Things

So Things this week contains McSweeney’s number 38 of their ever-great quarterly, unsurprisingly heavy on the text. Visual antidotes come from Museums Press with their illustrated anthology, Visual Complexity and Phillip Harris, who provides some surreal relief. Not forgetting Mono.Kultur who’s latest is a Bless design special.

McSweeney’s Quarterly No. 38 McSweeney’s

Well, I remember when it was McSweeney’s 13. Now I feel old (or just six and a quarter years older). The inimitable literary anthology returns with written contributions from Ariel Dorfman, Roddy Doyle and the man himself, Dave Eggers. Also, and quite lovely it is, is a comic insert (but you can’t take it out) by Brit comic ace, Jack Teagle. Excellent cover (Jessica “Drop Cap” Hische!) and all-round design as always.
www.mcsweeneys.net

Visual Complexity: Mapping patterns of information Manuel Lima

There’s definitely always been something beautiful about accurate, colour-coded graphs. Manuel Lima, a fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, has collated his almost psychotically accurate diagrams into one large, date filled book. For a tome so based on maths, it’s still completely coffee-table worthy. CNN rightly says of Lima’s work: “When it comes to making data sexy, you can’t be too graphic.”
www.visualcomplexity.com

The Museums Press Anthology Various excellent artists

A wonderful anthology of illustration/art/greatness kindly sent by the good people of Museums Press in Glasgow. A stream of black and white – and often pretty hilarious -illustrations lie between the fluorescent Morgan Blair front and back covers. These include some particularly strong work by Andy Rementer, James Benjamin Franklin and Rob Phoenix.
www.museumspress.co.uk

The World of Animals, Strange and Surreal, The Story of Stone and Steel Phillip Harris

There’s something intensely satisfying about illustration that’s thick with detail, and Phillip Harris’ work is no exception. From the laboriously cross-hatched drawings to the Victorian costumes of his characters, Harris’ work is steeped in a distinctly British history that recalls William Hogarth and Arthur Rackham. He’s also tremendously skilled at drawing animals. I like his pig.
www.philipharrisillustration.blogspot.com

BLESS MONO. KULTUR issue #28 Design by Manuel Raeder

Printed on uncoated stock that’s heavy with ink, issue #28 of MONO. KULTUR is a deliciously tactile little volume, particularly apt given the focus of the issue is BLESS studio – fashion pioneers and inventors of the fur wig. The double-gatefold magazine is divided neatly between interview and lookbook exploring the studio’s origins and inspiration.
www.mono-kultur.com
www.bless-service.de
www.manuelraeder.co.uk