
AUTHOR: Merritt Tierce
PUBLISHER: Doubleday
ART DIRECTOR: Emily Mahon
DESIGNER: Emily Mahon


Meno Celes (Vilniaus daiės akademija/Vilnius Academy of Arts)
Meno Celes (Vilniaus daiės akademija/Vilnius Academy of Arts)
AUTHOR: Compiled by Laima Spelskiene
PUBLISHER: Vilnius Academy of Fine Arts Publishing House
ART DIRECTOR: Ausra Lisauskiene
DESIGNER: Ausra Lisauskiene, Rima Blazyte


Morgan Fisher: Conversations
Morgan Fisher: Conversations
PUBLISHER: Aspen Art Press (Aspen Art Museum)
DESIGNER: Rob Matthews and Grace Robinson-Leo


My Life in Middlemarch
My Life in Middlemarch
AUTHOR: Rebecca Mead
PUBLISHER: Crown
ART DIRECTOR: Christopher Brand
DESIGNER: Elena Giavaldi


New Orleans Review 39.2
New Orleans Review 39.2
AUTHOR: Edited by Mark Yakich
PUBLISHER: Loyola University New Orleans
ART DIRECTOR: Nancy Bernardo
DESIGNER: Nancy Bernardo
DESIGN FIRM: Decorative Debris


No Country
No Country
AUTHOR: Kalyan Ray
PUBLISHER: Simon & Schuster
ART DIRECTOR: Michael Accordino
DESIGNER: Christopher Lin


O cão do sul [The Dog of the South]
O cão do sul [The Dog of the South]
AUTHOR: Charles Portis
PUBLISHER: Alfaguara
ART DIRECTOR:
DESIGNER: Mateus Valadares
DESIGN FIRM: Mateus Valadares


Odd Volumes<br />Book Art from the Allan Chasanoff Collection
Odd Volumes
Book Art from the Allan Chasanoff Collection

AUTHOR: Jock Reynolds, Pamela Franks
PUBLISHER: Yale University Art Gallery
ART DIRECTOR: Christopher Sleboda
DESIGNER: Christopher Sleboda
DESIGN FIRM: Yale University Art Gallery


On Such A Full Sea
On Such A Full Sea
AUTHOR: Chang-Rae Lee
PUBLISHER: Penguin Random House, Riverhead Books
ART DIRECTOR: Helen Yentus
DESIGNER: Helen Yentus


On Such A Full Sea Limited Edition
On Such A Full Sea Limited Edition
AUTHOR: Chang-Rae Lee
PUBLISHER: Penguin Random House, Riverhead Books
ART DIRECTOR: Helen Yentus
DESIGNER: Helen Yentus and MakerBot Studios


Players First
Players First
AUTHOR: John Calipari
PUBLISHER: The Penguin Press
ART DIRECTOR: Darren Haggar
DESIGNER: Janet Hansen


Pressed for Time
Pressed for Time
AUTHOR: Judy Wajcman
PUBLISHER: The University of Chicago Press
ART DIRECTOR: Jill Shimabukuro
DESIGNER: Isaac Tobin
DESIGN FIRM: The University of Chicago Press


Ruby
Ruby
AUTHOR: Cynthia Bond
PUBLISHER: Hogarth
ART DIRECTOR: Christopher Brand
DESIGNER: Anna Kochman


Strange Bodies
Strange Bodies
AUTHOR: Marcel Theroux
PUBLISHER: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
DESIGNER: Nayon Cho


Summer House with Swimming Pool
Summer House with Swimming Pool
AUTHOR: Herman Koch
PUBLISHER: Hogarth
ART DIRECTOR: Christopher Brand
DESIGNER: Christopher Brand


Teresa, My Love
Teresa, My Love
AUTHOR: Julia Kristeva, translated by Lorna Scott Fox
PUBLISHER: Columbia University Press
ART DIRECTOR: Julia Kushnirsky
DESIGNER: Jennifer Heuer


The Blazing World
The Blazing World
AUTHOR: Siri Hustvedt
PUBLISHER: Simon & Schuster
ART DIRECTOR: Jackie Seow
DESIGNER: Christopher Lin


The Emerald Light in the Air
The Emerald Light in the Air
AUTHOR: Donald Antrim
PUBLISHER: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
DESIGNER: Rodrigo Corral


The Island—Novella
The Island—Novella
AUTHOR: Josiah Titus
PUBLISHER: Self-published
ART DIRECTOR: Karl Engebretson
DESIGNER: Karl Engebretson, Nate Christopherson
DESIGN FIRM: Not Swords


The Last Book
The Last Book
AUTHOR: Reinier Gerritsen
PUBLISHER: Aperture
DESIGNER: René Put


The Martian
The Martian
AUTHOR: Andy Weir
PUBLISHER: Crown
ART DIRECTOR: Christopher Brand
DESIGNER: Eric White


The Miniaturist
The Miniaturist
AUTHOR: Jessie Burton
PUBLISHER: Ecco
ART DIRECTOR: Allison Saltzman
DESIGNER: Allison Saltzman


The Photographer's Playbook
The Photographer's Playbook
AUTHOR: Jason Fulford and Gregory Halpern
PUBLISHER: Aperture
DESIGNER: Jason Fulford


The Rise & Fall of Great Powers
The Rise & Fall of Great Powers
AUTHOR: Tom Rachman
PUBLISHER: Random House
ART DIRECTOR: Robbin Schiff
DESIGNER: Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich
DESIGN FIRM: de Vicq design


The Vacationers
The Vacationers
AUTHOR: Emma Straub
PUBLISHER: Riverhead Books
ART DIRECTOR: Helen Yentus
DESIGNER: Janet Hansen


