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In our latest edition of book picks we highlight titles from Wee Society, Intercom, Universe/Rizzoli, Laurence King, TBW Books, HarperCollins and Princeton Architectural Press. In addition, we take a look at a stunning new typeface from Lost Type. All this and more after the jump.

This is M. Sasek: The Extraordinary Life and Travels of the Beloved Children’s Book Illustrator
By Olga Cerna, Pavel Ryska, Martin Salisbury
Published by Universe/ Rizzoli
120 Pages

Replete with documents, memories, and images from the life of Miroslav Sasek, this book is richly illustrated with material from Sasek’s books as well as such archival material as previously unpublished illustrations, photographs, and vintage fan letters from children inspired by his books.

Available at Amazon, Universe/Rizzoli and you local book shop.

Freehand: New Typography Sketchbooks
By Steven Heller and Lita Talarico
Published by Thames & Hudson
Pg 352

This show-all tour through leading graphic designers’ personal sketchbooks reveals the creative processes behind the creation of typefaces, word-images and logos. Arranged alphabetically by name, the world’s most exciting designers and typographers, including Philippe Apeloig, Ed Benguiat, Hoefler Type Foundry, Henrik Kubel, Toshi Omagari and Francesco Zorzi, present a staggering range of unique and exciting ways to communicate through letters and words. Sketchbook pages reveal the designers’ creative processes across diverse briefs, concepts, languages and alphabets, from Roman to Cyrillic to Arabic.

Available at Amazon, Thames and Hudson and your local book shop.

The Fish and the Cat
By Marianne Dubuc
Published by Princeton Architectural Press

The best-selling The Lion and the Bird featured the enchanting stories and art of Canadian children’s book author Marianne Dubuc. The Fish and the Cat is a playful story of pursuit between a cat and pet fish that starts in the house, moves through the neighborhood, and ends in the sky with a chase around the stars and the moon. This wordless picture book, full of action and humor, encourages children to create their own stories and adventures.

Available at Amazon, PA Press and your local book shop.

Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines, 15th Edition
By Graphic Artists Guild
448 Pages

Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines, 15th Edition is an indispensable resource for people who create graphic art and those who buy it. As the graphic art marketplace continues to evolve to meet the needs of both digital and print media and as clients struggle with shrinking budgets in the current economy, the demand for up-to-date information on business, ethical, and legal issues is greater than ever.

The fully updated 15th Edition includes:
—The latest pricing guidelines for buyers and sellers
—Current salary information with job descriptions
—Formulas for determining hourly and per diem freelance rates
—Hourly freelance rates by discipline
—Copyright registration information
—Model contracts and forms that can be adapted for specific needs
—A totally revised and updated chapter on Surface Pattern Design
—An expanded chapter of additional professional, business, and legal resources with the latest contact information

Available at Amazon, Graphic Artist Guild and your local bookshop.

How to Make Repeat Patterns: A Guide for Designers, Architects and Artists
By Paul Jackson
Published by Laurence King
160 Pages

Using letters as the basic elements, the book demonstrates how all repeat pattern-making comes out of four simple operations: translation, rotation, reflection, and glide reflection. It will provide the definitive one-stop pattern-making resource for professional designers and students across disciplines, from textiles and fashion to graphic design and architecture.

Available at Amazon and your local book shop.

Clip Art: 20 Historical Paper Clips
By Present & Correct
Published by Princeton Architectural Press

A smart take on the novelty paperclip trend, Clip Art features ten paperclip designs, drawn from historical patent records. The elegant, thick grey envelope holds a glassine bag filled with silver and brass paperclips (ten different designs, two of each). The package features both gold and silver stamping; each design is shown on the cover and annotated with year of design.

Available at Amazon, PA Press and your local book shop.

Once in Harlem
By Katsu Naito
Published by TBW Books

Bringing together landscape photography, environmental portraits, and makeshift plein air studio portraits (reminiscent of Richard Avedon’s more elaborate outdoor staging) charged with the empathy and warmth of a kindred spirit, Once in Harlem is as much a continuation of the American photographic tradition of foreign-born artists chronicling American peoples and customs as it is vital historical document.

Once in Harlem, Naito’s second monograph and first with TBW Books, builds on his remarkable ability to intimately engage with his subjects to create emotional dialogues that can transcend bounds of ethnicity, gender, and socio-economic strata, to, as he puts it, “look into each other’s soul to build another dimension of a relationship

Available at TBW Books

Oh Sh*t. What Now? Honest Advice for New Graphic Designers
By Craig Oldham
Published by Laurence King
128 Pages

So you’ve graduated. What now? Where do you live? Can you afford to live? How can you make money doing design? How do you get a job? Who do you want to work for and are you good enough?

