Name: Armin Hofmann. Reduction. Ethics. Didactics.
Brand: Matthias Hofmann
Price: 49.95 USD
Availability: InStock

Matthias Hofmann

Armin Hofmann. Reduction. Ethics. Didactics.

$49.95

Most likely the most personal and comprehensive book about the life’s work of Armin Hofmann.

Armin Hofmann has influenced generations of graphic designers around the world with his work and approaches. Far removed from doctrinaire views, he exemplified a professional attitude that was characterized by the idea of reduction, a pragmatic outlook, and a deep sense of responsibility. This publication provides a comprehensive overview of his creative work, his professional ethics, and the principles he developed and applied in his teaching.

It is structured along three levels: the in-depth examination of Hofmann's work, his biography, and original texts on various aspects of his work. Guest contributions from former students and later renowned graphic designers and typographers, as well as fellow colleagues, paint a very personal picture and illustrate the worldwide influence of his work based on their own pieces. This book was compiled almost exclusively from original sources, in particular from the extensive private archive, enabling a very authentic, profound, and multifaceted immersion into the legacy of Armin Hofmann.

Armin Hofmann. Reduction. Ethics. Didactics.

Ulysses Voelker

How Communication Design Works

$54.95

Reflections and practical action for the rapidly evolving discipline of visual communication.

Communication design is undergoing radical changes: an overabundant flood of information, fake news, bots, AI, social media, crude graphic tools on the Internet as well as the speed of processes and increasing pressure to be efficient, coupled with increased competition in the design sector and sometimes precarious working conditions. All of these factors put creatives in the field under pressure, leaving them little time to reflect on their own work. This handbook responds to the current situation by shedding new light on the societal relevance of the discipline in the context of professional practice.

The authors use their extensive expertise, practical work examples, and actionable suggestions to identify what really matters in visual communication. They describe the far-reaching interconnectedness of design with a wide range of issues and deal intensively with the current challenges. The overarching leitmotif is that communication design is always the result of the attitude of its protagonists – this compendium makes clear how their actions influence communication, what values are conveyed, and what our visual world looks like as a result.

Robert Steinmüller

Mono is the new Black

$44.95

An indispensable handbook about monospaced typefaces with the relevant cultural-historical background, a variety of convincing applications and extensive typeface collection accompanied by all needed facts and information.

Monospaced fonts originate from the typewriter and are characterized by the peculiarity that all letters, digits and characters have the same width. Mono is the new Black discusses the function and aesthetics of this unique kind of typeface and deals with its cult status in the (mainly young) design scene. The aim of the handbook is to inform and inspire typographers, typeface developers, designers, as well as readers interested in culture in general with facts, analyses, expert positions, practical examples, and a comprehensive font collection.

In a cultural-historical outline, the author first presents the historical aspects of this typeface and shows how closely intertwined type, technical progress, and social development are. In the middle section, he presents a selection of examples of the work of globally active designers and agencies with a focus on the many possible applications. The final section is a script compendium that provides a clear overview of 175 monospaced fonts and shows the changes that these distinctive monospaced fonts have undergone, from machine type to entirely digitally developed coding fonts.

Odo-Ekke Bingel

Print Design

$39.95

The print product performance in German-speaking Europe: a a selection of exceptional results

This publication reviews, documents and comments on the current state-of-the-art of print products: From an anniversary publication to a catalog, from an annual report to a magazine, from a label to corporate type design – and half a dozen other categories.

Print products can not only be visually experienced, they also decisively contribute to brand development and dialog in the digital age, as durable marketing tools, always visible, always loud and indispensable. Effective print design can awaken a range of completely different emotions through its haptic characteristics and tangibility. Convincing print products must be appealing and impressive just by touch. Particular emphasis is placed on a holistic view of all disciplines. This encompasses all steps from planning to processing that are involved in the conception, design and realization of a successful print project.

Schatz Paul Foundation

Oloid

$39.95

All about a geometric body that has not yet revealed all its secrets and potentials

This monograph, rich in images and easy-to-understand shows how today, more than ever, the timelessly beautiful oloid serves as a source of inspiration and a functional element. In 1929, the sculptor, inventor and researcher Paul Schatz (1898–1971) discovered this geometric form. Schatz' lifework was characterized by this fundamentally new body, which emerged from movement, for which he sought and found new and pioneering applications for a number of decades.

This is true for the fine arts and design, in technology and research, in architecture, philosophy or music. Close esthetic references to the contemporaneous sculptures of Naum Gabo, Constantin Brancusi, or Henry Moore are just as surprising as current homages to Paul Schatz by artists such as Ólafur Elíasson. As simple as it is complex, at the same time elegant and powerful, the oloid proves to be a universal body that has not yet revealed all its secrets and potentials.

Björn Altmann

Manhole Covers of the World

$39.95

Amazing discoveries under your feet: The eye-catching design of gully covers

You’ll find them all across the world, from Albania, Argentina and Australia to the United States, the Vatican and Vietnam. And yet maybe you’ve never even noticed them, hiding in plain sight beneath your feet. Manhole covers
have been part of our world for thousands of years – intensely practical,
functional objects, but at the same time featuring an infinite variety of designs,
from austere and minimalist to playful and illustrative. Using a uniform
black-and-white graphic style to precisely recreate manhole covers from 80 countries, this volume provides an insight into the fascinating design language
of these unique objects – and what they reveal about the societies that
produce them.

With poster of the most extraordinary manhole covers!

“Being a graphic designer and type aficionado, I couldn’t help but notice the
enormous variety of manhole cover designs. I wanted to bring that amazing
variety to life in a new way.”
Björn Altmann

Odo-Ekke Bingel

Corporate Design

$39.95

A Must-Have for design enthusiasts and experts in the creative industry: The latest from German designers and agencies

Corporate design (CD) refers to all components that in their entirety make up the identity of a brand. It defines the special features of the respective company or institution and generates both attention and orientation for the target group – from logo design to color scheme, imagery, typography, design grid, etc. The success of a CD is its recognition value on as many channels as possible.

