Eye #108

Editorial Eye 108
John L. Walters
What may appear like ‘branding’ and ‘marketing’ often has the more compelling dynamic of editorial design …

The first brand mag?
Design history, Typography, Visual culture, Andy Altmann
The chance discovery of a set of bound volumes revealed a treasure trove of trade marks. By Andy Altmann

Going off the grid
Critical path, Graphic design, Magazines, Rick Poynor
Plastikcomb magazine looks back to 1990s graphics with stylish aplomb … and a focus on contemporary collage-makers.

Features

Reputations: Rob Saunders
Eric Heiman
‘We are in a moment of fascination with everything analogue, especially for designers who spend all day working on screens for screens. For them, it’s refreshing and mind-opening and inspiring in some magical way I can’t fully explain.’ Interview: Eric Heiman

Jacket required
Robert Hanks
A love of reading gives Jon Gray’s book covers their edge. By Robert Hanks

Henrietta Condak: Mistress of Masterworks
Elizabeth Resnick
Working in-house for CBS, this prolific art director combined illustration, lettering, typography and photography to make a significant body of design for serious music. By Elizabeth Resnick [EXTRACT]

Films on tap
John L. Walters
Founded in 2007 by Efe Cakarel, Mubi favours editorial design over marketing conventions to reach twenty million subscribers in 190 countries. By John L. Walters

Dafi Kühne comes to town
Richard Ardagh
A grey London February was enlivened by a visit from the Swiss letterpress innovator. Report: Richard Ardagh [EXTRACT]

We made this: Czech design’s soft power
Linda Kudrnovská
Eight years in the making, an ambitious project charts the story of a small nation’s outsize influence. By Linda Kudrnovská

In memoriam: Martin Lee (1941-2025)
Richard Smith
Richard Smith pays tribute to a print production maestro who understood graphic designers as well as he understood printers and printing

Reviews

The Face Magazine: Culture Shift
The Jenson roman, or the most influential type in the history of printing
Draw
Electric Dreams – Art and Technology Before the Internet
Breaking Lines
Typography Theory Practice
Fantasy: Invention, Creativity, and Imagination in Visual Communication. By Bruno Munari
Modernist Graphic Design in Britain 1945-1980
Fracture: Japanese Graphic Design 1875-1975