2 comments about Koto Bolofo: Venus Williams.

1. I just received this book in the mail today from Amazon. Very fast delivery indeed! Let me say this is one that I will treasure! Why? because there is just nothing else like it out on the market today about Venus Williams. Yes, there are other books about Venus and about her sister Serena but nothing like this. It is above and beyond all the rest. The pictures are so personal, so artistic, so original. They go way beyond the tennis court into a time and place that makes you think of Venus in a whole new light. She is seen in a way that is more graceful, beautiful and soulful then in anything I have ever seen before. What Koto Bolofo has captured with his lens here is a joy for any photographer or Venus Williams fan to behold.
   My only criticism of this book is that it did not come with a dust jacket. I thought that was strange.



2. Going beyond "sports action" or "celebrity glamour" photography, this is a book that will appeal to many fans of Venus and/or photography. Koto captures Venus as a whole person (both real and imagined) rather than just a celebrity sports figure or Hardbodied Goddess. The photos are in both color and b&w but mainly b&w. Sometimes she is a mythical 1920's athlete. Other times a streetwise soccer goddess or simply Venus. Funny, goofy, sexy, statuesque Venus.
   
   Many of the pictures exude strength. I don't mean muscle or athleticism. I mean inner human Power for Good. Venus is a magical presence. Beyond hearing/seeing her give interviews on some serious topics myself, if you've ever heard Mary Carillo talk about the speech Venus gave in 2006 I believe it was, it sounds like it was something very special. On the surface the speech was about equal prize money at Wimbledon but I suspect in reality it was for and about women everywhere, and being tired of being asked to wait a little bit longer. It's not universally true (like WNBA and NBA for instance), but if you think about tennis of the past 10 or 15 years, more people know more of the women's names than they do the men's. At this point the women put nearly as many or more rear ends in seats as do the men. The respect and money should be equal.
   
   I've heard Mary and I think it was Billie Jean King say they think Venus is why Wimbledon leveled the paying field. Whatever Venus said in that room was undeniable. She's also one of the rare American-born-and-raised world class athletes who can do interviews in multiple languages, and has been praised by people in the press as being one of the smartest and most intellectually curious world class athletes they've met.
   
   This is the strength in many of these pictures. She seems to inhabit the space of women far removed from her own life. For the most part, women do the work of the world but they make less and eat last. There are pictures in here where Venus says it with her eyes.
   
   Now I have to say it. Oh my god her cheekbones! If you hadn't noticed yet, she has one of the greatest skulls of all time. I have no other way to say it.
   
   I love that the book has no captions, no "Venus is wearing...". This book isn't a hybrid travel guide, fashionista cross-marketing LOGOs all in your face book. It's the Venus tennis star we know, as well as a Venus in and out of some sort of dreamworld that I suspect was partly Koto's and partly hers. When she is gone from tennis and from life, this book will only grow in stature as a tribute to this woman who has meant so much to so many people.
   
   On the quirky side of things, my binding is backwards. If you see me looking at the pictures in my book you'll be wondering why I am enjoying this big, sturdy, finely crafted book upside down. I haven't seen it in any store yet so I don't know if every book in this 1st edition is like this or if it's just mine. Either way I dig it.

5 comments about The Color Star.

1. The color star is a great tool for anyone wanting to understand color and various color schemes



2. Itten's COLOR STAR is a wonderful and useful tool. I wish the price were a bit lower to make it more affordable for students - I would definitely consider adopting it as a tool for my Color courses. Itten's work with color is at once practical, accessible, and sophisticated. The COLOR STAR is a vehicle to experiment with color chords and color schemes, and a means to investigate new color relationships - easy to use, beautifully packaged too. A nice companion to his ART OF COLOR and ELEMENTS OF COLOR.



3. I purchased this with university money - and along with $100 of other Itten books. This has no literature, just the color wheel. Don't expect anything more.
   
   If I were using my personal money for this...forget it, not worth it - google image and print at Kinko's if you just have to have it.



4. Johannes Ittens is unarguably recognized as the master of color from the Bauhaus school of art. The color star is a valuable asset to any artist or designer that wants to become better with making color choices. However, as any good tool goes the color star by itself won't be much use to you unless you've studied the material presented in one of his books.



5. Very disappointed by the "book", which actually consists of a set of wheels,
   with a 4-page booklet which does not explain much. I returned the book.

5 comments about Calligraphy Alphabets Made Easy.

