Beware Wet Paint

Description

Surveying thirty-five years of Alan Fletcher's work, this book is an essay upon the design process as undertaken by a tireless and hugely gifted individual. The thinking behind his solutions and methods are illustrated by a range of examples, each accompanied by a full commentary from Jeremy Myerson. Four essays give further critical and biographical insight into the work, and the man. With a penchant for standing ideas on their head and a staggering ability to make colours do his bidding, Alan Fletcher is one of the most immediately recognizable graphic designers working in the field today. His innovative knack of playing with letters until they threaten to topple into abstracted signs, his remarkable redeployment of established design languages in new formations and his ability to create striking graphic shorthand with a minimum of elements are all demonstrated in Beware Wet Paint. Far more than a monograph, this book provides Fletcher with a platform from which to explore and describe his philosophy and approach to design, tell witty anecdotes, recount successes (as well as failures) and give a disarmingly honest account of his designs. Superbly written by Jeremy Myerson and complete with interview, retrospectives and pen portraits, this book offers a beautiful description of an artist at work. Projects are grouped under a series of headings such as optical illusion, body language, recycling stuff and exploiting uniformity: the book is designed by Alan Fletcher himself. 'Alan Fletcher's brilliantly designed book, is, in my opinion, one of the best graphic design books ever published. His work and thinking are what graphic design is all about, and the very reason I chose this profession.' (Critique) 'Fletcher probably gets bored with always being on the receiving end of praise, but his work is simply terrific - buy this book' (FX) 'This book is a fresh approach and worthy of our attention. Alan Fletcher is one of the masters of design, and the book about him - celebrating 35 years as a designer - is not a coffee table book. (Domus)

Alan Fletcher was a founder member of the design group Pentagram and is renowned as a designer of unique style and purpose. In a long and distinguished career, he has been associated with some of the most progressive patrons of modern design, including Reuters Lloyd's of London, IBM, Herman Miller, Olivetti, Pirelli, Fortune and Domus. He was consultant Art Director to Phaidon Press. Jeremy Myerson is professor of design studies and co-director of the Helen Hamlyn Research Centre at the Royal College of Art, London. A former editor of Design Week, which he founded in 1986 as the world's first weekly news magazine for design consultants, he is the author of a number of books on design and communication, including Rewind: 40 years of Design and Advertising, published by Phaidon in 2002.

"Fletcher probably gets bored with always being on the receiving end of praise, but his work is simply terrific - buy this book."-FX "One of the best graphic design books ever published."-Critique