A Sketchbook Book

If you’re still looking for a great holiday present, It’s not too late to run down to your local bookseller or order overnight delivery for this terrific book I just got my hands on: it’s called “Graphic: Inside the Sketchbook of the World’s Great Graphic Designers,” and it’s another production from the prolific Steven Heller, who co-edited the book with Lita Talarico.

Full disclosure: I was lucky enough to be included within the 352 pages of drawings, doodles, paintings, collage and random visual goodness from over one hundred prominent graphic designers. On page 340 (the book is organized alphabetically by last name) you’ll find about a dozen sample pages taken from the many sketchbooks that I’ve kept over the years. In addition to my own work, there are samples from a ton of amazing luminaries including Gary Baseman, Michael Bierut, Henrik Drescher, Seymour Chwast, Milton Glaser, Bruce Mau, Christoph Niemann, Art Spiegelman and many others.

Outtakes

I photographed dozens of pages for Steven and Lita, but of course only a few of them could make it into the final printed volume. So as a special bonus, here are some more samples. Most of these date back over a decade, which explains the yellowing tape and some of the prematurely retro subject matter.

For more on the three-ring binder system that I use for the sketchbooks, read this blog post from five years ago.

Sketchbook Samples 1
Sketchbook Samples 2
Sketchbook Samples 3
Sketchbook Samples 4
Sketchbook Samples 5
Sketchbook Samples 6
Sketchbook Samples 7
Sketchbook Samples 8
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  3. Khoi Vinh

    Jim: Huh. Well that shouldn’t stop anyone from putting together a book of sketchbooks. Just like a Google search for “social networks” shouldn’t have prevented Mark Zuckerberg from creating Facebook back in the day.

  4. David Penny

    They’re great sketches — thanks for sharing them. I’ve done all my Christmas shopping now unfortunately, but you’re right — that book would be a great present.

  5. Esther Verwoord

    Congratulations! Great to see. I’m curious about the book. Looks like it’s going to be a gem.

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