The Design Observer Twenty





2016 | 50 Books Selections

2011-2017 Winners
2017 Books
2017 Covers
2016 Books
2016 Covers
2015 Books
2015 Covers
2014 Books
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2013 Books
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2012 Books
2012 Covers
2011 Books
2011 Covers

AIGA Archives
A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches
A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches
AUTHOR: Tyler Kord
PUBLISHER: Clarkson Potter
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Marysarah Quinn, Stephanie Huntwork
DESIGNER: Ian Dingman


Anri Sala – O momento presente (The present moment)
Anri Sala – O momento presente (The present moment)
AUTHOR: Heloisa Espada
PUBLISHER: Instituto Moreira Salles
DESIGNER: Gabriela Castro, Gustavo Marchetti, Paulo André Chagas
DESIGN FIRM: Bloco Gráfico


Artek and the Aaltos: Creating a Modern World
Artek and the Aaltos: Creating a Modern World
AUTHOR: Nina Stritzler-Levine with Timo Riekko
PUBLISHER: Bard Graduate Center
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Irma Boom
DESIGNER: Irma Boom and Julia Neller
DESIGN FIRM: Irma Boom Office


Avedon‘s France: Old World, New Look
Avedon‘s France: Old World, New Look
AUTHOR: Robert M. Rubin and Marianne Le Galliard
PUBLISHER: Abrams Books
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Cornelia Blatter and Marcel Hermans
DESIGNER: Cornelia Blatter and Marcel Hermans
DESIGN FIRM: COMA Amsterdam / New York


BOLD: Alternative Scenarios for Chicago
BOLD: Alternative Scenarios for Chicago
AUTHOR: Iker Gil
PUBLISHER: MAS Context
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Renata Graw
DESIGNER: Renata Graw, Alexa Viscius, Ansgar Kleem, and Rafael Barontini.
DESIGN FIRM: Normal


Border Cantos
Border Cantos
AUTHOR: Guillermo Galindo + Richard Misrach
PUBLISHER: Aperture Foundation
DESIGNER: Masumi Shibata


By the People: Designing a Better America
By the People: Designing a Better America
AUTHOR: Cynthia E. Smith
PUBLISHER: Cooper Hewitt
DESIGNER: Other Means
DESIGN FIRM: Other Means


Carrie Mae Weems: Kitchen Table Series
Carrie Mae Weems: Kitchen Table Series
AUTHOR: Carrie Mae Weems, Sarah Lewis and Adrienne Edwards
PUBLISHER: Damiani
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Takaaki Matsumoto
DESIGNER: Takaaki Matsumoto
DESIGN FIRM: Matsumoto Incorporated


Charles Percier: Architecture and Design in an Age of Revolutions
Charles Percier: Architecture and Design in an Age of Revolutions
AUTHOR: Jean-Philippe Garric, editor
PUBLISHER: Bard Graduate Center and Yale University Press
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Barbara Glauber
DESIGNER: Barbara Glauber, Kellie Konapelsky
DESIGN FIRM: Heavy Meta


Classic Penguin: Cover to Cover
Classic Penguin: Cover to Cover
AUTHOR: Edited with an Introduction by Paul Buckley, Preface by Elda Rotor
PUBLISHER: Penguin Books
DESIGNER: Paul Buckley and Matt Vee


Design for People
Design for People
AUTHOR: Scott Stowell
PUBLISHER: Metropolis Books
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Scott Stowell
DESIGNER: Scott Stowell, Martha Kang McGill, Ryan Thacker
DESIGN FIRM: Open


Design: The Invention of Desire
Design: The Invention of Desire
AUTHOR: Jessica Helfand
PUBLISHER: Yale University Press
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Jessica Helfand
DESIGNER: Sara Jamshidi


Donald Judd Writings
Donald Judd Writings
AUTHOR: Flavin Judd and Caitlin Murray
PUBLISHER: Judd Foundation / David Zwirner Books
DESIGNER: Michael Dyer, Remake


