Archive for the ‘books’ Category
Pens Are My Friends Book on Sale!
Jon’s magnum opus, Pens Are My Friends, was published in 2009 (see original post here), and two years later, it remains one of my favorite art books. It’s just a visual delight, really. He designed it in such a way that it provides not only an overview of his work, but it also wraps you in an experience of colorful doodles. The 310-page hardcover book comes with a DVD, poster, stickers and a zine. It’s currently on sale for only $40 through Fab.com. This is a MUST HAVE for your bookshelf. The sale is on for 3 days, so get it here!
Devendra Barnhart Poster for Indie Rock Book
Jon created this poster inspired by Devendra Barnhart’s “It’s a Sight to Behold”. From The Independent UK:
For the past five years, the Yellow Bird Project’s Montreal-based founders, Matthew Stotland and Casey Cohen, have made it their mission to connect, as they say, “indie musicians, charitable organisations and T-shirts”. They have now enlisted 30 leading illustrators to create an artwork each, inspired by 30 songs – all, naturally, by cool indie bands – and collated them to create The Indie Rock Poster Book (Chronicle Books, £15.99). The royalties from every copy sold will go to a series of charities, all supported by musicians with impeccable taste. The book is, of course, a perfect addition to your coffee table, but it’s also a potential cure for a bare wall.
The Indie Rock Poster Book is available for $25 through Chronicle Books here and The Yellow Bird Project here.
Tiger Translate Gold Book
Jeps uncovered this compendium from Tiger Translate published by IdN for $25. The book features work from Jon when he participated in the Beijing-based event in 2007. One for the artkive! Per IdN:
“Gold” is the final chapter of the Tiger Translate 2007. It is named because Gold is particularly significant in Asian culture which it is define as wealth and power.
Gold inevitably carries connotations of wealth, power, greed and corruption. But by the same time token, it is also used as a metaphorical yardstick for purity, quality and authenticity. Artists are in conflict when they consider what gold means to them and how to portray it. And that is great news to readers, since variety is the spice of publications.
Released “Rise”, “Merge” and “Gold” contributed by over 75 artists from over 15 countries, Tiger Translate 2007 truly crossed the cultural boundaries.
The ARK: An Illustrated Animal Bible
The Ark Project is an animal bible curated by DGPH, illustrated by over 200 artists and published by IdN.
Just like Noah who saved the animal species in his ark, this project will try to rescue the ones surrounding us today inside this book, thanks to the work of some of the most important and talented visual artists, illustrators and contemporary designers. The idea was to create an animal bible showing the different species around the globe through the eyes of artists from each corner of the planet. Each of them selected a creature — an animal or species — to represent their birth place, which will be added to the Ark.
In addition to Jon’s Pine Marten, there are contributions by Touma, Bubi Au Yeung, Easy Hey, Yoskay Yamamoto and lots more. The ARK is available for $34 USD + shipping through IdN here and coming soon to bookstores near you.
Doodled RipCurl Jacket, Pants and Catalog
I noticed that one of the more popular search engine queries that leads people to Doodlesplatter is “RipCurl.” This is all due to the great Green Goon gear by Jon. Burgerplex just added the 2008 orange RipCurl jacket and pants to its online store. I’ve always thought this all-over doodle aesthetic worked brilliantly on these garments (and I’m typically a detractor from the “all-over print” look). Sorry shorties and skinnies, but the gear is available in size Large only. Even though I’m a distinct Medium myself, I’d buy this in a heartbeat if not for the fact that 1) I haven’t seen snow in 10 years and 2) I’m looking out the window to sunshine, birds chirping and probably high 60s. I have no idea what a lot of the following means, although “goggle pocket” and “stink sack” sure do sound fun. If you’re genteel, like me, you may prefer the company of the 105-page Mountainwear Winter 2008-2009 catalog “smothered” in doodles by Jon instead. The catalog comes signed for £15. Tech specs on the winterwear are:
The jacket - £149.00
- Waterproof, breathable jacket with exclusive Burgerman artwork
- Polar fleece lined body
- Audio pocket, zip seal inner pocket, inner goggle pocket
- Removeable hood, detachable fake fur trim
- Waterproof inner seat, snow seal cuff, fultime drawcords
- Key hook inside pocket
The pants - £100.00
- Waterproof, breathable pant (trouser) with exclusive Burgerman artwork
- Baggy fit, 40grs insulation, brushed tricot lining, fully seam taped
- Mountain Riders detachable stink sack
- Glove gripper system
- Pant waist gaiter, adjustable waistband, alcatraz closure system
- Waistband D-Ring, mesh backed ventilation
- Jacket pant connector loops, leg gaiter with boot hook
- Kick patch, boot splits
The catalog - £15.00
Heads Up: Alcohol Unbottled
Here’s an oldie, but greatie, that Jeps got as a little A5 bonus on a big Burger order he recently placed. Jon illustrated this small book of helpful tips for the NHS a couple years back. Although his name doesn’t appear in the publication, his distinctive and full color doodles enhance every other page. I don’t drink much, myself, but I left the book out for a while to be helpful to my houseguests, because, as you know, intoxicated houseguests sure do love PSAs… Thanks Jeps for sending these scans.
