Manuals 2: Design & Identity Guidelines

Manuals 2

Manuals 2

Manuals 2

Manuals 2

After the success of Manuals 1, Unit Editions has just announced Manuals 2, which features graphic standards and corporate identity manuals for IBM, Westinghouse, Canadian Rail, Bell, Knoll, PTT, Montreal Olympics, Dutch Police and more. These manuals were designed by some of the masters: Georges Huel, Paul Rand, Allan Fleming, Total Design, Massimo and Lella Vignelli, Alan Fletcher, Otl Aicher and more.

Manuals 2 will also feature my copy of the graph­ics man­ual for the 1976 Mon­tréal Olympics. Pretty excited that a piece of my collection is included.

The book includes essays, interviews and a forward by Lance Wyman, designer of the 1968 Mexico Olympic games.

Hardback with High Gloss Wrap
260 x 310mm
432 pages

You can pre-order a copy now.

NYCTA Graphics Standards Manual Limited Reissue

NYCTA Graphics Standards Manual Reissue

NYCTA Graphics Standards Manual Reissue

NYCTA Graphics Standards Manual Reissue

NYCTA Graphics Standards Manual Reissue

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.

NYC Transit Authority Graphics Standards Manual

nycta_gsm

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.

NASA Graphic Standards Manual – 1976

NASA Graphic Standards Manual

As some of you already know, I’m a little obsessed with finding vintage design materials, especially graphics manuals like this one for the 1976 Montreal Olympics. So you can imagine how far my jaw dropped when I saw this 1976 NASA Graphics Standards Manual. Created by design firm Danne & Blackburn in 1975, this manual outlines the proper use of, in my opinion, one of the best brand identities of the last century. One lucky soul has managed to get some hi-res scans of the some of the pages. The hunt has officially begun.

UPDATE: Tim has kindly documented more pages from the manual, and posted them to his Flickr.