This book is a comprehensive and insightful guide to anything and everything that is of use to those looking to break into the creative industries,sharing experiences, ideas, advice, criticism, and encouragement. With sections covering education, portfolios, jobs/freelancing, working process, and personal development, this straight-talking, funny, and frequently irreverent guide is a must-read for all creative arts students.

Available at Amazon, Laurence King and your local book shop.

The Mort Modern Specimen Set
By Riley Cran

Mort Modern is a new serif typeface designed by Riley Cran and inspired by the mid century advertising lettering of Mortimer Leach. Included with each purchase is an impressive specimen set that serves as a loving tribute to Mortimer’s work. Featured within are case studies, usage examples, articles and a brief history of Mort’s contributions to design and typography.

Available exclusively at Lost Type.

Modern Scandinavian Design
By Charlotte and Peter Fiell and Magnus Englund
Published by Laurence King
592 Pages

Designers from Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Iceland have long pursued the shared goal of social equality through design, believing that well-designed everyday goods not only enhance daily life, but should also be the birthright of all. Modern Scandinavian Design is the ultimate guide to the distinctive design tradition arising out of these five Nordic countries since 1925.

With sections on architecture, furniture, lighting, glass, ceramics, metalwork, woodenware, plastics, textiles, jewellery and graphic design, this will be an indispensable resource for any design enthusiast, collector or casual reader seeking inspiration for their home.

Available at Amazon, Laurence King and your local book shop.

Boardwalk Minus Forty
By Mike Mandel

Part of TBW Books annual series #5 – Four book set.

Available at TBW Books

Macanudo: Olga Rules!
By Liniers
Published by Enchanted Lion Books
102 Pages

Full of surrealism and magic, this fourth volume of the great Macanudo introduces one of Liniers’s most beloved characters––Olga. Olga is the imaginary friend of Martin, a young elementary school boy. Olga only ever says Olga, but Martin knows what she means. Together, they demonstrate the vitality of imagination and its inherently comic nature, relating the sublime and the ridiculous, as it always does.

Available at Amazon and your local book shop.

Thanks to the design team at Intercom for these two amazing titles:

Intercom on Starting Up
120 Pages / Hardcover

Over the past 6 years Intercom has written more than 600 articles about their startup journey. The highlights of those articles have been condensed, along with their latest thinking into a single and digestible volume.

Pick it up here (PDF downloads are available as well with a donation to Black Girls Code)

Intercom on Marketing
149 Pages / Softcover

There are a thousand theories, practices, techniques and formulas for marketing your product. But which ones matter to startups? HLet Intercom show you how to build your brand and sell more products in a non-spammy way with this marketing book for startups.

Pick it up here (PDF downloads are available  with a $5 donation to Black Girls Code)

The Great New York Subway Map
By Emiliano Ponzi
Published by MOMA
40 Pages

Nearly 6 million riders use the New York City subway every day. How do you make a map that helps all of them get to where they are going? The Great New York Subway Map, written and illustrated by Emiliano Ponzi and published by The Museum of Modern Art, in association with the New York Transit Museum, tells the fascinating story of the map’s creation in 1972 by the great Italian designer Massimo Vignelli and his team, and introduces young readers to the idea of graphic design as a way to solve problems and shape our world.

Available at Amazon, MOMA and your local bookshop.

When I am Big
By Maria Dek
Published by Princeton Architectural Press
48 Pages

Charming illustrations and text encourage young children to explore what they can do as they grow up. The adventurous child imagines “I will tie my shoes all by myself, make 3 knots with big bows”; to eat twenty pizzas in one sitting, or walk animals, eight at a time, while teaching them tricks. When I Am Big is also an unconventional counting book, as it goes all the way to twenty-five. The result is a book that nourishes a child’s curiosity, confidence, and delight in the world’s wonders.

Available at Amazon, PA Press and your local book shop.

Go! My Adventure Journal.
By Wee Society
Published by Clarkson Potter

This travel journal from the award-winning creative design team behind the Wee Society suite of products and apps is filled with a bunch of thought-starters so kids can capture important stuff, like cool things they spot, new things they try and people they meet. There are also adventure badges to earn, stickers, places to keep photos and other treasures, and postcards to send. Whether you’re headed to grandma’s, camping for the weekend, or taking a summer vacation, Go! is pretty much guaranteed to make your next trip even more memorable.

Available at Amazon, Wee Society and your local book shop.

Dictionary Stories: Short Fictions and other findings.
By Jez Burrows
Published by HarperCollins
259 Pages

Jez Burrows opened the New Oxford American Dictionary and sat, mystified. Instead of the definition of “study” he was looking for, he found himself drawn to the strangely conspicuous, curiously melodramatic sentence that followed it: “He perched on the edge of the bed, a study in confusion and misery.” It read like a tiny piece of fiction on the lam and hiding out in the dictionary—and it wasn’t alone. Was it possible to reunite these fugitive fictions? To combine and remix example sentences to form new works? With this spark and a handful of stories shared online, Dictionary Stories was born.

