The beauty of contemporary graphic design is that dozens of movements emerge and re-emerge from view. Yet, too often we are left with only the vague impression that something is going on. To appreciate what that might be requires us to slow down, ignore superficial trends, and take a more in-depth look. This is the approach taken by Function, Restraint, and Subversion in Typography, a survey of minimalist and brutalist typography in contemporary graphic design. This international collection documents the work of more than twenty-four graphic designers who engage in an aggressively simple typography. Lavishly illustrated with commentary by author J. Namdev Hardisty, the book explores the innovative posters, books, signage, and other forms of print design by such well-known designers as Daniel Eatock, Experimental Jetset, Spin, the Walker Art Center's design studio, as well as those just beginning to make a mark on the design world, including MGMT., Project Projects, SEA, Xavier Encinas, Manuel Raeder, YES, and more.
Namdev Hardisty is the founder, with Kimberlee Whaley, of The MVA, through which he has worked on print, web, and signage projects for a variety of clients, including Intermedia Arts, Minneapolis College of Art & Design, The Weisman Art Museum, and Analog Clothing. Namdev's work is featured in Over & Over: A Catalog of Hand-drawn Patterns and Hand Job: A Catalogue of Type, both published by Princeton Architectural Press. He is also the author and designer of New Skateboard Graphics (2009). He received his BFA in Graphic Design from Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 2003.
designersreviewofbooks.com:
"If you are a fan of minimalism, modernism or brutalism you will find Function, Restraint, and Subversion in Typography especially intriguing. The layout of the book is clean and straightforward, complementing the work and information on its pages. Mixed in between the studio showcases are several interviews relevant to the styles of modernism and brutalism. The interviews help break up the studio showcases, which I appreciated as I sometimes struggled to remember the distinctions between the similar bodies of work.....a refreshing approach to a bold style of typographic design. "
