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Graphic design

Karlheinz Dobsky – Lux Lesebogen

By Graphic design, Lost treasures

Published between 1946 and 1964 in post-war Germany, Lux-Lesebogen was a miniature magazine for young people and covered mostly scientific or historical topics. Essential for the success of the encyclopedic magazine (30.000-60.000 were printed bi-weekly) was not only the very affordable price, but also the very modern and unique design by Karlheinz Dobsky.

Especially his ideas for playing around with typography seem to be endless – Dobsky did not use letters already in existence but created all titles by hand, so he could deal with the subject of the magazine in a perfect way. All 410 covers of the Lux-Lesebogen magazine are now published in a book, and on the website for this collection one can examine every single cover of this almost forgotten illustrator.

Eyke Volkmer – SF book cover artist

By Graphic design, Lost treasures

Having been a fan of Eyke Volkmer’s graphic work for the German publishing house Wilhelm Goldmann for a long time, it was no big surprise for me that a little online search found the complete cover artwork for the science fiction paperback series “Goldmanns Weltraum Taschenbuecher” in no time.

Through the very precise and lovingly work of Tommi Brem and his Houdine Nation webpage, all SF book covers of turkish born Eyke Volkmer can be watched at the link below, and even better, there’s also a book covering this work.

Volkmer produced 162 covers for Goldmann’s SF series during the 1960s and 70s, and most of the puristic, abstract minimal artwork still has this special modern touch that is so unique to his style. Wilhelm Goldmann himself must have known that he had a very talented man at the right place – it is delivered that he once commented on Volkmer’s work that “It doesn’t look like that in outer space.” At the same time, he encouraged Volkmer to keep on, knewing no one else was doing the same style at all.

weltraumtaschenbuch.de
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more great sf book covers:
houdinination.de

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All illustrations copyright by Eyke Volkmer,
copyright in the depicted publications: Wilheilm Goldmann Verlag

ISO 50 blog / Scott Hansen

By Graphic design, Music

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ISO50 is the playground of San Francisco-based graphic designer and electronic musician Scott Hansen. I became aware of his work via the vinyl version of his band Tycho latest album “Dive”, noticing that he was also responsible for the nice cover artwork. One can lose oneself in his neverending inspirational blog, and I can really recommend to give every link in there a click.
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He says: “I am no idealogue, and certainly not an intellectual when it comes to design. I hold no college degree and have never been studied design. I have, however, independently practised graphic design for almost ten years and at this point I feel I have a good grasp of what types of design I enjoy and what styles inform my own work.”

“Obviously I do a good deal of looking back when it comes to inspiration. I feel the design that blossomed from the Bauhaus movement and came of age in the 1960’s was the Zenith of an art form whose importance would fade away as Television, and later the Internet, took over the reigns of visual communication thus effectively transform the medium.”
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Scott Hansens’s band Tycho reflects the visual output: the music is filled with warm mellow grooves, and all who are surfing on the chillwave sound and all fans of Boards of Canada should give it a listen. It reflects the relaxed feeling of a warm sunset without getting cheesy…

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Copyright for all images by Scott Hansen