Draplin Design Co. Pretty Much Everything
Draplin Design Co. Pretty Much Everything
AUTHOR: By Aaron James Draplin, Edited by John Gall and Sarah Massey
PUBLISHER: Abrams Books
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: John Gall
DESIGNER: Aaron James Draplin


Elephant Child
Elephant Child
AUTHOR: Camille Henrot
PUBLISHER: Inventory Press
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Adam Michaels
DESIGNER: Project Projects
DESIGN FIRM: Project Projects


Everywhen: The Eternal Present in Indigenous Art from Australia
Everywhen: The Eternal Present in Indigenous Art from Australia
AUTHOR: Edited by Stephen Gilchrist; With essays by Stephen Gilchrist, Henry F. Skerritt, Hetti Perkins, Fred Myers, Shawn C. Rowlands, Narayan Khandekar, Georgina Rayner, and Daniel P. Kirby
PUBLISHER: Harvard Art Museums (Distributed by Yale University Press)
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Steven Waldron
DESIGNER: Zak Jensen, Adam Sherkanowski, Becky Hunt
DESIGN FIRM: Harvard Art Museums Design Department


Explorations in Typography (2nd edition)
Explorations in Typography (2nd edition)
AUTHOR: Carolina de Bartolo with Stephen Coles and Erik Spiekermann
PUBLISHER: 101 Editions, LLC
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Carolina de Bartolo
DESIGNER: Carolina de Bartolo
DESIGN FIRM: 101 Editions, LLC


Hamilton
Hamilton
AUTHOR: Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter
PUBLISHER: Grand Central Publishing
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Anne Twomey, Grand Central Publishing
DESIGN FIRM: Melcher Media / Headcase Design


House is a House is a House is a House is a House: Architectures and Collaborations of Johnston Marklee
House is a House is a House is a House is a House: Architectures and Collaborations of Johnston Marklee
AUTHOR: Reto Geiser
PUBLISHER: Birkhäuser, Basel, Switzerland
DESIGNER: Noëmi Mollet, Reto Geiser
DESIGN FIRM: MG&Co., Houston


Il Fondaco dei Tedeschi, Venezia, OMA. Il restauro e il riuso di un monumento veneziano (Fondaco dei Tedeschi, Venice, OMA. Renovation and Reuse of a Landmark Building)
Il Fondaco dei Tedeschi, Venezia, OMA. Il restauro e il riuso di un monumento veneziano (Fondaco dei Tedeschi, Venice, OMA. Renovation and Reuse of a Landmark Building)
AUTHOR: Francesco Dal Co, Elisabetta Molteni. With a text by Rem Koolhaas + Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli
PUBLISHER: Mondadori Electa S.p.a.
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Paolo Tassinari
DESIGNER: Fabio Furlanis
DESIGN FIRM: Tassinari/Vetta


In the line of fire: the history of firefighting in Porec
In the line of fire: the history of firefighting in Porec
AUTHOR: Author: Elena Poropat Pustijanac; Editor: Elena Uljancic-Vekic
PUBLISHER: Publisher: Native Museum of the Porec Territory, For the Publisher: Elena Uljancic Vekic; Co-Publisher: Public Fire Brigade of the City of Poreč, For the Co-publisher: Adrijano Jugovac
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Jelena Fiskus, Sean Poropat, Martina Sirotic
DESIGNER: Martina Sirotic, Eugen Slavik, Rajko Ban
DESIGN FIRM: Studio Sonda


Invisible Adversaries
Invisible Adversaries
AUTHOR: Lauren Cornell and Tom Eccles
PUBLISHER: Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Grégory Ambos, Zak Kyes
DESIGNER: Rémi Brandon, Robin Scholz
DESIGN FIRM: Zak Group


