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ELECTION SPECIAL: Political Theatre by Mark Peterson

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SPD Fall Reading: Red-Blooded American Male

Justin Bieber, Gene Kelly, Neil Patrick Harris, Elon Musk, and Robin Williams are just a few of the famous faces featured in award-winning photographer Robert Trachtenberg's new book Red-Blooded American Male (Amphoto). Trachtenberg, whose photos have appeared in publications such as Esquire, The New York Times Magazine, and Rolling Stone, curates a collection of over 100 portraits in his latest book.

Creative Director of Works Well With Others and SPD Board Member, David Curcurito, spoke with Robert about his process and how Red-Blooded American Male came to be.

Read on for Robert's answers and to see some shots from his book after the jump!

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Designers & Books Fair, Oct 2-4: Way More Than Books!

Sure you can buy a lot of great art/design books online or at various stores. But will they give you the chance to lunch with Michael Bierut at Pentagram, eat gelato with Louise Fili, take a mural crawl with DJ Stout, or get a tattoo with Ina Saltz?

Even if you just want the books, don't miss this year's Designers & Books Fair at FIT in NYC from October 2-4. More than 70 design book publishers will be in the exhibition hall selling their books at special prices of up to 60% off. And in addition to book signings with many of the authors, you can also win unique behind-the-scenes experiences with them, like those mentioned above (check out the full 20+ experiences here).

Not only that, but they're also hosting 7 free -- yes, FREE!! -- speaker presentations throughout the weekend. Of particular interest to us publication peeps are:
 
SATURDAY, OCT. 3  //  1:30-2:30PM
"Reflections on Re-designs: A Conversation with Three Magazine Design Directors"
With Gail Bichler / New York Times Magazine, Michael Famighetti / Aperture, and Charlotte Strick / The Paris Review, moderated by Luke Hayman / Pentagram
  
SUNDAY, OCT. 4  //  1:30-2:30PM
"From Pipe Dream to Print: Four Successful Indie Mags on What it Takes (Besides Great Design) To Make it Big"
Featuring editors and designers from Lucky Peach, Pitchfork, The Great Discontent and more.

And oh yeah, there's Steven Heller chatting with Milton Glaser too. And lots more great stuff. The book fair exhibition hall is free to get into, as are the speaker programs (though you can reserve a seat for only $10). Book signings and entries for the author experiences come with your purchase of their book.
 
Full details at designbookfair.com  (And if you win that free tattoo, we want to see it!)

The Modern Magazine: Visual Journalism in the Digital Era

"What Is a Magazine?" asks Jeremy Leslie on the first page of this wonderful new book. There are a multiplicity of answers (of course), and you'll find many of them in this visual feast, filled with graphic delights and surprises. It's the book equivalent of a giant newsstand, and readers are treated to an endless display of magazines from around the world in all shapes and sizes, each of them a stellar example of magazine-making circa 2013 (or 2012 for some).

This book really could have been subtitled "The Triumph of Independent Publishing," because the core of the book is represented by the thriving indie scene that Leslie has promoted so enthusiastically (and smartly) on his Magculture site. "The basic alchemy of manipulating text and image on a page--visual journalism--has never been easier," says Leslie, "printing small numbers of copies has never been cheaper, and, in the hands of top practitioners, the results never more exciting."(Photo via Magculture and Francesco Franchi)… MORE

Still on the hunt for that perfect gift for the Art Director or Photo Editor in your life?  Well, look no further!  We've gathered some favorites that will be a great addition to your bookshelf.  Plus, you can buy them all now at our online SPD Book Store.   For a limited time, readers can also get a special discount on SPD Annuals HERE.  Just use promo code: holiday at checkout.
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Must Read: iPad Design Lab

Having spent some time with Mario Garcia's new iBook, the only way to start off this post is... THE TAKEAWAY: If you're working in publishing, iPad Design Lab is a timely and informative must read. … MORE

Chasing Beauty

Hey all,
I wanted to take a moment and share a non-mag project I worked on that just hit stores.
My friend, photographer Richard Phibbs was having his first book published and asked me to do all the typography for the book. (Which i had to think about for all of two seconds.)

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The Beautiful & the Damned: Punk Photographs of Ann Summa

Los Angeles-based photographer Ann Summa has a new book, The Beautiful & the Damned: Punk Photographs of Ann Summa. It's a document of the LA punk scene circa 1978-84, with over 150 photographs, many of them never seen before. In addition to photos of seminal LA bands like the Germs, the Screamers, and X, there are plenty of photographs of the punk scene. And there a lot of portraits of musicians who played in LA, like the Clash, Pretenders, Talking Heads, Iggy Pop, and many more.

Summa is one of our favorite photographers, and the new book shows off her early, gritty, black and white punk photographer days to brilliant effect. These are raw, artful images with impact and passion. We've got a soft spot for anything about early punk, and this book is simply a great document of that period.

There's a book release party on Friday, October 8 (that's tonight!), from 5-7pm at Bookmarc at 400 Bleecker Street. As an added bonus, Exene Cervenka will be performing at 6.30 (she also wrote the forward to Summa's book).
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Drew Friedman's Killer New Book, "Too Soon"

Over the past 15 years, Drew Friedman has been one of the most popular and prolific illustrators in the magazine world. His caricatures and cartoons have graced the pages and covers of everything from The New Yorker to Entertainment Weekly to the Weekly Standard. And although these days most of his work is in color, he still publishes work in classic black and white as well.

Now Friedman has a brilliant new collection of his magazine work, Too Soon?: Famous/Infamous Faces 1995-2010, published by Fantagraphics Books. It's hardcover, 200+ pages, packed with hundreds of  comics and caricatures and even more laughs. And it's graced with a wonderful introductory essay by Friedman that is a great history of both his illustration career and magazine illustration in general over the past 15 years.

Check out some of our favorite Friedman illos from the book on the next page, and see even more on his Drawger page.
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The Making of Dan Winters' 'Periodical Photographs'

In late 2007, I received a life-changing phone call from one of my best friends, a photographer named Dan Winters. He and I had become inseparable collaborators nearly 10 years ago, after a summer afternoon spent photographing (and gorging on) a particularly fine crop of Texas Hill Country peaches. Since then, we've worked together nearly every month in some form or fashion, both during my tenure at Texas Monthly, and now at WIRED.
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