No comments about Stretch Fashion: Design and Patternmaking for Stretch and Knit Fabrics.

5 comments about The Inquisition: An illustrated guide to the secretive protectors of the imperium (Warhammer 40,000 (Bradygames)).

1. They book was very detailed, but enless you have read just about "EVERY" book written about WARHAMMER 40.000, you will be a bit lost. I wish it had more illistrations.



2. This is an encyclopedia, primarily of Abnett's Inquisition stories (Eisenhorn, Ravenor etc), not a guide to the Inquisition. I was expecting something more along the lines of the Sabatt crusade art + text book that Abnett had done. This doesn't even really feature any original artwork. This is a pretty bad miss on the part of the Black Library. If they were going to do an encyclopedia, at least they could have done a bit more to let you know what the sources of some the characters etc were. There is little here to help you fluff out your background for 40k armies, help you write your own 40k fan story, etc. I'm not sure what purpose this fills in my 40k library. Give this one a miss if your Black Library budget is limited.



3. I cam to the Warhammer 40K universe through Dan Abnett's Ravenor and Eisenhorn trilogies, both of which feature Inquisitors. I've happily read other Warhammer novels. There seems to be something about the distopian universe Warhammer is in that inspires writers.
   
   I found the guide to be a lot of fun. The only problem is that more than half of the material comes from Abnett's novel. If you've read them, you already know half the entries in the guide. I had hoped for more new material.
   
   If you like Warhammer and haven't read Abnett's stuff, this will be rewarding. Then go read the books.



4. If you're a hard core fan of the Inquisition this is the book for you. If you're less of a fan of the Inquisition and simple enjoy a well written and produced product, you'll enjoy this as well.



5. Alot of regurgatation from easy to access sources but will provide some background for those harder to find or pay for.
   
   Lovely to have everything gathered in one book and is quite nicely displayed and illustrated.

5 comments about Swiss Graphic Design: The Origins and Growth of an International Style, 1920-1965.

1. I decided to purchase this book after watching the Helvetica DVD and was so inspired by Swiss design, I had to check out this book. I was not disappointed, pages of full colour images, and detailed explanations about the artwork and the designers intended communication. Fantastic resource for graphic design students!



2. This book goes into immense detail, with countless full colour reproductions of some of the seminal works in the development of Swiss graphic design. It is well laid out, and with large margins which hold thousands of tidbits of related background information; the information on many of the important designers in this movement is invaluable, and many of the reproductions are of rare works which aren't normally found in other books.
   
   The text clearly and concisely sets out exactly how and why graphic design in Switzerland developed as it did. It is useful not only as a reference book with great insight into the period, but also as a book which is endlessly fascinating to just pick up and browse through. Highly recommended



3. Una magnífica edición. Muchas imágenes, alguna un poco pequeña - para el tipo de imagen, se echa en falta quizá alguna imagen de detalle o incluso un encarte -, pero en líneas generales muy buena selección, y cantidad de imágenes.
   
   Los contenidos interesantes, por tratarse de una generación histórica en el diseño gráfico universal. Es un libro muy recomendable.



4. This is a nice, well made book. It's a great reference for designers or art directors that need to put a Swiss spin on things.



5. Hollis's book, while extensive in its documentation and admirable in its visual organization of the Swiss developments, comes to several conclusions which should be questioned. The first is the disproportionate and misguided prominence afforded Theo Ballmer as a prime influence stemming from his experience at the Bauhaus. Whatever Ballmer's influence as a poster designer in the 20s was, he had gotten his essential training in the Basel school, which underwent its own ongoing and largely independent modernist development, prior to Ballmer's very brief time at the Bauhaus. The Bauhaus influence is deemed minor by the emerging Basel school, and Ballmer's later influence in teaching photography and lettering has to be considered a lesser one.
   
   Significant also is the confusion in reporting influences in development of the cutting edge Geigy Pharmaceuticals graphics program where the influences of Armin Hofmann and Emil Ruder as educators of the leading Geigy designers are missing. While this is inferred on page 162 in the statement that "the Geigy style originated in the teaching at the Allgemeine Gewerbeschule," the key influences in Basel--Hofmann and Ruder--are not mentioned.
   
   Similarly, Hollis attributes Müller-Brockman's "conversion" to the influences of Lohse and Vivarelli, the evidence being the concert hall posters of 1951 and 52. While this is definitely a move in that direction from an earlier illustrative style, the most convincing change, and the style by which Müller-Brockman is widely known, emerged on the hiring of graduates of the Basel school under Armin Hofmann in 1955. This means that Hofmann and Ruder pre-date Müller-Brockman's mature style instead of being placed as p. 214 as a separate and later development--and not as a precursor feeding the larger Swiss development from a more humanistic perspective than the more constructivist direction of the Zürich school. One can argue about which contributed most to the international prominence of Swiss design, but Hollis's own statement p. 215 regarding the world-wide significance of Hofmann's Graphic Design Manual, Principles and Practice, on education is telling. Müller-Brockman's more objective approach was probably more influential in the world of corporate graphics.
   