Today's corporate identities are characterized by the fact that they are flexible, modular or generative, i.e. not only striking but also variable at the same time. It is therefore essential that all elements are designed flexibly, allowing their adaptation to the respective requirements. The presented current corporate design and branding solutions from Germany point to the future and are distinguished by their conceptual inventiveness, design expertise, and perfect craftsmanship.

Armin Hofmann

Graphic Design Manual

$59.95

Armin Hofmann’s richly varied work is recognized for its reliance on the fundamental elements of graphic form – point, line, and form. The book was originally a fundamentally new attempt to provide a methodical approach to challenges of graphic design. Elements of image and form are analyzed and examined with regard to their inherent laws. The thoroughly revised edition of the 1965 design manual classic includes new sections that adapt his thoughts to contemporary technological uses. Especially in times of the return to clear and minimalistic geometric forms and patterns, his rich body of work serves as a perfect starting point for contemporary design practices.

Claudia Kromrei

Postmodern Non-Residential Berlin

$59.95

30 buildings from the 1970s and 80s, 30 built manifestos, densely gathered in two halves of a divided city: transformer station, hotel and airport terminal, diving tower, school, and animal laboratory. Not only do their functions and purposes differ fundamentally, but their forms and architectural means of expression are even more diverse. What distinguishes the architecture of these years is the search for a visualization of content beyond function: of fictions, themes and narratives, of history, typological continuities, and contradictions. While postmodern is the underlying formula, it does not result in a uniform "style". The building forms are emblematic or rational, familiar or absolutely new. Claudia Kromrei presents these 30 buildings and describes them in their concrete form, their genesis, and against the background of the theoretical imaginary worlds of their designers.

Demian Conrad

Who the Hell is Müller-Brockmann?

$24.95

What are the underlying reasons for the success or failure of a design manifesto? How can cultural exchange bring new value to the field of graphic design? At the end of the day is the contemporary scene still truly innovative or simply basking in past glories?

Over the course of a residency at a London gallery, Swiss designer Demian Conrad invited an array of graphic designers and typographers past and present to share the anecdotes, stories and scandals that have marked the international design scene over the course of the last century. The result is Who the Hell is Müller-Brockmann?, an examination of the ways in which the Swiss Style influenced British graphic design and vice versa.

This celebration of the ongoing dialogue and collaboration that has existed between the design traditions of these two countries also lays bare the divergences and conflicts that lie beneath the surface, and examines how such things as a typeface or a layout grid can come to have such an enduring impact on a global community and elicit such strong emotions. Each participant was asked to bring a design-related artefact that represents their personal connection with the Swiss Style, all of which are presented in this volume. These images and the dialogues they generate create a bridge between the typographic traditions and practices of Britain and Switzerland.

Contributors: Bruno Maag, Fraser Muggeridge, Freda Sack, Holger Jacobs, Michele Jannuzzi, Richard Hollis, Robin Kinross Sara De Bondt

Mike Ambach

Fundamentals of Design

$29.95

From the analysis of the formal components of objects, via an overview of the possibilities of developing and optimizing the creative process, to the development of one's own evaluation catalog.
What forms are there in general?
What shape-giving processes are available?
What are the evaluation criteria for existing objects and those yet to be developed?
These fundamental questions, which every creative professional poses again and again, are addressed, systematically explained, and answered in this volume. The publication also provides you with a set of basic tools for better communication when discussing and explaining your work and your projects.
The first part is a comprehensive compilation that identifies and describes all forms that exist for objects. The middle section offers a qualitative overview of the possibilities with which form elements, forms, or objects can be developed and optimized. In the third section the methodology for the development of your own evaluation system is presented.
The objective of this work is to offer an orientation on the basics of design, combining the aspects of shape, craft, content, and method into a holistic understanding of the art.

Christoph Grünberger

The Age of Data

$79.95

Art is constantly evolving, inviting experimentation, and, in today’s digital age, uses artificial intelligence to create entirely new realities. Data as a tool of expression is used by artists as an equal partner to break new ground at eye-level, while at the same time redefining the concept of art to revolutionize the world of design. This volume focuses on the esthetics and creativity of a new generation of designers who are using algorithm-supported tools along the vertical, from graphic design to 3D animation, kinetic objects and real-time visuals, to robotics and spatial installations, as well as hybrid approaches between digital and analog. For this compendium, the editor was able to involve the biggest names in the world of data-driven design to present their most important work on the basis of facts, aspects, and stories and to provide insights into their creative processes. These range from the vision via the underlying code and challenges in the implementation concept, to the finished work. On a theoretical level, the presented works are significantly enriched by interviews and texts of experts and insiders of the scene. “The Age of Data“ shows the future of art and design in this day and age in which the whole world is under close scrutiny due to the pandemic. It is an invitation to taking the next steps and a motivation to keep up with the ongoing data based design developments.

Yana Vekshyna

Cyrillize it!

$39.95

Cyrillic is a script used in numerous primarily eastern and southern Slavic languages in Europe and Asia. "Cyrillize it!" is an introductory work for graphic designers who are not native to the Cyrillic script, and cannot read Cyrillic-based languages. The book offers a method of dealing meaningfully and successfully with writing systems other than your own. The approach is based on constantly drawing parallels between Latin and Cyrillic, thus making a foreign script more familiar to non-native users. The author reflects about the relevance of Cyrillic in the modern world, looks at the history and currrent design trends, provides an overview of the typographic rules, and provides examples of Cyrillic graphic design works. With a playful and esthetically appealing design, the publication is also of interest to non-designers who are generally curious about the topic of Cyrillic script and related cultures.

Markus Osterwalder

Olympic Games: The Design

$220.00

Is there a bigger challenge for a designer than the creation of an identity for the Olympic Games? Each venue must have its own unique image that merges national spirit and international trends with the Olympic values of friendship, solidarity, and fairness. This title provides an in-depth overview of the history of the Games, centering visual design aspects for the first time: logos, mascots, medals, pictograms, uniforms, tickets, luggage tags, posters, souvenirs, and much more.

