I received an email with the subject line: First Paperless Architecture Book EVER: Piel... and with such a bold claim i initially wrote it off... 'paperless' just sounded like a silly spin on 'digital'. Anyhow, as time permitted, i came back to it, and found that it has a pretty sweet interface and isn't 'just a digitized book' ~ sure, it has the flashy corner peels and page flips - but what is nice, is how it utilized the fact that this is an architecture book, and it built in links to google map views of each building featured!

Check out Piel.Skin - About skin: This book is the result of two years of architectural research. Dynamic facades, ventilated, high-tech or traditional composites with new features. This book shows that currently new skins not only act as an isolating element, besides interact with the environment, optimizing energy exchange with the outside. From Germany to Australia or Korea to Colombia, there are many examples that readers can visit with this publication. With international vocation due to bilingual English-Spanish text and a language away from technicalities, this paper aims to show as an "interactive toy" the evolving field of the facades in architecture.

Piel.Skin is an experimental web book aimed at architecture students. The book literally surfs on several projects, jumping from exceptional exteriors in Asia to intelligently optimized facades in Europe. The book allows playing a virtual tour dedicated to google-earth travellers: By means of clicking on the coordinates of each project begins a journey where you can jump directly to each site and visualize the project within its environment.

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Tags: architecture - books - green - travel

Jaime Hayon has a book coming out! And consider it on my wishlist... as i'm sure you know by now, i love those sleek, smooth lacquered curves of many of Jaime's signature pieces, and have posted about him many a time! Launching sometime this month is Jaime Hayon Works from Die Gestalten (one of the best design publishers!), Format: 24 x 30 cm
Binding: 320 pages, full colour, hardcover, gilt edging - and it is described as:

Spanish designer and artist Jaime Hayon will be one of the most influential designers in the years to come, and this is the first monograph to present the full spectrum of his work. Ranging from clear and harmonious to playfully extravagant, all of the included examples of interiors, furniture, tableware and decorative ceramics attest to his inimitable grasp of form, style and colour. In addition to celebrated collaborations with clients such as Camper, Swarovski and Bisazza, Jaime Hayon Works contains previously unreleased personal sketches, illustrations and productions of new projects that will make its world premiere debut at the annual Milan Furniture Fair in April 2008.

It should be incredible! Check out peek from within the book after the jump... and those who are ready to pre-order, it's available at Amazon for $63 (instead of the listed 100)

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Tags: art - books

NOTCOT Note: Here is another post continuing on Justine's (aka RUGenius') adventures in Sheffield, it took a bit of researching, but she's come back to me with some MIND BLOWING infographics from Stephanie Posavec, you definitely need to click on the images after the jump to see them in full resolution where you can see what every curve and color represents. I kid you not, you will not see Kerouac's On The Road the same again...

During my recent trip up to Sheffield, I was fortunate enough to be staying next door to the Millennium Galleries, who hosted a portion of the citywide Art Sheffield event. Among the exhibits, was one called "On the Map" (more info here as well), which uses craft and design to understand the symbolic and representative nature of maps. Works included a dress made of maps, numerous old maps of London, a gorgeous Kerr | Noble representation of the River Thames through graphic design and the words of the John Banck's Description of London. Seen here:

However, the works that caught my eyes was that of Stefanie Posavec. Stefanie's maps capture something above and beyond that of the others. Rather than mapping physical geography, her maps capture regularities and patterns within a literary space. The pieces featured in On the Map focused on Kerouac's On the Road. The maps visually represent the rhythm and structure of Kerouac's literary space, creating works that are not only gorgeous from the point of view of graphic design, but also exhibit scientific rigor and precision in their formulation: meticulous scouring the surface of the text, highlighting and noting sentence length, prosody and themes, Posavec's approach to the text is not unlike that of a surveyor. And similarly, the act is near reverential in its approach and the results are stunning graphical displays of the nature of the subject. The literary organism, rhythm textures and sentence drawings are truly gorgeous pieces. It's not often that I am so thoroughly impressed by the depth of an artist's work, but somehow, for me, these pieces do it all. I know, who would've thought I'd have stumbled upon such incredible work in the gallery across from our hotel in Sheffield! It just goes to show the world is full of surprises.

High-res images below not to be missed!

