Letterform Archive Books – serie

An unprecedented, definitive look at the school’s typography and print design, from its early expressive tendencies to the functional modernism for which it is famed todayThe Bauhaus looms large as one of the most influential legacies in 20th-century graphic design. Known for its bold sans-serif typefaces, crisp asymmetrical grids and clean use of negative space, the school emerged as the forebearer of a new look—one that seized the tools of mass production in the creation of a radical new art. Today, just over 100 years after the Bauhaus’s opening in 1919, the school’s visual hallmarks have come to define modernity as it appears on the printed page.The official catalog for Letterform Archive’s inaugural gallery exhibition, Bauhaus Typography at 100 explores the school’s legacy in graphic and typographic design through artifacts of its own making—its books, magazines, course materials, product catalogs, stationery, promotional fliers and other ephemera.From the book’s beautifully designed pages, readers learn of typographic masters László Moholy-Nagy, Herbert Bayer and Joost Schmidt, who channeled Constructivism’s geometric forms and optimism for industry into printed vehicles for the school’s teachings. Here is where Bauhaus typography—its rejection of serifs and capitals, embrace of experimental alphabets, insistence on universal clarity, and innovation in layering and hierarchy—took its distinctive shape.The catalog also shines light on the Bauhaus’s lesser-known early forays into expressive lettering and illustration, also tracing the school’s immediate impact on seminal design movements such as the New Typography and, of course, on design practitioners working today. Lavishly illustrated, carefully researched and written, and accompanied by an in-depth introduction from noted Bauhaus expert, author and curator Ellen Lupton, Bauhaus Typography at 100 is a must-have for any fan of modern design.

“A book to spend a year with … Dwiggins did more to promote, diversify, and integrate the graphic, typographic, and printing-arts disciplines than anyone of his generation.” —Steven Heller, design historianOften credited with inventing the term “graphic design,” W.A. Dwiggins was a quintessential maker—fabricating his own tools and experimenting with design in areas as wide-ranging as stamps, currency, books, kites, marionettes, theatrical sets and lighting. While he began his career in advertising, Dwiggins became a book designer. He also created several typefaces including Electra and Caledonia, which are still used in publishing today. More than any of his contemporaries, Dwiggins united the full range of applied arts into a single profession: designer. Despite this feat, a thorough study of this revolutionary figure has never been published widely in the trade—until now.At nearly 500 pages and with over 1,000 color illustrations, W.A. Dwiggins: A Life in Design offers an engaging overview of the designer’s wide-ranging creative output and lasting impact on the graphic arts. Filled with colorful book covers and intricate stencil designs, W.A. Dwiggins: A Life in Design is a worthy testament to Dwiggins’ consistent innovation. Designer and author Bruce Kennett’s careful research, warm prose and inclusion of personal accounts from Dwiggins’ friends portray not only a brilliant designer but a truly likable character.W.A. Dwiggins (1880–1956) studied printing and typography under Frederic Goudy in Chicago. He designed four widely used Linotype faces: Caledonia, Eldorado, Electra and Metro. As a book designer for Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., he designed 329 books, of which 17 were honored by the American Institute of Graphic Arts.

A powerful new exploration of the uses of lettering, type and design to amplify resistance and inspire change—from 19th-century antislavery broadsides to the “Silence = Death” graphics of the AIDS epidemic and the handmade signs of the Black Lives Matter movementOrganized into chapters that explore the many ways to express dissent (RESIST!, VOTE!, STRIKE!, TEACH! and LOVE!), Strikethrough presents more than 120 signs, posters, publications and ephemera in vivid imagery and incisive prose. From the colorful affiches of the Paris ’68 uprising to Memphis strike workers’ placards to the Black Panthers’ newspaper, this generously illustrated volume showcases the role of graphic design in a wide range of protest movements in the United States and abroad. Including selections from artists and art collectives such as Jenny Holzer, the Guerrilla Girls and Fierce Pussy, this book provides a broad and critical survey of the typographics of activism. Strikethrough also features 10 profiles on the designers behind the graphics—including Corita Kent, Emory Douglas and Ben Shahn—and a custom display typeface based on historical protest graphics by Tré Seals, plus an introduction by activist and design scholar Colette Gaiter and an essay on type by Stephen Coles.Charting a typographic chant of resistance that spans more than 150 years, Strikethrough curators Silas Munro and Stephen Coles reveal how the message makes its way to the masses via marker, screen print, spray paint, collage and both physical and digital type, and how it calls on us all to craft our own demands for social change.Artists and designers include: Atelier Populaire, See Red Women’s Workshop, Carlos Cortez, Emory Douglas, fierce pussy, Ganzeer, Milton Glaser, Guerrilla Girls, Jenny Holzer, Corita Kent, Aaron Douglas, Art Workers’ Coalition, OSPAAAL, Tibor Kalman, Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr., Herb Lubalin, Phase 2, Favianna Rodriguez, Ward Schumaker, Ben Shahn and Wes Wilson.

