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Book Review: Print Handbook for designers

Franz Jeitz — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 10:15:35 +0000

I’ve been lucky enough to get my hands on the Print Handbook for designers by the kind folks of the UK-based Media Collective. So today I’m gonna give you a short, but concise insight into this book, call it a book review if you like. Not to worry though, there’s gonna be a lot of pictures too. Let’s have a look then, shall we.

What’s in it?

The print handbook is a very handy tool which every designer doing print work can benefit from. It is full of printed experiments and examples, plus a whole load of reference material. Here’s a few examples of the stuff that’s included:

Most common paper sizes chart
Examples of different blacks printed on gloss paper
Selection of brochure folds
Unit conversion chart
Text point sizes comparison

The handbook takes out the guesswork that happens when your job goes from screen to print. It even features a ruler all around the (fold-out) cover.

Final Words

The Print Handbook has now found its place on my desk. It’s a great reference for every print designer and I can highly recommend it. There’s loads of references that you can find on the internet, but it’s always better to have real-life, physical examples. For more info about the book and to buy it go to www.printhandbook.com. Starting at £4 (incl. shipping) for the UK there’s no reason not to get it.

The Threadless Book Review: Inspiration for any T-Shirt Lover

Franz Jeitz — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 11:50:36 +0000

The kind folks of Harris and Wilson have recently sent me a review copy of the Threadless Book celebrating the company’s 10th anniversary. If you love t-shirt graphics you’ve probably heard of Threadless already. Just in case though here’s a short bio: Threadless is a community-driven t-shirt store where people can submit and vote for the next designs to be printed. With more than a million members it’s certainly the largest of its kind.

What’s the book about?

Threadless came to life 10 years ago out of a simple idea by its founders Jake Nickell and Jacob DeHart, better known as “the Jakes”. In order to celebrate this incredible milestone they released this book featuring 400 inspiring t-shirt graphics as well as telling the story behind the “accidental business”. It’s great to see the designs in chronological order as it shows the evolution of the designs (and the community).
Furthermore the book also includes interviews with Threadless’ most famous artists. It’s always nice to get some insights into a designer’s journey and experiences.

Sample Photos:

Conclusion:

A-Side Studio have done a great job with the design and layout of the book and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in design as well as internet businesses. I’ve read it cover to cover as soon as I got it, but will sure go back to it many times to get inspiration.
There’s also gonna be a special edition hardcover with sketchbook coming out soon. You can watch a video of it here.

Thomas Schostok {ths} releases his new book: Mr. Trash

Franz Jeitz — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:13:36 +0000

To be honest I’ve never heard of Thomas Schostok, aka {ths}, until I received a mail today informing me of the release of his new book entitled “Mr. Trash”. I am really happy I got notified, because what I was about to see (and show you now) blew me away. Instead of trying to come up with some copy-paste, slightly modified text, I will simply give you the official press release:

ESSEN, GERMANY – September 22, 2008 – {ths} today announced ‘Mr. Trash’ the new book about the extravagant work of Thomas Schostok {ths}. Raw, dirty, irreverent and uncensored, Mr. Trash spares no cliche, no absurdity in bringing you what the book’s publisher called “world’s strangest ejaculation of graphic design”. Not bound to the field of graphic design, the book represents the last 10 years of Schostok’s work, blurring art and graphic design. Design, typography, paintings, collage, Gluebooks – all his work in one big monograph.

Mr. Trash is an independent book, chained to any publisher and without the censorship of mainstream producer.

{ths} is Thomas Schostok. Known for the creation of the BEAST Magazine in 2001, one of the first design/art/mixed-media magazine delivered as PDF. He is an artist and works with graphic design, collage, typography, drawing and painting. His work, reflected by mass cultural boredom, psychological warfare and professional wrestling; his artworks reference both graphic arts and ultimate trash. He lives and works in Germany.

The book contains 228 pages and you can order it on mrtrash.ths.nu. Below are some sample pages.