1. I had this book years ago and lent it to someone who did not return it and just recently got another via Amazon. I was so happy it was still in print, I missed this book.
   This book is not for a beginner but don't despair the author has a beginner book that is excellent "Calligraphy Made Easy".
   If you are looking for the next step up from beginner this is the book to own.



2. I found the layout really confusing. Also if you are a beginner I would say this is not for you. It doesn't contain much "instruction." I would suggest "The Calligrapher's Bible" instead.



3. I'm trying to teach myself this beautiful art. This book is certainly not for the beginner. The concept of a new alphabet each week and weekly projects is a great one, however there isn't enough instruction on materials or form to make it very helpful to those of us new to this art. I'll keep it for reference but must continue my search for a great teaching tool.



4. I was given 3 books on Calligraphy, as a Christmas present from my daughter, and this book is at the bottom of the list.
   
   It does contain many different fonts, and the idea of having a practice lesson every week for a year is a novel idea indeed. However, I found this book disorganized, and try to do the lessons with one arm trying to hold the book flat.



5. This book is more complete than I expected and it is written in such a way that you are eager at trying your hand at the next alpahbet. Great for the person who already knows how to handle the pens.

3 comments about Fundamentals of Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing.

1. Used this product in teaching a couple classes on GD & T and worked out great!



2. This book is an excellent substitute or supplement to a course in geometric dimensioning & tolerancing. GD&T was not taught at the college I attended and this book helped me quickly get up to speed. Within days of using this I was creating proper drawings that accuratly communicated my company's requirements for cast parts. However, the book is probably better suited as a learning tool than it is a reference as it often took some time to look up and find the answer for specific questions.



3. This book explains clearly the concept of Geometrical Dimensioning & Tolerances and the advantages of applied it to mechanical engineering drawings. It helps you to understand the difference between Geometrical Dimensioning vs Coordinate Dimensioning. A must for Engineering Drawing Standards.

5 comments about Graphic Design Cookbook: Mix & Match Recipes for Faster, Better Layouts.

1. I'm a soon-to-be designer who has no academic training whatsoever and one day I had to to a project to finish my english course and I thought: "Ummm I'm making a magazine!" But as you probably know it's easier to think than to do and when I finally sat at my chair and started thinking about how I was gonna do that I completely blocked. And this is the part that Design Cookbook comes and saves me. I know that some people don't like this book because there almost nothing written on it but I think this is quite freeing. You can just grab the book flip to the pages and combine several elements found on the book to better suit your needs. With no text to clutter or influence your line of thought. It's just brilliant! A must have for starting designers.



2. I bought this book with hopes that the design ideas inside would help with a brochure I was creating. My patterns were getting predictable and droll. I found a couple patterns I liked and put them to use. Interestingly enough, they look less-interesting in application than they look in the book. To make matters worse, my employer REALLY didn't like the aspects that I did use from the book and had me remove them.
   
   But, again, if you find yourself needing inspiration, this is a good book to look at.



3. This book is filled with nothing more than frivolous and useless fluff (I simply will not refer to them as "ideas"). For example, putting a detective hat atop an "R" and turning its serif into a pipe is downright childish. Seriously, any good designer or anyone with common sense would steer clear of this visually-horrifying garbage. If you are at all serious about design, pick up any/all of the Jim Krause books. This one's going to the next library book sale.



4. I bought this book for my daughter, a graphic design student. She had borrowed it from a local library and said it was a "must have" that contained a wealth of knowledge and ideas. The service from Amazon was simply outstanding and my daughter was thrilled with her surprise!



5. This is a book that I will use over and over again!

5 comments about Chip Kidd: Book One: Work: 1986-2006 (Chip Kidd).

1. After I picked up Suite Française by Irene Nemirovsky, I happened to look at the cover-design credit and recognized the name Chip Kidd. After a moment's reflection as to the source of my familiarity with the designer, I walked over to my bookshelf and picked up a volume from my collection of Osamu Tezuka's Buddha. Sure enough, Kidd had designed the covers for the entire series (incidentally, I found the design one part frustrating and one part inspiring, as the spines line up nicely and thematically but the half-jacket is kind of obnoxious to deal with).
   
   After that, I went through my shelves and picked out any of the books that I thought had interesting covers. At least half of those were designed by Kidd as well. Kafka on the Shore. Pagan Babies. The Enigma of Japanese Power. Created in Darkness by Troubled Americans. Et cetera.
   
