Yanko Design » Book

Eye See U Book

Chris Burns — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:10:54 +0000

It takes a weirdo or Prince to use the letter “U” as “you” correctly. You decide. What you’re looking at here also is a retro object that would have been useful way back in time when books were still printed on paper! Can you believe it!? This product, called “magnify,” assisted the user in finding the book they needed by providing a search, a map, then a lens through which the book can be quickly identified. Win!

This quaint little thing was made before books came with dust-repellant covers. Really though, what a gem. First you get the ability to search without computer or Dewey Decimal, then you get an overhead birds-eye-view map, then you get a lens. Lens for what? Lens to point you not only in the right direction, but directly right at the book in question!

How wormish!

Designer: Ben Peterson

Sleepy Joe’s Boring Book Emporium!

Chris Burns — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:10:07 +0000

Have you ever read any of the Lord of the Rings novels? Books? And you didn’t fall asleep? Wow. Have you read the Silmarillion? Ah THERE we go, now you’re snoozin. No matter the quality of the book, the perfection in the organization and execution of the words, sometimes books can just lull you to sleep. When that happens, there’s “Sleepy Joe Inflatable Book Cover and Pillow!” Stay awake and read this!

Made not simply to be a lovely cover for your book, but also a pillow for your nook! That is, if you call your head your nook. Just fall asleep in the yard, don’t worry about the rest of the world. Then wake up and dive back into that book. Don’t forget to eat sometimes, too, humankind wasn’t fed on faith alone!

Designer: Shinyoung Ma

Free Book! From Concept to Consumer

Long Tran — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:01:28 +0000

Phil Baker is early with holiday cheer this year so we’re giving away 4 copies of his amazing book From Concept to Consumer. I reviewed it earlier this year and found it to be an amazingly precise outtake and outlook on industrial design. All you have to do is leave a comment with what your favorite Yanko Design post is and why. Don’t forget to fill in the email field because how else am I going to contact you when you win?!? Contest CLOSED. Thanks guys! I will email winners.

Author: Phil Baker (Buy it here)

Braille E-Book

Long Tran — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:58:16 +0000

Visually challenged people require braille books in order to read. However, not many books are available in braille due to cost and inefficiency. Translating a 500 page book into braille nearly doubles the thickness. EAP is a technology that can dynamically change the surface pattern by way of an electromagnetic signal – simulating braille text. Not exactly a new idea but a nice executive nonetheless.

Designers: Seon-Keun Park, Byung-Min Woo, Sun-Hye Woo & Jin-Sun Park

Bookworms, From Concept To Consumer

Long Tran — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:50:30 +0000

One of the toughest parts about being a designer is balancing the need to satisfy our creativity with that of the market – ultimately what the consumer wants, the consumer gets right? – Even at the detriment of design and in some cases rationale. Our very own Brian Ling recently dished on the realities of working in design but the end goal is to always satisfy the client and make money off your product. Today’s high-tech sector is probably the best and first place to see how one’s ideas can turn into money. Phil Baker’s latest book “From Concept To Consumer” irons out those details and shows us all how to avoid the pitfalls so we can enjoy the successes.

If you’re a designer or thinking about becoming a product designer, PICK UP THIS BOOK. As someone who’s been in the industry, Phil lays it out like it is. You have a great idea? Awesome but if you don’t understand how the high-tech industry works, how the players play, and how the market deals – you and your design ultimately end up in a cycle of “going nowhere fast.”

One of the most commonly asked questions I get is “how do I get my concept made?” It’s a daunting task. I myself have had tons of failures and reading thru Phil’s book gave me a few of those Oprah “ah-ha” moments. There’s no clear direct path. It’s about navigating what’s happening now and what you think will happen in the future and to do that, there are a TON of things we designers aren’t taught in school. It’s the kind of stuff only experience can teach.

I’ve read a couple books from would be “pros” who offer nothing more than theories but Phil’s actual account from his experiences make me more keen to believe him. He’s been directly involved with some of technology’s defining moments like the original Polaroid SX-70 to the Apple Powerbooks and to my fave, their Newton MessagePads.

It’s going for $17 so do yourself a favor. In these hard economic times the smartest thing to do is invest in yourself. Get this book, smarten up and most importantly face the reality. Yanko Design has always been about embracing the future – be it far fetched and wild but we’re trying hard to help you guys know the truth. Brian’s article, Dark Side of Design and Phil’s book, “From Concept To Consumer” are two great places to start.

