Earliest Known Book Jacket Discovered

Oxford University’s Bodleian Library discovered what it thinks may be the oldest known book jacket. LINK

Early book jackets were not treated as the marketing pieces they are today–instead they were meant to be a means of protecting the book’s delicate binding from dirt and abrasions, which it fully covered much like the wrapper of a package… hence the term “dust jacket” I suppose?

10 Commandments for Good Design: Dieter Rams

 

 

 

 

Although there’s plenty of room for subjective interpretation on some of these points, Dieter Rams‘ points are nonetheless excellent reminders that as designers, our work is about transforming the product into the best that it can be, without the design getting in the way or drawing undue attention to itself. It’s been said many times before, and it’s still true: often the best design is invisible.  LINK

New Cover—Classic Toys Hall of Fame Book

I recently finished work on a complete design for a book produced in conjunction with Running Press and the National Toy Hall of Fame in Rochester. You may remember the Toy Hall of Fame from recent news, where they inducted a “stick” into their permanent museum exhibit. Curators ”praised its all-purpose, no-cost, recreational qualities, noting its ability to serve either as raw material or an appendage transformed in myriad ways by a child’s creativity.” Amen.  This was a really fun job to work on, and the Running Press folks helped turn it into a seriously nice end result.

 

The SAAB Logo—A Quick History

It’s not my intention to make this blog all about car logos, but they’re almost always a joy to look at (and I’m a sucker for anything cast in chrome). There are some interesting progressions here.  As expected, they each follow the graphic trends of their day, and some are certainly more successful than others.  SAAB began as an airplane manufacturer, reason enough to buy one if you ask me. I mean, how can you not like that stylized wing profile?  LINK.

 

David Drummond Interviewed by Tobias

One of my most favorite book cover designers–David Drummond–is interviewed by another excellent designer–Christopher Tobias–on Books Covered, Tobias’ personal blog. It’s a wonderful interview, and provides some great insight into the inner mind of yet another wonderfully creative individual. Chris has done some other good interviews as well, but Drummond happens to be a guy whose work I’ve followed for a number of years. Good reading for anyone interested in cover design–and thanks to both Chris and David for taking the time to put it together.