© Armando Bellmas

My submission to this month’s Word It over at Speak Up.
The word is middle and there it is.

More Olympus XA2 gold.

© Armando Bellmas

© Armando Bellmas

© Armando Bellmas

I took these photos in April while on assignment and showing my book in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. An exhibition of prints and posters by artist Brian Kiger was tucked in a back room of the serendipitous and delightful Krankie’s Coffee in downtown Winston-Salem.

I recently listened to a fascinating and inspiring interview with legendary designer Vaughan Oliver on an episode of Design Matters with Debbie Millman.

Millman and Oliver talk for a while about his iconic work for the 4AD record label, for which he has designed albums covers for bands like the Pixies, Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil, Throwing Muses, Lush, Mountain Goats, and many many more.

Oliver steers the conversation towards the use of photography in his designs, specifically about the Pixies and their album covers.

Designs by Vaughan Oliver

Oliver worked with photographer Simon Larbalestier on most or all of the Pixies albums. Oliver declares Larbalestier “the fifth Pixie” because his photography, especially his personal work, jives so well with the band and the essence of their music.

Photos © Simon Larbalestier

Vaughan the goes on to talk about collaborating with photographers:

Generally when I work with photographers I give them a lot of space. Half the job is done if you choose the right photographer. And then I’ll kind of work with that photographer, identify aspects of [their] work that I like, that I think fits with the music.

A lot of photographers that I’ve worked with have one foot in the art camp, have one foot in the commercial camp, and they have a lot of kind of personal work. Where are you going in your personal work? Where would you like to go next with it? Can you see it relating to this music?

I’m not [the] kind of an art director that stands over the top of a photographer and looks over his shoulder and directs him, but has the confidence in the first instinct to go with that photographer’s own aesthetic.

Getting hired for our aesthetics, instincts, and vision is what each of us strives for no matter what kind of art we create. Awesome.

Find out more about designer Vaughan Oliver, listen to the interview on Design Matters with Debbie Millman (which is a great show you should be listening to every week anyways), and view more work by Simon Larbalestier.

And of course, always listen to the Pixies.

Penguin Books commissioned illustrator Michael Gillette to create fourteen covers for its upcoming reissue of Ian Fleming’s James Bond books.

Book cover illustrations by Michael Gillette

At The Penguin Blog, Penguin Books Senior Copywriter Colin Brush writes:

The centenary of Fleming’s birth was clearly a good time to revisit the Bonds and cover them in a package that says, yes these are fun, but also makes it implicit that there’s no reason not to take them seriously. Most importantly, they should look like books worth owning.

Poster-sized prints of these covers would also be worth owning. The colors, the different Bond women, the almost psychedelic typography meets pop art quality — reminds me a bit of the old Wes Wilson posters of the psychedelic sixties.

Book cover illustrations by Michael Gillette

In an interview at the James Bond fansite MI6, Gillette talks about his inspiration for this project.

I’ve always been inspired by pop art and pop culture. This was a job where I could indulge that to the hilt. I was trying to distill all the things I’d enjoyed about Bond and impress those times in to the various women and the typography - psychedelic posters, Saul Bass, Milton Glaser, films, pop music, it’s all in there.

Each of these illustrations is unique and titillating. These new editions are worthwhile for both the classic stories and the soon-to-be-classic covers. See them all at The Penguin Blog.

Mark Porter turns us on to the stylish and progressive design of the 1960s magazine Town. He writes:

Under art director Tom Wolsey, [Town] had a golden few years in which it set the template for an entire visual language. It had all the style and energy of the better-known magazines, and a unique – and very British – personality of its own.

Check out these covers. Minimal design and a distinctive use of photography:

courtesy of Mark Porter

things to look at has a few scans from the pages of Town. Again, great photography and art direction:

courtesy of things to look at

courtesy of things to look at

In his post Porter writes:

If you’ve never seen a copy of Town, beg, borrow or steal to get one. Marvel at the virtuosity; despair at the brilliance; and then channel the energy. There’s so much there that it still gives off sparks!

Read more about Town at magforum.com.

I recently read Keith Gessen’s debut novel All The Sad Young Literary Men and loved it. This passage from the first chapter — “Keith: The Vice President’s Daughter” — takes place in November of 2000:

The night of the election Jillian and I stayed home and watched the results come in, and ate fancy pizza, and blogged away. When they called the election for Lauren’s father, I asked Jillian to marry me — it was corny, it was psychologically obtuse, but I couldn’t think of a better way — and she said, “Yes.” She put on the ring I had bought her and added to her acceptance: “Especially now that we’ll have an environmental President who’ll assure a future for our children.” I kissed her.

When they called the election back, we sat there together in disbelief. The diamond dangled on her finger like a fake.

If you’re so inclined, read the novel’s Prologue on Gessen’s n+1 website. Good stuff. And that’s only the beginning.

Another stimulating thing about this book is the cover: a minimal design and intuitive illustration from the wildly creative minds at The Heads of State. Check it:

Because you love good writing, read Gessen’s book. Because you love good design, visit The Heads of State portfolio. You won’t go wrong with either one.

Poster by MODE for AIGA Charlotte

AdCharlotte.com points us to a super-cool poster the folks at MODE designed for an upcoming AIGA Charlotte event with designer Stefan Sagmeister.

Sagmeister is on the road plugging and talking about his book Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far and will be doing just that here in Charlotte on April 21, 2008.

About the poster:

For [Stefan Sagmeister's] lecture tour stop in Charlotte, the AIGA was in need of a poster promoting the event. Inspired by the spirit of social discovery in Stefan’s book, MODE asked various individuals around the city to share some of their own personal maxims, which were captured in their very handwriting. The individuals were chosen at random and photographed over a 10-day period at 30 different locations around the city. They represent a variety of ages, social statuses, races, professions, religious beliefs, and life experiences. The final piece was elevated to greater social level and beyond design circles, having a reciprocal relationship between the city of Charlotte and Stefan.

Cheers to designer/photographer Maxim Vakhovskiy for the great photos.