Author: Phil Baker [ Buy It Here ]

Maps, Charts, More Maps, and a Rolling Stone

Chris Burns — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 07:15:50 +0000

Info graphics and charts and maps and maps and maps! So many info graphics, I can barely contain myself. This project is a book called “Never Stop A Rolling Stone” and it’s big motivation to get up in dem’ hills and backpack the crap outta them. It’s the result of six months of world travel and a crapload of creativity on the part of Deutschlander and designer Rahel Ritchie. From front cover to back, an adventure at your fingertips.

As I just mentioned, though it’s worth another mention: this project is the culmination of six months of traveling around the world doing research – all for just this project specifically. Backpacking around the world to bring to you a mix of “anthropological based writing, stories, interviews and info graphics covering world issues.”

Here’s a bit of text from the designer, Rahel Ritchie

»Never Stop A Rolling Stone« is an interactive mapping experience. The book is based on an invisible world map; with the transparent cover the reader can track down places marked on the pages with a compass rose. The reader is invited to find the missing photos on a seperate picture-map and fill the placeholders of the book. Experiments with geometrical shapes visualise my thoughts and the quotes of the Swiss Travelwriter Nicolas Bouvier. The removable posters at the back of the book hold the information graphics and give the book a learning curve.

Want. I want it. I want it now.

So what you, the reader, the investor, the people who know the top people at book publishing places need to do – is get going on getting this book published.

Rahel Ritchie is waiting on you to make this lovely project happen!

Designer: Rahel Ritchie

Legally Paint Freely on Any Wall You Wish

Chris Burns — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 07:01:29 +0000

So your desire is that of a villain. So you want to do the painting version of killing a puppy. So you like graffiti. You’re gonna have some opposition, and you’re gonna have it immediately. If you want the good walls, you’re gonna have to earn em. And you’re gonna need a plan. Most hott and amazing graffiti writers plan beforehand. Here’s the tool. Here it is. This is the one you need. This is the graffiti writers fun book. You’re still writing in a plain ol’ sketchbook? Get ‘atta here.

Jay kay, y’all. Any kind of paper will do. But check this out. It’s called the “Walls Notebook,” and it’s by the dude, the Forlee dude. Flip through the pages of 80 pre-printed New York “clean” scenes that you, the writer, can take command of. “Minus the jail time.”

Don’t get caught.

Designer: Sherwood Forlee

New Read, Chair Wandering by Frederick Reber

Long Tran — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 19:39:32 +0000

I received so many books over the past holiday season I felt like I was back in school trying to get thru them all. One book in particular by designer and founder of Reberstein Design, Frederick Reber called Chair Wandering is a beautiful exercise in creativity and imagination. If you’ve got $25 laying out, don’t spend it on a night out on junk food and cheap booze, pick up this book.

Author: Frederick Reber [ Buy It Here $25.00 ]

Chair Wandering from Long Tran on Vimeo.

Piece of NYC on Your Bookshelf

Chad Smith — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 07:04:31 +0000

Magnum Photos is issuing a new edition of its book New York. This book is giant, at 20X14 inches, and comes with its own little case that makes it look like one of the buildings at Rockefeller Center. In this super-limited edition of 25 (no I am not missing a zero), they also include an estate stamped gelatin silver print by Leonard Freed all for the low price of $4000.

What is remarkable about the book is that it is chock full of the best and brightest writers and photographers who have captured my fair city with their wit and eye. The photographers alone include Berenice Abbott, Diane Arbus, Eve Arnold, David Bailey, Henri Cartier- Bresson, Bruce Davidson, Patrick Demarchelier, Elliott Erwitt, Philippe Halsman, Evelyn Hofer, Annie Leibovitz, Steve McCurry, Helmut Newton, Norman Parkinson, Jacob Riis, Jerry Schatzberg, Edward Steichen, Dennis Stock and Weegee. Chapters of the book are by great New York writers Ric Burns, Anthony DeCurtis, Don DeLillo, Paul Goldberger, David Halberstam, Pete Hamill, Michael Kantor, David Remnick, James Sanders, Gay Talese, John Updike, EB White, Colson Whitehead and Tom Wolfe. And like New York City itself, there’s something really grand in just getting all these folks close together.

Publisher: Magnum Photos

A Guide for the Unlucky, Superstitions be Damned!

Long Tran — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 07:28:37 +0000

There are a slew of old wives tales; black cats, walking underneath ladders, breaking mirrors, stepping on pavement cracks, etc.. the list goes on and on. It’s almost impossible to remember them all. Thanks to Kyle Bean, he’s created The Guide for the Unlucky. Each page contains a description and a pop up 3D element illustrating bewares we’ve all probably heard of at some point or another. Industrial design? No, but we need all the luck we can get.

Designer: Kyle Bean