Blog: Books

How to Make Better Advertising and Advertising Better

How To Make Better Advertising and Advertising Better –  is the new book from our friends, creative agency Sell! Sell!.

Written by Vic Polkinghorne and Andy Palmer after two decades in the business and ten years running their agency 'The Manifesto for a New Creative Revolution’ outlines their no-nonsense approach to the industry:

Bullshit-free

Advertising and marketing people need to lose the jargon. A culture of business bullshit has slowly polluted the commercial world. Engagement, low-hanging fruit, synergy, media-neutral, content-led, always-on, ideation, adcepts, holistic approach, storytelling, user-generated content, leverage, realtime 24/7, cultural currency, the list goes on (and on). This language is symptomatic of a move towards the unnecessary complication of the world of advertising and marketing.

These terms allow people to hide behind them, and mask flimsy thinking. They confuse and conceal, where the aim of the advertising process should always be to simplify and clarify. And they make the rest of the business world even more sceptical about advertising and marketing. Let’s drive the bullshit and the bullshitters out of the process, use plain speaking, and always simplify.

Their beautifully produced book is available exclusively at the Design Museum, get your copy here.

A Cycling Lexicon

Beautiful lettering, beautiful graphics and beautifully aged - what's not to like about this collection of bicycle headbadges?

I've had a slight obsession recently with vintage beach cruiser bikes and I particularly love the graphics, so imagine my delight when I heard about 'A Cycling Lexicon' - a book filled with an A-Z of glorious bicycle headbadges. The badges are a selection from the collection of cycling enthusiast Jeff Conner, Professor of Biology at Michigan State University curated by Carter Wong design who also designed the book.

You can buy the book here.

Images copyright A Cyclling Lexicon via Boneshaker.

Audrey Hepburn: Portraits of an Icon

The National Portrait Gallery are currently showing a wonderful collection of Audrey Hepburn images documenting her life (1929-1993) from chorus girl to international actress, iconic fashionista and overseas aid worker.

“A selection of more than seventy images will define Hepburn’s iconography, including classic and rarely seen prints from leading twentieth-century photographers such as Richard Avedon, Cecil Beaton, Terry O’Neill, Norman Parkinson and Irving Penn. Alongside these, an array of vintage magazine covers, film stills, and extraordinary archival material will complete her captivating story.”

The exhibition runs until 18 October 2015 (entry is £10) so plenty of time to catch it and if that’s not enough to tempt you, the National Portrait Gallery also has a great cafe with delicious cake! If you can’t make it though, worry not as there’s an accompanying book by the same title (exclusive to the gallery) available here.

Wed 26 Aug 2015

Posted under: Photography , Books , Exhibition

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Dutch Book Week Posters

These beautiful vintage posters advertising Book Week (1955 - 1971) and lots, lots more form the Dutch design resource ADVIZ, "a new bilingual (NED / EN) interactive platform for the graphic design industry, the advertising industry and for anyone interested in visual communication".

The two-part website was launched in 2011 to; A. bring together design reference from the collections of the Dutch Archive Graphic Designers (Nederlands Archief Grafisch Ontwerpers - NAGO), the Advertising Arsenal (ReclameArsenaal - RA) and the Poster Museum (Affichemuseum) in Hoorn, and B. to offer a platform for the public to upload their own design collections or portfolios, share design related links and interact with other users.

It's definitely worth a look around, there are some really great vintage posters on there.

Via @presentcorrect

Wed 21 Aug 2013

Posted under: Advertising , Design , Books , Posters

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Dover Books

When the Dover Book shop closed it's doors last year we worried that was the end of a great resource, but it's back (well in virtual form anyway).

Their website is now up and running, taking orders of their fabulous copyright free books and cds 24hrs a day. How have we managed without them?!

Wed 17 Jul 2013

Posted under: Things to buy , Books

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World Book Day

Today is World Book Day so I thought I'd share with you my all time favourite book, Gerald Durrell's My Family and Other Animals.

First published in 1956, it follows the life of a young Durrell when he & his family moved to Corfu (1934 - 39) - something he describes as, "like living in one of the more flamboyant and slapstick comic operas".

Packed with anecdotes of his eccentric family, his pets, the wildlife on the island and the characters he encounters along the way, it starts with a wonderful quote:

"There is a pleasure sure
In being mad, which none but madmen know."
DRYDEN, The Spanish Friar, II, i

Thu 07 Mar 2013

Posted under: Funny , Books

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Bembo's Zoo


I just saw this lovely little ABC book over on Brain Pickings. It was designed by Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich and published in 2000 so it's been around a while but it's typographic illustrations have definitely stood the test of time. 

Roberto wanted an ABC book he could use to teach his daughter both English and Portugese so it needed animal names that started with the same letter in each language. After an unsuccessful search he created his own version, Bembo's Zoo using the typeface Bembo as a basis for all the typographic illustrations...


You can see more of Roberto's beautiful typography here.

All images and illustrations copyright of Roberti de Vicq de Cumptich

Girlynomics now on Kindle

Girlynomics: The Downturn Alley Edition by Kate Battrick (Make Do Style) is now available on Kindle for a bargain price of £1.02.

"Harness the power of Girlynomics to set your budget, balance your personal income and live within your means. In these hard times this book is the perfect answer to help you live your life without having to keep left over bits of lemon in the freezer! Girlynomics will give you new insight in how to make your student loan, weekly wage or salary last for year, month or week".