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Tags: art - books - infographics - travel

Regardless of whether you did or did not attend TED this year, the TED BIG VIZ pdf book is a MUST download for anyone visually oriented looking for a burst of inspiration. What is it?

The BIGVIZ is an exploration in visualizing the Big Ideas presented on the TED mainstage. Two visual cartographers, David Sibbet and Kevin Richards, created over 700 spontaneous sketches of the presenters' ideas using Autodesk Sketchbook Pro software running on Wacom Cintiq tablets and rendered on a Perceptive Pixel multi-touch display. These tools illustrate the power of interactive visualization to present the big picture to foster insight and communicate ideas visually, central principles of design innovation.

I just went through all 200 pages (i even picked out a few of my favorites for you after the jump)... and its incredible, to see their sketches of the "big ideas" and things that grabbed their attention throughout the talks... seriously, the 700 "spontaneous sketches" are breathtaking. When you have a sec, the BIGVIZ movie is pretty sweet as well. Discovered this through the wonderful Information Aesthetics!

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Tags: art - books - events - sketching - TED - video

Blame the Kindle for the extra quiet Monday as far as posts go. This unexpected new toy showed up on the doorstep this morning, and i've been a bit distracted since. In all honesty, as far as first impressions go... i LOVE the packaging and use of playful typography and book like packaging... as well as using the same patterns on the non-slip rubbery back of the kindle itself. As for using the actual Kindle to read books/newspapers/blogs/wikipedia... i was skeptical, never figured it was for me. But, i'm kind of hooked. Unlike the Zune experience, this worked like a breeze out of the box. Finds its connection, lets me scroll around, even give me a little intro/walkthrough as one of the first files to check out... and the readability of the screen is SO nice on the eyes... (i'm *this* close to getting a new macbook pro and ditching this current one to go back to a matte screen before they get rid of them all)... flipping pages is a such a nice gesture, and i'm in love with the mirrored little scroller squares. I know i'm a bit late to the game on this one, but check out the pics after the jump to see how nicely done the packaging is!

So far, i have impulse bought the new Sophie Kinsella book Remember Me (embarrassing as it is, i'll admit it, i read a few of those Shopaholic books on the beach while on post-uni euro trips) to try out, and have been surprised how quickly i've been flying through the pages between working on the laptop today and taking calls on the pearl (this may be terrible for multitasking!)... i am also trying out the WSJ and NYTimes subscriptions, but so far it feels a bit too RSS like for my tastes, and i think newspapers are still most fun in print for me, but this is definitely nice to slip in the purse. And of course... i've browsed the NOTCOTs on the web browser, and while we're not the best optimized for advanced kindle rendering... in default mode its not half bad! Also tried browsing gmail a little.... anyhow, check out the unboxing pics below, probably more to come on this new toy later...

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Tags: books - gifts - kindle - shopping - technology

As i'm sure most regular NOTCOT readers have noticed ~ my background and those of our few contributors is quite varied, but passion-filled! Justine and i grew up heavily inspired by both design and nature, and as a result i'm here doing NOTCOT, and she's helping out when not busy finishing up her PhD in Animal Behavior and fencing... we grew up surrounded by all types of creatures, so it should be no surprise that we're smitten with Life in Cold Blood, and i'm anxiously awaiting the DVDs... Here's what she has to say about Attenborough's latest:

Those of us lucky enough to be in the UK have caught our first look at the final installment in David Attenborough's "Life" series. And this final series is a group particularly near and dear to my heart, the herps! "Life in Cold Blood" takes a look at the world's diversity of reptiles and amphibians. The first episode: "The Cold-Blooded Truth" did not disappoint, packed full of gorgeous footage and remarkable creatures.

The making of ("Under the Skin") was equally exciting, including glimpses of Attenborough in the early days of his career. The man is, without question, a legend. As a zoologist in training, I think I can honestly say, his documentaries have been an inspiration. And the producers of the series may just have outdone themselves again. You owe it to yourself to check out the BBC Life in Cold Blood site in its entirety of clips and goodies, but here are couple shots to whet your appetite after the jump!

DVD and Book are at the BBC Shop... which all Planet Earth lovers simply must have.