Markus Osterwalder presents approximately 6,000 illustrations on over 1,500 pages in two volumes, coming in a slipcase, with fifty-eight chapters that detail astonishing facts and stories about who created what and how. Three foldout sheets give an overview on key design topics from the birth of the Modern Games to the present. For each of the Games, the passionate Swiss collector has chosen comprehensive examples from all desigin fields that enable viewers and readers to fully grasp the design identity of the respective Games. In addition, this title also highlights extraordinarily exciting developments in the field of corporate identity and brand design.

Markus Osterwalder, Secretary General of the International Society of Olympic Historians, has one of the biggest Olympic ollections worldwide and is a renowned expert in the field. A graphic designer, Osterwalder has been devoted to the visual history of the Olympic Games for almost thirty years. He started to collect everything from and about the Olympic Games when he attended his first Games in Lillehammer 1994. Recently, he curated the exhibition “Olympic Langauage—Exploring the Look of the Games“ at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Sandra Ellegiers

Swiss Design

$49.95

Design products are often short-lived consumption boosters. “Swiss Made” products, however, sell because of their timeless design, often influenced by the ideas of the Bauhaus, and their excellent quality – whether watches, furniture, or even typefaces. They are the result of a design attitude that has shaped Swiss everyday culture since the 20th century until today. In addition to functionality, the designers always thought about precision and reliability, and made the products suitable for the world market. The international success of the 50 design icons with the Swiss seal of origin presented in this publication is based on credibility. They are introduced by texts on their creation and evolution as well as a portrait of the respective designer/brand, they bear witness to the spirit of Swiss design work. Swiss Design not only reflects the success of individual companies, but also a social consensus.

Gerhard Heufler

Design Basics

$39.95

How does design function? What is the difference between design and styling? Is the principle “form follows function” still valid? And what constitutes the design process in practice? There are so many questions on the highly topical subject of design. The authors provide answers to many of them by covering a wide range of topics, from the historical roots to the outlook on the near future, from a comprehensive look at product functions to the analysis of the complex design process, from theoretical foundations to descriptive case studies. The central theme is product design, taking the conflicting interests of consumers, manufacturers and designers into consideration. All factors of planning and designing of industrial products are considered and clearly presented. The book is aimed at enquiring users as well as committed entrepreneurs, interested technicians and aspiring designers from a great variety of fields.

Monica Dengo

Leave Your Mark

$24.95

Although handwriting is one of mankind's greatest cultural achievements, written communication today means mostly typing into computers and mobile devices. However, scientists stress that the brain benefits from writing by hand. The author, an acclaimed calligrapher and teacher of penmanship, addresses herself to all those who don't even use pen and paper for their shopping list, but would like to try it (again). Based on scientifically proven methods for cognitive activities, this title discovers and promotes the creative potential of handwriting – and to put it into practice right away on the pages of the book. Well-founded and very colorful, inspiring and yet structured: at the end there is the joy of expressing oneself by means of a personal mark, in a form that is even pleasant to look at. Furthermore, there is also the understanding that handwriting is much more than just the graphic transcription of language, going to the origin of the need for expression.

Wolfgang Fehrer

The Japanese Teahouse

$69.95

Japanese culture and architecture have always fascinated the Western world. One particular, architecturally complex building type at the intersection of multiple currents of Japanese philosophy, art and esthetics is the Japanese teahouse. It is a very private place of meditation, a place where only those may enter who have been invited, in which the host communicates with his or her guests through the medium of tea in the context of the strictly regimented ceremony. This volume expands the reader’s knowledge of the built space that makes this tea ceremony possible. The author explores the philosophical background as well as the stylistic and spatial principles. He takes the reader on a cultural-historical and architectural journey through time, from the beginnings in the 15th century, when the art of the tea ceremony as well as the space in which it took place were recorded for the first time to the present day, when the design and construction of a teahouse is still perceived in Japan as a great challenge for designers and architects.

Hendrik Weber

Italic

$29.95

The use of italic letters to accentuate has become common practice in the computer age. They convey movement and dynamics, addresses the emotional experience of reading and reminds of handwriting. This lively characteristic, which once resulted from the movement of the hand, is visibly lost when words are simply tilted by a mouse click. In order to impart basic knowledge about italics, the author has gathered design patterns of italic scripts and presents the tangible form, characteristics and functions of "italic nature". In addition, he deals intensively with the historical development of italics. This monograph is the first detailed treatise on this typographical topic, and is aimed in particular at all those who deal with letters professionally or privately.

Lilo Schäfer

The Thonet Brand

$39.95

The company Thonet was founded in 1819 and has since become a furniture manufacturer with the highest standards of design and quality. Worldwide, the name is associated with famous design classics of our time. In this book, the graphic design behind the Thonet brand is explored for the very first time, along with the development of signets and printed goods parallel to the furniture design and the aesthetics of the age. More than 100 exhibits from the Thonet archives are presented chronologically – from the first 19th-century sales posters, adorned with ornaments like the furniture of the period, to the reduced-format catalogs from the 1920s, to the creation of a timeless image from 1974. Discussions with designers of the brand from 1969 complete the volume. This publication is both graphic design history and a portrait of a 200-year-old company.

Hans Günter Schmitz

Postage Stamp Designs - from Kafka to Loriot

$45.00

The world’s first official postage stamp was issued in May 1840: the legendary “One Penny Black” with the profile of the Queen of England. The new payment system in the field of logistics by Sir Rowland Hill quickly gained hold all around the world. For the first time this publication discusses the significance and functions of postage stamps as prominently visible elements of communication design. The expressiveness inherent in the small-sized images and the very peculiar and heterogeneous image vocabulary of this medium of mass culture is analyzed by means of more than 40 designs by Hans Günter Schmitz. The book also presents concepts that were not implemented, in addition to sketches, studies, and variations – from Adenauer to the film festival Berlinale, from a mathematicians’ congress to the famous Wuppertal suspension railway.