Käthe Kollwitz and the Women of the War
Käthe Kollwitz and the Women of the War
AUTHOR: Claire C. Whitner
PUBLISHER: Davis Museum at Wellesley College
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Clif Stoltze
DESIGNER: Katherine Hugesh
DESIGN FIRM: Stoltze Design


Koya Bound
Koya Bound
AUTHOR: Craig Mod and Dan Rubin
PUBLISHER: PRE/POST
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Craig Mod
DESIGNER: Craig Mod & Dan Rubin


Lloyd Ziff   New York/Los Angeles   Photographs: 1967-2015
Lloyd Ziff New York/Los Angeles Photographs: 1967-2015
AUTHOR: Lloyd Ziff, Introductions by Sir Harold Evans (New York), Paul Ruscha (Los Angeles)
PUBLISHER: KMW studio publishing
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Lloyd Ziff, Kiersten Armstrong, Mike Warlow
DESIGNER: Kiersten Armstrong, Lloyd Ziff
DESIGN FIRM: Lloyd Ziff / KMW studio publishing


Lo Nunca Visto: de la pintura informalista al fotolibro de postguerra (1945-1965) [The Unseen: from Informalist Painting to the Postwar Photobook (1945-1965)]
Lo Nunca Visto: de la pintura informalista al fotolibro de postguerra (1945-1965) [The Unseen: from Informalist Painting to the Postwar Photobook (1945-1965)]
AUTHOR: Manuel Fontán and Inés Vallejo, eds.
PUBLISHER: Fundación Juan March. Editorial Arte y Ciencia
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Guillermo Nagore
DESIGNER: Guillermo Nagore


Looking Good: A visual guide to the nun‘s habit
Looking Good: A visual guide to the nun‘s habit
AUTHOR: GraphicDesign&, Veronica Bennett and Jessie Price
PUBLISHER: GraphicDesign&
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Lucienne Roberts
DESIGNER: Lucienne Roberts, Sarah Schrauwen, John McGill
DESIGN FIRM: LucienneRoberts+


Made in L.A. 2016: a, the, though, only
Made in L.A. 2016: a, the, though, only
AUTHOR: Aram Moshayedi and Hamza Walker
PUBLISHER: Hammer Museum, Los Angeles
DESIGNER: Joseph Logan and Rachel Hudson
DESIGN FIRM: Joseph Logan Design


Me: A Compendium
Me: A Compendium
AUTHOR: Wee Society
PUBLISHER: Clarkson Potter
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Jill Robertson, Rob Alexander
DESIGNER: Rob Alexander
DESIGN FIRM: Office (visitoffice.com)


METAPHORIA II
METAPHORIA II
AUTHOR: Michael Staab, Silvia Guerra
PUBLISHER: Lab‘Bel Artistic laboratory of the Bel Group, Director Laurent Fiévet
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Jelena Fiskus, Sean Poropat
DESIGN FIRM: Sonda


Mexico: Essays on a Myth
Mexico: Essays on a Myth
AUTHOR: María Virginia Jaua, Guillermo Paneque
PUBLISHER: Iberdrola
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Maricris Herrera
DESIGNER: Santiago Martínez Alberú
DESIGN FIRM: Estudio Herrera


Moowon Book of Stories: Vanishing Arts. Hidden Places. Singular People
Moowon Book of Stories: Vanishing Arts. Hidden Places. Singular People
AUTHOR: Mona Kim
PUBLISHER: Mona Kim Projects LLC
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Mona Kim
DESIGN FIRM: Mona Kim Projects


Other Literature by Jorge Méndez Blake
Other Literature by Jorge Méndez Blake
AUTHOR: Ekaterina Alvarez, Sarah Demuse, Verónica Gerber Bicecci, Luis Felipe Fabre, Geovana Ibarra, Brenda Lozano, Humberto Moro, Rodrigo Ortiz Monasterio, Daniela Pérez, Matthew Reynolds.
PUBLISHER: Ediciones MP
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Maricris Herrera
DESIGN FIRM: Estudio Herrera


