Ava 2005
192 pages Colour and B&W reproductions. ISBN 2884790497
22 x 30 cm English text. Softcover
Visual Research explores both quantitative and qualitative research methods in visual communication. The latest title in the AVA Academia imprint, this book addresses the need for an extensive discussion of problem-solving processes in the graphic design field. Fully illustrated with reference to real-life case studies it eschews standard analyses of 'end product' artefacts to discuss the relatively unexplored process of design analysis. Examining areas such as audience, communication theory, semiotics and semantics this book is aimed at all creative professionals wishing to explore research methods within visual media design. Price: £24.95
Viction:ary 2003
166 pages Colour and B&W reproductions. ISBN 9628650432
21 x 27.5 cm English text. Softcover
Objects at their actual size and shape — Change your perception of how a book is used and how it behaves. A collection of investigations into and fascinations with the scale of objects; intended to be practical and thought-provoking.
Life Size is a book project by Hyperkit, inspired by Do-It-Yourself and homecraft manuals.
This book is a collection of ideas, fascinations and frustrations; with object language, the creation of new spaces, navigation, scale and colour. It was conceived as a site-specific project, with content being formatted according to two primary themes.
The first theme looks at using the constraints of the book as a unit of measurement, to highlight the size of the objects being represented. This dictates how the objects are displayed, whether it be on one page or across a series of pages. Through showing these objects at life size within the format of the book, the reader is encouraged to engage with them in a different way.
The second theme concentrates on the design and creation of objects that, through the reader’s participation, can be used within real life situations, such as a place setting at a dinner table. By incorporating these objects, our ambition is to change the reader’s perception of what a book can be and how it behaves.
It is our intention that content in this book is not interpreted as documentation, but is seen to exist as the actual artefact. Price: £31.00
Lawrence King 2003
240 pages Colour and B&W reproductions. ISBN 1856693678
16.5 x 24 cm English text. Hardcover
As well as showcasing work from young Swiss graphic designers, "Pathfinder" offers an itinerary through the regions, landscape and culture of a country that has a key place in graphic design history. A fold-out map offers a visual interpretation of the contemporary Swiss graphic landscape. The book features work from designers such as Happypets, Norm, Martin Woodtli, Benjamin Gudel, Marc Kappeler and Alex Sonderegger. Selected work is shown in environments that are significant for the designers or appropriate for the work - in the landscape, in a hotel room or in a car park. Price: £25.00
Phaidon 2003
240 pages Colour reproductions. ISBN 0714839272
25 x 29 cm English text. Hardcover
Merz to Emigr and Beyond is a historical survey of avant-garde cultural and political magazines and newspapers from the early twentieth century to the present day. The book features a unique selection of international publications from Europe and the USA including Merz (1920s), View (1940s), East Village Other (1960s), Punk (1970s), Raw (1980s) and Emigr (1990s). The design of these magazines, often raucous and undisciplined, was as ground-breaking as the ideas they disseminated. Many were linked with controversial art, literary and political movements such as Dada, Surrealism, Modernism, the New Left and Deconstruction. They contain the work of many leading experimental artists and designers of their time from Kurt Schwitters and El Lissitzky in the 1920s and 30s, to Art Spiegelman and Rudy Vanderlans in the 1980s and 90s. Price: £45.00
Princeton Architectural Press 2004
192 pages Colour and B&W reproductions. ISBN 1568984308
18 x 25.5 cm English text. Softcover
Mapmaking fulfills one of our most ancient and deep-seated desires: understanding the world around us and our place in it. But maps need not just show continents and oceans: there are maps to heaven and hell; to happiness and despair; maps of moods, matrimony, and mythological places. There are maps to popular culture, from Gulliver's Island to Gilligan's Island. There are speculative maps of the world before it was known, and maps to secret places known only to the mapmaker. Artists' maps show another kind of uncharted realm: the imagination. What all these maps have in common is their creators' willingness to venture beyond the boundaries of geography or convention.
You Are Here is a wide-ranging collection of such superbly inventive maps. These are charts of places you're not expected to find, but a voyage you take in your mind: an exploration of the ideal country estate from a dog's perspective; a guide to buried treasure on Skeleton Island; a trip down the road to success; or the world as imagined by an inmate of a mental institution. With over 100 maps from artists, cartographers, and explorers, You are Here gives the reader a breath-taking view of worlds, both real and imaginary.
Kitty Harmon is an incurable map collector and occasional map maker. She is a principal at Tributary Books in Seattle, Washington. Price: £13.99