Postage Stamp Designs - from Kafka to Loriot

Ricardo Camacho

Essays, Arguments & Interviews on Modern Architecture Kuwait

$45.00

Between 1949 and 1989, remarkable buildings of late modernity were constructed in the coastal city of Kuwait. Within these four decades, the city state on the Arabian Gulf was comprehensively restructured and practically redesigned. Following a first volume with 150 carefully selected exemplary buildings, this second volume features interviews, essays and arguments, as well as transcripts of contemporary publications of these years. The texts from local and international scholars focus on questions regarding the significance and function of the buildings along with the role of individual and corporate protagonists that influenced, defined and created this highly dynamic restructuring process. Furthermore, all aspects are integrated into a wider regional and international context. The contributions are complemented by an extensive array of photographic, layout, and archive materials.

Essays, Arguments & Interviews on Modern Architecture Kuwait

David Fischbach

A Gallery in Type Cases

$54.95

Inspired by a gift from his son, Arno Stolz developed the idea of a miniature gallery of typographic works. In 1980, he began writing letters to well-known designers from around the world, asking for a creative contribution to help fill the compartments of typesetting boxes. The result is a mosaic of about 300 unique pieces presented in these relics from the days of hot type. This is enriched and supplemented by the extensive correspondence that Arno Stolz conducted with the designers over almost three decades. Both the artworks and the remarkable collection of letters and New Year’s cards are presented for the first time in this publication. An introductory section provides the necessary background to fully grasp the significance of the “Gallery in Type Cases”.

Roberto Fabbri

Modern Architecture Kuwait

$59.95

From the late 1940s at the inception of the oil exporting industry, via political independence in 1961, through to the late 1980s when Kuwait was invaded, the citystate experienced an extraordinary social and civic transformation, deeply inscribed in its built environment. The old coastal town was radically transformed through architecture and urban planning in the process of gaining wealth and autonomy. Important foreign and local architects found here the possibility to expand their professional horizons and the challenge to compose an entire city, creating important examples of Late Modern Architecture during these four decades. This publication is based on several years of multidisciplinary research, featuring a repertoire of more than 150 buildings, all fully illustrated and analyzed in order to understand the dynamics of change and innovation they represent. By reading the presence of the building in the urban context at the architectural level, this volume examines a wide range of buildings selected for their specific qualitative aspects, as examples of particular design methodologies or typologies, or else for the various forms of adaptation to the peculiarities of local environmental conditions.

Martina Fineder

Nomadic Furniture 3.0

$59.95

Influenced by the currently very popular do-it-yourself movement, the contemporary design scene is increasingly shaped by a creative fusion of production and consumption. When it comes to the development of a self-made furniture culture, this book project combines for the first time design history research and consumerism theory with numerous historical and contemporary construction instructions and interior design recommendations. Across five chapters, design history and everyday culture are vividly and closely examined. What are their origins? Which media and channels are used to pass on experiences and practical instructions? Who exchanges information with whom and under what circumstances? And what has changed since the advent of the era of digital modernity?

Malik

4661 m2

$49.95

Surrounded by gray walls made of concrete for many years. In the Swiss town of Lenzburg, however, the situation is somewhat different: from fall 2012 to spring 2014, well-known Swiss street artists designed 4661 square meters of wall space at the new local penitentiary. They were free to draw or spray paint anything they wanted. In more than 25,000 hours of work, a total of 1,400 spray cans and 200 liters of paint were used to turn a barren, cold concrete bunker into a lively and unique comprehensive work of art. This impressive and tangent art across eight recreation courtyards, five colonnades, a staircase, and two oversized exterior walls remains, similar to the prisoners themselves, locked up behind the heavily guarded gates and walls. The wall paintings and graffiti are made available to the public in this art book. In addition to a presentation of the works of art, "4661 m2" also provides an insight into the work processes while also allowing the 16 involved artists to speak about their efforts.

Roland Burgard

Landes: Building Metaphors

$54.95

Michael A. Landes turned away from classical modernity at an early stage to instead focus on a new architectural pluralism. To this end, he developed a vocabulary that allows him to meet the design requirements coupled with contextual, traditional, or functional demands. In order to find integral solutions to architectural and urban planning problems, he employs both his own syntax and grammar as well as a unique vocabulary. Thinking and designing in metaphors is the basic premise of his work. He applies the created pictures at different scales – urban planning, project or detail-related or combines them into collages. The natural transition from the creative intellectual approach to the pragmatic design process can be witnessed not only in the transformation of an industrial fallows or a street- car depot, but also in his extensive scope of residential projects in various urban planning situations, which is the focus of his current activities.

Eduard Helmann

Rhetoric of Logos

$29.95

The creation of a logotype as one of the most important elements of corporate design is a challenging task for communication designers. The concept that a good logotype is by definition a persuasive logotype creates a direct link to the genre of rhetoric, which, according to Aristotle, has the power of observing the means of persuasion on almost any subject. It follows that rhetoric concepts and methods are ideally suited for understanding the effectiveness of logotypes to expand the horizon of applied design work. In this publication the author illustrates how designers can utilize the tools of rhetoric, a science that dates back more than 2,500 years. Stylistic devices play a central role in this as logotypes are analyzed and classified to determine which communicative strategies and intended effects they fulfill. The theoretical insights gained from this provide designers with a wealth of knowledge that facilitates analysis, idea generation, and argumentation along with a deeper understanding of the design process.