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Tags: animals - books - dvd - fencing - nature - video

Louis Vuitton puts out an annual set of City Guides, this year it is saffron yellow - a rigid box set containing 9 soft back booklets printed on bible paper... they have been doing it since 1998, and somehow i have yet to actually flip through some! So after much unfruitful internet hunting, i'm turning to you, readers, to see if anyone has a set, and what you think of them... are they better than wallpaper guides? Are the illustrations by Ruber Toledo enough to justify the near 100$ price tag for the set? Closest i've found to images of the interior is a tiny picture on a japanese website (see after the jump!)... Thanks! [To find it on the Louis Vuitton site, just search for city guide when in the store.]

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Tags: books - fashion - luxury - travel

NOTCOT Note: Here's a post from Justine/RUGenius ~ who is running around with our mom in Oxford and the general vicinity...

When trying to decide where to take my mother for the day, an ad caught my eye - "Seventy Years of Penguin Design" at the Holburne Museum of Art in Bath. Here was a combination of things we love: books, design...and superficially enough, penguins!

While the exhibit itself was tiny, no more than a room, it was filled with treasures and gorgeously arranged, painted a bright Penguin book cover orange. And what a cover! It's hard to think of a more iconic design (perhaps the old Campbell's soup can?). And Penguin has certainly been marketing it design classic, selling Penguin classic book mugs, deckchairs and towels. We all know and love that three panel design, but I, for one, didn't know much else about Penguin. Did you know that first Penguin paperbacks were just two and a half pence and designed with the goal of making literature affordable and accessible to all. If only that were still true!!! And it's not JUST penguin, you can also see the development of the Pelican and Puffin lines and logos as well! Read more and see pics of it all after the jump!

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Tags: art - books

Will Ashford's Recycled Words do just that... literally. In an obsessive compulsive pattern recognition, pencil doodling, word in words spotting, 'art' loving way, he brings out what was already there but not even seen from your every day book pages, and it blows my mind. I love it when i wake up to emails like the one from Ryan with images of Will's work where i can't help just sitting here and staring at image after image for a while... and as Ryan said "It's like he's made the old study technique of highlighting into an advanced art form... or something." I concur. Imagine if we reverse highlighted our books to only show the most critical of information! I guess at that point it would look more like art, and as far as info goes you might as well just carry the cliffnotes around? But this would be an incredible daily exercise, the reverse journal basically ~ granted you picked the right book? Anyhow for those of you squinting to read, in that first image the yellow says LOOK FOR the orange says ART the red says AND the purple says IT the teal says WILL APPEAR and the binoculars say THE END. But really, just click through to see more below! My other favorites are there as well!

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Tags: art - books

I wish i knew a new grandmother to give this to... Good Granny, Bad Granny by Mary McHugh, illustrated by Patricia Storms. I couldn't stop laughing when reading through the few sample pages (see them below!). Shade Elaine and i decided bad granny was definitely our kinda lady... taking those grandkids to Neiman Marcus to buy fingerless gloves and motorcycle boots! (Instead of knitting them mittens)... teaching them how to download rap music to their ipods... only $10 at Amazon.

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Tags: books - gifts - kids - shopping

Creature by Andrew Zuckerman... i've been pretty obsessed with this book since the post, but been so slow and busy i hadn't gotten around to ordering it until making the gift guides (it showed up on Day 28 and Day 21)... at which point my mom apparently took the hint and ordered it. Well good news + bad news. The book is BREATHTAKING, even more so in person with the large coffee table format. I wish i could have ordered a copy for everyone i know... truly incredible. The bad news is... she happened to order it from Powell's (the largest independent bookstore!) instead of our usual Amazon since she had some credit to use up... and unfortunately the packing wasn't quite up to par and being the book/product junkie that i am, its driving me absolutely mad that the corners were all bashed up, and the bottom right corner of all of the pages are buckling a bit... enough to notice when flipping through such pristine white pages... oh, and somehow this copy has it looking like the cat on the cover is crying green... So, as my random Saturday night post, just wanted to vent slightly, and let you know i'm suddenly reminded why its more satisfying to buy things in person sometimes... in brick and mortar stores... or sticking to super huge giants who take too much care in packaging for survival during the holiday season! more images of some of the awesomeness within, as well as what's driving me crazy.

