Archive for March, 2012


This one’s different. Lush photogram collages by (I’m not kidding) A. Maze.

photograms, 60s collage, sixties graphic design, book cover

graphic design 1969, sixties book cover design, photogram collage, A. Maze

60s typography, sixties modernist type, sans serif 1969, book cover design, spine


The Unifying Moment, 1971

Of course, I love the front of this, geometric shapes, overprinting, oddball colors…
70s book design, seventies graphic design, overprinting, magenta, abstract geometric shapes

But I also really love these two aspects of the jacket.

1.) the back is just white:
book jacket 70s

2.) They overprinted the green and pink to get a dark brown for this halftone of the author on the flap:
overprinting, 70s book jacket design, seventies graphics

No design credit unfortunately.


Oh ho ho—don’t get me started on the ol’ Weber Thesis. What a controversy!

Anyways, love this truly odd mint green and orange color combo, and the brown resulting from the overprints.

triangle pattern, 70s book cover design, heath publishing, social science, overprint

overprint, pattern, weird color combination, seventies graphic design, 70s modernism, book cover

overprinting, orange and green, triangle pattern, book cover design 70s, seventies graphics


A small art catalog of cowboy paintings.

western type, 60s graphic design, sixties art catalog, 2-color printing

60s art catalog, exhibition catalog western art, remington and russel, fort worth, 2-color printing 1966, western type


Renderings, 1968

Another cool one by John + Mary Condon.

John + Mary Condon, simon and schuster, 60s abstract graphics, sixties book design

john and mary condon, 60s designers, book cover designers sixties

Love the tight Akzidenz.

60s typography, sixties book cover design, john and mary condon, art book 1968

This blind deboss would be even cooler if it matched the (upper- and lowercase) front and spine.

blind deboss, sixties graphic design, 60s design, casewrap, renderings art book


Theory of Colours, 1970

Aaah yes. This is the kinda book cover that got this whole thing started. Designed by Evelyn Bessudo.

mit press, 60s 70s book cover design, sixties 70s abstract graphics, evelyn bessudo

And I’ve always loved how MIT Press handled the backs.
70s book cover design, seventies abstract graphic design, vibrating color, theory of colours goethe, mit press


The Acquisitive Society

Can’t find a date on this one—I think it’s ’62 or ’63. I do know the cover is by Paul Rand though.

paul rand illustraction, 60s design, sixties book design


Always like overlapping circles, and it’s great how they wrap around to (be the only thing on) the back. Don’t love the jacket type, though I do like the foil-stamped Univers under the jacket.

60s graphic design, sixties book cover design, abstract graphics

geometric shapes cover design 60s, university of chicago press, 1968

60s book cover, casewrap, foil stamp univers


I like the use of asterisks as gears. Cool display typeface, too. Jacket Design/Gary Gore.

70s graphic design, seventies book jacket, gary gore book design, mustard yellow, asterisks


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