   Hollis betrays a bias, perhaps, in his strange analysis of Hofmann's Tell poster and omits such key poster achievements as the "Switzerland in the Roman Era" (1957). It is unfortunate that Hollis did not interview Armin and Dorothea Hofmann. They are few of the remaining key figures from the era of Hollis's investigation.

No comments about Conceptual Drawing.

1 comments about Little Black Dress: Vintage Treasure.

1. Pefect little compendium. Wonderful illustrations and photographs. If love history and fashion this is a must.

No comments about The Encyclopedia of Monograms: Over 11,000 Motifs for Designers, Artists, and Crafters.

1 comments about Songs of Experience: Facsimile Reproduction with 26 Plates in Full Color.

1. Finally, a crisp, clean reproduction of Songs of Innocense and Songs of Experience for all the Blake fans with high school incomes! These books are small--the size of the originals, easy to manage (although a magnifying glass may come in handy for some of the finer figures like the man in the "I" of Innocense!). They consist of reproductions of the original plates and normal typeset lyrics for each poem in the back.

   While the facsimiles for Innocense are taken from an earlier copy and are fairly pale, with limited coloring, those for Experience are bold and vivid. It's nice to have both books simply to compare, in the poems that Blake moved to Experience, how his style evolved. This reproduction of "A Poison Tree" is my favorite of any I've seen.

   At this price, these two books are a Blakey's dream come true.

No comments about Basics Fashion Design: Research and Design (Basics Fashion Design).

1 comments about Airbrushing Basics.

1. At eight chapters in nineteen pages, this is a very slim little volume. That turns out to be a virtue in this booklet intended for the absolute beginner in airbrushing. Having purchased but never actually used an airbrush, I had a number of concerns about proper handling and, especially, cleaning. This book systematically and with no wasted words addressed all my initial questions. The chapters include choosing, cleaning and handling an airbrush; recognizing common paint problems and how to correct them, the varieties of paint and the proper thinners for each, and solvent safety issues--including some solid advice on proper installation of your spray booth. The final few pages illustrate the airbrushing of a Liberty ship model, with some very useful tips on dealing with small parts. Overall, an excellent and efficient introduction to the subject and an entirely worthwhile purchase.

5 comments about Penguin by Design: A Cover Story 1935-2005.

1. A light but enlightening journey through the evolution of cover designs, as impacted by world events, technology and taste. Particularly interesting for those in the industry.



2. Among the first books I ever stole (being poor) were Penguins, because they were the most interesting, the best designed, and -- oh I don't know -- the most "bookish"? I wanted to be (would become) a writer. I was stupid-young, self-absorbed, pliably amoral -- and broke.
   
   Now here's the company's entire story told through covers. Pictorial. Visceral. Brilliant. More love per exhibit than a non-bibliophile can imagine.
   
   Now that I have an income I buy hundreds of book I don't especially need in flagrant pay-back mode. Thank you, Penguin. My first love.



3. What a loving tribute to Allen Lane, the visionary who founded Penguin Books in 1935. Few publishers have consistently put their best `face' forward year after year over thousands of titles and I find it surprising that this Penguin cover history hasn't been written before 2005.
   
   Admittedly most of their covers until the Fifties, though distinctive in the three-tier horizontal design, were not that creative but things slowly changed no doubt because of market pressure from other paperback publishers. I thought Penguin covers really took of in 1962 with the use of Romek Marber's simple cover grid. Pages 104-5 in the book show eighteen brilliant covers using simple graphics with black, green and red inks. The grid cover style ran into the seventies with the non-fiction Pelicans and nicely still using everybody's favorite type: Helvetica.
   
   Author Phil Baines has done a lot of research for the book though it is basically visual with excellent short text pieces for the various title genres. A nice touch is spread of forty-eight Penguin logos from 1935 to 2005 at the back of the book and it is this kind of editorial thoughtfulness that makes the book so interesting.
   
   ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.



4. Hi from Barcelona.
   First of all, sorry for my really bad english.
   I really recomend the purchase in Amazon.
   No problem whit anything, all is perfect.
   I think that the book of Phil Baines (Penguin by Design) is one of the obligated purchases for any graphic designer. Perfect design and perfect information.
   Thanks Phil!!!
   
   Marc



5. I picked this up because of the book's physical beauty, but I've just read it in one sitting, couldn't put it down--a fascinating window into 20th-century British cultural history as well as book design.