A revelatory, beautifully produced compendium of the influential Japanese commercial design journal, with posters, billboards, shop window displays and moreFrom 1928 to 1930, Tokyo publisher Ars issued The Complete Commercial Artist: a fully illustrated journal of commercial design for both commercial retail spaces and print design. Featuring countless original designs, its 24 volumes were dedicated to topics ranging from posters, packaging, flyers, page layout and typography to neon signage, billboards and shop window displays. Under the guidance of lead editor and writer Hamada Masuji, a passionate advocate for commercial design, the publication became the most important—and visually dazzling—document of Japanese design in its time.This generous volume from Letterform Archive Books shares hundreds of exuberant and whimsical pages from all 24 volumes of the now-rare publication. An extensive historical essay and volume-by-volume walk-throughs by art historian Gennifer Weisenfeld introduce readers to the magazine's creators and offer analyses of their use of illustration, photography, typography and lettering, highlighting both Japanese and European influences as new forms of media sparked a global dialogue.Presented for the first time to an English audience, The Complete Commercial Artist: Making Modern Design in Japan 1928–1930 takes readers on an eye-opening tour of interwar Japan's vibrant visual culture.

Typographic treats in the form of perforated pull-out postcards including works by design giants Saul Bass, Seymour Chwast and Takenobu IgarashiSan Francisco museum Letterform Archive boasts a curated collection of over 100,000 items related to lettering, typography, calligraphy and graphic design that spans the history of the written and printed word. Letter Love shares the collection with a full alphabet sourced from across its holdings, plus 10 numerals and four punctuation marks. Each postcard features a scene-stealing character by design favorites including Saul Bass, Seymour Chwast, Hansje van Halem, Imre Reiner, Jean Midolle, Takenobu Igarashi and Hermann Zapf. Printed with metallic ink and presented in a unique perforated booklet, the postcards tear off to reveal an illustrated catalog that shares reproductions and details about the art. Both delightful and practical, Letter Love makes an ideal gift for design and lettering enthusiasts.Artists and designers include: Vincent de Boer, Armin Haab, Peter Malutzki, Hans Donner, Sylvia Trenker, Julien Priez, Angel de Cora, Tauba Auerbach, Maurice Dufrène, Tezzo Suzuki, Kuwayama Yasaburo, Milton Glaser, Paul Rand, James Edmondson, Ross F. George, Roger Excoffon.

Celebrating the storied career of a beloved letterpress printer whose posters spread messages of racial justiceDetroit-based letterpress printer Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. is celebrated for his type-driven messages of social justice and Black power, emblazoned in rhythmically layered and boldly inked posters made for the masses. Citizen Printer tells Kennedy’s inspiring story and contextualizes his important work—and offers readers tools for lifting their voices, too. A vital monograph on a trailblazing contemporary Black artist, Citizen Printer features 800 reproductions representing the breadth of Kennedy’s posters and prints, plus original portraiture of the artist at work, a powerful artist statement and a foreword by New York Times bestselling author Austin Kleon, all presented in a dynamic type-forward design from American Institute of Graphic Arts medalist Gail Anderson and Joe Newton.Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. (born 1948) was working a corporate job for AT&T when, at the age of 40, he discovered the art of letterpress printing on a tour of Colonial Williamsburg. Kennedy then devoted himself to the craft, earning an MFA at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and teaching at Indiana University. He now operates Kennedy Prints!, a communal letterpress center in Detroit. Borrowing words from social justice heroes Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hamer, Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth and others, Kennedy layers bold statements on race, capitalism, history and politics in exuberant, colorful and one-of-a-kind posters. Kennedy has been featured in the New York Times, the New York Times Magazine and the Economist, and his work has been exhibited by the Library of Congress, the Museum of Modern Art, New York and other institutions through the US. He was the subject of a 2012 feature-length documentary, Proceed and Be Bold!

A delightful sticker book of reproduced vintage luggage labels from around the worldChart a nostalgic trip around the globe with removable stickers featuring iconic luggage labels from the Letterform Archive collection. From Berlin to Gibraltar to Penang to Calcutta, the book evokes a deep nostalgia for the golden age of 20th-century travel—one populated by luxury trains, hotel matchbooks and well-dressed bellboys. Faithfully reproduced and smartly arranged in a hardcover book, this selection of 330 labels allows travel enthusiasts to stick, share and delight in designs from an era of trunk luggage and grand hotels.