Vienna Technical University

Re-searching Utopia

$59.95

The great majority of architectural productions attempts to satisfy our everyday needs and to maintain the status quo of this basic requirement, an effort which is generally dubbed the state of the art. But architects of all times have simultaneously attempted to leave these limitations behind them and to propose entirely innovative paths, challenging the status quo of their environments and creating something entirely new. History has consistently demonstrated that utopias have always been developed against the most varied backgrounds: Utopias have appeared as a reaction to crisis situations, as visions for a new start or as carriers for innovation. During the 1960s and 70s in particular utopias served as a source of inspiration for many architects. In the following decades utopias continued to be a relevant issue in the humanities, but now tended to be pushed aside in architectural discourse. "Re-searching Utopia" sets out on a journey of discovery to find the contemporary role and possibilities offered by utopias.

Gerhard M. Buurman

The Intrinsic Logic of Design

$49.95

The design process is gaining in importance within the context of rapidly complex technical and economical developments such as online trade, social media, and new production technologies. This is has inevitably been accompanied by highly charged social issues such as socially just manufacturing conditions, sustainable development, or the upholding of personality rights, which designers are challenged with. While the social relevance of design is indisputable, it has not been researched much. The research project "Intrinsic Logic of Design" looks at eight sample areas to determine the specific rationalities of the applied design methods and processes in each, based on the hypotheses that the different design areas are each based on their own logic of design production. These constitute an intrinsic logic that cannot be reduced to standardized sets of methods within the discipline, nor to established processes outside it. The decoding of the complexity of individual design processes simultaneously contributes to the further development of the formulation of design theories.

Patrik Fuchs

Schneezeichen

$79.95

Placing large sticks in the snow is most likely the oldest method in the world for marking a way in winter. The ancient method has remained unaffected throughout centuries, and in modern Switzerland snow posts are as commonplace as ever before. Their use is not subject to any regulations as neither size nor color nor material are specified and every community is free to apply its own rules and systems. This box of cards, "Schneezeichen", presents this particular aspect of Swiss culture. For many years, the author has collected a large number of these prototypes of visual communication and photographed them individually. The undefined white-gray background is a connotation of snow that maintains the familiar color scheme of the theme, while at the same time deleting and decontextualizing any practical aspects. In this ambiguity the signs can gain their own language, revealing their true nature to the observer.

Tabea Hartwich

Overlap

$29.95

The predominance of the internet as a global system of interconnected computer networks and the rapidly developing technologies of the digital world keep typography in a constant state of evolution. New output media require new fonts that optimize readability. And of course, since a font is much more than a pure conveyor of information, the esthetic aspects of this context are equally gaining in importance. This volume offers support in the selection and optimized application of fonts for web design. The combination of established print typography rules and the special characteristics of web design allows readers to enter the world of web typography. Based on contents ranging from basic information to analytical font selection criteria, this book can be a valuable guide to gaining finesse in the use of fonts for the web.

Paul Schatz Stiftung

The Study of Rhythms and Technology

$59.95

The world can be turned inside out. The world has rhythm. This perspective of wood sculptor, technician and inventor Paul Schatz offers whole new viewpoints. He succeeded in creating a technology which brings the laws and rhythms of nature in line. Schatz's journey of discovery leads to stunning developments in design, in the perception of the geometric and architectural space, and to a new art of mechanical engineering. Oloids and acuboids are forms that are intriguing in their beauty. Turbula and Inversina mixers are used for industrial purposes while the oloid has proved very useful in water and environmental engineering. The boo presents life's work that hasn't suffered a loss of currency. "The Study of Rhythms and Technology" bridges the gap between art and natural sciences and offers inspiration for the work of philosophers and practitioners alike.

Arman Emami

360° Industrial Design

$49.95

Our world is developing in the fast lane, becoming more complex by the second. What challenges are pace and complexity bringing for product design? Rapidly shrinking resources and ever-more-fierce global competition are in any case forcing us to rethink the entire design process. What significance do form, function, feel and appearance have? Is the only important factor the constant drive to make it new at all costs, or is the aim rather to marry the tried-and-tested and the innovative and establish an efficient link, a working relationship between them? Arman Emami has set out with the intention of writing short, clear and entertaining texts. The book comprises a comprehensive view of relevant matters relating to industrial design. Development steps from idea to mass production are described gradually and supported by illustrated examples of good practices. A working compendium not only for design students and young designers, but also a guide book for creative lateral thinkers, product and marketing managers and all those who are interested in intelligent design. Complex processes are displayed in an entertaining and easily understandable way.

Moritz Grund

One Hundred - An Experiment on Myself A Designer's Reckoning with Things

$24.90

Can you live your life with just one hundred things? That is the question that product designer Mortiz Grund asks in "One Hundred", the winner of the prestigious Wilhelm Braun Feldweg award for critical writing in the field of design. Grund, a co founder of Berlin Sustainable Design Center, chose just one hundred personal items as a starting point for intelligent observations on products, relationships, and meaning in the everyday world. His living experiment lasted seven years and is documented here in a thoughtful collage of notes, observations, stories and other texts. Equal parts sustainable manifesto, performance art and design philosophy, "One Hundred" asks what design really means in the age of consumption.

One Hundred - An Experiment on Myself A Designer's Reckoning with Things

Moniteurs

1:1 - Signage, Orientation, Identity

$59.95

"1 : 1 Signage, Orientation, Identity" is a special book. It not only describes a range of design projects over the last ten years design company Moniteurs, but the projects are graphically illustrated; in this way the book gets to the heart of Moniteurs' 1:1 communication systems. The concepts of individual projects are presented in short, concise texts with many photographs and infographics, while an interview with the three owners of the company, Heike Nehl, Sibylle Schlaich and Isolde Frey, gives an insight into their approach. Moniteurs has existed since 1994. In addition to the design of signs and orientation systems, the focal points of the company include information design and corporate design. This range is reflected in the diversity, depth and precision of the projects. Many of them have received awards, including the Red Dot Award for the design of the orientation system for the Aufbau Haus and the Iconic Design Award 2013 for the Potsdamer Platz orientation system. The BMW Plant Orientation System project was included in the touring exhibition of the Goethe Institutes' The Dimension of Surface – Communications Design in Germany.

