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Device: file under: art, commercial
Rian Hughes, aka Device, is a gifted and often-copied illustrator, with his trademark catalogue style of classic 50s and 60s Martini ads and a trained eye for vital details he creates consistent, self-contained settings. Personally responsible for every single detail_from Panton-inspired furniture to the smallest ashtray_Device also shows Hughes as a master of font design with a hand-picked selection on the enclosed CD.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
About the author
Rian Hughes
88 books127 followersRian Hughes is a designer, illustrator, comic book artist, type designer and writer. From his studio, Device, he has produced watches for Swatch, Hawaiian shirts, logo designs for Batman and Spiderman and an iconoclastic revamp of British comic hero Dan Dare. His first novel is 'XX'. He has an extensive collection of Thunderbirds memorabilia, a fridge full of vodka, and a stack of easy listening albums which he plays very quietly.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 19, 2016
I've long been a fan of the design and illustration work of Rian Hughes, and his stuff was very influential for me at the very beginning of my career, in the late 90s. For years I intended to pick up this book circa 2001, and I finally stumbled upon a copy.
With 15 years of distance, some of the work doesn't hold up as well as I'd think, but some of it is very strong -- including cover designs and identities for DC Comics, among others. Rian is an amazing talent, and his typography and illustration still capture my attention. This is more of a snapshot of his work from the period, and it's intriguing to see the styles shift and change. It's design history at the dawn of the new millennium, through the lens of Hughes. Funny that it came with a gorgeous little mini-CD filled with desktop images, Flash videos and TrueType fonts. Talk about a relic!
Speaking of that, this might be because I'm pushing 40 now, but ye gads!, the type in this book is painfully small. Low-contrast, microscopic type on medium backgrounds has NEVER been a good idea, regardless of what era you're talking about.
More of a time capsule than a retrospective, this is recommended for Device / Rian Hughes fans.
With 15 years of distance, some of the work doesn't hold up as well as I'd think, but some of it is very strong -- including cover designs and identities for DC Comics, among others. Rian is an amazing talent, and his typography and illustration still capture my attention. This is more of a snapshot of his work from the period, and it's intriguing to see the styles shift and change. It's design history at the dawn of the new millennium, through the lens of Hughes. Funny that it came with a gorgeous little mini-CD filled with desktop images, Flash videos and TrueType fonts. Talk about a relic!
Speaking of that, this might be because I'm pushing 40 now, but ye gads!, the type in this book is painfully small. Low-contrast, microscopic type on medium backgrounds has NEVER been a good idea, regardless of what era you're talking about.
More of a time capsule than a retrospective, this is recommended for Device / Rian Hughes fans.
Displaying 1 of 1 review