The Wall
The Wall
AUTHOR: H. G. Adler; Translated by Peter Filkins
PUBLISHER: Random House
ART DIRECTOR: Robbin Schiff
DESIGNER: Gabrielle Bordwin


Traces and Vestiges: Inquiries into the present
Traces and Vestiges: Inquiries into the present
AUTHOR: Tatiana Cuevas, Eduardo Abaroa, Néstor García Canclini, Susan Hiller, etc.
PUBLISHER: CIAC, A.C.
ART DIRECTOR: David Kimura and Gabriela Varela
DESIGNER: David Kimura and Gabriela Varela
DESIGN FIRM: Varela + Kimura


Type Plus
Type Plus
AUTHOR: Adrian Shaughnessy and Tony Brook
PUBLISHER: Unit Editions
ART DIRECTOR: Tony Brook, Claudia Klat
DESIGNER: Tony Brook, Claudia Klat, Jack Grafton, Dominik Langloh
DESIGN FIRM: Spin


War postdigital besser? (Was postdigital better?)
War postdigital besser? (Was postdigital better?)
AUTHOR: Martin Conrads, Franziska Morlok
PUBLISHER: Revolver Publishing
ART DIRECTOR: Martin Conrads, Franziska Morlok
DESIGNER: Martin Conrads, Franziska Morlok


Waterweavers: A Chronicle of Rivers
Waterweavers: A Chronicle of Rivers
AUTHOR: José Roca and Alejandro Martín, editors
PUBLISHER: Bard Graduate Center
ART DIRECTOR: Irma Boom
DESIGN FIRM: Irma Boom Office


Wolf in White Van
Wolf in White Van
AUTHOR: John Darnielle
PUBLISHER: FSG Books
ART DIRECTOR: Rodrigo Corral
DESIGNER: Timothy Goodman
DESIGN FIRM: Timothy Goodman Design


Young God
Young God
AUTHOR: Katherine Faw Morris
PUBLISHER: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
DESIGNER: Rodrigo Corral


Your Face in Mine
Your Face in Mine
AUTHOR: Jess Row
PUBLISHER: Penguin Random House, Riverhead Books
ART DIRECTOR: Helen Yentus
DESIGNER: Oliver Munday





Observed


COLLINS co-founder and Chief Creative Officer Brian Collins and co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Leland Maschmeyer will speak on branding and creativity at OFFF Barcelona this weekend.

“I can’t imagine any person with a background in graphic design made that thing without a committee of bland politicians sanding away its edges until they felt safe enough to unveil that to the public.” Behold: Logogate!

Black designers, curators, and more.

How do you stop deep-sea trawlers from harming ecosystems? Commission 10-ton marble sculptures and place them on the ocean floor, of course.

For ten years, Matt Needle has reimagined every best picture award nominee by redesigning their posters.

Coca-Cola...and art?

Don Norman‘s new book—Design for a Better World: Meaningful, Sustainable, Humanity Centered—is out March 21, from MIT Press. (Watch him discussing twenty-first century design on Youtube!)

Can design be a way to say “be careful”?

While Vermeer’s ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ is on loan, the Mauritshuis showcases 170 imaginative renditions in its place.

David Lance Goines, who “adamantly rejected the title of artist” has died. The iconic poster designer was 77.

Now you can get a Masters degree in graphic design—online!

How much do you know about “Swissness” legislation? The case of the Toblerone rebrand!

Oh, Brother (ly love)! Philadelphia needs a new ... flag?

Parisian opera house that inspired ‘Phantom of the Opera’ becomes an airbnb.

A new episode of Print Is Dead. (Long Live Print!) is out for your weekend listening pleasure. On this episode George Gendron visits with the creators of the 1980s-90s interior design juggernaut — Met Home — editor Dorothy Kalins and designer Don Morris. [BV]

Celebrate the launch of Dean of Design at OCAD Dori Tunstall‘s new book, Decolonizing Design, out now from MIT Press with a launch party and conversation between Dori and Holly Harriel, Director of the MIT CoLab. [BV]

On design—and dogma. [JH]

When beauty meets grief. [JH]

Design and disability: the urban way. [JH]

History—and controversy—at Cooper Union. [JH]

Brian Collins on design clichés. [JH]

The Tate Modern’s “public” viewing area allows museum visitors to look straight into the homes of the residents of a nearby building: interested readers can nerd out on the forty-seven page ruling that explains why a design decision can fall prey to the laws of public nuisance. [JH]

Lou Dorfsman and Al D’Amato’s powerful advertisement from 1962: an appraisal. (Via Natalia Pangaro.) [JH]

Remembering Carin Goldberg. [JH]

Coming soon to The Design Museum in London, an exhibition on design and history—organized by the Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei. [JH]

Will the future of design be collaborative? Figma’s Yuhki Yamashita thinks so. [JH]

Designers and layoffs. [JH]

Proving that America really is in crisis, the US State Department changes its official font to Calibri. Discuss! [JH]

The artist whose book covers distilled the nineteen-eighties. (via Mike Errico) [JH]

Ruth Adler Schnee, one of the more important textile designers of midcentury modernism, dies at 99. [JH]

In Denmark, thinking—and designing—out of the (grey) box. [JH]

Jerald Cooper’s aim is to make architecture and design more accessible by using layman’s language to break down barriers typically set up by white academics with advanced degrees. [JH]

Corn husks were just the start: a Mexican designer in London writes his own rules. [JH]

Wieden+Kennedy London launches standalone branding and design studio—called—NOT Wieden+Kennedy. (Play their logo generator yourself, here.) [JH]

Inclusive design, at Microsoft. [JH]

Best design stories of 2022, from The Guardian. [JH]



Jobs | March 29