Seymour Chwast Books

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A selection of the posters, illustrations, packaging, logos, and greeting cards created by Seymour Chwast is accompanied by discussions of his design techniques

I can’t wait for my daddy to come home from work. There are so many things to do! In a loving tribute to fathers and sons, Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli and New Yorker artist Seymour Chwast join talents to celebrate the very best moment of the day: when daddy comes home.

With enticing visuals and a fascinating text, Japanese Modern: Graphic Design between the Wars is the first book to examine an often ignored period of Japanese graphic design. From the late 1920s to the mid-1930s, Japan was a burgeoning industrial state with a growing consumer culture that relied increasingly on commercial art to promote and sell its products. While adhering to its own distinctive artistic traditions, Japanese graphic design was nevertheless heavily influenced by Western styles, trends, and fashions - the most influential being art moderne, or art deco. Japanese graphic designers and art directors drew inspiration from Europe's master poster artists and typographers - particularly those in France and Germany. They also imported and assimilated elements of Bauhaus, constructivism, and futurism, and applied them to a variety of media, including posters, packages, brochures, advertisements, and magazines. Art moderne is perhaps best illustrated in the scores of department store posters produced during this time, while hybrids are seen in the ubiquitous collections of period matchbox labels. Tracing the introduction of this Western-influenced style through its most compelling movements and leading practitioners, this strikingly illustrated book presents a scintillating look at modern Japanese graphic design.

This book serves as an introduction to the key elements of good typographic design. Broken into sections covering the fundamentals of typography, the book features inspiring works by acclaimed typographic designers from across the world. Each section illustrates technical points and encourages readers to try out new ideas of their own. The subjects covered include typographic rebus, abstract form, overlapping, using grids, metaphoric construction and illumination. The result is an instantly accessible, jargon-free guide to typographic design using professional techniques

Idealistic young scientist Henry Jekyll struggles to unlock the secrets of the soul. Testing chemicals in his lab, he drinks a mixture he hopes will isolate - and eliminate - human evil. Instead it unleashes the dark forces within him, transforming him into the hideous and murderous Mr. Hyde. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde dramatically brings to life a science-fiction case study of the nature of good and evil and the duality that can exist within one person. Resonant with psychological perception and ethical insight, the work has literary roots in Dostoevsky's "The Double" and Crime and Punishment. Today Stevenson's novella is recognized as an incisive study of Victorian morality and sexual repression, as well as a great thriller. This collection also includes some of the author's grimmest short fiction: "Lodging for the Night," "The Suicide Club," "Thrawn Janet," "The Body Snatcher," and "Markheim."

Ein großer Künstler der Illustration setzt sich in seiner ersten Graphic Novel mit einem der großen Genies des Schriftstellertums auseinander: Seymour Chwast adaptiert Dante Alighieris Göttliche Komödie! In seiner originellen, in moderne Sprache übertragenen Kurzfassung des Klassikers jagt uns Seymour Chwast erst durch die Hölle, dann ins Fegefeuer und schließlich ins Paradies. Die Reise, die zu Luzifer und Gott führt, beginnt an der Hand von Dante, dargestellt als pfeiferauchender Detektiv aus einem Film noir, und Vergil, einem Briten mit Bowler, der später von der Hollywood-Blondine Beatrice abgelöst wird. Mit viel Humor und eigenwilligen Schwarz-Weiß-Zeichnungen lässt Chwast die wunderbare Verserzählung zu neuem Leben erwachen.

Wie findet man Freunde? Wie geht man auf andere Menschen zu? Vielleicht bringt man bei einem ersten Kennenlernen ein kleines Geschenk mit – und der Anfang ist gemacht. Denn kleine Geschenke erhalten die Freundschaft. In fantastisch illustrierten Szenen zeigt Seymour Chwast, was alles möglich ist, um neue Kontakte zu knüpfen und vielleicht entwickelt sich daraus eine neue Freundschaft.