Calligraphy Book Reviews: Obey the Giant

 
Reviews of Obey the Giant: Life in the Image World

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Review #1: Good But Not Great
Review #2: i spy the giant....
Review #3: RISE AND SHINE





Review #1

Good But Not Great

I bought this as soon as it came out in 2002 (?). It had a good plug in Print magazine, which Rick Poynor sometimes wrote for. I love Rick Poynor in small doses, but this essay collection somehow did not make it. Its purpose seemed fuzzy; it discussed things of marginal interest. A couple of gossamer ideas were spun out for 200 pages.

Basically, a good book title with vague filler as contents.

More recently the title of the book has been subverted by Shepard Fairey's graphic-art house, which is called OBEY Giant. Fairey may have earlier title, as he was doing Andre the Giant stickers as early as 1989.

Fairey is the guy who did the blue and red Obama HOPE poster, which began as a parody of Bolshevik propaganda with the slogan PROGRESS. The HOPE poster supposedly was enormously popular but no one seems to have seen it except on lapel buttons and the internet.




Review #2

i spy the giant....

rick poyner has done it again. i think that if you are interested in design and cultural landscape, you will thourougly appreciate this book. you really can't find a better examination of culture meeting design. obey the giant.




Review #3

RISE AND SHINE

Rick Poyner chimes in on pop culture throughout this series of essays, which collectively produce a loud, clanging wake-up call. If you are a creative professional or student, you MUST read this book!

Mr. Poyner provides an accessible, but unflinching look at the role of our profession and it's impact on humanity. In this book, the cute, hip, self-referential "Irony" of the last decade is no longer a revelation, and Poyner questions what it means now that "respected" corporations and self-promoting advertisers and designers have co-opted it.

As an instructor of Commuication Design, I have for years preached to my students to "be responsible for every mark that you make" in order to communicate effectively. This little book has fueled that fire for me with it's view of the bigger picture and has forever altered my perception of my role not only as a designer and a consumer, but as a human.




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Obey the Giant: Life in the Image World

by Rick Poynor

Format: Paperback
Publication Date: 2001-12-01
Publisher: Birkhauser
ISBN: 376436565X

    List Price: $17.95
Price: $55.00

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Page last updated on: 20 Mar 2010