A copy of the first issue of Computer Arts Collection, a new annual series of six in-depth guides from the makers of Computer Arts, landed on my desk last week.

Available in the UK this month with 224 pages CA Collection hopes to become the perfect addition to any studio bookshelf as an essential guide to the core topics of graphic design, typography, illustration, branding, photography and advertising.

“It’s packed with plenty to inspire you throughout the year, but this is much more than a glossy coffee table book – there’s also invaluable insight and analysis from your peers to help your own client briefs run more smoothly.” explains CA Collection editor Nick Carson.

You can view a 16-page digital sampler of CA Collection #1 on Issuu or buy the real thing at your news agents.

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Eight:48 have launched their first book, ‘Robert Samuel Hanson: 140 Colour Images’, a monograph focussing on the work of FFF favourite Robert Samuel Hanson. The book features 140 colour illustrations, organised into groups according to their subject matter. These illustrations are accompanied by an interview with the Rob about his work, life and accomplishments. You can buy a copy over at Counter-print for a very reasonable £27 – £32 (depending on where you live).

We got a hold of Céline Leterme of Leterme Dowling, who designed the book and are behind Eight:48 and Counter-print, to ask her some questions about their first published book.

Hi Céline, can you tell us a little more about how this project come together?

We have been working with Robert on an on-off basis since we started our design company a couple of years ago. (We actually first saw his work on FormFiftyFive, so massive thanks for that). The first project we worked with him on was a poster for one of our businesses, Counter-Print. It’s a cliche, but we were blown away with the result. The attention to detail was incredible, as was his ability to understand what we were looking for.

The project flowed really smoothly, so when we launched Counter-Print’s magazine, Eight:48, the first person we thought of going to for the design of a its cover was Robert. I suppose we cemented our relationship with that project, as there was always a lot of back and forth, including plenty of discussion in regards to how the magazine should look and how the covers would be perceived.

When Jon and I here decided that we wanted to dip a collective toe into publishing, we thought Robert would be a great subject matter to start with. We knew it would be a pleasure to work with him throughout the process, we were aware that he had a large body of quality work that people probably wouldn’t have seen before and asking him seemed like the perfect thank you for all the effort he’d put into our projects over the last couple of years.

Are these monographs a new thing you guys are going to get into on a regular basis?

We would ideally like to do more books and it would be nice to have something we could put out whenever we want, instead of Eight:48 which we seem to always have a deadline approaching for.

Did you approach Robert or did he propose the idea?

We approached Rob, he took some time to think about it. Maybe because we’d never published a book before or maybe just because he had to entrust us with representing what he is about.

After a couple of days he got back to us and said he’d love to be involved and that the trust we had built up with him, having worked on Eight:48 was the reason he would let us design his book. I think/hope our previous collaborations had proven that we wouldn’t produce something that wasn’t apt or an accurate representation of what he does.

In the end, creating a literal representation of what we thought ‘a Robert Hanson book’ would look like was the ‘big idea’ behind the design of the book. That’s why the cover of the book itself looks like a Hanson illustration – an almost icon-like design, which is seen when you pull the dust jacket off. It was also the reason we got Robert to illustrate the bookmark, as if it were also a graphic 2D icon.

Have you got any other artists lined up that you can mention?

No artists lined up for similar monographs yet, but we certainly would be interested in producing other books in the future. I suppose this one is a bit of a test. We like it, and if it amount to nothing else we’ll have a few hundred copies of Robert’s book to our selves. Perhaps we can make a chair out of them or something.

Was any of the work featured produced exclusively for the monograph?
Rob worked on the cover, book mark and divider pages in order to get the concept of the book across, the rest is all existing portfolio material.
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Make sure you check out Counter-print for more images and information.

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Austrian design agency Moodley are worth a visit. There portfolio is filled with some rather nice corporate identity and publishing design work.

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Unit Editions are having a month long ‘50%-off sale‘ that includes some great design books and posters – all with free postage, worldwide! Christmas presents for all your design buddies = sorted.

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Just got a lovely publication through the post. 

