Over and Over: A Catalog of Hand-Drawn Patterns - Softcover

Perry, Mike

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1568987579 ISBN 13: 9781568987576

Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press, 2008

Synopsis

Pattern can be derived from many sources, if we remember to look closely. While patterns have been around forever, there’s a recent movement, a tendency among designers, to allow patterns to animate their work with colorful and exuberant complexity. "Over and Over: A Catalog of Hand-Drawn Patterns" collects groundbreaking work from fifty of today’s most talented designers who create patterns by hand and use them in their work in inventive and innovative ways. From Deanne Chenk’s patterns that adorn current fashion to those of Robin Cameron that explore her interest in art to Garret Morin’s patterns that arose from an exercise for a character called Eloie, the examples in this book are pushing the boundaries of the traditional concept of what a pattern is. The selected works are often not an end result but the beginning of something else, of something bigger and broader. While the computer is sometimes involved in the production of patterns, the hand-drawn element is always evident in the uniqueness of these works. Featuring more than 250 vibrant and exciting patterns, "Over and Over" explores this magic on every single page and will inspire designers everywhere.

"Drawing a pattern is not the easiest way of doing it, but, when the time is spent, something magical happens." – Michael Perry

About this title

About the Author

Michael Perry is a graphic designer and a typographer who has used patterns in his work for clients such as Zoo York, 2K, Zune, and the New York Times Magazine. He is the author of Hand Job: A Catalog of Type, published by Princeton Architectural Press.

Reviews

Starred Review. Today, notes contributor Jim Datz in his intro, drawing patterns with the fallible human hand is an art perched at the treacherous meeting place of authentic human craftsmanship and a world largely defined by trendsetting and online consumption: ideas, "almost at the moment they begin, are lifted, collated, named, and marketed in a willful act of pattern recognition by today's cultural curators." Though many of the patterns collated here were designed for commercial purposes (turned into t-shirts, skate boards and other product by hip designers), they make a strong impression as art-for-art's sake. As Datz further notes, "we are pattern seeking animals," and these selections are strangely gratifying, sometimes even meditative. Many designers share the aesthetic of popular contributor Jeremyville, clearly influenced by graffiti, cartoons and Keith Haring; others, like Deanne Cheuk, opt for retro colors and a hint of kitsch. Artists like Mario Hugo and Kirk Hiatt show a sparse, modernist approach, while Dan Funderburgh creates traditional floral wallpaper designs tweaked with, say, fire hydrants and parking meters. This makes a fitting following up to Perry's well-received catalog of hand-drawn letters, Hand Job; not only does this fun roundup help define a growing subgenre, it's also a rousing introduction to more than 50 young artists.
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Edition details

• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1568987579
• ISBN 13: 9781568987576
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 253