   I was intrigued, Googled our dear designer, and found that he was more popular than I had properly imagined. This piqued still further my curiosity. And so now I have another book with a cover designed by Kidd: Chip Kidd: Book One: Work: 1986-2006, a 400-page volume exhibiting a sample of his book-jacket designwork from the last twenty years.
   
   The book itself is a treasure. A visual smorgasbord of styles and themes. A veritable cornucopia of novel treatments. While there is an occasional overlap of feel or technique (or some other abstract quantification equally obscured and subjective), the breadth of design direction is truly impressive.
   
   Kidd is clearly a creative devil.
   
   And this collection of his work is impressively presented. Book One is a treat for both the eyes and the mind. While a mere presentation of the jacket designs themselves would be a worthwhile scheme for a design collection such as this, the work is elevated by helpful descriptions both of product and process by the creator himself as well as reactions penned by authors/victims of his creative process. Kidd's text shows both a joy in his work and a look into what goes into the crafting of a book jacket that enlarges upon the work it containsand does so with humour and more apparent humility than I would have expected.
   
   I found the book so interesting that I blew through the entire thing in two days. Doubtlessly, I'll return to it time and again over the coming months and years. In any case, I highly recommend it to those interested in thoughtful design, a pairing of words too rare in our day.
   
   NOTE: a big bone of contention is not the visual design of the volume's cover but its physical properties. While its dimensions are perfectly suitable for an art collection/coffee table read, the unique composition of its cover can be difficult to negotiate. The hardback cover only extends (front and back) to the point of the spine of the book photographed on the cover. Inside the hardback cover is a paperback cover that extends to house the rest of the book. It is awkward, certainly, and took a bit of getting used to, but once I became accustomed to the book, holding it comfortably ceased to be a difficulty. Heh, a book with a physical learning curvethat was a new one for me.



2. This is a great, great book. If you're a fan of Kidd's work, by all means buy this book. If you are at all interested in truly inspirational graphic design, this book is a must-have.
   
   PROS: having so many of Kidd's designs in one place is worth the price of admission, inclusion of the development and back story of each cover is interesting and elucidating, stories of his adventures in the trade are well-written and fun to learn about.
   
   CONS: the cover is awkward, the shape of the book makes it hard to hold while reading - you really have to put it on something flat - it's sometimes difficult to decipher exactly which pictures the captions are referencing.
   
   There is a definite form-over-function issue with the book, but the content is what counts - and that gets 5 stars from me without a quibble.



3. I HAD to buy this book after having read about it in another forum. Kidd's artworks are superb!



4. This book is bound with a split hardback/softback cover, so if you appreciate design -- which I assume you do since you're considering a compilation of book designs -- the book is worth buying for this odd cover arrangement alone.



5. This an excellent ,colorful book with very useful and informative comments,they are also humorous.Kidd mentions that he shows failed designs when he lectures to show that even a successful designer has failures.Unfortunately,in my opinion,the jacket for this volume falls in this category,its clever but not practical.because the cover is split in two parts its an irritation to hold and eventually the cover will be bent when laying down or storing in shelf.Still a must have in this genre.Now how about a Susan Mitchell collection?
   ps.i followed my advice and bought the hardcover .Amazing its even more unwieldy,the cover is half hard and half soft,yikes!I ended up buying the soft cover to keep and treat it very carefully ,was that the point of this nutty design?I guess this cover will enter the hall of fame and certainly will be a collectors item if its never opened.Argghh!!!

No comments about Graphis Annual Reports Annual 07/08 (Graphis Annual Reports).

3 comments about Working with Walt: Interviews With Disney Artists.

1. This is a quick and thoroughly enjoyable collection of interviews with 15 different artists that worked with Walt Disney at the Studios. Mr. Peri states in the Acknowledgements that he was prompted by Didier Ghez (editor of the Walt's People series) to finally collect the interviews and publish them. Thanks both to Don and Didier! Most of the interviews were conducted in the late 1970's with artists that spent most of their career working at the Disney Studios. What surprised me at first was how the artists were all enchanted with Walt Disney; after reading a multitude of Disney biographies, you do get the sense that Walt was a benevolent dictator--but a dictator nonetheless. A majority of the artists interviewed stuck with Walt during the Animator's Strike of 1941. If you study any work on Disney and animation, the Animator's Strike is often seen as a watershed in the history of the Studio, prompting the mentality that Walt lost a lot of faith in his employees. With the interviews presented by Peri, you get a sense that Walt did favor the artists that stuck by him. I finished Walt's People Volume 1 (Ed. by Ghez) shortly after this title. There are some similarities in the scope of the two books, but they are both valuable resources on their own. The interviews presented by Peri were done at a time when there was not a lot being written about the artists that worked directly with Walt Disney. After reading the interviews, you come away with a sense of what it was like to work with Walt Disney and to work at the Studios. I feel like I have a better understanding of how Walt worked during the early years of the Studios. The artists included animators, designers and voice actors:
   
