SIGN OF LIFE / THE GRAPHIC EYE

Good afternoon. How are you? I hope this finds you well. Please forgive me for being so utterly behind on updating the blog. I’m tempted to promise that I’ll do better, but I’ve made that promise before, of course. Best to just change one’s ways without trumpeting big resolutions. I’ll certainly try.

The main reason I’ve been so absent is that, while I’ve been working just about non-stop over the last few months, that work hasn’t yielded any new drawings that I can show you right now.

So what’s new? I designed an internal poster for Siemens, which I can’t show you. Did a whole sheaf of drawings for an internal presentation to Avery Dennison. Can’t show you those, either. I’m working on a cover for a book about Miles Davis. That one I will be able to show you in a while, but it’s not even done yet. You see why I’m not so much with the blogging right now.

I also filmed new Daily Letter segments for the Electric Company. They turned out really fun, and will start airing in the fall, at which point I’ll post a link for you here, of course.

Beyond that, I’m working on a series of new Daily Monster drawings, and on a new Daily Monster online app. I’ll reveal both once they’re done. I’ve also been putting my shoulder into a new non-monster book idea that I’ll tell you about once it’s found a home with a publisher.

On a more mundane note, I’ve made a few little tweaks to the 344 Design site, launched a separate site for my illustration business, and updated the design of my channel on YouTube.

As you can see, there’s a lot going on, but most of the really news stuff is just not quite at the point where I can post it here for you.

What I can show you is the new photo book THE GRAPHIC EYE — Photographs By Graphic Designers From Around The Globe. I had mentioned it in a previous post, but now I have my first samples in hand, and can put up a few actual photos:

480-Graphic-Eye-UK480-Graphic-Eye-UK-inside-f480-Graphic-Eye-UK-flap

RotoVision are releasing the book in the UK. They’re the ones who said “A coffee table book with photos by designers? Let’s do it!” and then let me do it right. They rock. They also won Chronicle Books as a co-publisher for the US edition, which looks like this:

480-graphic-eye480-graphic-eye-spine480-Graphic-Eye-Inside-Jack480Graphic-Eye-Spread

As you can see, the UK edition is a paperback, while the US version is casebound. I designed both of them, and at some point I’ll make a little graph of the cover selection process for you. We started out with the exact same set of comps on both sides of the Atlantic, and then evolution took its course. I actually like them both very much. I hope you do, too. (By the way, the cool wing foldout on the UK edition was the idea of RotoVision art director Tony Seddon. Thank you, Tony!)

I also want to mention that the book features a brilliant foreword by noted culture and design critic Natalia Ilyin, author of Chasing The Perfect and Blonde Like Me. Not to put too fine a point on it, but Natalia kicks serious ass. I’m lucky to have her words in my book.

Both editions will be on sale online in September, and in stores no later than November.

If you live in the L.A. area, or you can make the trip, we’ll have a little launch party for the book at beautiful Skylight Books in Los Feliz on Friday, September 18th, starting at 7:30PM. Skylight is on the same block as some great restaurants and shops, and just down the road from Griffith Observatory, so I say come on down and make a night of it! No RSVP necessary. Just drop by, and feel free to bring friends.

That’s pretty much it for now. Please stay tuned for more soon. In the meantime, my apologies again for having become such an absentee blogger. I do hope you know that even during these extended radio silences 344 LOVES YOU

————

P.S. A quick technical note: TypePad now supports threaded comments, which means if you post a comment I can reply to you right here on the site, linked to your initial comment. More importantly, it also means that you can comment on each other’s comments. You know… like YouTube and Facebook have already had forever? Well, now the Daily Monster has it, too.

20 Comments

  • 5 August 2009 3:22 pm

    See what I mean about the comments?

  • 5 August 2009 3:23 pm

    Oh yes! Very nice!

  • 5 August 2009 4:28 pm

    Nice indeed! 🙂

  • Vicky
    5 August 2009 4:48 pm

    excelente!

  • 5 August 2009 5:45 pm

    I remember when you spoke in DC and told the story about the book design. It really is funny how those things unfold. You answered all of my questions I had lined up though because I was wondering when you were going to update your site with some new work. Anyways, I look forward to having that book in my collection. Although honestly it might take me longer to actually read it because I have a bad habit of buying books and admiring them on my shelf.

  • 5 August 2009 5:48 pm

    Thank you, Angel. :^)

  • 5 August 2009 5:48 pm

    Gracias, Vicky. :^)

  • 5 August 2009 5:56 pm

    Thank you for the kind comment, Isma’il. You’ll like this book — 500 photos with captions. It’s a breezy read. Of course, the captions are 4.5pt. Univers Light, so you may wreck your eyes a bit, but what the hell, right? You only live once. :^)

  • Simone G
    5 August 2009 11:24 pm

    This is amazing! Very well done Stefan. It looks like a great source of inspiration for writing music, on top of being a great piece of work.

  • Aina
    5 August 2009 11:31 pm

    UK and US edition? tough choice. ‘ll have both maybeeeeee haha.
    Good work Stefan

  • 5 August 2009 11:52 pm

    Thank you very much, Simone. I’m glad you like it. I hope it inspires you as much as your music did me for the Topanga Monster. :^)

  • 5 August 2009 11:53 pm

    Thank you, Aina. That’s what I like to hear. They should offer it as a matched set. :^)

  • 7 August 2009 9:20 pm

    The 4.5 pt type is all good. I’ll be getting new reading glasses soon anyway.

  • 13 August 2009 11:55 am

    this looks great!
    I’m looking forward to buying one 😀
    you’re amazing!

  • 13 August 2009 2:22 pm

    You’re very kind, Terry. Thank you. :^)

  • natalia rojas lopez
    2 September 2009 10:35 pm

    hello mi nombre es natalia rojas lopez from ARICA CHILE ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡ solo quiero decir gracias por hacer lo que haces me gusta me hace feliz, cada quien necesita su monstruo.

  • natalia rojas lopez
    2 September 2009 10:35 pm

    hello mi nombre es natalia rojas lopez from ARICA CHILE ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡ solo quiero decir gracias por hacer lo que haces me gusta me hace feliz, cada quien necesita su monstruo.

  • 15 November 2009 10:18 am

    Gracias, Natalia. Estás en lo correcto. Todo el mundo tiene su monstruo. Me alegro de que me podían enviar soome su camino aquí en la web.

  • 18 February 2010 5:54 pm

    Yes this looks awesome! I also am looking forward to getting one! Congrats on the siemen design!

  • 19 February 2010 8:45 pm

    Thank you very much. I hope you’ll like It when you get it

Leave a Reply to Stefan Bucher Cancel reply