Werner Blaser

In the Garden of Isfahan

$49.95

Isfahan is a heavenly city of gardens, mosques and palaces for an open-minded architect. In addition to the artful dome constructions over the prayer halls of the larger mosques, the highpoint of Persian architecture is the multitude of garden complexes, staged as a mirror image of the cosmos or Paradise. With their aromatic shrubberies and trees the galleries of pillars are typical for these geometrically laid out Islamic gardens in which nature becomes a work of art. All good architecture seeks to create a world, and every genuine building is a unique specimen filled with atmosphere. Now is the time to see with new eyes, with an artistic view. From this standpoint, with its fascinating two hundred year building history, the architectural currents of Isfahan continue to have a lucid effect today.

Ulrich Bachmann

Colour and Light

$59.95

Colour and light belong together. But there are hardly any colour theories which address the complex interdependence of colour and light with a direct and sensuous approach. This is the point of departure for the multimedia publication "Colour and Light", consisting of a book and DVD, which with practical examples and theoretical explanations combines the interactions between material colours and light as well as that between dynamic light situations in spatial and virtual contexts. The materials in the book are augmented with interactive tools which inspire the direct creative and experimental handling of colour and light phenomena. Extensive photo and video documentations from experiments done with spatial installations or models plus a colour-light-compendium offer manifold suggestions for design practice for teachers, students and all those interested in colour.

Trix Haussmann

Allgemeine Entwurfsanstalt with Trix and Robert Haussmann

$49.95

The cooperation of Trix and Robert Haussmann with the Röthlisberger carpenters, which started in 1979, yielded numerous successful experiments in artistic and handcrafted furniture. Not comparable to furniture from the retail store, these exclusive designs were sold as a limited edition of 15 pieces each. For the first time, a publication presents the full scope of furniture that was developed in Trix and Robert Haussmann’s “Allgemeine Entwurfsanstalt” for the Röthlisberger Kollektion. The design objects were highly sophisticated in the planning of each detail as well as their realization and required a high level of innovation, new techniques and technical expertise. The close collaboration and good relation between manufacturer and designers were what constituted the special appeal of the finished products.

Allgemeine Entwurfsanstalt with Trix and Robert Haussmann

Institut Urban Landscape

Detached Houses - the Future?

$49.95

Detached houses are considered primarily responsible for urban sprawl and land consumption. At the same time they represent the ideal residence for broad sections of society. This contradiction was used as the starting point for the Institut Urban Landscape at the ZHAW to take a closer look at detached housing. From the different perspectives of architects and social scientists, as well as photographer Heinrich Helfenstein, different detached house settlements were at the focus of examination. Instead of the often deplored detached house without properties, a surprisingly multifaceted settlement reality with great potential for identification discloses itself. This work focuses on the specific qualities and unused potentials of the phenomenon and yields new insights and perspectives for a sustainable development of urban landscapes in architecture and urbanism.

Mario Rinke

Before Steel

$49.95

Steel is one of the most important building materials of our time and is closely related to notions of “modern” construction or modern architecture in general. This book aims not only to illustrate the beginnings of steel’s usage as a building material, it also endeavors to show the theoretical, practical, formal, and cultural consequences of these beginnings 200 years ago. The volume critically looks at the many-layered connections between architecture and engineering and at the dramatically changing way in which the disciplines understand themselves. All of this is contextualized by examining the usage of iron, the new structural building material, during the industrialization period. For this purpose, many notable authors from various disciplines contribute their view.

Rahel Lämmler

Ulrich Müther Shell Structures

$29.95

The East German engineer Ulrich Müther contributed an important chapter to the European history of shell construction. From 1963 on he realized pioneering shell constructions that rank among the classics of modernism and inspired architects from all over the world. The book can be understood as a classical architecture guide and furnishes a well-founded insight into the euphoric belief in progress that attended the building boom of the 1960s and 1970s. The buildings are portrayed with the aid of current photographs, plans, texts and project information.

Peter Olpe

Drawing as Design Process

$99.95

The subject of this book is drawing as the catalyst of design processes. The electronic creation and production of images in all the design professions has led today to fundamental changes in the design processes. Hence, drawing has gained a new importance. Designing by drawing mobilises the eye, the head and the hand to an equal degree, and it establishes connections among the senses that the designer can only experience in a very limited way on the computer screen.

Willi Kunz

Typography: Formation and TransFormation

$59.95

Typographic design begins with a set of information and a concept. The designer, facing a blank sheet of paper or a computer screen, is anxious about the first step to take in developing a design. The elements of typography are an obvious starting point, but often do not get the attention they deserve. A thorough understanding of how letters, words, lines, paragraphs and columns are formed, what makes them unique as design elements, and how they express character and emotion are the most essential tools in the designer’s repertoire. The basic principles of typographic design transform the utilitarian quality of words, lines, paragraphs and columns into an aesthetic form that conveys both the intellectual meaning and emotional feeling of the message. Through the relationship between the elements and space, and their rhythm and composition, design not only objectively conveys information but also gives subjective cues for the interpretation of its contents. As a visual form of language, typography is perceived as a whole before its individual parts are read. The surface characteristics of the design – the topology – create the first impression and derive from the form, size, position, and color of the typographic elements. Captured in a series of transparent diagrams, they reveal a new design dimension and animate the designer to further develop the original conceptual idea. This process provides the designer with a tool for refining, altering, adjusting, deconstructing and reassembling the individual levels to create a finely detailed, cohesive typographic composition.

Typography: Formation and TransFormation

Josef Müller-Brockmann

The Graphic Artist and his Design Problems

$59.95

Müller-Brockmann's book aimed to solve the graphic designer's problem of finding the appropriate contemporary form, became a standard work that still serves as an historic practical guide well beyond the boundaries of Switzerland. This edition is an unabbreviated reconstruction of the original edition of 1961, as a hardcover with jacket. It includes the additions made by Josef Müller-Brockmann himself for the paperback edition of 1983. In the first part, the path from illustrative to functional graphic design is traced, as well as the meaning of design elements, their use and effect in every area of advertising: business printed matter, advertisements, brochures, books, posters, and exhibitions. The middle section of the book contains fundamental thoughts concerning the work of the graphic designer. The chapter Science and Visual Communication covers the area of semiotics and communications research. In the last part, the systematic education of the graphic designer is presented by means of a comprehensive documentation. Thus, the book offers graphic designers a valuable survey of the fundamental tasks of design.