Pulp: A Short Biography of the Banished Book, Vol. I of V
Pulp: A Short Biography of the Banished Book, Vol. I of V
AUTHOR: Shubigi Rao
PUBLISHER: Studio Swell / Rock Paper Fire
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Benson Chong and Felix Sng
DESIGNER: Benson Chong and Felix Sng
DESIGN FIRM: SWELL


Rauschenberg in China
Rauschenberg in China
AUTHOR: Julia Blaut, Susan Davidson, David White, Philip Tinari, Helen Hsu, Hiroko Ikegami, Felicia Chen
PUBLISHER: Koenig Books
DESIGNER: Philipp Hubert, Sebastian Fischer
DESIGN FIRM: Hubert & Fischer


Raymond Pettibon: Homo Americanus
Raymond Pettibon: Homo Americanus
AUTHOR: Foreword by Dirk Luckow and Sabine Breitwieser. Editors‘ Introduction by Ulrich Loock and Harald Falckenberg. ​Texts by Ulrich Loock, Raymond Pettibon, and Lucas Zwirner
PUBLISHER: David Zwirner Books / Deichtorhallen Hamburg – Sammlung Falckenberg
DESIGNER: Sarah Lamparter, Büro Otto Sauhaus


Reigning Men: Fashion in Menswear, 1715-2015
Reigning Men: Fashion in Menswear, 1715-2015
AUTHOR: Sharon Sadako Takeda, Kaye Durland Spilker, and Clarissa M. Esguerra
PUBLISHER: Lisa Gabrielle Mark/Los Angeles County Museum of Art and DelMonico Books/Prestel Publishing
DESIGNER: Lorraine Wild and Xiaoqing Wang for Green Dragon Office


Seeing Things: A Kid’s Guide to Looking at Photographs
Seeing Things: A Kid’s Guide to Looking at Photographs
AUTHOR: Joel Meyerowitz
PUBLISHER: Aperture Foundation
DESIGNER: Atelier Dyakova, London


somethingtofoodabout
somethingtofoodabout
AUTHOR: Questlove and Ben Greenman
PUBLISHER: Clarkson Potter
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Marysarah Quinn, Alexis Rosenzweig
DESIGNER: Rational Beauty: Jeanette Abbink, Mike Abbink Design intern: Yerang Choi
DESIGN FIRM: Rational Beauty


Sophie Calle: And So Forth
Sophie Calle: And So Forth
AUTHOR: Sophie Calle
PUBLISHER: Prestel Publishing
DESIGNER: Xavier Barral, Coline Aguettaz


Tea Ceremony Manual
Tea Ceremony Manual
AUTHOR: Tom Sachs, Dakin Hart
PUBLISHER: The Noguchi Museum
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Yeju Choi
DESIGNER: Yeju Choi, Olivia Vander Tuig


The Creative Architect
The Creative Architect
AUTHOR: Pierluigi Serraino
PUBLISHER: The Monacelli Press
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Brett MacFadden / Geoff Kaplan
DESIGNER: Brett MacFadden / Geoff Kaplan
DESIGN FIRM: MacFadden & Thorpe with Geoff Kaplan/General Working Group


The Game Worlds of Jason Rohrer
The Game Worlds of Jason Rohrer
AUTHOR: Michael Maizels and Patrick Jagoda
PUBLISHER: MIT Press
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Clif Stoltze, Sara Williams
DESIGNER: Prin Limphongpand, Katherine Hughes
DESIGN FIRM: Stoltze Design


The Last Stop: Vanishing Rest Stops of the American Roadside
The Last Stop: Vanishing Rest Stops of the American Roadside
AUTHOR: Ryann Ford
PUBLISHER: powerHouse Books
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: DJ Stout
DESIGNER: Barrett Fry
DESIGN FIRM: Pentagram