KOOK is a zine done by Dan Crockett & the boys at A-Side Studio. It’s a lovely insight into surfing culture in an earnest and intriguing way.

Some great articles, lovely illustrations and some really charming gonzo photography.

It’s created and produced for the shared joy of producing something different. It’s published yearly and not for profit.

Anyone can submit to it too – so if you’re a Kook, get contributing

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Codex is a new journal of typography for people seriously in love with type. It is the brainchild of writer, designer, and publisher John Boardley (founder of WLT, and ILT). Shipping soon, it promises to be something special. Issue One: Christian Schwartz and Paul Barnes, Paul Shaw, Stephen Coles, Erik Spiekermann, Dr Paul Dijstelberge, Craig Mod, Luca Barcellona, and more. Follow their progress here and see bigger images on flickr.

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“Emerson wrote that a man’s ambition is proportional to his abilities, that “the height of the pinnacle is determined by the breadth of his base.” These are the words of a hungry man. And if we follow their logic, then what we have in this issue are snapshots of sixteen motherfucking mountains.”

Excerpt of foreword by Jack Cheng

The second issue of Bracket is out today. Features 16 visionaries:

eBoy (Berlin)
Art / Design Collective

Fashionary (Hong Kong)
Creator of world’s first fashion sketchbook

HelloVon (London)
Illustrator / Artist

Heydays (Oslo)
Design Studio

Joey Roth (Portland)
Product Designer

John Maeda (New York)
Author / President of RISD

Kate Bingaman Burt (Portland)
Illustrator / Educator

Kuntzel+Deygas (Paris)
Narrative Designers

Matias Corea (New York)
Co-founder / Chief Designer of Behance

Paperfinger (New York)
Calligrapher

Paul Belford (London)
Creative Director / Founder of This is Real Art

Sam Valenti IV (Michigan)
Founder of Ghostly International

Seth Godin (New York)
Marketing guru / Author / Entreprenuer

Theme & Emeht (New York)
Magazine / Creative agency

Timothy Saccenti (New York)
Director / Photographer

Underware (Der Haag / Amsterdam / Helsinki)
Type Designers

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To mark the 40th anniversary of beloved luxury fashion brand, Mulberry have released a new book that offers a candid glimpse into a quintessentially English fashion brand. Design and Art Direction has been provided by London’s Construct who have worked with Mulberry very closely. Rather than taking a dry historical look into Mulberry’s past the book depicts both the public and private life, highs and lows of the Mulberry ‘family’ that have worked so  hard together. This is accompanied by documentation of behinds the scenes at Mulberry’s Somerset factory—the last brand-owned luxury accessories factory in the UK.

Finished to a expectedly high standard, hard bound with a quarter cloth bind, bookmark ribbons and 480pages of content—weighing in as a real beastly tome.

The book is available through Mulberry boutiques, national and international bookstores for around £55.

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Introducing the launch of Loose Leaf Editions, curated Manual. Loose Leaf is a hybrid format of publication and limited edition print series featuring newly commissioned works by artists, designers, photographers, illustrators, and writers that have caught the attention of the studio.

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BOAT magazine is a new bi-annual publication instigated by Davey & Erin Spens (BOAT studio). The idea is a simple one – go and live in a forgotten city (issue one: Sarajevo) connecting with locals and then together tell stories of that place, challenging pre-conceptions and showcasing talent.

I have had the pleasure of art-directing/designing the magazine working with amazing contributions from: Dave Eggers, Danis Tanovic, Jasmin Brutus, Milomir Kovacevic, Max Knight, Agatha Nitecka, Sophie Cooke, Lamija Hadžiosmanovic, Zoe Barker, Jonathan Cherry, Enes Zlatar Bure, Ziyah Gafic, Sarah Correia, Bernie Gardner, Sam Baldwin, Neno Novacovic and Lara Ciarabellini.

We hope one day to be considered alongside Fire & Knives, the Ride journal etc. Size: 195mm x 255mm. 100 pages. The magazine is on sale from May 1st but you can pre-order your copy here, £10 with super cheap postage worldwide.

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