A 1,500-page compendium containing nearly five decades of remarkable print ephemera from a trailblazing digital type foundryEmigre is a graphic design and digital type foundry based in Berkeley, California. Founded in 1985 by the husband-and-wife team Rudy VanderLans and Zuzana Licko, it was one of the first independent digital type foundries to explore the new design possibilities offered by the MacIntosh computer. It is also known for its legendary design magazine, Emigre, which was a quarterly magazine published between 1984 and 2005.To announce each of its new typeface releases, Emigre published small booklets displaying the virtues of its fonts and revealing the processes used to design them. More than simple sales tools, these type specimens were enjoyed as much for their inventive contents and layouts as for their innovative typeface designs. In 2016, Emigre published the first 18 years of these type specimens in a single book, spanning 1986–2004.This volume reissues the popular contents of the 2016 title (now out of print) and picks up where it left off, combining those first 18 years of materials with additional materials from Emigre’s archive, covering 2004 to the present. The result is a massive 1,500-page reference providing a definitive and up-to-date collection of the foundry’s remarkable print ephemera since its inception.

A collection of whimsical holiday cards featuring hand-drawn Santas from the design titan behind the logos for IBM and UPSAmerican graphic designer Paul Rand (1914–96)—a titan of midcentury design—is best known for the logos he created for companies such as IBM, UPS, ABC and many more. In addition to his commercial work, he was a dedicated letter writer. This set reproduces a selection of 24 holiday cards by Paul Rand held by the Letterform Archive collection. Some were made for friends and family, while others were hand-painted as commissions. Taken together, they represent an exciting and unseen facet of Rand’s oeuvre. Now available as a boxed set, you can send these carefully reproduced versions of Rand’s darling notecards to your own loved ones this holiday season.

Twenty charismatic creatures made with playful flourishes by the quills of 17th- and 18th-century calligraphersSourced from Letterform Archive’s collection of historic writing manuals—books in which Europe’s leading scribes showed off their talents—this set of 20 unique notecards with accompanying envelopes delightfully displays hand-drawn animals made with ink and pen. Dogs, cats, bears, elephants, lions, dragonflies, peacocks, swans and more are reproduced in bright hues on an array of colorful backgrounds. These technically masterful and playfully expressive artworks by famed calligraphers such as Jan van de Velde, John Seddon and Joseph Friedrich Leopold make ideal companions for handwritten messages of all kinds. Presented in an elegant foil-stamped box, this set is the perfect gift for all animal-loving pen pals.

An immersive look inside 12 colorful alphabet albums used by 19th- and early 20th-century French sign painters Beginning in the 19th century, sign painters adorned the streets and storefronts of French cities with eye-catching letters in styles ranging from the elegant to the eccentric. Large chromolithographic portfolios supplied these artisans with an array of dazzling model alphabets for use as inspiration, teaching aids and shows of technical skill. Lettres Décoratives offers a definitive collection of plates from these portfolios originally published from the mid-1800s through the 1930s.More than 150 large-scale reproductions of stunning alphabets, most reproduced for the first time ever, provide a wealth of inspiration and insight into sign painting styles and techniques. An extensively researched historical essay by expert sign painter and author Morgane Côme tells the fascinating story of French sign painting and explores the significance of its chromolithographic alphabet albums. Sumptuously designed for Letterform Archive by the French studio Violaine & Jérémy, the book features an impressive format (useful for aspiring sign painters) and original cover art. Complete with a selection of rarely seen historical photography of shop signs in 19th-century Paris, this volume constructs a rich panorama of the age of la peinture en lettres.

Fans of The Complete Commercial Artist will fawn over this postcard set featuring some of the journal’s most appealing designsThis set of 40 postcards features 20 favorite designs from a spectacular sourcebook of Deco-era Japanese design. Launched in the late 1920s, The Complete Commercial Artist (Gendai shogyo bijutsu zenshu) showcased work by Japan’s early design visionaries in 24 volumes discussing posters, window displays, lighted signs and more. The colorful selections featured in this stationery set include a dashing dalmatian and handsome hat rack, as well as designs for radios and pens, adorable cat-shaped arches, geometric character designs and modernist illustrations with jazz performers and bob-haired women prepping for a night on the town. With artwork by Sugiura Hisui, Murayama Tomoyoshi, Hamada Masuji and other leading graphic artists of the era, these retro postcards deliver a pop of mailable moderne in a keepsake box.

