Alexander Girard Memory Game [Game]

Alexander Girard (Author), Gloria Fowler (Designer)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2012

The newest addition to our growing line of Memory Games features the distinctive designs by Alexander Girard. Thirty-six of Girard’s playful yet sophisticated textile designs and colorful illustrations are featured in this well-designed game for children of all ages and adults. Girard’s vintage, and now classic, designs for Herman Miller are a delightful addition to our design-centric toys for kids.

 

How to play:

For younger children, play with nine pairs or fewer. For a more challenging game, geared toward older children and adults, play with all 36 pairs. Mix and spread cards face down. Players take turns flipping any two cards up. If cards match, player continues. If cards do not match, player’s turn ends and cards remain in the same position. When all cards are matched, player with the most pairs wins.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

ALEXANDER GIRARD (1907-1993) was a pre-eminent, mid-20th century designer whose work spanned many disciplines, including textile design, graphic design, typography, illustration, furniture design, interior design, product design, exhibit design, and architecture. He was born in New York to an American mother and French-Italian father, raised in Florence, Italy, and graduated from the Royal School of Architecture in Rome.

Girard is most well known for his bold, colorful, and iconic textile designs for Herman Miller (1952-1975). These were often featured in conjunction with furniture designs by his contemporaries Charles and Ray Eames, and George Nelson. In his designs for La Fonda del Sol restaurant (1960), Girard experimented with typography as a communication tool and large-scale environmental graphic. Textiles and Objects (1961) was a very influential New York store sponsored by Herman Miller that featured Girard's designs inspired by his travels and folk art collection. The Girard Foundation (1962) houses his own personal and extensive collection of folk art, textiles, toys, and objects from around the world. Girard's complete environmental design for Braniff International Airways (1965) gave him the opportunity to work at all scales with color, graphics, textiles, and furniture design. He designed every aspect of the project himself, from the minute-sized sugar packets and ticket counters to the graphic colors of the planes themselves.

Alexander Girard's playful yet sophisticated designs continue to inspire new generations of artists and designers. The breadth and scope of his work is truly remarkable. This highly anticipated tome is the first major retrospective of this very accomplished and prolific designer and has been painstakingly edited by renowned New York-based designer Todd Oldham.

 

GLORIA FOWLER is the design director for AMMO books, and has created AMMO's growing line of kids books and products, starting with the Charley Harper series. The Alexander Girard children's line beautifully augments this series of design-centric products. The Alexander Girard Eden Giant Floor Puzzle, Memory Game, and Board Book celebrate the playful spirit of this seminal designer with a series of educational, well-designed, and affordable items for kids. Gloria is also a faculty member at Art Center College of Design.

Product Details

• Game
• Publisher: Ammo Books; Brdgm edition (February 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934429767
• ISBN-13: 978-1934429761
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 1 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #421,670 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful illustrations! November 25, 2012

By A. Johnson

Amazon Verified Purchase

Girard's striking illustrations lend themselves beautifully to this type of game. The illustrations are bold, graphic, and distinctive -- great things for a game in which you try to remember a picture and match it to its mate. My toddler likes matching the tiles, but she seems to like just checking out all the images just as much.

For toddlers, just setting out the cards face-up and matching them is challenge enough. Older children can use the cards in the more traditional Memory game style, turning the cards face down, choosing a card, and then trying to guess where its match might be. So, I think my daughter will enjoy this game for a few years to come.

The only critique I might offer is that some of the Girard illustrations chosen are extremely similar to one another, with the differences in form or composition being quite subtle. This is a great challenge for older kids -- identifying subtle differences between two images -- but is a little confusing for younger toddlers.

5.0 out of 5 stars For Kids and Adults! April 10, 2013

By minnesotahotdish

Amazon Verified Purchase

This is so much fun AND beautiful artwork to admire while you play. Received many compliments from guests. My 18 month old doesn't enjoy it as much as her parents do right now, but in due time. Just love it, must have!

5.0 out of 5 stars High quality, beautiful game February 23, 2013

By C. Frederick

Amazon Verified Purchase

With all the ugly options out there for a memory game for kids, why not choose one with amazing artwork? I play this with a five year old and we love it.

The box is very high quality and easily fits all the pieces. Looks beautiful on your coffee table. The backs of the pieces are printed with a satisfying red color. My only small gripe is that a few of the cards are printed off-register (the image is blurry).

I'll look for more games from this publisher.