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Tags: animals - books - gifts - photography - reviews - shopping

Oooh Crackpot 2008 is out! For any of you looking for the perfect way to give someone some gorgeous glossy weekly art ~ this is the perfect stocking stuffer. I received the 07 version last year and love it ~ not quite patient enough to wait a whole month to flip the page ~ but the weekly thing i can handle. Great paper quality, thick cardboard backing with that can be turned into a stand or hung on the wall... the Crackpot is full of many of our favorite artists as picked by die gestalten ~ and a sneak peak of more pages below.

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Tags: art - books - gifts - shopping

*Snicker* Yes, I love the cheeky title. Hand Job: A Catalog of Type by Michael Perry (published by Princeton Architectural Press) is full of unique and quirky hand-drawn typography. It makes me remember the days of junior high when I was trying so hard to establish my handwriting style, the years in high school when I embellished the letters on the notes I wrote to friends, and the random doodles that ended up on the margins of my lecture notes in college. Fifty-five typographers and graphic designers, including Geoff McFetridge and Deanne Cheuk, are featured in the book, and they are all listed in alphabetical order. Their names appear at the bottom of the pages which I found pretty handy for reference. Great to flip through for some quick inspiration, and I definitely want to start drawing words again to balance out the computer-based work I do! Some of my favorite pages from the book after the jump!

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Tags: books - gifts - shopping

The extravagance of the Neiman Marcus Christmas Books are always an annual visual indulgence for me ~ majority of the pieces being laughably gaudy... and always a few that i covet (for my fantasy world)... it has become ritualistic page flipping, much like the annual IKEA catalogs. This year with their 100th Anniversary, it's only MORE over the top ~ and as always, their fantasy gifts don't disappoint ~ with everything from the $100,000 Touch Screen "Media Wall" to the Treetent hanging pod and a Swami "conversational robot"... But my favorite? The 100 ft long Dragon Topiary constructed from 15 indigenous plants... next year i'd need the moat to go with it... and then a castle? More pics below ~ and also of my *other* hopeful prediction of comebacks... the Steamer Trunk! I've been coveting an old style one to accommodate my trips where i throw my life in my car and take off for what can be anything from a few days to a few months... must have a way to stash it all nicely, like a pop up insta-closet. But check out the Steamer Trunk Bar below...

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Tags: books - fashion - gifts - shopping

Funny how the things of the past are making such a great comeback this season. Just this week i was joking (ok i was pretty serious) that NOTCOT needed a good pop up book ~ inspired by some adorably "PULL ME" screaming tabs that Linhchi designed in one of our new mock ups... and then i open the 100th Anniversary Neiman Marcus Christmas Book 2007, and what do they have on the last page? Yup, limited edition Neiman Marcus Pop-Up Book! And it looks incredible ~ not to put down my brilliant bert and ernie pop up books of my childhood, but that girl's pop up dress is made up of tons of photos! And in the pics below, that isn't a real person looking at the page closely ~ its a pop up person! Anyhow, i need to get my hands on one of these to do a proper book review clearly. Oh, and in proper Neiman Marcus style ~ it looks like you get about 6 pop ups for a mere $125.

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Tags: books - fashion - gifts - shopping

Mmmm Diesel Sweeties. As if its not enough that they amuse me daily, this surprise package just showed up and i can't stop grinning. The latest comics, stickers, and buttons! "It's fun to use learning for evil!" ~ i'm currently debating whether to stick this over the the glowing apple on my macbook pro. I'm not even a cat person, but i do love that cat button... ahhh emo emoticons... and rockers do rock out...

OK ~ so since they sent extras, it only seems appropriate to keep sharing the love. So leave me a note, and i'll pick the most amusing commenter (about why you love diesel sweeties, notcot, pixels, etc) at midnight (PST) tonight to send a copy of Diesel Sweeties Print Dailies Vol. One and some notcot pins! [UPDATE! The winner has been emailed!]