The Graphic Artist and his Design Problems

Anne Denastas

An Initiation in Typography

$59.95

This artfully designed "Initiation in Typography" sets in on a large scale, the proportions in outer space, and ends with the smallest of typographic scales, with typefaces. Skillfully, the authors introduce the reader to the world of visual design and typography, arouse curiosity through an elaborate aesthetics, and disclose the magic of typography page after page. Impressively short and precise texts familiarise the reader with the respective subject matter; difficulties of typography are illustrated through simple geometric shapes. The first chapter deals with the question of proportions: mathematical systems, golden section, paper formats, grid systems, and typographic measuring units. Chapter 2 is concerned with the tension between black and white: design problems, principles of typographical arrangement, and the harmony of black and white. In chapter 3, typographic details are discussed: the origin of character forms, type families and historical typefaces. Through the use of slightly transparent paper, the effect of particular grid systems becomes obvious. This transparency brings about the emergence of a different pattern on every page – a remarkably different book.

Josef Müller-Brockmann

Grid systems in graphic design

$59.95

A grid system is a rigid framework that is supposed to help graphic designers in the meaningful, logical and consistent organization of information on a page. It is an established tool that is used by print and web designers to create well-structured, balanced designs. Rudimentary versions of grid systems existed since the medieval times, but a group of Swiss graphic designers, mostly inspired in ideas from typographical literature started building a more rigid and coherent system for page layout. The core of these ideas were first presented by Müller-Brockmann who helped to spread the knowledge about the grids thorough the world. This volume provides guidelines and rules for the function and use for grid systems from 8 to 32 grid fields which can be used for the most varied of projects, the three-dimensional grid being treated as well. Exact directions for using all of the grid systems possibe presented are given to the user, showing examples of working correctly on a conceptual level.

Moritz Zwimpfer

2d Visual Perception

$19.95

The time-related dimension of image perception is increasingly heightened because the sequence of moving pictures is so strongly accelerated by virtue of the very short cuts that it becomes impossible for the viewer to make out the individual elements. Under these conditions he loses every notion of autonomy opposite these images, meaning also that he can be manipulated by. With the aid of more than 200 pictures, elementary phenomena of visual perception are described in this book that one encounters on a daily basis. Brief accompanying texts encourage the viewer to give the pictures his deeper attention in order to consciously experience the phenomena. This book gives a comprehensive, clearly structured overview, and the illustrated examples span from two-dimensional form and color phenomena to the formation of spatial perception up to the influence that emotions and logic have upon perception.

Hans Rudolf Bosshard

The Typographic Grid

$99.95

The typograhic grid is a child of constructive art. This book offers a collection of about two dozen typographic works of the author including books, brochures and art catalogues. The works, documented in schematic drawings and many individual illustrations, are not meant to be recipes; instead, they should provide the reader with impulses of how he himself can set design processes in motion from the outset. The many-sidedness of design with grid systems should be made manifest.

Jost Hochuli

Printed matter, mainly books

$59.95

Jost Hochuli has been working as a freelance graphic designer since 1959. Although book design forms only a small part of his activity, he has become well-known particularly through this work. Besides his book designs, several of his commercial artwork pieces and typefaces are pictured in this volume. The book is thus the ultimate synthesis of Hochuli’s works. It is structured in three thematic blocks “Commercial Graphic Design”, “Typefaces Cut in Wood and Linoleum” and “Books” which are accompanied by theoretical texts while generously documented by numerous examples from Hochuli’s work.

Emil Ruder

Typography

$99.95

This book is the legacy of Emil Ruder, one of the originator of Swiss Style, famous throughout the world for the use of asymmetric layouts, use of a grid, sans-serif typefaces and flush left, ragged right text. His holistic approach is still recognized as fundamental for graphic designers and typographers all over the world. The voume is a comprehensive masterpiece seen in its overall structure: in the themes presented, in the comparison of similarities and contrasts, in the richness of the illustrations and the harmoniously inserted types. Behind the purely pedagogic examples of exact proportions, a rich, philosophical thinking shines through. Today, fifty years after this book was first published, it is still widely used and referenced.

Tiziana Panizza Kassahun

Architecture & Human Rights

$44.95

The striking inequalities in living conditions in today’s cities and metropolises reveal one of the greatest humanitarian challenges of our time. Assuming that architecture can never be neutral, those involved in this field of design are called on to recognize and to act on their responsibility to society, and not only in projects involving urban development. Their work should therefore not only be about creating living space, but questions of the distribution of resources, so closely interwoven with architectural design, must also play a role. This book is conceived as a collage of stories, photos, design and critical discussions about the relationship between architecture and human rights. Through this hybrid form, all of the people involved at every level of this relationship are given a voice and invited to question whether the architecture of the regions, streets and buildings for which they are responsible contributes to the protection and advancement of human rights.

Farbbüro Isler und Bader

Color and Form

$29.95

This memo-game is based on a very special concept: the colors follow the format used in Johannes Itten’s color theory: red for a square, blue for a circle, yellow for a triangle, orange for a trapezium, green for a spherical triangle, and purple for an ellipse. The colors are shown with the corresponding form, which increases their specific impression. Furthermore, each color is presented in six different nuances; this increases the perception of the color tones and supports the creative process of finding new names to specify the individual forms. As the cards are turned over new color contrasts are revealed; these can also be used to intensify knowledge of color theory. Thus, these cards must not just be used for playing the memo-game, they can also be used for inspiration and for experimenting with different color combinations, series and tones.

