Chaz Bundick of Toro Y Moi and Les Sins shares his favourite books

Longtime fans of Toro Y Moi will already know Chaz Bundick to be a man with impeccable visual stylings, and a portfolio which stretches way beyond logos and album covers to include album launches turned art exhibitions, screen-printed posters and a heavy involvement with the concepts behind his music videos as well. Today marks the launch of Chaz’s debut album Michael under the name of his dancier side project Les Sins, which we decided made for an ample excuse to get a look at his Bookshelf. And my god it’s a good one.

Taking inspiration from 1970s art and design publications, vintage Swatch designs and the psychedelic album artwork of Storm Thorgerson, Chaz talked us through his well-thumbed, Post-it littered collection. He picked six, but we let him off because they’re so damn good.

National Collection of Fine Arts: Images of an Era: The American Poster 1945-75

I bought this book and a few others in this stack while on a trip last year in Zurich. I can’t remember the store’s name but it was a goldmine! Anyways, this book is a collection of American posters starting with war-era posters from the 1940s up to concert posters of the 1970s. It’s one of my main go-to books to find inspiration for posters and merch ideas. I love finding design books that were actually printed in the 70s. This book in particular has a lot of my favourite psychedelic posters and more.

Storm Thorgerson: The Work of Hipgnosis: Walk Away Rene

I found this guy in the same bookstore. It’s a look inside of one of the best design groups ever (in my opinion). It talks about all the designers and employees and what they did. It even shows their step-by-step process on some projects. I think their iconic record covers really influenced the way I go about creating record covers. Their ideas are so simple, they seem surreal.

Charles A. Fracchia and Jeremiah O. Bragstad: Converted Into Houses

This book shows all sorts of weird locations/buildings that were turned into living spaces. It’s a great place to look for interior design ideas and colour schemes. It has everything from gaudy grandmas’ houses to retro bachelor pads, and it has great ideas for using space efficiently and beautifully. 

Swatch: 1983-1991

I found this for $5 in Switzerland! It’s awesome because it’s just a giant book of all the watches they designed from 1983-1991. Great for textile ideas and drooling over vintage watches…

Rolf-Gunter Dienst: German Art: A New Generation

This is basically an encyclopedia of some of the best German artists. The foreword is all in German so I have no idea what the curator is talking about, but there are some really amazing pieces of art in here that are worth finding out more about. It mainly focuses on artists in the world of installations, public sculptures and repurposed art. 

Edward Booth-Clibborn and Daniele Baroni: The Language of Graphics

I try to look for books from the 70s, or which focus on design from that era, and this one does a great job showcasing everything from poster design to product/packaging design. Something about the colours from this period really makes me aspire to look more at colours. Maybe it has something to do with psychedelics influencing culture… Hmmm, it’s definitely that.