   * Ken Anderson
   * Les Clark
   * Larry Clemmons
   * Jack Cutting
   * Don Duckwall
   * Marcellite Garner
   * Harper Goff
   * Floyd Gottfredson
   * Dick Huemer
   * Wilfred Jackson
   * Eric Larson
   * Clarence Nash
   * Ken O'Connor
   * Herb Ryman
   * Ben Sharpsteen
   
   The stories and anecdotes that each artist shares are humorous, wistful and passionate. These artists truly loved their jobs and working with Walt Disney.
   
   "...he didn't think of himself as Walt Disney. He thought of Walt Disney as an entity, an organization, and he spoke of Walt Disney as an organization, for which everybody worked and not the personal part of the name. A lot of people put Walt down because they didn't get along with him or they got canned or they were chewed out by him, and naturally they probably make more or less severe remarks about him and understandably so. He had a great ego, and because of this ego he could overcome a lot of difficulties and obstacles because he believed in himself. He believed what other people didn't believe, and he was proven right time after time after time, even with the bankers. Snow White was called "Disney's Folly," because what--an animated cartoon to run for over an hour? It's Impossible! Nobody will sit through a cartoon that long. Well that was Snow White and the Seven Dwarves."
   
   --Les Clark (p. 123, Working With Walt)
   
   Bottom Line: This is a wonderful resource to have at hand. It is not for everyone--you really need to have an interest in animation, the studios or what working with Walt Disney was like in order to fully realize the necessity of a title like this. I give it a high Geek Factor rating because of its focus, even though the book is extremely accessible and easy to read. But if you are interested in learning a lot about the artists, the studio and Walt Disney, this is a great place to start or to add to your collection. This book will foster a greater appreciation for the animated films and shorts. It is also one of the few places you can read the actual words of the artists that never received a lot of acclaim outside the arena of animation fans.



2. As a dedicated Waltphile, I believe there can't be too many books about Walt Disney. Don Peri's excellent collection of interviews with many rarely heard from Disney Legends helps to make that case.
   
   Working with Walt offers these artists their own day in the sun at long last and more fully rounds out the portraits of Walt painted by biographers and authors like Bob Thomas (Walt Disney: An American Original), Howard and Amy Green (Remembering Walt), and Pat Williams (How to Be Like Walt).
   
   In the late 1970s, Don Peri was a young man who happened to be in the right place at the right time to capture so many of these voices, now gone from us forever. He has done a more than admirable job in offering us these priceless interviews. In the book, he hinted that more had been conducted than are in this volume. Hoping that means we can expect a Working with Walt, Volume 2!
   
   Nice job, Don. I recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about what made Walt's studio and career so singularly remarkable, as told by those who lived the legend.
   
   How to Be Like Walt: Capturing the Disney Magic Every Day of Your Life (How to Be Like) WALT DISNEY: AN AMERICAN ORIGINAL Remembering Walt



3. What a wonderful collection of interviews Disney historian Don Peri has assembled in his book Working With Walt: Interviews With Disney Artists. Many of the Disney artists featured in this book are relatively unknown, but highly influential in the development of the incomparable art of Disney animation and entertainment.
   
   Through interviews with the artists who worked directly with Walt Disney, some from the very early days before Mickey Mouse even started talking, this book opens a window into what it was like to work and create with the genius Walt Disney. Fifteen animators, directors, art designers, and voice actors tell their stories of how they first started working for Disney, what it was like to meet the legendary man himself, their (usually) fond memories of Walt, and the joy of creating during the golden age of animation in the 1930s. The artists vivid details of life at the Disney studio, poignantly recalled, bring the reader back in time and place to where the magic happened - Mickey found his voice, Snow White went from a dream to life, and a magic kingdom was built. The darker times are recalled too, the constant financial strains of the early days, the strike that almost ended the studio (and did end many friendships), the strain of working 20 hours a day to create the perfect animation, and Walt's last few weeks.
   
