The Print Revolution explores how fashion designers have put the new technology of digital printing to use. Covering a wide array of designers from new to established, the book catalogs their inspiring results.

Traditionally, silk-screen printing was the standard method of applying patterns onto apparel but it could add substantial cost to the product since each color required a separate screen. Because of this, multi-hued patterns were limited to higher-end collections.

With digital printing, the process works in a similar manner that an inkjet printer would, meaning that the complexity and scale of patterns is now unlimited. It’s pretty amazing to see how this technology has rapidly opened the floodgates for designers of all sizes to apply surface patterns to their apparel.

The Print Revolution was provided courtesy of Gingko Press. All opinions are my own.

Ages ago, I shared a few choice visuals from one of my favorite books, It Is Beautiful…Then Gone but not enough to do it justice. This book is one that I go back to repeatedly because it’s mostly collage-based but has a strong sense of design weaving throughout its pages. I made collages long before I was a designer and this book reminds me of why I love it so much.

A lot of the work here was produced in the early 90s as the author struggled to find his footing in art school. The transition from creating design by hand to using computers was in full swing. Instead of fully embracing the clumsy computers, he revived many of his school’s forgotten relics including the darkroom and wove together his own unique style.

Though Venezky’s style has visible design roots, the hand-done elements are obvious and give his work dimension — you can see the photocopied pieces and the layers of the overlapping images. His work is a reminder that we don’t have to be totally dependent on computers to create a layout and that sometimes, it’s necessary to step away to push our personal boundaries.

Featured book: It Is Beautiful…Then Goneby Martin Venezky.
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In 2004, I was walking through Powell’s Books and spotted Excess: Fashion And The Underground In The 80s. I bought it on the spot.

The book features a tightly edited collection of hundreds of fashion photos ranging from the runway to the club scene along with countless essays on the role fashion played in 80s culture, from music to movies (with coverage of everything from Blade Runner to Wall Street).

The interesting slant is that while 80s fashion as a whole is covered in depth, there is a particular focus on Italian fashion (the publisher is Italian). Italian designers played a huge role in the transition to a more structured, sculptural look and a lot of their work is woven throughout the book across many obscure ads and magazine covers.

It’s always fascinating to see the key trends of a decade and how art, politics, movies and music intersected to influence it all.

This book does a great job of navigating the complicated world of 80s fashion (with everything from Armani powersuits to New Romantic looks getting starring roles) while retaining a diplomatic tone — there are no clichés, only a realistic glance back at how things were.

Featured book: Excess: Fashion And The Underground In The 80s

There are some books I repeatedly come back to no matter how many times I’ve flipped through their pages — this new column, Lookbook, is dedicated to them. Even though I spend most of my days absorbed in everything digital, I’ve always loved books and the escape they provide. While everyone else is adding titles to their iPads and Kindles, I’m surfing Amazon, looking for a new print fix.

Kate Spade’s Things We Love was released earlier this year as a nod to the brand’s 20th anniversary. In the year following up to its release, I’d seen the super-limited teaser online many times but sadly, this mini book wasn’t available to the public.

Then, in January, the full length edition was released and at 240 pages, was much more extensive than the mini version had let on. Six months after its arrival in my office, I’m still reaching for it constantly.

Brimming with 20 chapters of things the creative team at Kate Spade adores (including the color red and handwritten notes), this visual diary perfectly sums up the quirkiness of the brand through quotes, photos, film stills and curated layouts of knick-knacks.

Things We Love is bound to get your creative juices flowing and remind you that even the smallest things in life are worthwhile of a celebration.

Images: Scanned from Things We Love.