The Endsheet

Fine Collection of Vintage Airline Logos

gorestudio — Fri, 29 May 2009 13:47:27 +0000

Nothing like a collection of old logos to get my blood rushing… And here’s a really fantastic batch of vintage airline logos made available by the Museum of Flight on their website, which is very nice in itself. (Note the little airplane cursor when you mouse over the list of links–somebody was paying attention to detail.) I recognize several of these, but a lot of them I don’t… it’s really quite amazing to see the sheer number of airlines that have come and gone through the years. If you like airplanes, you’ll get a kick out of the rest of the site as well. Thanks to boingboing as usual for finding this.

Earliest Known Book Jacket Discovered

gorestudio — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 21:12:27 +0000

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

gorestudio — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 17:50:05 +0000

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

gorestudio — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 02:58:47 +0000

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

gorestudio — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 05:26:52 +0000

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.

The Wonderful World of Letterpress

gorestudio — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 21:33:12 +0000

If I were filthy rich and had no need for working, I’d still get out of bed in the mornings and go down to my basement (if I had one) and crank up my old Heidelberg letterpress (if I owned one) and commence to designing and printing hour upon hour upon hour. And I suspect that this would, for the most part, keep me happy until my dying day. Running a printing press is akin to working the soil–it’s dirty work, and laborious; your hands become fantastically covered in grime; there are moments of very real pain and frustration–but in the end when your job is complete, it is a feeling of immense satisfaction comparable to few others. Letterpress printing is all the more wonderful because it is so real and so basic, and so mechanical. This little video is a wonderful tribute to this dying artform–enjoy…

Favorite Book Cover Designs of 2008

gorestudio — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 19:36:07 +0000

The Book Design Review has posted the winning cover designs for 2008, as voted for by readers of the BDR blog. The winning choice certainly isn’t the one I would have picked, although it’s certainly a nice enough cover. My fave–Obsession–did at least rank, although it didn’t make the top 3. I was also glad to see Against Happiness rank as well–both of these are ultra-simple designs that distill the greater idea down to its purest essence–which in my opinion often makes for quick communication and an excellent cover. But, some very nice work overall by everyone involved!

Pedal Cars! Oh to Be 5 Again!

gorestudio — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:48:34 +0000

Sort of off subject (well, they count as nice industrial design), but I just love these! Just look at how cool they are! Makes me wish I was a kid again. No motor, no battery to charge, and built like a brick *#@%house. It’s all up to you–you wanna go faster, you just pedal harder! I had at least two of these growing up–a car and a tractor–and had the time of my life riding around on them. Yeah, they’re not cheap, but so what.

Check out as well: they also have planes, and tractors, and wagons, too! LINK

David Drummond Interviewed by Tobias

gorestudio — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 23:03:04 +0000

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.

1930s – 1980s Pelican Covers

gorestudio — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:21:35 +0000

A very nice array of old Pelican book cover designs ranging from the 30s up to the 80s, hosted by (and thanks to) Things Magazine. Pretty amazing changes in design styles, especially within the last 20 years. The next logical thought is what will design styles look like in another 20 years? Good luck trying to figure that out. Whatever… for now, Enjoy!