   The author's admiration for Walt Disney and the Disney artists shines through each interview, with his adept interviewing skills used to draw out deep memories and emotions from the Disney artists, many of whom rarely granted interviews, but all of whom spoke candidly about the complexity of Walt Disney, who could be full of praise one moment, and in the next, express disappointment like a "wounded bear" over animation that didn't meet his exacting standards of perfection.
   
   We are granted insights worth many an "E-Ticket" from the voice of Donald Duck, the voice of Minnie Mouse, the great animators from almost the very beginning, the creative story artists, the designers of Disneyland, and even the man who drew the daily Mickey Mouse comic strip for decades. I had never heard of any of these Disney artists before reading this book, but they are all unsung heroes in the Disney phenomenon. This book is sure to be part of every Disney fan's library, and I highly recommend it.

No comments about The Dress of the People: Everyday Fashion in Eighteenth-Century England.

5 comments about Mr. Classic.

1. This book is an absolute must if you are into classic mens clothing. Jeremy Hackett is ofcourse a well known icon in the clothing industry and this book is a welcome contibution to this.
   
   First of all this book is BIG. It's probably one of the biggest books in my library in size, it didn't even fit on my shelve standing up. The result of this is that every picture in the book is extremely large, so one can truly enjoy the details in every picture.
   
   The pictures is what makes this book so wonderful. There are hundreds of pictures of mostly young chaps wearing a nice mix of classical clothing with certain modern elements creating a unique style.
   
   Every set of pictures is in a certain theme, and each of these themes are introduced with a short column written by Hackett himself. Mostly it is someone asking a certain style-related question and Hackett answers and educates the reader with nice anecdotes which are fun to read.
   
   But like I said before, this book is mostly about the pictures and one can draw a great deal of inspiration for buying their own wardrobe or just simply gaze endlessly at the huge photographs.



2. The book is wonderful. Get it for the pretty boys, get it for the great fashion, get it for the great photography... I HAVE worn flip flops with a tux, I have worn my better tux jacket with jeans... the thing is, you have to pick and stick with classics, it's how you live in them that makes or breaks you as Classic.



3. First, this is not a book about men's clothing in the same vein as the typical Flusser book. What little information given is one man's view of the sartorial universe, Jeremy Hackett. Now Hackett tends to be an interesting chap, with a mix of classic and odd contemporary, but I'm not so sure his view of the world is interesting enough to warrant buying this book. It's an okay coffee table book, although the quality of the photographs is rather inconsistent. There isn't enough information or quality here to hold anyone who is a student of men's style's attention for an extended period of time.



4. This is a book for men who knows and appreciates the finer things in the British way of life. It portrays the upper crust image of British men and their clothing sense. Those who know about Sloan-Rangers or upper middle class Brits will recognize the style immediately. The men from the upper crust of the British society have always twisted the classical style and managed to introduce to their wardrobes items like red socks, red pair of trousers or pink cashmere sweaters; floral pocket squares and lately flip-flops. So it should not come to you as a surprise, if you see a well healed British man wearing flip-flops with an evening jacket or a high powered financier wearing red socks with his pin stripped suit. Nowawadays, the young British men of agreeable background have also taken into wearing jewelry in a discrete way with their casual outfits. This movement is being spear headed by the young Royals. In short, Mr. Classic by Jeremy Hackett is a celebration of the new clothing style among the upper crust Brits. Those of us who have gone through the British boarding school system or studied at British universities will enjoy this book immensely.



5. No, this book isn't a manual for classic mens wardrobe. There are no rules or indications for dressing you up. It's just a compilation of Hackett columms ilustrated with amazing photos. Those are the main value of this book (and the stilism work).
   
   Some readers may say Hackett isn't a classic guy at all. They don't understand how a tuxedo can be mixed with flip-flops. But precisely that's the best input menswear can enjoy at this moment: update the tradicional wearing with moderm touches. I'm working as mens marketing executive in a spanish Dpt Stores and Hackett is a reference. The way the brand communicates its collections is fresh and notorious although it offers the same stuff other classic firms do.
   
   So, perhaps this book is not the perfect purchase if you've got to spend your money, but is a nice gift if you receive it(it was my case). If you're trying to find a cool present for a guy with fashion interest here you've got the right one.