AisleOne Essentials

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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.        

Typographic Posters

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Typographic Posters
is an excellent site by Andre Felipe that catalogs only graphical or typographical quality poster designs. Any design can apply and then be given access to the site where they can upload their own work.

It’s already shaping up to be an excellent collection with amazing work. Some notable additions include This Studio, David Barath, Michele Genghi, Toko and yours truly.

The poster pictured above is one I’ve been working on but still need to finish.        

FontShop Releases FontShuffle

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Today FontShop Berlin announced the release of FontShuffle, a type specimen catalog for your iPhone or iPod Touch. When I read this I jumped out of my chair. I’ve been waiting for an app like this since like forever dude! But after downloading it and playing around with it this morning, I’m a little disappointed. First I’ll start off with some of the good things about this app and then I’ll get into the stuff that makes this app fall flat on its face. Continue reading “FontShop Releases FontShuffle”

The Typographic Desk Reference

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For a type geek such as myself, it doesn’t get better than this! I know John will definitely love this.

The Typographic Desk Reference is a quick reference guide of typographic terms and classification with definitions of form and usage for Latin based writing systems. TDR contains over a thousand facts on typography.

Written and designed by Theodore Rosendorf the guide includes a foreword by Ellen Lupton, author of the excellent book Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students. Can it get any better than this?

The principal text is set in Adobe Caslon, designed by Carol Twombly in 1989.

TDR will be available in January 2009 but you can pre-order a copy from Oak Knoll.        

Introducing The Grid System

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So as many of you already know, I’m freakin’ obsessed with grids. A lot of designers either don’t want to be bothered with grids or just don’t understand them, so I wanted to spread the love a little.

So I created The Grid System.

It’s basically an ever-growing resource site on the topic of grid systems and anything associated to it, like the golden ratio and baseline grids. My goal for the site is to be a one stop shop for all designers to learn about grid systems, how to design them and how to use them.

The site features links to articles, tools, books as well as templates and other goodies. I’ve also added the ability to show the grid that the site was built on, this way visitors can learn about the structure and how it was applied to the design. Let me tell you, it was a pain to get everything to sit on the grid and baselines and to stay consistent across multiple browsers. As of now, the site lines up perfectly with the grid in Safari and Firefox on a Mac. I assume it would be the same on the PC but I haven’t had the time or a computer to test it. I do plan on making it work in all major browsers on both platforms, even the dreadful IE.

I’ve also partnered up with YouWorkForThem to bring a great collection of books to the site. Over time the site will grow in content (I have a backlog of articles and tools to post) as well as features. I plan to add a forum where people can chat about grid systems and design in general, and other small things like wallpapers. Additionally, I’ve created a Flickr group as an extension of the site.

Check it out and let me know what you hate and what you love. I’d love to know what you think.