Founded in 2005 by an ever growing group of designers, illustrators, coders and makers eager to collect and share the best design work they came across, FormFiftyFive soon became an international showcase of creative work.
We scour the world’s best creative talent to keep FormFiftyFive a foremost collection of current design from both the young upstarts and well known masters. We’re constantly on the look out for new features that dig even deeper into what’s happening in the design community, so get in touch if there’s something you’ld like to see on here.
Have a look round, if you see something you love or hate be sure to comment, and drop us a line if there’s a juicy bit of creative gold you’d like to see on here.
Keep it real, the FFF team.
If there’s a juicy bit of creative gold you’d like to see on FFF, or you’d just like to get in touch, email us on the address below and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
You can also check out our guide to the perfect submission here.
Adrienne Pitts is an award-winning art director, designer and photographer from sunny New Zealand – currently the AD for jamie mag in London. As you might expect from such a talented photographer she also has an excellent Instagram presence, and enlightening tumblr.
Build has reprinted its Build—Works (01) book, and is now available via (by)Build Shop. The book is a collection of the studio’s projects from 2005 to 2010, and interleaved with a selection of arresting images of the Build sphynx cats Brockmann & Betty photographed by Jason Tozer. Previously only available to prospective clients, and briefly as part of Build’s Blood, Sweat & 11 Years exhibition in September last year, the demand for a reprint has been high.
Like the company it represents, Build—Works (01) is small (165 x 240 mm) but perfectly formed – and as with all Build print it has been lovingly created. Generation Press have printed it on their lovely new B2 press, and it features an enticing mixture of papers. It’s great to handle and sits perfectly alongside the 11 Years Show Catalogue – it’s easy to forget how much great work Build have under their belts and flicking through this book is a great reminder. In a world of constantly changing websites this book is a worthy and fitting addition to any designers book collection.
The ever-affable MCP was kind enough to answer my questions…
As you know we originally made the book only available for prospective clients but we had so many people trying to get hold of a copy we decided to reprint it. We also have our online shop now (bybuildshop.com) so we have an outlet for it. As a studio we want as many people to see our work as possible, and in some ways the book acts as a printed archive of some of our work as some of the projects are not on our site anymore. I’ve always loved the permanence of printed objects so Build—Works (01) does that too, it’s a selection of our work committed to paper forever.
The book is slightly different this time, its the same format, same number of pages, it still has the poster slip-cover, the back pages aren’t french-folded, and we don’t have the single Lilac Colorplan tip in like edition 1 did. But Scrub/Generation Press reliably informs me that the print is a far better quality in this edition. In his own words “We’ve learned a lot since then, and the new press is really performing brilliantly”. We’ve been sent copies of the slip-cover and the quality is amazing. It feels really good to be getting the reprint done, it seems like a good time to do it.
We are currently working on a few projects for our collaborative G/B/P publishing imprint which will hopefully see the light of day by the end of the year. It’s definitely something we want to push but it’s difficult to schedule when we have client work to do. The (by)Build Shop is doing really well, the shop team are doing a really great job, we are working hard to make sure the customer experience is tip-top. The recently launched print-on-demand section is doing well and we plan on expanding that with more prints. We spent a lot of time with Chambers Judd getting the shop site right and it seems to be paying off.
We have a simple ethos of working with the best of the best, and Generation Press are exactly that. They never cease to amaze us, they get what we do and the level of craft, thoughtfulness and attention to detail is second to none. Jason shot the pics of our sphynx cats Brockmann & Betty specially for edition one of Build—Works which in itself was amazing. The shoot was hilarious, Brockmann wasn’t interested at all and wanted to get off the table as soon as possible. Whereas Betty was much more interested! We absolutely loved the results of the shoot and people still to this day mention the cats (‘Oh the book with the cats’).
Build—Works (02) is something we are currently looking at, maybe getting it out by the end of this year. The format will probably remain the same, but the design will change to reflect our current thinking. We will definitely be doing a new shoot for the cover/section dividers. Not sure yet who we will be doing that with yet, but would like to work with someone like Daniel Stier. We had some shots of our studio done recently by György Korössy which we will definitely be using in Works (02).
