Viction:ary Roundup

First up from the Hong Kong publisher (whose books are distributed in the United States exclusively by Gingko Press), is Simply Packaging. The 240-page book, packed with 212 color photos, celebrates the relation between the success of a product with the providence of its packaging (just think of Tiffany's little blue boxes). The examples show how with, the right form and fonts, soap can take on a dirty personality and chewing gum can be as cute as a cucumber. The descriptions are a bit lacking but what the words miss, the images (and design they show) more than make up for it.

Design Play looks at the lighter side of design, with a sticker on the cover describing it as "an array of quirky design." It includes works such as San Francisco-based designers Mike and Maaike's Stolen Jewels Collection of jewelry (designed to look like enlarged, pixeladed jeweled necklaces) and Nina Mrsnik's Chair 1 (a painting of a chair on steps that can be sat on and, from the right perspective, made to look like reality). This is one of my favorites because not only is the book design delightful but the projects are beautiful to look at and all contain a light-hearted sense of humor.

Colour Mania is a collection of works orgazined by color into ten sections (the last being multi-color). It highlights the emotions and characteristics that different colors can project and showcases exceptional works in graphics, interior design, fashion, and more by designers with preferances for working on one specific color. The book itself comes in nine different color cover options and is made so that the reader can fold up a flag on each section starter page to create bookmarks for where each chapter starts.

Click through our slideshow to view images from these three books and visit Gingko Press and Viction:ary for more like titles.