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Board: Surf/Skate/Snow Graphics
This revised edition of the first and most complete book on board sports graphics -- from rarer, classic archival material to the latest trends -- includes exciting examples of recent board graphics. Surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding have produced a stunning array of imagery and some of the most influential graphics to emerge in the last 30 years. Board is a comprehensive survey of the best of board sports graphics, from rare, classic archive material to the latest trends. Top artists and art directors, such as Jim Phillips, Erik Brunetti, Todd Francis, Marc McKee and Scott Clum, explain the complex subcultures which have given rise to this art, and examine the close links between board sports and music, design, and fashion. Anarchic, funny, brutal, and beautiful, Board is a unique document of the visual expression of youth culture.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
5 people want to read
About the author
Jeremy Leslie
19 booksJeremy cooked fries at McDonald’s, manned an ice cream stall, and watched over a Lucozade bottling machine before studying graphic design at the London College of Communication. On graduating, he ran his own design studio working for publications including Blitz magazine and the Guardian, and creating posters for arts organizations such as the ICA and The Young Vic.
Three years as art director at Time Out in London followed before Jeremy became Group Creative Director at John Brown Citrus Publishing. Here he oversees the design of over 50 magazines and publishing projects for clients ranging from BSkyB and Waitrose to Virgin Atlantic. He is the author of five books about graphic design and writes regularly for the design press.
Jeremy lives in London with his wife and two sons, both of whom will love Pick Me Up. They will.
Three years as art director at Time Out in London followed before Jeremy became Group Creative Director at John Brown Citrus Publishing. Here he oversees the design of over 50 magazines and publishing projects for clients ranging from BSkyB and Waitrose to Virgin Atlantic. He is the author of five books about graphic design and writes regularly for the design press.
Jeremy lives in London with his wife and two sons, both of whom will love Pick Me Up. They will.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 29, 2021
State of the art, literally, in the worlds of surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding around the turn of the century, ie late nineties and early 2000s, but with many examples from earlier years.
Graphic decoration on the boards in these boardy pursuits is enormously varied and colourful with quite different styles in each, which surprised me a little. Skateboards have attracted the most imaginative designers; they have created attractive, wild, offensive and outrageous designs. The surfboard designs are the simplest and most eye-catching while the snowsboards’ motifs came in a close third. Some of the snowboards are elegant but generally they lack the flair of the other two categories. I’m not sure why.
Certainly surfboards need to look striking from a distance and production costs come into it. Dare Jennings, from Mambo, the innovative Australian design group, says the paint has to be applied in under 20 minutes to keep the price manageable. Consequently, Mambo designs are simple and striking. Nevertheless Mambo has produced boards with ‘representations of a snooker table, a television set with armchair, camouflage patterns and a lawnmower’, (p18).
Skateboards being smaller and viewed from much closer can take more detail, more narrative. But something I learned is that the designs on skateboards have a limited life; worn out very quickly by hyperactive feet.
My favourite anecdote concerns a surfer who showed his blank white board to the artist Sam Francis, who offered to paint his next one. Francis duly did. The surfer rode it a few times and then needing extra funds for a surfing trip sold it to an art dealer in France for US$20,000.
Graphic decoration on the boards in these boardy pursuits is enormously varied and colourful with quite different styles in each, which surprised me a little. Skateboards have attracted the most imaginative designers; they have created attractive, wild, offensive and outrageous designs. The surfboard designs are the simplest and most eye-catching while the snowsboards’ motifs came in a close third. Some of the snowboards are elegant but generally they lack the flair of the other two categories. I’m not sure why.
Certainly surfboards need to look striking from a distance and production costs come into it. Dare Jennings, from Mambo, the innovative Australian design group, says the paint has to be applied in under 20 minutes to keep the price manageable. Consequently, Mambo designs are simple and striking. Nevertheless Mambo has produced boards with ‘representations of a snooker table, a television set with armchair, camouflage patterns and a lawnmower’, (p18).
Skateboards being smaller and viewed from much closer can take more detail, more narrative. But something I learned is that the designs on skateboards have a limited life; worn out very quickly by hyperactive feet.
My favourite anecdote concerns a surfer who showed his blank white board to the artist Sam Francis, who offered to paint his next one. Francis duly did. The surfer rode it a few times and then needing extra funds for a surfing trip sold it to an art dealer in France for US$20,000.
Displaying 1 of 1 review