No matter what is your role in today’s design world—whether as a design insider or as one of the general public’s many “design-inclined”—the emergence of design in the United States to a position of popular cultural prominence is exciting and inspiring. Nowhere is this increased level of interest and attention more apparent than in the world of design book publishing.
The first Designers & Books Fair is set to launch this weekend in New York City. Designers & Books Fair 2012 (October 27—29th) is a live New York City event at the intersection where design, architecture, and books meet.
The Book Fair will be a great starting point for ramping up your fall reading list—35 US and European book publishers and booksellers will display and sell the newest titles for fall as well as offering important backlist titles. There will also be rare and out-of-print book dealers; demonstrations of book arts, including calligraphy, letterpress printing, bookbinding and book signings. Besides the exhibition, the Book Fair also includes 17 programs with designers in conversation.
The three-day event begins on Friday with a keynote address, “Designing the Future of the Design Book,” followed by two days of panel discussions, calligraphy, letterpress printing, bookbinding, and debates.
On Saturday, four respected architecture critics trade stories about the books in their lives for “Buildings and Books: Four Architecture Critics in Conversation,” with tickets priced at $25 for the one-and-a-half-hour discussion. Later that afternoon, “Book Design at Pentagram” runs three hours and is priced at $50 for advance tickets. Sunday’s highlights include Paul Goldberger in conversation with Richard Meier, Michael Graves, and Peter Eisenman.
(Designer Todd Oldham, founder of Todd Oldham Studio, will speak alongside Wendy Goodman of New York magazine on Saturday)
Now, imagine this great confluence of design world dignitaries and their favorite books (including the books they’ve written and designed) and their thoughts about books, publishing, design, fashion, architecture, and more, gathered in person.
