Design

In competition with Dan Dare in the Eagle, Wulf the Briton was the star of rival comic Express Weekly and enjoyed his heyday in the hands of artist Ron Pembleton between 1957 and 1960. The complete Pembleton-era adventures of the ancient-world hero are reproduced at full size in this large-format volume, which also includes stories from the Express Weekly Annuals and features about the strip and its celebrated artist.

In addition to producing his own ground-breaking work, Brian Grimwood founded the internationally renowned Central Illustration Agency in 1983. His distinctive free and fluid style first brought him to prominence in the 1960s and this overview of his output, which includes traditional drawings and paintings as well as iPad and Photoshop designs, clearly demonstrates his significant contribution to the changing world of commercial art since then.

This well-illustrated book follows the history of fashion and the social calendar in Britain from the late 18th century to the outbreak of the Second World War, when intricately drawn fashion plates were gradually abandoned in favour of photography. Material is taken from the pages of fashion magazines, showing readers how to dress appropriately and stylishly at any time of year and for any occasion, ranging from weddings and funerals to sporting activities, and the making of morning calls.

'Don't ask a man to drink and drive', 'Coughs and sneezes spread diseases', 'Take your litter home'... Combining snappy slogans with eye-catching graphics, post-war British governments sought to influence the way we lived – all for our own good, of course. Accompanied by informative captions, more than 40 of these posters, produced between 1945 and 1975, are reproduced in this book in handy detachable format ready to pin up as nostalgic decoration. But remember – take care how you do it.

A teacher at Glasgow School of art, an exhibitor at the 1951 Festival of Britain and a textile designer for Liberty’s, Robert Stewart (1924–1995) dazzled the design world of the 1950s and 1960s. His passion was for surface design on textiles, tapestries, ceramics and paintings. This celebration of his life and achievements is richly illustrated with photographs that demonstrate the breadth of his work and provides a fascinating insight into British post-war design.

Discussing portraits of around 190 people, ranging chronologically from Henry VII to Grayson Perry and Elizabeth II, this study uses the superb collection of the National Portrait Gallery to explore the role of clothing and accessories in portraiture. With an illustrated introductory chapter and detailed commentary on 95 individuals, pairs or groups, the book looks at how clothing and fabrics are used to delineate identity and character, and how the choice of apparel gives insight into a sitter’s personality.

Written by the co-founders of British fashion brand ‘Red or Dead’ Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway and illustrated with items from their personal archive, this complete visual history of 20th-century fashion is arranged by decade. Along with an introduction to each period and discussion of the social influences on fashion, key designers and style icons of the day, it has a practical guide to buying, styling and restoring vintage clothing and interviews with collectors.

Alexander Rodchenko (1891-1953) was a central figure in the Russian Constructivist art movement: a radical activist, a pioneer of photomontage and a theorist, re-examining the place of art in the post-Revolution, classless society. This concise, illustrated study from the Design series focuses on Rodchenko's graphic work for book jackets, posters and advertising.

From the automotive art of ‘Kustom Kulture’ in 1950s' and 1960s' California, through drug-fuelled psychedelic graphics and the cartoons and freak art of illustrators such as Robert Crumb in the underground press, to punk graphics and the ‘lowbrow’ art of West Coast USA, this history uses LP cover art, flyers and concert posters to follow the shifting visual aesthetic and the artistic personalities of the counter-culture up to contemporary indie crafts. Sexually explicit content.

Comprising four A–Z sections, this comprehensive, well-designed guide covers the classification of typefaces from Albertus to Zapfino; the anatomy of letterforms; signs and symbols from @ to ¥; and the ‘typographer’s toolkit’ for organizing type on the page.

Based on the historian Peter Kimpton’s collection of fashion postcards from Edwardian times, this well-illustrated guide documents the hat (and hatpin) fashions that defined that era and the designers – including Coco Chanel – who created them. The author also explores the darker side of the millinery industry, from the wholesale slaughter of exotic birds for their ornate feathers to the appalling conditions in the hat-making sweatshops of New York.

A master of pre-digital airbrush technique, Chris Achilléos was a leading figure in fantasy, science fiction and glamour illustration in the 1970s and 1980s, creating visuals for film design, book covers and magazines. This collection of his work includes a brief biography in addition to over 100 artworks and preliminary drawings ranging from fantasy paintings and erotic illustrations to book cover art for Doctor Who and Star Trek novelizations. Slightly off-mint and felt-tip mark on lower trimmed edge.