We're biased as we did the cover & chapter titles (above) for Kate, but it's a great book, a real wealth of information, resources and ideas to help make a girl's finances stretch that bit further. The perfect read for those cold, dark February evenings!

Mon 04 Feb 2013

Posted under: Delicious work , Things to buy , Books

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Help Save The Dover Bookshop


The Dover Bookshop needs our help! Every designer I know has used a Dover book at some point and their amazingly resourceful books grace the shelves of many a swanky design studio, yet they're in trouble and need the support of the design community to keep going.

For those who aren't familiar with The Dover Bookshop, shame on you! Long before you could drag reference images off the internet, The Dover Bookshop was a wealth of copyright and permission-free imagery and a huge source of inspiration.

They've been selling their range of pictorial archive books in Covent Garden for 25 years, but are struggling to survive the recession. Please buy even just one book from here to help keep this wonderful institution around for another 25 years!

Image copyright The Dover Bookshop.

Graphis Annual 73/74










How great is it when you find a fantastic book at a super price and in a totally unexpected place? Well, this weekend I was fortunate enough to discover a copy of Walter Herdeg's, Graphis Annual 73/74.

It's crammed full of wonderful design, typography and advertising including some from Milton Glaser and Herb Lubalin - above are only a very small selection of my favourites.

If you want a copy yourself, there are some available on Amazon.

Graphis Annual 73/74
Walter Herdeg, The Graphis Press, Zurich.

Mon 16 Apr 2012

Posted under: Design , Typography , Books

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Henri's walk to Paris by Saul Bass & Leonore Klein

I've had this image as inspiration for a few years now and I have no idea were it came from nor did I have any idea what is was. I just liked the bold graphics and quirky type.

Well, how could I not have recognised the work of Saul Bass (don't worry I am truly ashamed!). It turns out that this is a pic of the cover of an original copy of the only children's book he ever designed - 'Henri's walk to Paris'. A book that he designed with Leonore Klein in 1962 and that has been out of print for many years until now.

"Henri’s Walk to Paris is the story of a young boy who lives in Reboul, France, who dreams of going to Paris. One day, after reading a book about Paris, he decides to pack a lunch and head for the city."




As of last week this gorgeous little book is back on the shelves and available here.

Via Brain Pickings.
Images (apart from the top one) from Brain Pickings.

Thu 23 Feb 2012

Posted under: Design , Illustration , Books

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American Sampler - The Art of Corita Kent

American Sampler - The Art of Corita Kent is boxed 40 page booklet (14.8 x 21cm) and 6 limited edition prints (50 x 70cm) showcasing the beautifully bold and bright work of Corita Kent (formerly Sister Mary Corita Kent) that we posted about here.

This is the second large-scale publication from 50by70 created by designer Tim Fishlock to celebrate the work of wonderful artists and designers. It's only an edition of 350, so if you want one you better by sharpish!

Images copyright 50by70.
Via CR Blog.

Rob Ryan at Castor + Pollux

Rob Ryan launched his lovely new book, 'A sky full of kindness' with an exhibition at Castor + Pollux last week. Once again I missed the preview but I'm really looking forward to seeing it.

"A Sky Full of Kindness’ which has been written and illustrated by Rob using his intricate and beautiful paper cuts, telling the story of two birds who are preparing for their egg to hatch."

The exhibition runs until the 5 December. It's a collection of new prints and hand-cut illustrations from the book, along with a selection of cards, laser cuts, plates, bunting, books and mugs always available at Castor + Pollux. Great for some early Christmas shopping!

Don't worry if you can't get down to Brighton though, there's a great selection of his work available from their online store.

Mon 07 Nov 2011

Posted under: Prints , Illustration , Books , Posters

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Own Label: Sainsbury's Design Studio




We're really looking forward to the launch of Fuel's new book, Own Label: Sainsbury's Design Studio. Due for release in October, it looks in detail at Sainsbury's 'own label' packaging created between 1962 and 1977 by it's in-house design team headed by Peter Dixon.

This era of Sainsbury's packaging has always been a good source of inspiration for designers - it's modernist style, simple graphics and bright colours are a winning combination. "Their striking modernity pushed the boundaries, reflecting a period full of optimism. They also helped build Sainsbury’s into a brand giant, the first real ‘super’ market of the time. This book examines and celebrates this paradigm shift that redefined packaging design, and led to the creation of some of the most original packaging ever seen."

Images copyright Fuel Design & Publishing.
Via CR Blog.

Wed 31 Aug 2011

Posted under: Inspiration , Books , Packaging

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From the reference box # 115

#115 - First Book of German, published in 1966 by the 'Société Internationale des Écoles Berlitz' (International Society of Berlitz Schools), Paris.

It's not very often you see a beautifully designed text book cover, so this language book with it's subdued colour palate and bold, geometric shapes really jumped out at me.

I love the contrast between the simple cover design and the detailed Berlitz schools logo - you never know, it might even help to improve my German!

Dig deep in the reference box for more delicious design and ephemera!

Mon 22 Aug 2011

Posted under: Design , Reference box , Books

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Welcome to the Delicious Industries blog. We're an independent design studio based in Brighton, UK and this is our scrapbook packed full of design, illustration, photography & typography inspiration. Check out our work here.

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