Kenneth Grange: Designing the Modern World by Lucy Johnston, Sir Jonathan Ive - Published: Thames and Hudson Ltd - 2024-03-21 - 320 pages.
The definitive celebration of the work, life and times of Sir Kenneth Grange (1929-2024), one of the most revered, innovative and influential industrial designers of the modern age.
'You may not know the name Kenneth Grange, but you'll almost certainly know his work. He has designed just about everything' The Guardian
The work of renowned design pioneer Sir Kenneth Grange touched the lives of almost every consumer worldwide and has had a lasting influence on today’s younger designers, from Sir Jonathan Ive, Jasper Morrison and Marc Newson to Thomas Heatherwick and the founding brothers of Joseph Joseph.
For decades, Grange’s iconic products – including the InterCity 125 train for British Rail, the TX1 London black taxi, domestic appliances for Kenwood, lighting for Anglepoise, cameras for Kodak, pens for Parker and post boxes for Royal Mail, among many others – were at the centre of tastemaking and key to the establishment of Britain’s worldwide post-war reputation as an influential hub of design excellence.
Based on a series of in-depth discussions between Grange and design specialist Lucy Johnston, and her exclusive access to his extensive archive, this illuminating book explores Grange’s biography and work as seen through his eyes, illustrated with sketches, letters, scale models and product photographs. The story is set in its social, political and creative context, introducing the figures who inspired, commissioned and worked alongside Grange as his designs transformed Britain and the world and helped to shape our modern-day consumer culture.
North: Extracts from visual identities by Sean Perkins, Jeremy Coysten - Published: Thames and Hudson Ltd - 2024-04-04 - 304 pages.
The long-awaited monograph of the UK’s leading graphic design and branding agency.
The world is full of design companies, but none of them are like North. Formed in 1995 by Sean Perkins, joined for the past 25 years by Jeremy Coysten and Stephen Gilmore, the studio has always followed a highly individualistic path. This individualism manifests itself in many ways: most notably in the absence of a densely populated studio website; there are no hyperactive social media feeds; even the studio’s name, derived from Perkins’ origins in the unmetropolitan north of England, stands for frill-free, plain speaking, visual directness. It’s almost as if North is a well-kept secret. Yet the group has a devoted worldwide following and attracts myriad clients keen to hire them for their ability to produce memorable and carefully engineered visual identities.
North’s work is the product of sharp-brained research, high-end craft and precise visual expression. And as can be seen in the pages of this book, the studio’s first monograph, the result is a rich crop of brand identities, packaging, exhibitions, books, posters and logos. It includes work for Tate, Southbank, Munch (Oslo), Co-op, Barbican, Samsung, Meta, Science Museum, The Royal Mint and M+ (Hong Kong). On the grounds that graphic design is required to ‘speak for itself’, the book dispenses with descriptive or biographical texts. Instead, the reader is engaged by more than 300 pages of articulate and eloquent visual expression, arranged in a rigorously planned mix of photography, typography, layout and colour.
Like North itself, the book is unlike other design books. That’s what makes it a North book.
Swim & Sun: A Monocle Guide: Hot beach clubs, Perfect pools, Lake Havens by Tyler Brûlé - Published: Thames and Hudson Ltd - 2023-10-10 - 240 pages.
The Monocle team dips its toe into the world of swimming, revealing 100 beautiful and inspiring places to take the plunge.
Swimming is excellent exercise of course, but it’s so much more than that: it can be a transcendental experience, offering us space to reflect and to escape. It’s an antidote to screens and all-encompassing technology. Perhaps it’s the shedding of inhibitions that comes with a dip, or could it be that getting somewhere under our own steam is an act that’s health-giving, refreshing and life-affirming? Whatever it means to you, swimming – alone or with others, badly or brilliantly – is about being in the moment.
This new book celebrates bathing in glorious full-colour photography, revealing the editors’ chosen spots from inner-city architectural wonders to lakes, beach clubs and bagni. So whether you’re looking to do laps in Italy, tread water in Australia, sink into the icy depths in Iceland – or perhaps just sit on the side and let others do the hard work – this guide includes a setting for everyone. Dive right in.
