Oh my gepetto! Four awesome books were awaiting my arrival from work today. I have to give myself a pat on the back for these smart purchases. I've been gobbling these up since I got my grubby paws on them.
I Am Plastic is jam packed with designer toys. I'm talkin' JAM. PACKED. It gives a comprehensive view of toys from around the world from leading, as well as lesser, names in the industry. Although it doesn't give much information on the individual designers themselves, it provides plenty to look at there's nothing to complain about that.
American Trademarks is not your momma's logo book. The diversity between all the marks included really sets it apart from other literature on the subject. While there are some simple designs similar to the
Japanese municipal flags that got plenty of attention about a year ago, there are even more illustrative logomarks with lots of hand-drawn typography to boot. Sweet, sweet eye candy.
Ed Emberley's
Make A World are the drawing books I grew up with as a kid. He is so clever in his execution and very easy to follow in his direction. Not only that, but he demonstrates how to draw a gazillion things in very few pages, making the book light and thin, easy for a little kid to pick up and manage. Everything included in the book is drawn with 15 basic shapes, creating a simplicity and cohesiveness throughout all of the pictures. It's no wonder I'm turning back to this in my ripe age. This legend of a man's got ingenuity oozing from every orifice!
Rework is brought to you by the heads behind
37signals. It gives great advice, information, and inspiration on starting a business, staying motivated, work ethic, creativity--in short, being a better creative who knows how to manage and market his work. It's written very colloquially, so you feel like you're having a conversation with those who have experience and have gone through the things you are going through or want to get through. The book is broken down into short, easily digestible sections so you don't ever get the sense that you're being lectured at. Moreso, it gets you thinking about the subject so you can start developing your own ideas. Before each section there's also a nice little typographic illustration to introduce the new topic, each of which could easily be turned into a motivational poster--minus the cat hanging from a tree branch.
First off, just want to say a big thank you to everyone who came by my table Wednesday night! As this was my first foray into displaying my work to the general public, I was a bit nervous and apprehensive about going through with it. In the end, I'm happy I did and I'm so glad I was able to share my work with everyone. I honestly thought I would only get a handful of people who were interested and maybe 4 people who were willing to part with a few dollars in exchange for one of my prints. I am honored and thankful for all the support shown to me that night. The warm response has really encouraged me to keep doing what I'm doing.
