Category Archives: books

Book: The Elements of Typographic Design

Posted on by
Reply

Cover of The Elements of Typographical StyleThe other day I received and unwrapped a copy of one of my favorite books: The Elements of Typographic Design. Pure joy.

I first discovered Elements from the The Elements of Typographic Design Applied to the Web so long ago that I’m not sure how I stumbled upon it. The impression it made was permanent and so some time later, earlier this year, I checked out Elements (the book) from the library. It was love at first sight. I have a great love for beautiful typography of which Elements itself is such a wonderful specimen. Bringhurst’s treatment of the history of typography is lucid and illuminating. It gives us modern-day type workers the opportunity to be connected to this centuries-old craft. He is also an authoritative guide to producing works of type with good style and taste.

If I were teaching a class this is exactly the sort of book I would use as a textbook. It’s clear, thorough, and a handy reference to return to for a quick refresher or inspiration.

Speaking of handy, did I mention the form factor: 9.3 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches? It’s tall vertical format fits comfortably in the hand and the supple binding just beg for momentary sessions. All of this while not making longer sessions uncomfortable. The paper is a heavier weight that says quality in an understated way. The book also has a ribbon to keep track as you progress.

Elements is inspiring to me for more than the sheer beauty of good typography. My angle, as one might expect, is to bring some of that beauty, that care, that craftsmanship and refined technique to the web – one letter, one word, one document at a time. If we are to publish more books and long-form writing online (and good ones at that!), then we need to be able to grok Elements and re-imagine it for the discipline of web design. Here’s to the work before us.

PS. Cheers to Richard Rutter for inspiring me more than a few years ago with his re-interpretation of Elements  for the web and leading me to this priceless resource.

A new book by Michael Ondaatje

Posted on by
Reply

In TIME mag I found that Michael Ondaatje has a new novel out called The Cat’s Table. Years ago in college I took a class on Canadian literature, which might at first blush sound kinda limited, but was quite the opposite. Ondaatje was one of the authors I ran across and ended up electing to write papers on several of his poems and another of his novels called Anil’s Ghost. His skill as a poet brings a real beauty and depth to his prose — an almost delicious experience. In Anil’s Ghost he had a knack for unveiling the story in the most beautiful way. Alongside the narrative there were juxtaposed vignettes that as you read you were not entirely sure how they fit in. At some point later in the narrative a piece of information would become apparent allowing you to link this separate side-narrative directly into the main narrative. The result was moments of intense revelation. Superbly crafted and quite a rare experience in prose. I’m looking forward to see how he works his magic in The Cat’s Table.

Art Space Tokyo

Posted on by
Reply

Art Space Tokyo (front)I received Art Space Tokyo a little while back and have been meaning to write about it. Art Space Tokyo by Ashley Rawlings and Craig Mod was not going to see a second printing so Craig took it into his own hands to reprint it. He started a Kickstarter project which had incredible success with 100′s of folks (myself included) throwing in a few dollars in exchange for a copy of the book if it all panned out.

I don’t have any connections (yet) with Tokyo but was won frankly by the beauty of the book and Craig’s vision for bringing some wonderful back to life. I love that Craig is now self-printing the book. It seems similar to how Edward Tufte found that the best way to publish books was actually to publish them himself.

Here’s a description from the website about the book:

Art Space Tokyo acts as your 272 page personal guide and interpreter, connecting you with the neighborhoods and figures behind some of the most inspiring art spaces in this colossal city.

Each of the featured spaces has been rendered as a striking illustration by Nobumasa Takahashi. The book covers art spaces in neighborhoods such as Ginza, Yanaka, Gaienmae, Omotesando, Harajuku, Roppongi, Asakusa and more. The neighborhood surrounding each art space has been meticulously mapped with recommendations for the best food, coffee and sights to enjoy in an afternoon of art viewing.

Whether you live in Japan or not, if you want insight into the Tokyo art world, this is the book for you.

Craig Mod has written up his experience of bringing Art Space Tokyo (2nd edition) to life again on his blog. Craig has some pretty interesting thoughts about publishing the 21st century.

Art Space Tokyo (front) Art Space Tokyo (illustration) Art Space Tokyo (map) Art Space Tokyo (binding)