An exquisite box set of notecards featuring a charming selection of handmade modular stencil designs from the beloved American typographerIn the late 1920s, graphic designer William Addison Dwiggins (1880–1956) developed a rhythmic and delicate visual language composed of tiny geometric elements. He cut these modular shapes into cellophane stencils and used them to create wonderfully complex illustrations in his book designs, including abstract typographic ornaments, elegant architectural motifs, intricate page borders and delightful all-over patterns. Dwiggins referred to his organic yet graphic vignettes, which he first experimented with in woodblock printing and stamping, as "sprigs, leaves and flowers." Shared in vibrant colorways from a 1928 booklet of paper samples created for S.D. Warren Paper Mill, Dwiggins’ lively graphic embellishments have found a new home in this suite of 20 unique notecards with accompanying envelopes. Historical photographs inside the keepsake box lid give a glimpse of Dwiggins’ handmade tools and his elaborate process.

An elegant postcard set highlighting the groundbreaking Vienna Secession design journal Die FlächeIn the first decade of the 20th century, Vienna's leading modernists and their students developed a bold graphic style that sparkled with the spirit of a new age. Debuting their prints and posters in a periodical they called Die Fläche (German for "The Surface"), graphic artists of the Secession directed design away from older Art Nouveau forms and toward bold experiments with flat colors, elementary shapes and expressive lettering.This set of 40 postcards features 20 favorites from Die Fläche, including famed placards for Vienna Secession art exhibitions, works by members of the Wiener Werkstätte arts and crafts collective and prints from the 1908 Kunstschau, a landmark exhibition organized by Gustav Klimt. Humorous and ethereal designs mix with exquisitely abstract depictions of Vienna as a fashionable modern metropolis.Pioneering women artists such as Hilde Exner, Emma Schlangenhausen and Valerie Petter-Zeis stand out among the list of contributors, reflecting their important roles in shaping visual culture in the city. As in Die Fläche, artwork by Koloman Moser, Alfred Roller and other founders of the Secession appear side-by-side with pieces by unsung luminaries such as Max Benirschke and Anton Kling.With faithful reproductions printed on matte cardstock and presented in a handsome box adorned with metallic ink, Secession Style offers a unique collection of mailable artwork from a celebrated modern art movement, making it an attractive gift for lovers of art and design.

The fantastical Spanish letterpress system that made artists of printers and brought movement to moveable typeIn late 1930s Barcelona, budding designer Joan Trochut and his father, Etienne, a visionary printer, set out to reimagine the centuries-old medium of letterpress for an age of speed, creative flexibility and visual exuberance. Inspired by modern art and avant-garde printing, Joan devised a typeface unlike any other—one made of hundreds of interchangeable elements that combined to create myriad new alphabets, charming illustrations and an endless supply of original ornaments. Called SuperTipo Veloz (later simply Super-Veloz), the system was beloved by printers throughout Spain before vanishing beneath new waves of technological change.In this book, Alex Trochut (designer and grandson of Joan Trochut) and Andreu Balius tell the fascinating story of Super-Veloz and share the artwork that introduced it to the world. More than 150 reproductions from the dazzling albums called NOVADAM, in which the Trochuts used the type to explode conventional design limits, join never-before-seen drawings and sketches, translations, archival photographs and a comprehensive showing of Super-Veloz elements, making this a sensational resource for modern design inspiration.

For the midcentury modern aficionado: 16 pullout posters replicating vintage Olivetti advertisementsBoth classic and collectible, Olivetti typewriters have been used by creative icons the world over: by Leonard Cohen for his poems and songs; by Joan Didion for her debut novel Run, River; and by Francis Ford Coppola for his screenplay of The Godfather. They have made notable appearances in films such as A Clockwork Orange, Naked Lunch, Submarine and The Talented Mr. Ripley. In recent years, Olivetti’s print advertisements have become as coveted as the typewriters themselves. Each design celebrates the devices’ sophisticated mechanics and approachable form factor with smart graphics and vibrant color. Olivetti Creative Papers collects 16 of these promotions in oversize perforated sheets designed to be removed, used and displayed.

Hi-energy, lo-fi and ultra-rare: gems of zine design from the graffiti undergroundThis book, Subscription to Mischief, collects 36 iconic graffiti zines—such as Skills, IGTimes, Can Control, Graphic Scenes & Xplicit Language, Hole in the Ozone, Twelve Ounce Prophet, Hip Hop Tribe, While You Were Sleeping and Futureretroistic—into one indispensable volume that shows how graffiti made the jump from the wall to the printed page.In the 1980s, as subway workers scrubbed a generation's worth of masterpieces from New York City trains, practitioners and enthusiasts came together to create an explosion in independent media. Fueled by a photo trade that documented the burners, throw ups and tags of every major metro area, the graffiti zines of the 1990s helped solidify one of the 20th century's most vital art forms. Subscription to Mischief includes an introduction by Skills creator Greg Lamarche (Sp.One), along with an overview of styles by graffiti ambassador Dave Villorente (Chino BYI) and a foreword by filmmaker and chronicler of the movement, Sacha Jenkins.