The Natural Flow of Things
The Natural Flow of Things
AUTHOR: José Duarte/La Casa Encendida
PUBLISHER: La Casa Encendida
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: José Duarte
DESIGNER: José Duarte
DESIGN FIRM: José Duarte


The Wall Of The Abysm / La Pared Del Abismo. Nuria Fuster
The Wall Of The Abysm / La Pared Del Abismo. Nuria Fuster
AUTHOR: Nuria Fuster
PUBLISHER: FUNDACIÓN BOTÍN
DESIGNER: Ena Cardenal De La Nuez
DESIGN FIRM: Ena Cardenal De La Nuez


Theatre under Construction. Travelogue
Theatre under Construction. Travelogue
AUTHOR: Bolesław Stelmach
PUBLISHER: „Grodzka Gate – NN Theatre” Centre, Centre for the Meeting of Cultures in Lublin
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Idalia Smyczyńska, Robert Zając
DESIGNER: Idalia Smyczyńska, Robert Zając, Paweł Szarzyński
DESIGN FIRM: kilku.com collective


Uptake
Uptake
AUTHOR: Uptake
PUBLISHER: Uptake
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Eddie Opara
DESIGNER: Eddie Opara, Brankica Harvey, Pedro Mendes
DESIGN FIRM: Pentagram


We Must Become Idealists or Die, Gustav Metzger
We Must Become Idealists or Die, Gustav Metzger
AUTHOR: Daniela Pérez, Gustav Metzger, Andrew Wilson, Leanne Dmyterko, Ula Dajerling, Samuel Dangel, Sören Schmeling
PUBLISHER: Fundación Jumex Arte Contemporáneo
CREATIVE+ART DIRECTOR: Maricris Herrera
DESIGNER: Emilio Pérez
DESIGN FIRM: Estudio Herrera


William N. Copley
William N. Copley
AUTHOR: Ed. Germano Celant
PUBLISHER: Fondazione Prada with The Menil Collection
DESIGNER: Irma Boom





Observed


Is the future of refugee housing permanence?

It’s Pablo-matic: Picasso According to Hannah Gadsby,” explores Picasso‘s legacy through a feminist lens, asking if, when, and how modern audiences can separate the artist’s work from his infamously misogynistic behavior.

Quite possibly the most fascinating job opportunity in design right now.

Jessica Helfand on using AI as a tool to reverse-engineer a historical narrative.

Rethinking the city.

Rethinking the planet.

The problems of the user interface, one streaming service at a time. More here.

Urban design, with safety in mind. And that includes parks.

Think design thinking is over? Think again.

A museum renames a vegetable still life by Van Gogh that identified the wrong kind of allium.

Graphic design and typography obsessives—look no further!

“The challenge isn’t just that our systems default to keeping the “unlike” out,” notes Jens Martin Skibsted, “but we are, rather, in need of an interconnected worldview that appreciates the existence of other realities and contexts.”

Neville Brody’s new monograph (his THIRD)—covering his work for Nike, Coca-Cola, Tate Modern and Channel 4, as well as various informational graphics and magazine editorials—will be published next month by Thames&Hudson.

Milan Design Week wants to know your most memorable experience. Ours is easily Shaped by Water, an immersive experience exploring water as a source of inspiration for design. Co-created by Ivy Ross and her design team in collaboration with the water, light, and sound artist, Lachlan Turczan. Vote for your favorite here.

Non-profit design advocacy agency Where are the Black Designers? (WATBD?) has announced a year-long partnership with digital product studio Ustwo.

“He was mulling a career in graphic design when, at 17, he saw a searing image that would change the course of his life.” The American photographer Kwame Brathwaite has died. Considered the catalyst fo the “black is beautiful” movement in the 1960s, Braithwaite’s career spanned art, music, and more. He was 85.

The subtley, simplicity, and curious symbolism of the humble serif.

After a career of looking at pictures, she is now making them. George Gendron talks to Kathy Ryan, longtime director of photography at The New York Times Magazine.

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?



Jobs | June 10