A signage system is much more than just a set of signposts and symbols. As well as its practical application, it helps to create an identity for a space and can add decorative flair to any built environment. Here, Andreas Uebele calls on his own wealth of design experience to explore signage as a point where graphic design and architecture come together. The book showcases great examples of signage design worldwide, ranging from museums and schools to transport systems, with an emphasis on the most original approaches to tackling the task. This is not only an indispensable handbook for communications designers but a must for architects, interior designers and graphic artists who are keen to get a better insight into this fascinating but often overlooked aspect of modern design.

Distributed in North America for Mercatorfonds.Charles the Bold (1433-1477) was ambitious, well educated, and tireless in his pursuit of power and recognition. At the close of the Middle Ages, in the fourth generation of his dynasty, he made the duchy of Burgundy into a significant European power. The house of Burgundy celebrated its rise by establishing a glittering court life, in which objects of exquisite taste were constantly sought after. The essays in Splendour of the Burgundian Court-biographies of rulers, political history, and analyses of court art-form a comprehensive portrait of the Burgundian court. Its splendid full-color illustrations vividly bring to life both the brilliance and the drama of the epoch.The dukes of Burgundy ruled over a conglomeration of territories, each with its own political and legal traditions. Because their dynasty was relatively new and flanked by the much more powerful French kingdom and German empire, Burgundian dukes invested in lavish public ceremonial displays to assert their status and reinforce the court's position as a center of power. The theater of Burgundian rule depended upon the display of ever more elaborate objects, from clothing and armor to furniture, tableware, tapestries, and paintings-many of which are of outstanding quality. Charles the Bold grew up on this ritualized stage, and his eventful life is reflected in the ceremonies and objects that conveyed his authority. Splendour of the Burgundian Court welcomes readers into that world.

This breathtaking volume will be relished by anyone, especially anyone interested in art in the 21st century. Realism, and so Exactitude, has played an important role in art history ever since the beginnings of the use of perspective in art. Here, John Russell Taylor charts artists' endeavours to re-create the smallest detail, dating back to centuries before photography to the present day. This book has been published to complement a series of shows at the Plus One Gallery in London of contemporary artists working in a figurative, hyperrealist style called Exactitude. Such works show wide diversity – including still lifes, extreme close-ups, large-scale cityscapes, landscapes and commercial packaging. Among the artists included are Pedro Campos, Clive Head, Ben Johnson, David Ligare, Cynthia Poole, John Salt, Cesar Santander, Ben Schonzeit and Tjalf Sparnaay, who come from all around the world, but are united here by their meticulous approach to their work, whether depicting, among many different subjects, American diners, book spines, portraits or car engines. John Russell Taylor is a distinguished critic and author. Maggie Bollaert is the Director of the Plus One Gallery.

Everything you need to create your own professional-looking manga artwork. The FREE CD-ROM contains high resolution line art figures suitable for historical, contemporary and cute manga, step-by-step illustrated tutorials in the book offer a wealth of ideas and tips to help you finish them off and use them in your own work.

China at the Court of the Emperors presents almost two hundred masterpieces, various in form and rich in beauty, coming from thirty-two museums and institutes in Shaanxi, Henan, Gansu, and Jiangsu provinces, many of them never seen in the West before. It examines the vast period from the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220) through the Tang (618–907), during which Chinese civilization underwent radical transformation. As a matter of fact, Tang China synthesized foreign and indigenous elements that had been present for centuries, thus creating a new, distinctive, and extraordinary cosmopolitan civilization, made possible by tolerance—a message as important today as it was 1,500 years ago. The book includes essays by some of the foremost experts in the field, including Roderick Whitfield (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London), Felix Schoeber (University of Westminster, London), Lillian Lan-ying Tseng (Yale University), Nicola di Cosmo (Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton), Stefano Zacchetti (Università Ca’ Foscari, Venice), and Chao-Hui Jenny Liu (New York University).

