We have got the last of our stuff out of storage, which included all our books.
As a result, I have just rediscovered ‘The Little Book of Design Classics‘ by Catherine McDermott.
As the name suggests this is a small book. It’s only 100mm wide and 145mm deep however it: “…contains more than 100 key pieces of design that have come the fabric of modern life.”
There are some serious pieces of design in here, like the Chrysler Building, in New York but there are also some more trivial things, like the Michael Graves Whistling Kettle, manufactured by Alessi.
It was due to this little book that I went and bought the Juicy Salif, Citrus-squeezer, designed by Philippe Starck and also manufactured by Alessi.
This would have to be the world’s worst citrus squeezer, as you have to place the glass underneath and provide your own strainer to catch the pips.
And even then the juice goes everywhere.
But that’s all beside the point, because every time I see it sitting on the kitchen bench, it makes me smile.
There is another great book that came out of the black hole of the storage cartons and that’s, ‘A Smile in the Mind‘ by Beryl McAlhone and David Stuart.
This is all about witty thinking in graphic design.
Sometimes a smile is all you ask of a design to make it worthwhile.
