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  • I Wonder
  • Written by Marian Bantjes
  • Format: Hardcover | ISBN: 9781580932967
  • Our Price: $40.00
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I Wonder

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Synopsis|Table of Contents|Reader Reviews

Synopsis

Quirky, poignant, astute, funny—this beautiful book presents a compelling collection of observations on visual culture and design, written and illuminated by world-renowned typographic illustrator Marian Bantjes. In Stefan Sagmeister's telling words, Bantjes's work is his  "favorite example of beauty facilitating the communication of meaning."

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Foreword by Stefan Sagmeister
Introduction
Wonder
The Sun, the Moon, the Stars
The Politics of Ornament
Ye Olde Graphic Designer
Honour
Cemeteries
1 Sign 4 All
Secrets
The Alphabet: A Critique
Assembling Two IKEA Bookshelves
Memory 1: Photography
Santa TM
Memory 2: Notes on a Life
Sources
Notes on the Production

Table of Contents

Praise for I Wonder

A sumptuous little book…managing to be simultaneously playful, provocative and funny” Entertainment Weekly

“A gilt-edged new tome from Marian Bantjes…an eccentric mix of musings, personal anecdotes and 'harebrained ideas'.”  Wallpaper Magazine

 Bantjes’s deceptively compact trove of visual riches, whose floriated cover design is printed in gold and silver metallic inks, with gilt-edged pages that suggest a venerable religious document, is packed with as many stylistic variations as are possible by one author/artist/designer in 192 pages. And it is a wondrous, if breathless, display of virtuosic craft." T: The New York Times Magazine

I Wonder
is an illuminated manuscript in every sense of the phrase” Fast Company Magazine

“The essays in I Wonder are diverse in both content and presentation …Bantjes' origins as a typesetter and a graphic designer inform the pain-staking rigor that underlies her playfully complex ornamentation” About.com

I Wonder by Marian Bantjes is a startling potpourri of design, typography and imagination that is the closest that we have ever seen to an artist’s own catalogue raisonné.”  The New England Review of Books

“Riding on Bantjes’ wave of wonder is a thrilling experience in which anyone can participate…I Wonder is a book of, in Bantjes’ words, “meaning and worth.” FeltWire
“Turning the pages was an activity in joy…Going through a book like this is something special” Design Notes
Praise

Praise

“'I Wonder' is not only a source of inspiration, but also a beautiful work of art."
—HOW Magazine

"I Wonder
rises above the usual design book in the way Bantjes marries her text—a deeply considered set of essays on topics such as Wonder, Ornament, Honor, the Alphabet—with the shapes and patterns her imagination enters to reveal layers of meaning . . . the book is a testament to the artist/author’s belief in the ultimate democracy of the act of creation."
—Felt & Wire

"Turning the pages was an activity in joy . . . The book starts off with a bang and continues for quite some time."
—designnotes.info

"Marian Bantjes creates the most incredible, thoughtful, interesting, gorgeous lettering aside from writing compelling articles on design."
—www.book-by-its-cover.com

"‘I Wonder is covered with the intricate, luxurious ornament typical of Bantjes’ style and is full of amusing observations of the world, personal musings and how these things relate to the visual world around us."
—gooddesignbaddesign.com

"I Wonder is out now, packed full of decorative typographical delights . . . not only for those of the typographic pattern persuasion, but those who seek energy & surprise on the printed page."
—FAD

"The black and gold cover is as compelling as the inside contents. The writings and artwork are interdependent and flow together to create a narrative that’s a delectable feast for the eyes, mind and heart."
—Pattern Pulp

"With the book's insistence on narrative, and focus on typography, the result combines the best of two worlds. It's a readable collection of smart, visually-intense short stories, and a design book that will likely never leave your coffee table."
—Fast Co Design

  • I Wonder by Marian Bantjes
  • October 19, 2010
  • Design - General
  • The Monacelli Press
  • $40.00
  • 9781580932967

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