When furniture shortages in Britain hit an all-time high following the Blitz, the government responded by setting up the Utility Furniture scheme. This comprehensive guide, which accompanies a facsimile reproduction of the first catalogue, offers an insight into the privations of the war years and, for those who remember this sturdy furniture, a chance to reminisce.

The 1960s ushered in an explosion of colour and style in the home. Lavishly illustrated with photographs from the archives of House & Garden magazine, this follow-up to the same author's Fifties House celebrates the design trends of the period, from mid-century Modernism to paisley prints and Indian bric-a-brac, and charts the influence of such designers as David Bailey, Terence Conran, Mary Quant and Biba's Barbara Hulanicki, who provides a foreword.

Comprehensively illustrated with period images, design sketches and photographs of notable garments from well-known films and plays, this guide provides practical advice for students or working designers of amateur or professional productions. A history of theatrical costume is followed by guidance on the design process, thoughts about communicating ideas to your audience, an analysis of period styles from medieval to modern, and case studies from the author's illustrious career.

From the illusionistic architectural spaces created by Renaissance mural painters to the op art of the 20th century, this compendium of optical tricks presents a range of images including depth inversions, vibration effects, impossible perspectives, camouflage and anamorphic art. Examples are drawn from the world of psychology, popular illustration and street art as well as the work of celebrated artists such as Escher, Picasso, Magritte and Bridget Riley.

No sooner had the Second World War ended than the governments of the victorious powers were promoting their ideology (and the folly of the alternative) to their peoples and beyond. This collection of posters, many by leading artists, ranges from propaganda regarding the reshaping of Europe on either side of the Iron Curtain, and responses to the nuclear threat, to a selection of cinema posters for films encouraging a partisan reading of the political situation.

Tony Seddon traces the development of type design and typographic style through a detailed survey of 100 important typefaces, from Nicholas Jenson’s early use of Roman letterforms in the mid 15th century to Selva, a blackletter typeface designed in 2012. For each design, Seddon describes its creator and its development, and provides examples of the typeface and a large, annotated illustration of a capital and a lower-case letter showing their distinctive typographical elements and innovations.

This compendium of the work of leading graphic designers in America and Europe presents over 300 designs for company logos and letterheads in a range of business sectors from creative and media agencies, retailers and entertainment companies to educational and non-profit organizations.

In the Soviet Union the years 1927 to 1933 were ones of intense industrialization and collectivization, aiming to transform old Russia into a modern, mechanized society. Designers played their part and motifs such as gears, aeroplanes and locomotives, sports and agriculture appeared in fabrics, reinforcing industrial and social ideas. This book draws on the Lloyd Cotsen fabrics collection in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, to examine this short-lived but intriguing experiment in thematic design.

The fashion illustrator David Downton made his name working for magazines including Vogue and Vanity Fair and has for 20 years been working on a series of portraits of celebrated women from the worlds of film, fashion and style. This collection of the work includes over 150 drawings and paintings of famous women, such as Catherine Deneuve, Gillian Anderson and Linda Evangelista, as well as anecdotes and photographs from the sittings.

The interior design projects in this portfolio demonstrate the influence of minimalism on contemporary style. Rather than promoting sterile empty spaces, the 26 schemes, by leading international architects, show the intent to pare down rooms to their essential functions; each example is explored in a series of photographs and architectural plans, from New York lofts and North London terraces to apartments in Barcelona and Hong Kong.

With its strong engineering focus, highly skilled craft workshops, specialized and technologically sophisticated factories, and an intellectually engaged design press, Italy has provided the ideal conditions for the creation of functional, innovative and elegant designs. This volume presents 100 of the finest products, from Carlo Bugatti's Cobra chair in 1902 to the Ducati 1199 Panigale, at the cutting edge of motorbike design in 2011. Each design is described in detail alongside a full-page colour photograph.

Edward Bawden (1903–1989) was one of the most innovative graphic designers of the 20th century, whose work included covers and designs for the Curwen Press, illustrations for the Ambrose Bierce cookery books published by Faber & Faber, ceramic designs, advertising artworks, particularly for London Transport and Fortnum & Mason, and murals. In this volume from the Design series, Peyton Skipwith’s succinct account of Bawden’s career accompanies reproductions of a wide selection of his work.