Inksie: The Journal of Design & Culture

A Design Literature Compendium

For hundreds of years the pinnacle of the profession – design, typography – was the printed page. Books, leaflets, pamphlets and fliers communicated thought, moved information. This marked a transition in storytelling, from verbal to written. Those who wanted to say something – tell a story and be heard – write.

Designers and typographers are in the business of delivering these stories to an audience. And, when they have something to say – knowledge to pass down – they write. Books serve as the primary design educators because designers and typographers uniquely appreciate the art and craft that goes into making a great book.

The Journal compiled several ‘Best of’ lists of design literature and found the most popular selections. What remains is a list of books that cover a range of design topics. While there are countless other volumes of merit, a comprehensive study of the field may be founded on these selected eight volumes.

Artist Feature: Deanne Cheuk

Deanne Cheuk is an artist and illustrator from Perth, Australia. She graduated from Curtin University with a degree in graphic design when she was 19 years old.

Cheuk has directed and designed for numerous publications, including a three year stay as art director at Tokion Magazine. Her major clients include Dell, Nike, Levi’s and Target.

Jim Tierney’s Verne Covers

Editor’s Note: Yesterday, we announced an upcoming series on Ram’s Ten Principles of Good Design. However, we are still planning content and contacting potential designers and writers. The series will take place over the next few weeks; we apologize if there has been confusion.

We are very excited to be coordinating what we feel will be an important educational exploration on design. Readers may track our progress via our Twitter account.

Jim Tierney is an illustrator and designer studying at University of the Arts in Philadelphia. His Jules Verne book covers, part of a senior thesis project, have been making the rounds on the internet.

“Being equal parts book-nerd and design-nerd, I naturally decided to re-design some classic Jules Verne novels,” Tierney told Faceout Books, a website devoted to book cover design and process.

Faceout Books features sketches with Tierney’s commentary on the entire process.

His concepts are developed with thought and clear intention. Each illustration has conceptual ties to its novel, adding depth to Tierney’s work.

Interactivity is important. Book jackets are more than protective covers: they are a collaboration with the hardback cover. The results are colorful, playful: true to Jules Verne’s classic stories.

Rams Principles Series: An Introduction

All artists strive to produce good work. This is an irrefutable fact. But upon what are artists using to base judgements and criticisms? Are there absolutes in design? Is it all relative? This fundamental thought process of art has fostered entire art movements, fueled arguments and provided a healthy amount of confusion in the artistic community for centuries.

To counter these unsettled disputes, some visionaries have created manifestos, rules, lists and ideologies behind all that is art. In 1995 (revised in October 2009), Deiter Rams contributed his opinion to the historic examination with his Ten Principles of Good Design:

Good design is innovative.

Good design makes a product useful.

Good design is aesthetic.

Good design makes a product understandable.

Good design is unobtrusive.

Good design is honest.

Good design is long-lasting.

Good design is thorough down to the last detail.

Good design is environmentally friendly.

Good design is as little design as possible.

An evocative and compelling list of demands by the highly decorated designer. Can one say this of all of their designs? Should each designer use these requirements as a checklist before finalizing designs? Most importantly, how does this relate to web and print design? Rams, coming from an era of artists more preoccupied with product design, allows room for a younger generation to question the relevancy of the list.

A number of inquiries, uncertainties and insights may be drawn from each one of these ten points. Conclusions must be reached through a homogenous collection of opinions. Alas, we are happy to commence a new series of articles examining as well as celebrating each of these ten points at length.

All designers strive to produce good work. This is an irrefutable fact. What do artists use to base judgements and criticisms? Are there absolutes in art? Is it all relative? This fundamental question has fostered entire art movements, fueled arguments and provided a healthy amount of confusion in the artistic community for centuries.

To counter this unsettled dispute, visionaries created manifestos, rules, lists and ideologies. In 1995 (revised in October 2009), Deiter Rams contributed his opinion to the historic examination with his Ten Principles of Good Design:

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The Never-Ending Joys of Tape

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Have you ever felt your need to share something so diabolically ingenious it makes you sick? Well, today is that day at Inksie. What is it, you ask, that we love so dearly?

The answer is…tape. Yes my friend, tape.

Artist Feature: Jonathan Chapman

Jonathan Chapman is a photographer based in Minneapolis, MN. He has an impressive client list, including Nike, Wells Fargo and BMW. He also collaborates with Eight Hour Day’s Nathan Strandberg and Dave Schroeder of PilotVibe to form the documentary group invoko.

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Artist Feature: Stuart Kolakovic

Stuart Kolakovic is an illustrator based in Rugeley, UK. His work appears in magazines, on book covers and concert posters. He even designed a skateboard deck. Kolakovic has illustrated for many major clients, including The Telegraph, Wired Magazine and Sony. He is currently working on Lichen, his first comic book.

Color is part of what makes Kolakovic’s style unique: his palette is faded, desaturated. The same teals and turquoises, yellows and oranges are present in many of his pieces. Shapes are simple, geometric and cut-out. Kolakovic applies a subtle texture to his work.

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