Julian Montague’s Daily Book Graphics

Dear readers,

I am in the process of migrating over to Squarespace, where I just launched my first full-length post (I had been tinkering with a couple brief posts prior to this one, feeling out the site). My first full-length Squarespace post is devoted to the Daily Book Graphics project of artist/designer Julian Montague, which features a ton of amazingly drool-worthy vintage book images.

You can check out my post and Montague’s lovely book designs by clicking on the screenshot above.

I would also love any and all feedback on layout, design, content, etc.!

Best,

Lesley

Josef Müller-Brockmann: Pioneer of Swiss graphic design.

All of my designer readers most likely carry on a rather intimate relationship with Josef Müller-Brockmann. But, for those of you who aren’t so lucky, allow me to make the necessary introductions. Born in Rapperswil, Switzerland in 1914, Müller-Brockmann would later go on to become known as the Pioneer of Swiss Graphic Design. As explained in Eye Magazine:

By the 1950s [Müller-Brockmann] was established as the leading practitioner and theorist of the Swiss Style, which sought a universal graphic expression through a grid-based design purged of extraneous illustration and subjective feeling.

JM-B did an interview with Eye Magazine for their Winter 1995 issue,  just one year prior to his passing. In the interview, the innovative Swiss designer was asked what order meant to him:

Order was always wishful thinking for me. For 60 years I have produced disorder in files, correspondence and books. In my work, however, I have always aspired to a distinct arrangement of typographic and pictorial elements, the clear identification of priorities. The formal organisation of the surface by means of the grid, a knowledge of the rules that govern legibility (line length, word and letter spacing and so on) and the meaningful use of colour are among the tools a designer must master in order to complete his or her task in a rational and economic manner.

The grid, the prioritization and arrangement of typographic and pictorial elements, the meaningful use of color… Observe the Swiss mastery below:

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From Poe to Parker.

In my course, we’re transitioning. From one fractured poet to another, we’re transitioning.

From Poe to Parker.

So, I thought I’d present you with an imagistic representation of this literary trajectory.

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On my summer reading list:

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Peter Ackroyd is somewhat of a kindred spirit, frequently publishing wonderful material on tortured poets, even novels (Ackroyd’s Chatterton, for example, which I strongly recommend to anyone even remotely interested in the British Romantics).

Work it.

‘m a bit tardy for the free calendar party: I meant to post pics a while ago of this ridiculously fabulous letterpressed calendar that Cranky Pressman sent me (for free, might I add. Fabulous Twitter offers, I love thee). The calendar was designed by Northcoast Zeitgeist and printed by Cranky Pressman, a union that makes me feel quite warm and fuzzy all over because they’re both Ohio-based. And, well, so am I. Or, at least, I was until about 9 years ago. One love, Ohio and your wonderful designers and letterpressers.

So, here it is, in all its letterpressed, retro-illustrated glory. And how appropriate that it’s emblazoned with the imperative, “WORK!”. Because that’s precisely what I need to do. Stupid dissertation.

Cranky Pressman is Keith & Jamie Berger. And they are lovely, albeit cranky. Oh, and they included a promotional letterpressed postcard and some other businesscard samples of their services with the calendar. Hopefully you can’t see the drool that seeped from my awe-struck mouth in the pictures below.

Awesome, right?

So, you should really check out both Cranky Pressman and Northcoast Zeitgeist. I’m really tempted by the possibility of having CP letterpress some of my hand-lettered/drawn stuff. And to release about 5 more gallons of drool.

I know, I’m not very lady-like.

Follow Cranky Pressman on Twitter HERE and visit their site HERE. Even their social media links look letterpressed. Jesus.

Follow Northcoast Zeitgeist on Twitter HERE and visit their site HERE.

The Cornell Widow

was just gazing at some of the tons of brilliantly beautiful ephemera images over at Ephemera Assemblyman, and I thought I’d post some covers of a Cornellian student-run magazine called The Widow. It enjoyed over six decades of publication (1894-1962) until it was forced to go out of print because of yucky financial problems (ain’t that always the case?). As the Ephemera Assemblyman quotes on his site, The Widow’s name derives from “the college widow,” which was the name co-eds used to ascribe to “the girl who bowled over class after class of freshmen without really landing one.” Lovely. As you might imagine, the contents and images of the magazine could occasionally trend toward the misogynistic. But oh how the designs were lovely. Take a peek…

(All images below courtesy of the Ephemera Assemblyman)

That last cover was for an issue that appeared in 1981 (yes, 19 years after The Widow had actually folded) and was meant to mock the 100-year anthology of The Widow‘s rival, The Cornell Daily Sun).

For more covers as well as some interior content, head over to the Ephemera Assemblyman HERE.

(Initial “I” from HERE)

Vintage Rye.

Found: A collection of Catcher in the Rye covers in a variety of languages, from HERE. Oh, J.D…. R.I.P.

Some favorites:

Airline ephemera. Come fly with me, please.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who endures Ephemera Image Overstimulation (EIS) on a regular basis. There’s probably even a support group. But, for now, I’m just going to post some of the things I’ve found in the past day or two and try to make room for more. Woe is the vintage-ologist who just can’t get enough… and who realizes that there will always be more ephemera to ogle and tuck away in his/her mind’s eye.

Right now I’m tucking away Mikey Ashworth’s Old Airlines Ephemera Flickr set:

And I’m also en route to tucking away these little pieces of airline ephemera greatness:

Both of the above from Grain Edit

From Delicious Industries

From We Made This

From Bedazzled (yes, that’s really the blog name)

From Dark Roasted Blend

From Martin Klasch

Lehel Kovács’s Google Street View series

ehel Kovács is a Hungary-based freelance illustrator, and his recent Google Street View series of sketches is deservedly catching lots of internet attention lately. Some of my favorites appear below, but I strongly encourage you all to visit his website, Flickr stream, and blog for more (and I am so grateful for just how much more there is!):