Pop Life: Art in a Material World

Accompanying book to the recent Tate Modern exhibition, Pop Life. Comes with a Warning of Contains explicit imagery, wit woo. Lots of additional goodies available.

From Tate Shop. By Jack Bankowsky, Alison Gingeras and Catherine Wood

"Good business is the best art." Andy Warhols notorious statement provides a starting point for this book, which examines the legacy of Pop art and its most celebrated exponent in the lives and work of succeeding generations of artists. Rather than shying away from the limelight, these post-Warhol artists have wholeheartedly embraced both the cult of celebrity and the commercial cut and thrust of the art market. Keith Haring set up his Pop Shop in Manhattan to sell his own branded products direct to the public; alongside making painting and sculpture, Takashi Murakami produces editions via his multinational corporation, Kaikai Kiki; and Damien Hirst arranged his own, hugely successful auction of his work at Sotheby's, entitled Beautiful Inside My Head Forever.

Jeff Koons's celebration in painting and sculpture of his marriage and sexual union with porn star and latter-day politician Illona Staller (aka La Cicciolina) is just one example of an artist crossing the usually accepted boundaries between the public and the personal, and between art and flagrant sensationalism. British artist Cosey Fanni Tutti caused similar outrage by electing to make performance art by working within the sex industry, appearing as a model in 'adult' magazines. For other artists featured, including Tracey Emin, Richard Prince and Martin Kippenberger, their public persona or 'brand' is something to be knowingly manipulated as part of their artistic practice.

Extensively illustrated and with illuminating essays by critics and curators from both the United States and Britain, this book is guaranteed to be as entertaining, challenging and provocative as the art it portrays.

Herd: How to Change Mass Behaviour by Harnessing Our True Nature

Following on the heals of Nudge, is Herd. Again talking about behaviour and behavioural change. We've heard a lot about this herd behaviour in the recent Credit Crunch Crisis as everyone piled in to buy shares, CDOs and property. ALL PILE IN>>

Herd behaviour is exactly the kind of behaviour we want when creating virals. Book has mixed reviews, so goes to the less important list.

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Wealth, Health and Happiness

Seems like the world is going crazy for Behavioural Economics, as Advertising & Brand Agencies realises that just building a brand isn't going to help shitty businesses pay there employees. So we have to influence customers to do the things we need, be that for a business or for society. Nudge has lots of good examples and makes you think about Choice Architectures. So when people talk about User Centred Design - stop them and make sure they are weaving some Behavioural stiff in there too.

With regards to the detailed content - you could read this - or go visit a market and watch the traders in action. You'd certainly see BE in action. To many this is good business and common sense.

Baked in: Creating products and businesses that market themselves

In Baked In, CP+B's Alex Bogusky tells us how 21st Century marketing will give us better products. To quote Mr Sall Ball, I wonder if Product Design agencies across the land are talking about doing advertising...

In principle this sounds interesting but the book gets bad reviews. Creating products is something that takes time, talent and vision. Ultimately this book says less about product design and more about advertising, and how it needs to be useful and/or entertaining and/or connecting and/or educational.

Brands must build a new relationship with their customers and the culture they participate in. The old rule was: Create safe, ordinary products and combine with mass marketing. The new rule is: Create truly innovative products and build the marketing right into them. Today the product is at the centre of the conversation. It's within the product itself that a brand has the most leverage with consumers. Baked In gives companies a step-by-step guide to how to adapt and succeed in this brave new world, where the product is not separate from the message but is the message.

Seth Garner

So ar' Seth popped up today. We'd been talking about authors we know and we referenced these two easy to read, entertaining jaunts through the marketing industry inspired whodunnit thrillers.

Getting 5 star reviews on Amazon these two are a perfect holiday read - you'll struggle to put them down once you start.

Blood Partnership

Ben Spencer is the ambitious young owner of The Blood Partnership, an online property marketing company. Over the past few months, he has become heavily involved with every member of the wealthy property - developing Westlake family - including becoming engaged to beautiful young Caitlin Westlake - and now he's beginning to regret it. Things go from bad to worse when Ben's own family are targeted by the Westlakes. Now, he must choose a side and it seems the only way out is death - but whose will it be?

Broken Surface

This book presents the haunting secret of a 15 year old murder. Fifteen years ago two teenagers killed a mentally handicapped boy called Doofy. It was an accident, but things got out of hand and they never reported it. Instead, they hide the body but as Duncan and Richard grow up the secret continues to haunt them both. While Richard matures into a psychopath, Duncan becomes a respectable and successful businessman with a lot to lose if the truth ever comes to light. Now, the secret, like Doofy's body, is about to be revealed with dire consequences.

DPM: Disruptive Pattern Material - An Encyclopaedia of Camouflage: Nature, Military and Culture

This beauty made an appearance as part of an military related pitch. It really is a fantastic collection of camouflage and related visual stimulus. Some amazing photography and designs in here. A double pack of books that costs a pretty penny.

Lovely packaging and you're certain to recognise its ISBN as its plastered across the pack. Very DPM.

Ray Gun: Out of Control

I spied this on a client's bookshelf the other day. Reminded me of my own copy. Takes me back to a time when so many designers wanted to do everything in the style of Mr Carson.

I do like the line of typesetting an entire article in Dingbats, as the interviewee as total prick. Would make decent Greasemonkey plugin to change the typeface and pages that bore you. I've never seen a webpage set in Dingbats - maybe it's time....

Amazon Synopsis is to the point, if a little unhelpful. Not sure it's really that potent.

A potent blend of selected pieces from Californian magazines "Ray Gun", "Stick" and "Bikini". This text traces their evolving design with the work of David Carson, Vaughan Oliver and Robert Hales, and examines the culture that has produced them. Iggy Pop, Brian Eno, Quentin Tarrantino, Michael Stipe and Oasis are among contributors.