«The photographer Berenice Abbott once mused, «How shall the two-dimensional print in black-and-white suggest the flux of activity of the metropolis, the interaction of human beings and solid architectural constructions, all impinging upon each other in time?» Picturing New York presents a myriad of answers to this question. Depicting both the iconic New York that captivates the world's imagination and the idiosyncratic details that define New Yorkers' sense of home, this anthology of photographs from The Museum of Modern Art's extraordinary collection reveals New York in all its vitality, ambition and beauty. Taken by artists pursuing their own curiosity as well as professionals on assignment, the works reveal a deeply symbiotic relationship between photography and the city, each delving into a new corner of New York while expanding the boundaries of photography as an art form. The selection comprises both celebrated images and lesser-known gems from the collection, accompanied by evocative excerpts from literary works about New York.»

Long considered the father of English watercolor painting, Paul Sandby (1731–1809) painted views throughout Britain, finding new scenes in a country undergoing rapid social and commercial development, and portraying familiar ones with a fresh eye. Encompassing rural, urban, modern, and historical themes, his art is unrivalled among that of his contemporaries for its remarkable range. Today, Sandby’s paintings appear in collections around the globe, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In this comprehensive survey of Sandby’s life and work, published to celebrate the artist’s bicentenary, leading authorities draw on new research to offer fresh perspectives on the development of eighteenth-century British art and the Sandby’s role in popularizing and professionalizing the medium of watercolor. The authors also explore the artist’s influence as a teacher and his innovations in printmaking, as well as the cultural and geographical scope of his work.

Marrakesh, El Hamra – the Red City Explore the medina and the dusty, narrow streets, whose high walls conceal splendid riads; profuse souks, redolent with the perfume of exotic spices’ and the lovely Palmeraie, where luxury villas offer shelter from the sun and inquisitive eyes. In this enchanting volume, the owners of nineteen private homes have thrown open their doors to Barbara and René Stoeltie. They invite you discover with them the city’s most sumptuous, original and surprising interiors. A host of glorious photographs make this a book to relish, and the detailed commentary of Marrakesh’s houses and interiors make it a valuable resource for anyone involved in interiors or design, as well as anyone who loves Marrakesh and Morocco.

This sweeping overview of Rembrandt's extraordinary achievement as a draughtsman fills a gap in the otherwise enormous literature on the artist. Beautifully illustrated, mostly in colour, the more than 150 drawings culled from a corpus of some 800 are discussed in detail. The drawings span Rembrandt's entire productive life as an artist, from early self-portraits in the 1620s to late drawings from the 1660s of the victim of an execution, a state coach, and historical and mythological images. The scope of the book will allow readers to delve into the very broad range of Rembrandt's oeuvre of drawings.

The first comprehensive worldwide survey, an essential document for anyone concerned with art, crafts, and decorative objects. The diversity of the crafts included here is truly astonishing: Berber flatweaves, North African amulets, Tibetan tiger rugs, Japanese kojeshi dolls, Aborigine microlith tools, Maori fish hooks, North American carved gourds, Amazonian pottery, Hungarian painted eggs, Venetian glass beads, German and French tin-glazed ceramics, Pacific totem poles, Shaker boxes. . . . The book is organized geographically—North America, Central and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australasia and Oceania—and each section is subdivided into specific crafts. The techniques used in a particular craft and its history—from Andean backstrap weaving and Polish paper cutting to Hausa embroidery and wood carving in the Hindu Kush—are explained and illustrated, highlighting an incredible diversity of styles. Complete with a bibliography and information on museums, this survey celebrates skills found all around the world. 475 color, 5 b&w illustrations

In 1984 Alexander Rukavishnikov was awarded the Silver Medal from the French Academy of Arts for his sculptural composition of John Lennon. This book places Rukavishnikov’s work into the social context of contemporary Russia and explores his approach to a number of themes and techniques.

A dense concentration of design talent, uniquely varied topography, and one of the worlds most pleasant climates have made southern California a crucible of architectural innovation. There, forward-looking clients respond to dramatic modern interpretations of form and site that capitalize on natural light and magnificent ocean views, perch delicately on steeply graded land, or maximize privacy on a sliver of a city lot. In this title, thirty of the best designs by the most creative firms portray the diversity of southern California's architecture. Sam Lubell draws examples from Montecito to San Diego and the arid conditions of Joshua Tree to illustrate the wide range of responses to geography, budget and space.

