Alan Fletchers book the Art of Looking Sideways is one of the very first 'design' books I bought - and its great, such a witty, amusing and playful collections of thoughts and images. If i ever get stuck, this is the place to look and always gives me some form of inspiration to get me going again.
His books however just do not do his work justice, which i wouldn't have believed possible until visiting his exhibition at The Design Museum. Alan Fletcher: fifty years of graphic work (and play), (11 November - 18 February). The work there had the most exciting textures, and was an Aladdin's cave of the most original and creative work i have ever seen. I was gutted when my camera ran out of batteries, as many of the pieces of work shown i hadn't seen in any of his books.
One of the treasures being his sketch books, which show his every day doodles and thought processes. I see sketch books as a very personal item a 'designers diary' in fact - they give you a real insight to not only how ideas were created and came about but also hold inside them the owners personality and energy they have for the visual world. However sketch books seem to be a dying breed as shiny new laptops take over - do you not remember the days of chucking paint around in art foundation? I must admit my worse fear is becoming a mac-monkey, whilst computer programs offer us an amazing source to create design - don't forget a lot can be said for using traditional processes and the hand alone.
With an up coming trip to New York and the chance of visiting Pentagrams Studios, i'll make sure i charge my batteries this time!
Sadly Alan Fletcher died in 2006, but his legendary design work still lives on.
Images From: Alan Fletcher: Fifty years of graphic work (and play) Exhibition
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