365 is the American Institute of Graphic Art's annual presentation of the best in American design, and features cutting-edge projects selected by a jury of pre-eminent designers and design specialists in the organization's Communication Graphics 21 and 50 Books/50 Covers of 1999 competitions. Communication Graphics is the premier design competition in the US, open to any and every form of graphic work, from traditional print and packaging to the most recent and innovative interactive technologies. 50 Books/50 Covers has recognized excellence in book design and production since 1923, and its entries include books and book covers ranging from trade, reference, and juvenile books to museum publications, encompassing standard as well as limited edition and special format books. Conceived by AIGA in conjunction with renowned San Francisco-based designer Jennifer Sterling, 365 serves up essays that contextualize the ever-changing shape of contemporary graphic design, including a text that critiques the New Minimalism movement for its conflation of consumerism and spirituality, and a defense of the printed book in the face of the ''post-literate'' Digital Age. In addition, AIGA's 2000 Gold Medallists--Scott and Laurie Makela, Michael Vanderbyl, and Fred Seibert--are profiled in insightful biographical essays and retrospective portfolios. This year's stunning plastic-encased volume is sure to become a design object collector's item.
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
A book about graphic design is a delicate thing that pits its own presence against its (graphic) content. 365: AIGA Year in Design 21 is no exception. Beginning with a tribute to 2000 AIGA medal recipients P. Scott and Laurie Haycock Makela and other awards, it devotes a large section to selected work in communication graphics and finishes with "50 books, 50 covers." 365 has more weight and seriousness than one would normally expect, feeling less like a yearly journal than a comprehensive art catalog, partly due to its own design. Because the text is so small as to be illegible, and the design is based on a puzzling scheme of full pages, smaller postage-stamp-sized filled boxes, and a cryptic notation system, the material is so controlled that the physicality of the work is lost and the information is hard to read. The work itself is great, and worth the effort, but the book requires patience. --Juliette Cezzar
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
365: Great pieces but poor book design,
By "costawest" (Saint Paul, MI) - See all my reviews
This review is from: 365: AIGA Year in Design 21 (Hardcover)
This annual is a good example of how pretentious, self important design of a book can ruin it. Otherwise (probably) terrific examples of the latest in American design are reduced to irresponsible unreadable game of the apparently self-important book designer (J. Sterling?) who thinks that her design is more important than the actual pieces selected for this prestigious contest. A complete parody of the functionality of graphic design. 4 stars for the work itself, 1 star for the interior editorial design. Sorry spectacle AIGA.
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Overdesigned,
By A Customer
This review is from: 365: AIGA Year in Design 21 (Hardcover)
The previous reviewer is right on the mark. The book designer intruded into the pieces that are supposed to be the highlight of the book, it took me a few page turns to realize that the grids on top of the full page images were in fact not a part of the pieces on display. What bothers me most about this book is the pretentiousness of the books editors/judges in making this the book that will forever divide the web designers from the print designers. This book is being used by the print firms to suck projects back into their court by putting a "manifesto" of sorts in the back explaining why there are no website projects profiled. They really show their colors by saying websites are poorly designed because the designers are not a big part of the process anymore. What a great way to convince clients that will be looking at this that they need go with a "print firm". They also say that the web suffers from the Jakob Nielson usability first, design last effect. I suggest that other designers (i work in print and the web) follow my lead and burn your AIGA membership cards and forget about collaboration. It seems that the judges do not like working on an even playing field with developers and site arhitects (I would like to see Michael Beirut design global flash narratives across a 6000 page intranet)... hopefully this book will have little effect on our community.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Cutting Other People Work...,
By A Customer
This review is from: 365: AIGA Year in Design 21 (Hardcover)
To show your design skills is not what design is meant for when you have over a hundred other designers whose work you are trying to showcase. I really felt that the pieces that were shown in this book where destroyed by cutting them up into different sections and not showing the whole. How could you get a sense of the pieces as they are not shown in their entirety? Many of the pieces I have seen in other publications so I know this is the case. I love what they chose to be included and agree with them on their beauty, but how can you not show the whole work? Would you show four different pieces of a Ray and Charles Eames piece of furniture, part of a Frank Gehrey building or a little of one of Phillip Starck's industrial designs? No, people would be upset....and that is my point. This isn't the designer of the books work but a collection of other peoples work . If the book was a Photonica catalog (which it strongly resembles) then I would say great job! This is just another designer (whose work I love) stepping on other peoples toes...sorry.
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