AisleOne. A visual journal on design, photography, film, music and culture.
The National Theatre has an excellent site dedicated to the posters created for the theatre dating back to the 1960’s. You can browse via genre or decade and the posters are available at multiple sizes for purchase. I recommend checking out the 60’s and 70’s first.
I introduce to you, The Holy Grail.
Massimo Vignelli has published an amazing 96 page book on better understanding typography in graphic design, according to him. The book gives specific details on Vignelli’s methodology and approach as well as how he decides on paper sizes, typefaces and other tangibles. There is also a nice section on grids.
It’s an excellent book that every designer should read. The book is available for free online in PDF format but I do hope they print this one out because it’s a masterpiece in my opinion.
My good friend Duane King and his uber-talented crew at BBDK have just launched a stunning new site for Italian glassware company Luigi Bormioli. I personally consider this site to be one of the best sites on the web in terms of design, typography, functionally and usability.
The design is ultra-clean and simple and the great use of white space makes it all feel very elegant and sophisticated. Designed on a simple grid, BBDK was able to create an eye pleasing layout that enhances the gorgeous photography. It’s all topped with a precise use of Gotham and Helvetica. How can you go wrong with those wonderful typefaces?
The site is extremely easy to navigate and the slight transitions and interaction points make the it a joy to use, and work harmoniously with the minimal design. This is an excellent example showing that it’s possible to create an engaging site without the use of Flash. Ian Coyle of Superheroes, who designed and developed the amazing ShopComposition site, worked with BBDK to develop the Bormioli site.
If this site isn’t recognized for it’s brilliance, then there is something really wrong with this world.
You can read more about the project over at Thinking for a Living.
I had to come out of hibernation for this one. Danny, Marieke and Erwin from Experimental Jetset just emailed me about their new site. They’ve added a ton of new work, most of which I’ve never seen before, and all of it is just blowing my mind. Check out their new site but I will warn you, get a bib.
When it comes to my top three most influential designers of all time, the list includes Josef Muller-Brockmann, Wim Crouwel, and Otl Aicher.
Otl Aicher is a legendary designer and one of the most influential graphic designers of the 20th Century. He’s responsible for many incredible designs, but he’s most famous for the work he did for the 1972 Munich Olympics. He created a beautiful and elegant design system on top of a functional grid system for the entire games that covered all visual aspects including posters, books, catalogues, flags, mascots, medals, tickets and stationery.
To honor all this work and to create an ongoing collection, this site was created. The collection includes pieces that span the entire visual identity for the games, many of which I’ve never seen before.
A few months ago an exhibit was held in San Jose California that focused on all the work done by Aicher for the games. What I would have done to have been able to see it in person. If you’re one of the unlucky souls who wasn’t able to visit, there is a Flickr set of the exhibit.
Recently, I’ve become obsessed with obtaining items from the games. Considering that the Olympics happened in the 70’s and it’s become pretty popular among the design community, most of it is hard to find and expensive. I’ve managed to get my hands on a few things, which I’ll be photographing and adding to my Flickr page very soon, but my “holy grail” is Die Spiele (The Games), a 3 volume set covering the design, execution and usage of the entire visual identity for the games. It’s a damn gold mine! I’ve seen it on ebay only 3 times in the last year and all 3 times I’ve lost the auction because the price went too high. I’ll get a set one day. Anyway, here is a nice Flickr set showing the interior pages of Die Spiele. Get a bib because you’re going to drool.
The image above is the from the excellent Blanka Flickr set. You can also see more juicy stuff here and here and in the Otl Aicher Group.
I’m big on books, not only for their aesthetic value but also for their educational value. Duuuuhhhhh!!!!!
Anyway, it think it’s important for any designer to have a good collection of design oriented books from which they can seek inspiration, ideas and knowledge.
So I’ve put together an Amazon store called AisleOne Essentials to act as a single place for all designers to find the most essential books on graphic design, typography and grid systems. These are all “must reads” in my opinion.
The collection will grow over time so keep checking back for the latest books and I also welcome you all to send me suggestions. If you know of a book that should be included please let me know. Thanks.