Dot Zero – Issue 1

Posted on August 5, 2014 Posted in Books, Design, Grid Systems, TypographyTagged minimal, print, publication, Typography

Dot Zero Issue 1

Dot Zero was a quarterly by Unimark in partnership with Finch Paper that focused on the theory and practice of visual communication. Only five issues were published between 1966 and 1968, and Massimo Vignelli was the designer and creative director of the magazine. Vignelli wanted to make the design exciting, but simple, so he set all type in only two weights of Helvetica and everything printed in black and white.

Michael Bierut interviewed Vignelli about the magazine. Some nice insights on how the publication came about, and its production.

The folks at Rationale Design have made available a hi-res PDF of issue 1 of Dot Zero, and you can see some photos of issue 2 here.

Grids: Their Meaning and Use for Federal Designers

Posted on August 4, 2014August 4, 2014 Posted in Books, Design, Grid SystemsTagged federal design, grid system, guide, print

Massimo Vignelli Grids

“Grids: Their Meaning and Use for Federal Designers” is a book based on a presentation given by Massimo Vignelli at a seminar for federal graphic designers at the Illinois Institute of Technology on November 10, 1976.

He covers the basics of grid design, then shows how grids were used in some of the projects that he worked on. It’s a nice little read. Hi-res scan of the entire book is available here.

Via Sean Wolcott

Manuals 1: Design & Identity Guidelines

Posted on February 13, 2014February 21, 2014 Posted in Books, Design, Grid Systems, International Typographic StyleTagged grid system, guidelines, identity, manuals

Unit Editions Manuals 1

Unit Editions just announced a new book titled Manuals 1 Design & Identity Guidelines. It’s a study of corporate identity design manuals from the 1960s to early 1980s. The book includes manuals created for NASA, Lufthansa, British Steel, NYC Transit Authority, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, ABC, and more. The ABC manual is from my collection that I’ve contributed.

I’ve been really looking forward to this book. Manuals are such a great learning resources because they’re not only great to look at, but they also give you insight into the rationale and thinking behind each system. You get to experience what the designers were thinking.

The foreword was written by Massimo Vignelli and the book includes text from Adrian Shaughnessy, NASA designer Richard Danne, Greg D’Onofrio and Patricia Belen of Display, Armin Vit, Sean Perkins and John Lloyd.

Available in March and you can pre-order now.

A5/06: HfG Ulm, A5/07: Rolf Müller

Posted on January 14, 2014January 14, 2014 Posted in Books, Design, International Typographic StyleTagged Books, Design

HFG Ulm

Rolf Muller

Hey folks, sorry for the long silence. I got a kidney stone, and I was out of commission for a week. Feeling better now, so the posts will resume. Back to business.

Lars Müller Publishers is releasing two new books as part of their wonderful A5 series. I’ve been waiting for these titles every since I heard about them in early fall.

The first is A5/06: HfG Ulm by René Spitz that covers the history of The Ulm School of Design founded by Inge Aicher-Scholl, Otl Aicher and Max Bill.

The second book is A5/07: Rolf Müller, a monograph dedicated to Rolf Müller who worked with Otl Aicher on the visual identity of the Munich Olympic Games in 1972.

Both books will be available at the end of this month.

Poster Collection 25 Josef Müller-Brockmann

Posted on October 16, 2013 Posted in Books, Design, Grid Systems, International Typographic StyleTagged book, posters

Poster Collection 25 Josef Müller-Brockmann

Next month, Lars Müller Publishers is releasing “Poster Collection 25 Josef Müller-Brockmann”, a book that showcases a selection of posters designed by Müller-Brockmann. No photos of the spreads, but this is definitely going in my collection.

Index Magazine

Posted on October 2, 2013October 2, 2013 Posted in Books, Design, Grid SystemsTagged Digital, Harvard, ipad, magazine, print, website

Index Magazine

The Harvard Art Museums have announced the launch of the digital magazine Index, which provides a dynamic and interactive space for readers to discover a broad range of content and media produced by staff at the Harvard Art Museums and from arts-related venues around the world.

The digital magazine supplements the printed edition of the magazine with new content posted each weekday. Index includes multimedia components that put viewers behind the scenes at the museums and also provides regular updates during the final stages of the museums’ renovation and expansion project in Cambridge.