The Things

Zurich: NORM. Near Fine. 2002. First Edition. Softcover. 3931126757 . [very light wear to bottom edge, minor external surface scuffing/scratching]. (graphs, diagrams, charts, etc.) The second book published by the Zurich-based graphic design firm NORM, which was co-founded by Dimitri Bruni and Manuel Krebs in 1999. Internationally recognized designers of fonts and typefaces for print media, they received the Swiss Grand Prix for Design in 2011, in which connection they were cited for their "markedly systematic and skilled approach to typography [and] their extremely innovative vision within the field of design." Their work includes numerous (truncated) book designs, collaborations with multimedia installation artists, commercial work such as the signage for the Cologne airport, and the creation of a number of quirky yet popular typefaces that are now in wide use. This book also served to introduce Simple, their second commercially-available typeface (the first was Normetica, which debuted in 2000). In addition to its extensive graphics, the book contains text in both English and German; I frankly admit that it's a little beyond my understanding, so I felt better when I found one critique of the book that referred to its textual elements as "layers of information so thick and treacle-like they defy explanation." . (Inventory #: 20686)