Archive: Books

November 2, 2007

Unmasked

Alas, October eventually comes to an end each year and we must take off our costumes. Well I suppose we don’t have to, but it’s advisable. This site might be back to normal, but you can always relive the horrifying time on any post from October. And a month’s worth of black and white photos makes me realize I should… more »

October 27, 2006

Trick-or-Treat

The candy bowl is full and we’ll be decorating our house this weekend. Horror films are usually playing at night, and The Misfits remain in heavy rotation. What’s that mean? Well, I guess it means we are horror nerds. But it also means it’s nearly Halloween! As always, here are your yearly batch of seasonal tricks and treats. On Screen… more »

October 1, 2006

Maelstrom

October descends on us once again, and my site rises from its shallow grave to welcome the turning of the seasons. Why break such a fun tradition! Here we have the fourth annual October Edition of this site (you may need to disembowel your cache). I’ve traded in the past bloodbath for a bit of dust and absinthe. This year’s… more »

January 15, 2006

Design It Yourself

This past Thursday, curator, professor, and author, Ellen Lupton, gave a short talk in Philadelphia. Most of her presentation revolved around her latest two books, 2004’s wonderful Thinking With Type, and her newly released, D.I.Y.:Design It Yourself. Her latest was created with help from her students at the Maryland Institute College of Art and focuses on design for the… more »

October 5, 2005

Mayhem

Because I have such a deep, deep affection for you all and this most blessed holiday season, I have collected a heap of bloody good links to get you in the mood. Feel free to add your own in the comments. Around the Web Friends: A few friends are dressing their sites up to celebrate this most festive season, Sutter… more »

January 23, 2005

Blue Sky, Blue Sky

I had the pleasure of seeing Chip Kidd speak at my alma mater, Kutztown University, this past Friday night. Kidd is one of my favorite contemporary graphic designers and has been ever since I got heavily into design. This is the second time I have gotten to see him in person, the first being in at the Free Library in… more »

December 14, 2004

2004 Favorites

I realize Jon may have beat me to it by a bit (we’ll just chalk that up to the time difference ;D), but I figured I would throw this out there anyway. It’s been a good year to have ears and eyes, so here is a brief celebration of the best of what the year had to offer. These are… more »

September 27, 2004

On the Subject of Design

I get a lot of emails from people asking me if I can recommend any good books for learning about design. So, rather than reply to all of you, I am just going to share my design book short list. This is not an exhaustive book list, nor is it a list of solely inspiring books. The majority of these… more »

April 1, 2004

Fun With A Purpose

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is yet another superb outing from Charlie Kauffman, penman to such personal favorites as Being John Malkovich and Adaptation. Favorably, Eternal Sunshine comes in just as twisted as his predecessors, blending great character and dialogue control while injecting a realistic human element absent from most fare these days. Pair this with Michael Gondry’s fantastic… more »

October 26, 2003

Selected Readings and Miscellanea

I recently stumbled upon a collected gallery of covers from H.G. Wells’ milestone book, War of the Worlds. It remains one of my most favorite books (having also been about the second book I ever read), and this collection of covers cements it as one of the repeatedly best-designed books as well. Granted, I am partial to the old Sci-Fi/Pulp… more »

September 16, 2003

Acme Novelty Datebook

Much to my delight, the Acme Novelty Datebook, by the astonishing Chris Ware, arrived early this week. Contrary to what the title suggests, the book is not a day planner containing pages adorned with Ware’s art, but is in fact a collection of Ware’s sketchbooks (at least a sampling of pages he could bear to release into the world) from… more »

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June 23, 2003

The Big Move: Part 1

Well, it finally happened. My roommates and I moved out of out apartment this past weekend and relocated to our respective new homes in Philadelphia. Rob, Pete, and Matt moved into a shiny brand new apartment mere blocks away from me at Liz’s apartment. The weekend’s move included 2 days of assault on every muscle in my body, a 26… more »

June 18, 2003

Designing With Web Standards

Jeffrey Zeldman, the cool older brother of the internet, has written a new book called Designing With Web Standards. If you are anything like me (that being a design nerd who can write a few lines of code that may or may not work), this book is for you. It would be an understatement to say that this book is… more »

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May 29, 2003

Save Fantagraphics Books

Independent publisher Fantagraphics Books is in danger of going under. Fantagraphics brings readers together with incredible, groundbreaking titles and artists month after month, such as Chris Ware and Dan Clowes (as well as many others). In my opinion they are possibly the most important company publishing cartoons today. So, grab any cash you can spare (or goods that you can… more »

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