Ben Wittner

Bi-Scriptual

$59.95

As a result of globalization and increased interaction across countries and cultures, multilingualism has gained importance. Script, as the most important conveyor of confirmation, plays a major role in this development. Designers are more and more faced with the challenge of creating designs that not only combine various languages but two or even more writing systems. At first, Bi-Scriptual discusses on a theoretical level questions such as the sociocultural relations between various writing systems and the increasing importance of sociocultural communication. Following a general section on the practical application of bilingual design, experts of the concerned languages compare eight writing systems with the Latin script. This part also contains topical interviews and practical examples of more than 100 designers.

Klaus Neuburg

Tbilisi - Archive of Transition

$39.95

The capital of Georgia practically presents a new face every day. Ambitious building projects and large foreign investments are constantly changing the cityscape of Tbilisi. This relentless development is the subject of much debate among the city's residents: What should be preserved and what may be subjected to change? What is available for sale and what is common property? What do we want to remember and what are our sources of inspiration? The Archive of Transition is run by an international collective working at the intersection of art, science, journalism, design and photography. In 2015 they started to record the narratives of change in Tbilisi. For this book contributors from different fields were invited to form a collection of unpublished material that together provides a snapshot of a city in an age of global transition. Urban planners, architects, and activists recount what the changes mean to them and to life in this remarkable and fascinating place.

Max Bill

Typography. Advertising. Book Design

$59.95

Max Bill was active in nearly every area of art and design, which were universal concepts for him. Furthermore, his theoretical publications have turned him into one of the most fruitful stimulators of Modern Concrete Art in post-war Europe among the Bauhaus generation of students. This volume offers a comprehensive view into an area of his work that has so far received little attention: typography, advertising and book design. It shows for that almost everything that the Swiss Avantgarde movement accomplished during the 1930s was visualized in Bill’s studio “bill-zürich reklame”. The reader discovers Max Bill as the tireless creator of highly individual types, commercial logos and advertisements as well as an exceedingly versatile designer who had an amazing command of “visual humor”.

Robin Renner

Urban Being

$39.95

Since cities as living environments are steadily gaining in importance, they must not only grow in size, but rather develop in terms of quality. A first important step is understanding how cities function. The identity of each city is characterised by the behaviour of its inhabitants. At the same time, living conditions and realities are formed by the anatomy of a city. This anatomy is mostly determined by external factors. Remarkably, certain urban structures are used in a similar way all over the world. These influences and their effects on human life are illustrated and comprehensibly explained in this volume. The illustrated visualisations range from neighbourly urban quarters, via agglomerations, to macroregions stretching over thousands of kilometers.

Damien Gautier

Design, Typography etc.

$54.95

Why does a newspaper look different than a magazine or a book? What effect does using a certain typeface or a specific grid have? And why do some layouts just seem right, and others seem simply wrong? Richly illustrated with numerous examples from around the world, this comprehensive handbook and reference volume addresses the most important aspects of good book, poster and advert design, offering guidance on everything from building a website and the correct use of colors and fonts through to column width and line length. Sketches and clarifying text serve to explain technical terms that are indispensable to understanding the interface of designing and producing print media.

Johannes Rinkenburger

Visions of the Bauhaus Books

$39.95

The 14 Bauhaus books, edited by Walter Gropius and László Moholy-Nagy, were published between 1925 and 1930. Their authors discussed design principles, practices, and artistic approaches from various perspectives. Johannes Rinkenburger has examined and researched the contents and key concepts of this avant-garde series of books along with their backgrounds and context and elaborates their application and importance for current design schools. Based on design experiments, new links and correlations are established and methods shown that reveal, and apply the legacy of Bauhaus, one of the historically most important design schools worldwide, to contemporary design. In the visual illustrations, which make up a large part of the publication, individual concepts and methods of the Bauhaus books are combined, contemplated on and implemented using today's graphic design methods and techniques.

Ulysses Voelker

Structuring Design

$39.95

In visual communication, contents are arranged, organized, and presented. Design laws and principles that are inherent to every medium ensure that a novel looks like a novel, an art catalog like an art catalog, and a magazine like a magazine. This publication offers a compact mix of explanations, practical tips, and background information on the topic. At its center is the grid as the most important design principle, whose function and application are thoroughly discussed. The grid allows a consolidated approach to a structured design like a blueprint that supports not only faster and easier reading but also better comprehension of information. In a second part, the author discusses the design process itself with answers to seemingly simply questions of what to observe when designing and the sequence of steps. Another chapter focuses on relevant theoretical aspects such as how method and intuition are correlated. The final section contains an extensive glossary.

Santiago Calatrava

Santiago Calatrava: Bridges

$59.95

Santiago Calatrava is among the most important and influential architects of our times. The trademark projects of the Spanish-Swiss designer are sensational bridge designs embodying the symbiosis of elegant architectural expression and engineering mastery. Influenced by his passion and experience in sculpture, his creations decisively shape and characterize the involved cities and landscapes. This volume is a special homage to this iconic work, showing the importance Santiago Calatrava places on bridges as a cultural achievement of human civilization. In this book, the architect himself talks about the visions as well as artistic and architectural philosophies behind his unparalleled bridge designs. He also provides detailed descriptions of 75 selected projects, which, together with first drafts, watercolor paintings, and high-quality photographs and renderings, provide a unique and genuine insight into his creative process.

Silva Baum

notamuse

$59.95

As a response to the predominantly male presence in the design scene, this book exclusively presents works by exceptional women designers. It is not about discovering something inherently "female" and defining "feminine" design, but to counter the male-dominated discourse of the sector. The carefully selected graphic works stand on their own, ranging from commissioned assignments via free artistic projects to the area of design research. They open new perspectives on how diverse contemporary graphic design can be. This presentation is complemented by interviews conducted with 22 female designers, sociologists and design theorists. To shed light on the lacking visibility of women in the design sector, the authors especially focused in the design philosophy, perceptions, and ideals as well as the experiences encountered in everyday work situations.