A celebration of sixty innovators in art, design, fashion and other creative fields. Artists, photographers, architects, fashion designers, product designers, street artists, graphic designers: all are helping to redefine our aesthetics, values, and ideas about the future. Here, a group of international experts from twelve contemporary fields of creative practice—from fine art and photography to graphic design, architecture, and ecology—have each selected five people who are making significant contributions to the way we experience everyday life and visual culture. The resulting compendium contains hundreds of the most exciting projects and concepts being produced today. Each section features an introduction by the editor and richly illustrated profiles of the five innovators. The featured artists and designers include Jonathan Harris and Ben Fry (Graphic Design); Swoon and Space Invader (Street Art); Taryn Simon and Christopher Williams (Photography); Miuccia Prada and Tom Ford (Fashion); and Wendy Seltzer and Natalie Jeremijenko (New Media).

Sir Nicholas Grimshaw (b.1939) is one of Britain’s most celebrated architects. His buildings, among them the International Terminal at Waterloo Station in London and the Eden Project in Cornwall, are icons of elegant and inventive industrial design. This book presents a selection of drawings from the sketchbooks that Grimshaw has used throughout his forty-year career, revealing the importance of drawing in the development of his ideas. Included here are concept sketches for buildings and furniture, detailed drawings of buildings’ component parts, site plans , and notes for meetings, presentations, and speeches, the sketchbooks provide an insight into the working mind of a master architect. With illuminating essays exploring the key role that drawing plays in architectural design, and specifically in Grimshaw’s own practice, this is an invaluable title for students, professionals, and enthusiasts alike.

Moscow has undergone vast and radical transformations which have turned it into an extraordinary urban laboratory. This book documents this metamorphosis, and takes as its focal point the city`s seven Stalinist towers, known in Russian as the vysotnye zdania, or high buildings.

Packed with instructions for techniques used by professional illustrators, this book walks the reader step-by-step through the methodology of drawing fashion. It demonstrates the best ways to create detailed fashion illustrations in a variety of media, teaching the reader about drawing, rendering and following logical steps in depicting fabric surface textures and folds that follow the form of drawn figures. This will be an essential coursebook for all student illustrators and fashion design students.

Leonardo da Vinci possessed arguably the greatest mind the world has ever known. Artist, draftsman, inventor, and philosopher, his contributions to modern society are profound and wide-reaching. This nicely illustrated book gathers and describes many of the beloved paintings and drawings created by the great master and admired by artists and scientists alike. It also analyzes the history and significance of each.

Creative personalities are always fascinating, and to learn something new about the 20th and 21st centuries' greatest artists—whether eccentric or sober, outspoken or reclusive—is compelling. 105 artists are presented in lively short biographies, and each entry is illustrated with important works, self-portraits, and photographs. Clearly grouped according to style and era are modern and contemporary art’s pioneers, from Picasso and Duchamp to Louise Bourgeois and Jean-Michel Basquiat. New entries on rising stars such as Marlene Dumas and Zhang Xiaogang bring the book into the twenty-first century. 101 color, 172 black-and-white illustrations.

«The ongoing relevance of Belgian painter Rene Magritte may lie in the semiotic character of his work and its ability to create chasms between the world, its surfaces and the signs we use to occupy it. Magritte's paintings offer a space for the viewer to contemplate the emptiness of signs and to locate that emptiness in a world we recognize--indeed, the artist relies on the props of normalcy in order to upend, invert and collapse them into the terra incognita where life leaves off and art begins. «The mind loves the unknown», he avowed, «it loves images whose meaning is unknown, since the meaning of the mind itself is unknown.» In Attempting the Impossible we have a new definitive Magritte monograph, replacing David Sylvester's volume of the early 1990s. Featuring more than 300 works, it contains much unpublished material and includes chapters covering Magritte's photography, drawings and influence on German and American contemporary art. Each chapter opens with a close reading of a key work--such as «The Treachery of Images» («This is not a pipe») of 1928-29--and a reconstruction of its intellectual and historical contexts. Art historian Siegfried Gohr examines Magritte's marriage and friendships, the phases of his work (from his sunlit Renoir period and his «periode vache» to his bright and visually arresting postwar work, which had such an influence on the advertising industry), the Belgian roots of his wit and sensibility and his word paintings and investigations into the paradoxes of representation.»