To celebrate the public release of Build—Works (01) Build will be opening their studio for a ‘pop-up’ (by)Build Shop on Thursday 9 May from 5-10pm. You will be able to buy selected prints and print-on-demand posters, custom built acrylic frames, Build—Works (01) and complimentary drinks for customers.
The book now retails at £25 but Build have kindly offered FFF readers the chance to pick it up at its pre-order price of £20 – just quote promo code ‘FFF2013′ when ordering. This offer expires on Wed 8th May so act quick!
Our friends Boat Studio (the brains behind Boat Mag) describe themselves as an optimistic creative studio, turning simple, human ideas into brands, print, packaging and digital. They recently quietly launched a lovely new site showcasing their latest work (by She Was Only).
Vignelli Transit Maps by Peter B. Lloyd & Mark Ovenden is the first in-depth study of Vignelli’s contribution to transit maps, which examines in detail both the creation of the original 1972 map, and its re-creation in 2008 and 2011. The book also covers Vignelli’s designs for the maps of the Metro in Washington, DC, and the RER in Paris. It includes previously unpublished materials from the Vignelli Archives including a first glimpse at original, early development sketches of the famed map and of its recent successors.
“For a long time New York communication culture has been afflicted by a fragmentation disease, where verbal rather than visual information has had the priority. When I had the assignment of designing the New York subway map, that was the situation: fragmentation. In any case the map was done and it turned out to be beautiful but nevertheless short-lived. In 1979 it was replaced, and this book investigates its history, revealing interesting details about its demise. This book is also an opportunity to celebrate the work done a long time ago by my collaborators at Unimark and that done by my associates more recently.” – Massimo Vignelli, Vignelli Associates
This book is the first instalment of a multi-volume history of the New York City subway map – one of a planned seven! If you’re a Vignelli fan or interested in cartography I recommend you pick up a copy. Peter kindly shared with me the history of the project, how the process of producing the book worked (above is one of Massimo’s scamps for proposed layouts) and the answer to the question many of us would have – what is Massimo really like.
On what he learnt about Vignelli & Unimark –
One thing I learnt was Massimo’s extraordinary humility. He has somehow acquired a reputation of having a great ego, but in fact my observations point in the opposite direction. The transition – if one may put it that way – of the map stewardship from Massimo to Yoshiki and Beatriz (within Vignelli Associates) is being made possible by Massimo’s willingness to let go of a design that he regards as one of his best creations. Of course, he is still involved in the new map, but he has allowed the young blood a serious degree of freedom in re-imagining the Vignelli map. I know that, in private, he is still attached to certain aspects of the formal beauty of his 1972 map, but in public he always acclaims the new map as the best New York City subway map ever.
Massimo does have an enormous passion for good design, and he regards bad design as contemptible. Possibly people have misinterpreted this as ego. Not so. For example, when he failed to win the contract for the Washington Metro map, he effusively praised the map that Wyman and Cannan designed. What matters primarily is that the public should have well-designed artefacts. There is an idealism that Massimo has sustained throughout his half-century of work: he genuinely believes that good design makes the world a better place, and – although he does not use such elevated language – this seems to be like a spiritual aspiration for him. Design is not just a job for Massimo Vignelli. It is a calling.
Vignelli: Transit Maps by Peter B. Lloyd, in collaboration with Mark Ovenden Published by RIT Cary Graphic Arts Press 128 pp, 9″x12″, richly illustrated in colour
Tatsuro is a member of Tokyo Illustrators Society, and teaches illustration at Aoyamajuku. His first picture book “The Lotus Seed” sold more than 250,000 copies worldwide, and he has produced work for clients such as The Royal Mail (Christmas Stamp Collection) and Starbucks (Worldwide Holiday Promotion “Pass the Cheer”)
I came across his beautiful ‘Please’ covers on flickr where he has extensive sets of his beautiful work. You can also follow him on twitter and check out his site – here.