This genre-bending and wildly inventive collection glows with humor, emotion, and intellect. Effortlessly transcending sentence level, Burrows lights between the profound and the absurd, transporting readers into moments, worlds, and experiences of remarkable variety. Featuring original illustrations by the author, Dictionary Stories is a giddy celebration of the beauty and flexibility of language.

Available at Amazon, HarperCollins and your local bookshop.

42nd and Vanderbilt
By Peter Funch
Published by TBW Books
160 Pages

Danish photographer, Peter Funch, placed these rigid confines upon his 9 year photographic project, 42nd and Vanderbilt. Narrowing the infinite opportunities NYC has to offer an artist, Funch brings to the surface the minutiae contained within a fragment of our daily routine, the short walk from Point A to Point B, reminding us that the practice of photography in general, and street photography specifically, has only scratched the surface of possibility.

More info here.

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The 2018 A’Design Awards winners have been announced! Pulling from a large pool of entrees, The esteemed award is presented to artists whose work rises above and excels in the area of creativity, technology, and design.

The contest is divided into a broad range of categories including Visual Communication, UI and UX, Photography and more. Entries are then carefully considered by an international panel of design professionals, scholars, and members of the press. Winners  receive the A’Design trophy, invitations to exclusive design clubs, as well as services to advance their careers. In addition, they are honored for their accomplishments at the award ceremony in Como, Italy later this year.

Congratulations to everyone who participated! Here are some of our favorite entries from this year’s prizewinners:

7Up Lemon Lemon Brand Packaging by PepsiCo Design and Innovation

Watson Vegan Truck Visual Identity by Donvoan Bernini

Osvaldo Table clock by MrSmith Studio

S13 Sideboard by Dren Begolli

IO Doodle Box Mobile Art Storage by Mina Panic and Carlo Negri

Ian Bennett Architecture Branding by Joel Derksen

LIFEWTR Series 2: Women In Art Brand Packaging by PepsiCo Design and Innovation

LIFEWTR Series 3:Emerging Fashion Design Brand Packaging by PepsiCo Design and Innovation

RUFA Annual Report 2016 Annual Report by Intorno Design

Souldrops Detergent by Réka Baranyi

TEDxUniversityofGuilan Visual Identity by Nima Rahimiha & Mohammad Hossein Naghibi

A complete list of winner’s across a broad range of categories are available here.

To participate in this exciting event, make sure to enter next year’s competition.

Interested in sponsoring Grain Edit? Visit our sponsorship page for more info.

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The deadline for submissions to the A’ Design Awards is quickly approaching. Entries must be received before February 28th. The renowned event which is held each year Como, Italy honors exemplary design work from a variety of categories including Print, Packaging, Photography, Visual Communication, and more. In addition to the A’Design trophy, winners receive marketing assistance, valuable feedback and networking opportunities at the prestigious gala event. Don’t miss your chance to have your work recognized on an international level. Register now.

Oli An olive bowl by Miguel Pinto Félix

Pepsi Live For Now Capsule Collection – featuring artwork from Hattie Stewart, Jaz, Ricardo AKN, Zosen, Merijn Hos

Only Right Here – Knife Holder by Alan Saga

Amur Tiger Vodka Bottle by Guilherme Jardim

GARAGARA Summer Festival Main graphic, poster, POP by Asuka Watanabe

LEUVEN Beer Packaging by Wonchan Lee

K Table Lamp by Andy Vernall

The A’ Design Award & Competition is a unique chance to showcase your work and gain valuable insight from industry experts. To participate in the event, register your work here.

Interested in sponsoring Grain Edit? Visit our sponsorship page for more info.

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Studio South
Neo Neo
Studio Moss

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Motif Wine by En Garde Interdisciplinary GmbH

Do you have a project you’re really proud of? Do you think it could win an award? Start off the New Year by taking a chance and entering the A’Design Awards, the largest design competition in the world. The annual event is held in Como, Italy and accepts entries for both conceptual and realized projects. Celebrating all areas of design, the competition is organized into 100 categories including Print Design, Visual Communication, Packaging, UI and UX, Photography and more. Entries will be evaluated by a grand jury panel composed of design professionals, academics, and members of the press from across the globe. Whether you’re a student or a professional, this contest is a unique opportunity to receive feedback on your work and obtain access to services that can help foster your career. To participate, register your designs before the deadline on February 28^th.