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Tags: books - comics - gifts - shopping

I stopped everything when i saw Swiss Miss' post on Andrew Zuckerman's latest book Creature. And then i clicked through to his site to see more page previews, only to find an incredibly gorgeous site... a peek inside the upcoming book... AND two amazing videos! The kind of amazing videos that you can watch 10 times over, and still need to see them again (screenshots below). Basically the photography of these animals on that clean white space is just breathtaking, and seeing video of him shooting it as well as the book being printed is just the ultimate tease. The book can be pre-ordered at Amazon, and is printed by Chronicle Books. *Swoon*

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Tags: books - gifts - shopping - video

Coudal Partners has teamed up with Draplin Design Company of Portland to bring you Field Notes Brand Notebooks... and the first batch has been shipped out this week! "We just wanted people who had shown an interest to be able to pre-order our initial Field Notes product, a durable made-in-the-USA notebook inspired by vintage farmers' planting books and other practical, historic, mostly-midwestern American design." They are also 3 for $9.95. I don't know about you, but Moleskine are getting a bit played out, although these do pretty closely resemble the Moleskine Cahier Journals (also in three packs, similar look)... these are pretty fun (loving the font, naturally). Spotted these over at Notebookism. And for one of the first pics in the wild, see below.

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Tags: books - gifts - shopping

The Little Know-It-All: Common Sense for Designers. Published by Die Gestalten Verlag, June 2007. Knowing just those two pieces of information and seeing the cover, i already desperately covet this potential designer's bible.

So what is this little book? "The Little Know-It-All provides the fundamental information designers need to know to thrive in their growing field of practice. It is an indispensable manual of the knowledge currently required of designers as the evolution of media redefines their role and expands the disciplines in which they must be competent." Shots of some pages below... and it's only 29$ at Amazon.

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Tags: books - gifts - shopping

Playground ~ is it a magazine? is it art? is it a dripping rubber box? Apparently it "is an unbound collection of fashion + art in exclusive numbered limited editions"... "is a means for free, spontaneous plays between famous and emerging artists, fashion photographers and illustrators from all over the world"... "is not a magazine, but a personal gallery encrusted in custom designed collectible box." SO, there you have it, it explains everything and nothing?

However, the launch party will be at Anna Kustera in NY tomorrow night, so maybe someone can go take a peek for us and shed some light on what's really inside that white Dror Benshetrit box that "characterizes the movement of liquid dripping in a tactile and plastic form". There are only 250 sets, and they are $600... and there is quite the list of who's who thats part of the secrets in the box!

Tags: art - books - gifts - magazines - shopping

From ORG #4877, i discovered the typographic genius of Jeremy Pettis... and his zoological MIAD Senior Exhibition: Twenty Six Types of Animals, and i am obsessed with them. Brilliant fonts each reflecting the letter and characteristics of the animals. All bound into a gorgeous book with behind the scenes of the typography. And check out that carpet he took the pics on?

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Tags: art - books - shopping

I'm absolutely giddy ~ just picked up a copy of the new Web Design Index 7 from Pepin Press, and we're in it! Close ups below!

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Tags: books - shopping

Princeton Architectural Press sent over a box of books ~ and to be honest, i have not quite mastered the online book review... especially on design/art oriented books. But to me, a first impression is key (as it is with people), and that initial flip through says a LOT, i mean seriously, if a book full of pictures can't grab you quickly, what's to make it seem any more interesting later? SO! That being said, and my experimenting with the camcorder while back in LA earlier this week, here's a video flip through of the books they sent over. I was particularly taken by Tools of the Imagination and Blackstock's Collection... so take a peek if you're interested, and let me know if this is a format worth trying again?

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Tags: books - gifts - shopping

I found the Le Labo "Olfactionary" on the Barneys site and immediately thought of Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind, the book responsible for making me wonder about and appreciate the perfume-making process. The Olfactionary is a collection of forty 2.5 mL bottles, each filled with natural essences which are the principal scents in perfumes. They also include olfactory keys (blotters) for sampling the scents.

I love the the minimal look of Le Labo's packaging, especially the lab-like labels which are pretty appropriate because really... it's just chemicals. Each perfume is made to order, and the label is customized for you.

Tags: beauty - books - shopping

SwissMiss has been finding the BEST baby stuff... for people like us. Things like McSweeny's "Baby Be of Use" series by Lisa Brown. I still have no babies, but am tempted to order this set of board books (there's something so satisfying about flipping board book pages)... for future babies, for babies who might visit, for potentially brilliant babies i might meet in airplanes... But seriously, this maybe the the perfect way to leave a hint for that special someone that you want to make you breakfast, make you a drink, fix your car, or help with the banking.

Tags: baby - books - gifts - shopping