Customer Reviews

Tibor Kalman: Perverse Optimist

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I left a review of the hardcover a long time ago. I'm reviewing the paperback because I actually bought a 2nd copy of the book (one to keep untouched and the other to read several times). And now that I've gone through the book for the umpteenth time, I want to add more thoughts to my last review...

I'm begining to realize that the true magic behind the work of Tibor is that it's very personal. Tibor's work searches for some human quality inside us that it can appeal to. It relates to us as imperfect, informal human beings. Unlike most design today that is either self-indulgent or polished off and buttoned up, the work in this book seems to have a "come as you are" invitation to it. This was Tibor's gift. This was his major contribution to the work done in this book. As you surf through all 400+ pages you'll see that in the beginning his work was design "having something to sell". But suddenly his work detours and becomes design "having something to say."

The best part about this book is that it brings us inside the minds of all the people Tibor worked with, worked for (clients) and worked against. The eye opener is that their was a lot of pain that went into the production of this work. You learn that Tibor's passion became a blessing and curse for those he colloborated with. But you begin to learn that these "mistakes, misunderstandings and mis-comprehensions" are often an unexpected ingredient in producing fresh and interesting work.

I encourage this book to anyone who wants to see a new perspective on graphic design and the industry. But more importantly, it's a motivation for us to re-evaluate our own perspective on the industry.

I have tons of design books! Too many books! Of all the books this one travels with me everywhere I go just in case I need a little inspiration. Tibor and his pack of designers I believe have defined what design and communication is all about. They have pushed ideas to the point of rare novelty. With many of the designs in this book I can see that M&Co never stops asking the greatest of all creative questions: "What if?" There is only one thing I hate about the book - It makes me second guess everything that I do. Is it orginal? Is it "What if" enough? Am I following the creative line that is widely walked or have I grown enough spine to stray off the beaten path?

...Or am I just full of s**t?

I first heard of Tibor Kalman while browsing a copy of "Interview", just to learn that it was a tribute. Sometime later, I found a smiling bookcover looking at me. I bought it. I was waiting for the bus and started to read it... I could not put it down again. I read textes, subtitles, infos, even the small characters of the work reproduced. It was not enough. It made me regain the somehow lost faith in design, showing me how humour, money and a cause could be combined together with surprising results.
Do not be fooled: this book goes beyond the cult of the author's personality; it shows brief, concept and ways of thinking which are useful to everyone, not only designers and students.
Although I knew it from the beginning, in the end I had tears in my eyes, because this man was gone and could no longer make our world a better place.

Kalman was a fascinating artist, but above all, he was down to earth. He told it like it is. That's why people found his work disturbing and cutting edge at the same time. His images and ideas have the power to change how people think. As an artist, he was vastly underrated, but his art made important comments about popular culture. He fits right in with Warhol, Rauschenberg, et. al. This is a book worth many times its price.

This book is an inspiration. Check out his exhibit at the SF Moma if you can, and pick this book up for reference.

Here is a designer that realized that everything should not look neat, polished, and bland- reflecting what every corporate machine thinks is "tasteful". The designer has a responsibility to add flair, artistic integrity and originality into his/her work. That means punch, depth, grit, irony- everything that we used to see in advertising before MTV and online megastores.

Today's web designers often copy the latest "polished" style in an attempt to look professional, and garner more clients. That's why so much of the web looks alike right now. I even admit that I look back on old designs and wonder if I designed something because I liked it- or if I knew that the client would like it.

This book helps to shake forth the notion that we can propel design (even on the web) both artistically and commercially, forward with social and political integrity! Buy this book.

This is just plain required reading for anyone in a creative field. Tibor puts the humanity back into the design experience for both the designer and the viewer. Before we designed for "users" Tibor taught us that we were people designing for people. He was also a huge believer of the designer as an active participant in the social landscape. It's a shame that he's gone.

what a fantastic book this is. i often buy books here in toronto at one of the big chain stores and return them for the money because they're too darn expensive (this one was $95!). but i cannot bring myself to return it so instead i'm eating kraft dinner for a month. an absolutely fantastic book!

Think Tibor Kalman. Think Bennetton's controversal advertising. Think COLORS Magazine (http://www.benetton.com/colors/). Creative advertising, copywriting and photography at its best.

Includes a biography of Tibor, some of his writing about design, countless visuals -- spreads from COLORS magazine, Tibor's ads, clock designs, promotional campaigns, etc.

This is an excellent book I recommend to everyone who has interest in photography, advertising, graphic design or promotion.

Buy it. Or go to a bookshop and spend the day with it.

...how much of the work on show did Tibor himself actually have a significant hand in? It ain't always clear. And early on there were a couple of turkeys, let's be honest. These (admittedly nit-picking) quibbles aside, this is a superb book that should inspire and delight - colors is a milestone that would be ahead of its time today. I should lighten up...

Haven't much time (and this is obviously my first review) but here it is: this book is ALIVE - you keep opening it and finding something new/fun/provoking - kind of like casting a printed media i ching (is that the right spelling?) - I've never been particularly interested in design or typograhy before, but it opened me up to those - as well as being a tremendously fun book to have around.