[UPDATE 3/2/10: Via a serendipitous tweet, I've found the firm co-responsible for these. They are Raw: "A tightly wound coil of creativity, working as a dynamic force in the rejuvenated heart of old, industrial Manchester." They received a brief that stated: "Offer young people a wealth of information on alcohol to help them make informed decisions when it comes to drinking." And the resounding result? "A huge thumbs-up from follow-up focus groups and positive engagement with the target audience." You can read more from Raw (as well as see the original location of the new pictures I have pilfered for this post) here.]
This is a great booklet. And Jeps, I still have your scans in the artkive! If anybody out there has anything, however big or small, for the Doodlesplatter, we’d love for you to send it in!
Made and Sold
Similar in concept to Stuffz: Design on Material, Made & Sold is another essential book for your library. This time, the works is divided by type (rather than artist), and emphasis is shown toward designer DIY. This format gives Jon an advantage over everyone else, as his work figures highly throughout. Witness toys, T-shirts, books, badges and much more in this great compendium. Stephan Bucher offered up a memorable soundbyte of wisdom: “He who writes the check, controls the type size.”
I wrote a longer review for Cool Hunting, but here are two quick snippets:
While there may be fewer rewarding commercial art contracts in the current economy, there is no shortage of artists with something to say. To get the message out, more designers are becoming entrepreneurs. Made & Sold, a new book from Laurence King Publishing collects the work of over 90 artists who are making and selling art products. Curated by Agathe Jacquillat and Tomi Vollauschek and of Fl@33, Made & Sold cleverly takes the form of an online store, dividing the content into shopping cart categories like: Clothing, Toys, Fonts and Zines.
…
As we’ve seen with recent books like Stuffz: Design on Material and One Day of Design, artists are increasingly turning to 3D platforms. Made & Sold catalogs a nice array of toys, including hand-cast resin figures by Jon Burgerman, hand-carved wooden figures by Tado, screen-printed inflatable toys by DGPH and whimsical hand-knit plushes by Kate Sutton. Many of the designers in this chapter also make limited and mass-market production toys, but as Sutton puts it, “Even if I had a range of manufactured products, I would continue to make small runs as I love all things handmade, and it’s just part of what I do.”
Made & Sold is 240 pages with 1000 illustrations. You can order it through Amazon and Chronicle.
STUFFZ: Design on Material
Stuffz: Design on Material is sort of like Donnie Darko in the sense that after seeing it, I loved and related to it so much, I wished I’d made it myself. This tremendous tome was published by locals, Gingko Press, and it features the expanded canvases of today’s most innovative designers. Jon has a nice five-page spread devoted to his work. Cool Hunting published my review of Stuffz here. A little excerpt:
Proving that everyday objects no longer need be banal, the book also looks at a new generation of designers comfortable with imparting emotion onto objects with a goal of inspiring ideas. The prolific work of eBoy (sneakers to sofas), tokidoki (makeup to watches) and Jon Burgerman, subject of a catalog of his abundant output called, Doodlesplatter, all represent an emerging crop of creators with an abundance of both emotion and ideas.
While perusing the many captivating designs makes Stuffz an education on its own, the book’s curator Sijuan includes a page of backstory on each artist. Predictably not everyone took a path from womb to art school. Some started out as lawyers, chemical engineers and even bricklayers.
A motivating read, Stuffz reminds creators of the possiblities on both practical and personal levels. Miami-based design team, Friends With You sum it up nicely: “We’ve worked with plush, metal sculptures, food, fiberglass, computer, video, etc. We never limit our creativity to anything. Like, if we want to build a ladder to heaven, it might be best to make it inflatable rather than from a piece of wood because we can reach higher with it now.”
I got my copy at the great indie shop, Builder’s Booksource. You can also order Stuffz from Amazon or Powell’s. Watch this space for another review of a similar, yet different, but still utterly awesome art book.
Soul Food and Music
This is a book called Soul Food and Music: Research and Innovation for Creative Business by Kim Errington, Neil Maycroft and Jim Shorthose. Burgerplex calls it “A must read for all those in the creative industries, both young businesses and individuals.” There are 115 pages to it, with illustrations by Jon throughout. I don’t know much more about it other than that its authors were part of the MA program at NTU, it came out in 2008, and you can get it at Burgerplex for $20 USD.
Litou Space Catalog
Most of the posse probably missed out on last time Jon was in Beijing for 2008’s exhibition at Litou Space. The good news is that the art has been faithfully reproduced in this 27-page booklet. Copies come signed and doodled by Jon.
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