Dan Cassaro is a designer, animator, and illustrator living and working in Brooklyn, New York. He runs his own design shop, Young Jerks, and was named an ADC Young Gun in 2011. He has a great site showcasing not only his work – but also unused (or killed) pieces in the graveyard. You might already know him for his 50 and 50: The State Mottos project, or the excellent typeface Highway. Check out his interview on The Great Discontent (and while you’re at it this one on ‘One Minute With’), then go follow him on twitter. Awesome work!
Represented internationally by Anna Goodson Illustration Agency, Sébastien Thibault has produced work for the likes of Rolling Stone Italy, Wired Magazine, American Airlines, PC World, Harvard Business Review, Creature (Universal Music) & many more…
Creative Director (& Brit) Richard Turley and his team have turned around Bloomberg Businessweek over the past few years into some of the most innovative and exciting magazines on the mainstream newsstand. Earlier this year it was named ‘Best Magazine Design‘ by Magpile – the latest in a long line of thoroughly deserved accolades.
You can read a insightful interview with Turley earlier in 2013 here on designboom. He’s also got a great tumblr and twitter presence. The best thing you can do though is go and trawl through endless pages of incredible Bloomberg Businessweek covers and spreads on flickr… Editorial has rarely looked so consistently awesome!
Jeremiah is an Northwest American designer and illustrator – you can find bits of his work on his blog Emerald Son and in his Instagram feed.
Michael Spitz is an independent American designer, specializing in identity / brand development, lettering / custom typography, and illustration. Follow him on twitter.
Peter Tarka is a young graphic designer and illustrator from Poland, with a stack of great 3D work to his name – along similar lines to Serial Cut
Kuchar is an award-winning creative director. A co-founder, co-publisher and creative director of men’s magazine Port, he’s also responsible for some delicious editorial work for iconic magazine Casa de Abitare.
He has worked with some of the most renowned art directors, publishers and corporations around Europe such as the NZZ am Sonntag, Nestlé (Switzerland), The Guardian, The Spectator, Tate and Royal Academy (UK), Público (Portugal), Rizzoli (Italy).
Jurriaan Schrofer, restless typographer. I have to confess my ignorance of Dutchman & Total Designer Schrofer before this beautiful book landed on my desk. As a fan of Unit Editions (Run by Adrian Shaughnessy and Spin’s Tony Brook) I had seen the previews and pre-release press, but I was still clueless. In the essay included, design writer Frederike Huygen (writer of the sold out monograph Wim Crouwel: Mode en Module) refers to him as ‘a computer-designer before the computer’ and its easy to see why. Typographic perspective and grid structure are pushed to dizzying limits – all the more impressive in a pre-Adobe age.
Designed by Spin, the book brings together a series of commercial and experimental projects alongside corporate identities, editorial projects and magazine design (for architecture mag Forum). As with previous printed Unit Editions (retrospective of Ken Garland & the mammoth Herb Lubalin tribute) the book is a stunner – 144 pages of tactile and luxurious print – complete with fluro spot Pantone, textured papers and a truly lovely stripped printed spine. If only more books would make use of lay-flat binding, the world would be a better place.
I recently saw Schrofer’s creations described as dated but I’d suggest it’s the opposite – flicking through the book you get a sense of the modernity of his work – and as a new generation of designers rediscover the work of past masters Crouwel et al this book will help Schrofer take his rightful place amongst them.
Juriaan Schrofer (1926-90) – Restless Typographer, edited by Tony Brook and Adrian Shaughnessy, is published by Unit Editions, priced at £25.
Lo Siento were one of the 5 Barcelona agencies involved in the recent BCN:MCR exhibition – their portfolio is excellent and diverse – including some especially great 3D and papercut projects.
Anna Hurley is a graphic designer and illustrator from San Fransico with some playful and charming work to her name for the likes of 826 National and Yelp.com
Strong work. Love it.
Some really nice work.
Matt sure has been busy! Definitely one of the most prolific street artists out there at the moment.
Those animal illustrations remind me of vintage children’s books – Mid Century, Danish style. Would look awesome as a series of art prints!
Nice one Mike!
Stunning work. Excellent find Emma.