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As you know, I’m a sucker for graphics manuals. This one for the 1979 Mediterranean Games in Split is wonderful. The logo was designed by Borislav Ljubičić, and the manual was created in 1977 by the International Olympic Committee’s visual communications department.
Jesse Reed & Hamish Smyth, the fellas behind the wonderful 1970 NYCTA Graphics Standards Manual reissue, have announced a new Kickstarter for the reissue of the 1975 NASA Graphics Standards Manual.
The original manual was created in 1975 as part of a NASA redesign done by Richard Danne and Bruce Blackburn, and it’s an important piece of American graphic design history. I’ve been on the lookout for years for a copy of the manual, but I still haven’t be able to find one. It’s super rare. That’s what makes this project so great. The manual will now be available to the general public, so everyone will get to enjoy it.
The reissued manual will be based on the Danne’s personal copy, and should ship in March 2016. Jesse and Hamish did an incredible job on the NYCTA manual, so I’m sure this reissue will be just as good. I’m definitely backing the project.
Here are the specs:
Remember those fellas who found an original copy of the NYC Transit Authority Graphic Standards Manual in the basement of Pentagram? Well, they’re partnering with the MTA to release a limited run of manual through Kickstarter.
It won’t be exactly like the original manual. The original is ring bound in binder, but the reissue will feature a cloth hardcover and unaltered high-resolution scans of each page of the manual, all Smyth sewn together. It will measure 13.5” W × 13.5″ H (343 x 343 mm).There will be an introduction by Michael Bierut, and an essay by New York magazine writer Christopher Bonanos.
The manual will be printed in Italy on 100 and 140 gsm Munken Pure ivory offset paper. The cover, introduction, and essay headings will be set in a custom version of Standard Medium by type designer Nick Sherman, that he recreated from the photographs of the original manual.
This is a great way to get this wonderful piece of design history in the hands of more people. I’ve backed it.
I’ve been trying to get my hands on a copy of the NYC Transit Authority Graphics Standards Manual for years now with no luck. I came very close last year when I was bidding on an eBay auction for a copy, but I lost it. I still regret not bidding higher.
Seems like these folks have better luck, because they happened to find a first edition copy in a locker beneath some old gym clothes at Pentagram’s NY office. Are you kidding me? Nope. Lucky bastards. They photographed every page and put high-res photos up on a site for us all to drool over. Enjoy.
Drool. The folks at Container List posted some photos of a PBS Identity Manual created by Chermayeff & Geismar back in 1984. The manual is part of the Milton Glaser Design Study Center and Archives at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. I wonder if non SVA folks can get access to the archives. Would love to study this manual in person.
I’ve been very lucky to finally find a copy of the Graphics Manual for the 1976 Montréal Olympics, which is my personal favorite Olympic identity. I’m a little obsessed with collection pieces from these games. I particularly fond of graphics manuals like this because they provide a window into the the thinking and process behind the identity system. It’s the closest you get to having the designer explain the system, in this case Georges Huel and Pierre-Yves Pelletier.