Of the books I’ve received for review in the last month or so, only a few have really impressed. With the increase in design books focusing on typography comes, unfortunately, an increase in complete and utter crap. To those who have much, more will be given, etc. Thus, a few suggestions for your to-buy, -borrow or -steal list:
Poppy Evans’ Forms, Folds & Sizes easily takes the place of at least 4 of the several style manuals on my desk, handily replacing those parts of the AP, Pocket Pal, GPO & Thames & Hudson that I use on a semi-daily basis. Definitely a good investment for designers, editors and ADs; in addition to the sheet & container sizes & plans that you’d expect, there is an extensive section on postal regulations, various systems of copyediting notation, barcode standards, cmyk swatches, etc. For all that, it’s actually relatively compact and transportable. This one I would actually have bought had I not received a review copy.
A new book by the incomparable Robin Kinross is always cause for celebration. Well, maybe celebration is not the right word, but at least a subtle in-your-chair happy dance. And this isn’t even a new book, but thanks anyway to Chronicle for publishing an extensively reworked second edition of the wonderful Modern Typography. In addition to new text and the addition of excellent illustrations, the book is (like the previously-mentioned Forms) now portable. Not exactly sure why this is a huge benefit, but there it is: a compact, travel-sized and reasonably comprehensive survey of typography, with a general emphasis on explaining how we arrived at where we are today. An enjoyable if quick read.
Dutch design icon Wim Crouwel’s use of complex matrices and formulae to create typefaces should be familiar to this audience, but if not (and if you’re interested in seeing some really wild examples of this type of work!), Kees Broos’ lavishly-illustrated Wim Crouwel: Alphabets is an excellent introduction to modern experimental typography. There is much more here than just the New Alphabet, although the particular meditation on that work is worth studying.
Thanks for posting these fine reviews. Poppy Evansďż˝ Forms, Folds & Sizes will be arriving in my postal box in a week.
Thanks for your helpful insight. I too will look forward to receiving Poppy Evan’s Forms, Folds & Sizes which should help clear off some of the old clutter from my bookshelf.