Brand by Hand
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TITLE INFORMATION
Author: Jon Contino
Publisher: Abrams
Year Published: 2018
Dimensions: 8 in x 10 in
Pages: 240
Jon Contino’s debut book, Brand by Hand, is his first monograph featuring his work as a graphic designer in New York. The book begins off telling the quick story of his childhood and early life into the arts and graphic design, but then transforms into various lessons he has learned throughout his career. Although not text heavy, this book does tell some fascinating stories in a succinct manor that is then followed by pages upon pages of visual work revolving around his stories. Contino’s stories are short, sweet, and to the point, and are decent transitions from one section to the next. Although his stories are not in-depth compared to those written by other designers, they are just long enough to convey his message without dragging it out for too long.
If you are someone who is not familiar with, or enjoys, Contino’s old-fashioned, Americana-espue, seafaring, badass design style, then you are not going to enjoy this book. Contino’s style is clearly defined, and there is little to no exploration outside of it. Lines are sketchy, shapes are simple, lettering is classic, and logos are recycled from those of another era. And that is A-okay. That’s what makes his designs iconic, attractive, and easy to fall in love with. Although his work is reminiscent of the by-gone days, there is so much work presented that it is very easy to get lost within it.
There is no denying that the content is spot on, but there is not much to rave about the design of this book. The cover is bland, the spine is alright, and the typography is basic. Compared to books like Draplin’s, Pretty Much Anything, and House Industries, the Process is the Inspiration, this book falls short. I hate to compare the books to one another, but as they range around similar prices, it is hard not to. Those two books stop at no cost to take every design aspect to the next level, making the design of the book just as beautiful as all of the work contained within it. Although Contino’s work within the book is certainly worth the price tag, the format of it is not. If you plan on purchasing this book, you should really connect with his work.
One advantage that Contino’s book has over the other two is he included a lot of his process. Pages upon pages of sketches, reworked layouts and logos, and the multiple killed options are included next to the final product. This appears with almost every major project he includes in the book, and it is a fantastic look at the magic behind the curtain that most graphic designers do not show to others, despite this being one of the most important parts of the process.
All of this being said, if you love Contino’s work, support him, and purchase this book. This book exceeds the world of graphic design and travels into so many industries such as illustration, tattoo design, and contemporary early 20th century urban-revivalism design.