Bengal Classical Music Festival by Shafiqul Alam

Lokum “Naslada” Packaging by Vania Nedkova & Elisava Pack

Pusonic Packaging by Dongdao Team

Textura Braille Smartphone by Isa Velarde

Mr. Pip’s Double Cross Game by Pip Tompkin Design

Basik Packaging by Saana Hellsten

Jacobs Coffee packaging by Angela Spindler

TTMM (after time) Watchface Apps Collection by Albert Salamon

Winning entries will be featured in a traveling gallery as well as an annual yearbook that will be distributed to the honorees. In addition, participants will receive networking opportunities, PR services, exclusive interviews, an invitation to the gala-night ceremony and much more. Tune in to Grain Edit on April 15th as select winners will be featured on the site.

Enter your work now before it’s too late. Good luck!

Interested in sponsoring Grain Edit? Visit our sponsorship page for more info.
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World Design Rankings
Jay Fletcher
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Since 2010 the A’ Design Awards have been tracking and displaying important data gathered from their prestigious competition at the World Design Rankings (WDR). The lengthy list has recently been updated to reflect the results of the past year and is now viewable to the general public.

Featuring entrants from 97 countries the WDR aims to highlight key data and insights to economists and journalists with regards to the design industry in the hopes of supporting and advocating innovative work. Included in this year’s list are nine new countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Luxembourg, Kenya, Tanzania, Liechtenstein, Armenia, Cameroon and Swaziland) as well as a Design Business Insights section which shows which countries are leading the way in any particular category or discipline.

Those interested in the success of an individual designer (as opposed to a complete country) should visit the Design Classification section instead. Here you will find rankings for profressionals in a variety of creative fields including architecture, interior design, furniture design, fashion design, graphic design, packaging and more. Supporting this list is the Designer Rankings platform which sets aside categories to present the overall rankings of a designer and the awards they have won.

Here are a selection of winners from the 2017 competition:

Pepsi X SHFW SS 2017 Ltd Edition Can Graphics by PepsiCo

Loyly Public Sauna and Restaurant by Avanto Architects Ltd.

Pa House House by Guilherme Torres

Renard GT Motorcycle by Andres Uibomäe

Tactica One Bottle opener by Michael Chijoff

Lock and Be Free Urban locker by Wanna One

Submissions for the The 2018 A’Design Awards are now open and provide a unique chance to showcase your work and gain valuable insight from industry experts. To participate in the event, register your work here. Winners from the event will be announced in mid-April on Grain Edit. Good Luck!

Interested in sponsoring Grain Edit? Visit our sponsorship page for more info.

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Elda Broglio is an illustrator and designer who focuses on motion graphics and editorial projects. She often employs fluid lines and playful patterns to craft lighthearted drawings that capture the comforts found in everyday actives. In her collection “The Rest”, she illuminates the quiet moments that occur between the chaos that comes with modern life. The pieces feature a tranquil cast of characters such as a commuter riding the train and a gardener enjoying the aromas of his plants.

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Also worth viewing:

Magdiel Lopez
Damien Poulain
Kelly Thorn

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Building and sustaining a design firm is a massive endeavor and until recently there has been a lack of material on the subject. In Run Studio Run, a new book published by Extracurricular Press, Eli Altman sheds light on the topic and shares valuable insights that help to shape his naming/branding agency A Hundred Monkeys. With stories and personal commentary, Eli digs into the nitty gritty of running a business and the challenges along the way. Joining him are a diverse cast of studio owners and freelancers including Aaron Draplin, Kate Bingaman-Burt and Brent Couchman that provide advice and tips throughout the book. Run Studio Run is still in fundraising mode, but should be released this coming Spring. To support production costs and secure a copy please visit the Kickstarter campaign. Prints, pins and notebooks designed by the team at Moniker are also available as special rewards for backers.

Design by Moniker

Featuring insights and tips from
Commercial Type, Draplin Design Co., Hey Studio, High Pressure Zone, Kate Bingaman-Burt, Manual, Moniker, Mikey Burton, OCD, Perky Bros., Stansion, Tung, Under Consideration, and The Weekend Press.

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Magdiel Lopez
Damien Poulain
Kelly Thorn

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Stéréo Buro is a Parisian multidisciplinary studio founded by Diane Boivin, Christelle Ménage, and Silvia Dore. After working at prominent agencies throughout Europe, the trio joined forces to create a new studio and combine their unique and complementary skills. Today they craft compelling work for music festivals, workshops, and exhibitions throughout France. While designing promotional posters and brochures, they explore a wide variety of styles and often push the boundaries of unconventional type.

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Karan Singh
Upland Sour Ales
Homework

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Stefan Hürlemann uses personal side projects to help him pursue his love for type and experimentation. Since 2016, he has participated in the weekly challenge offered by blankposter.com, a site that encourages artists to design a poster based off of a randomly generated word. This exercise pushes him to use a variety of typefaces and explore different techniques and tools. These explorations have also inspired him to analyze unique themes and move his work in new directions.

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Also worth viewing:

Erik Kirtley
Magdiel Lopez
Pavlov Visuals

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