Reservocation | Book Reviews

72dpi Anime

This is the second title in the 72dpi series and consists of a 208-page book and DVD that covers the work of motion and interactive designers worldwide, on and off the web. There are also extra files to check out for those that have DVD-ROM drives on their PCs (Editor’s note: Access to a DVD-ROM drive was not available for this review and is based on the content of the book and DVD).

Content-wise, 72dpi Anime provides a fresh, in-depth look at some of the people who are pushing the boundaries of motion and interactive design on and off the web. Much of the featured work hints at future technical possibilities, and for those interested in that aspect of motion work, there are a ton of ideas to explore.

The book’s uncluttered, clean design allows the featured artist’s work to stand on its own. Besides showcasing

stills of the various works, there are also some great interviews with selected artists that cover quite a few mediums, such as conceptual web design (Requiem for a Dream), sound design (Golan Levin), and various motion graphic designers.

Areas of the DVD that I found most interesting were the Linear Storytelling, Camera Work and Motion Graphics sections, although there were a few standouts in the Vector and Interactive sections, as well. I think it is nearly impossible to really get a good feel for a Web site when it is transferred to video, but in the future, obsolete software may prevent the viewing of certain sites, so this may become a common and needed practice. On a side note: my favorite piece on the DVD is Rainbow by Büro Destruct.

The packaging is very sleek. Semi-transparent plastic holds the book and DVD in place, and also lines up

the components to create a tight, overall design.

If you’re at all interested in motion design, then this is a great way to get an overview of what other artists are doing today. It is very tech-heavy but there are some great conceptual pieces, as well.

The editors of 72dpi Anime, Robert Klanten, Hendrik Hellige, and Birga Meyer, have done a great job of taking many pieces of work by different artists, and compiling them all into one book and DVD.

Die Gestalten Verlag

Unspecial Effects for Graphic Design
—Bob Gill

Unspecial Effects for Graphic Design is an update on a book entitled Forget All the Rules about Graphic Design, written by Bob Gill, and originally released in 1975. Bob Gill was one of the founders of F/F/G in 1960, which was later to become Pentagram. He is currently teaching and working in New York City.

“Research the subject, as if you know nothing about it. And don’t stop until you have something interesting, or even better, something original to say” —Bob Gill.

Sometimes humorous, sometimes insightful, Gill manages to spread the

methodology of his work throughout Unspecial Effects in well-worded text shorts and descriptions. These shorts also guide the reader through his work and provide some of the reasons for his design decisions.

Humor is one of Gill’s greatest assets, that and the ability to distill a concept down to its most basic elements. He makes this very apparent in the examples that he has chosen to show. There’s also risk-taking involved in much of his work which sometimes makes you wonder how he got away with it.

While a majority of the work shown in Unspecial Effects for Graphic Design comes from the last 3 decades, there is timelessness to it. Without noting the dates to the different pieces, it is hard to

distinguish at what time in Bob’s career the work was done. Whether in graphic design, copywriting, or illustration, there’s always a constant throughout his work though, and it’s his voice.

Graphis