Picturing and Poeting

by Alan Fletcher, Emily King, Fiona MacCarthy

Follow-up volume to the best-selling The Art of Looking Sideways, Picturing and Poeting is the latest collection of mind-bending images and creative wordplay from Alan Fletcher, one of the most internationally influential figures in graphic design.

Genres: Design, Art, Nonfiction

384 pages, Hardcover

First published November 14, 2006

About the author

Alan Fletcher was one of the most influential and best loved graphic designers of his time. In 1959, after success in America, he settled in London. He co-founded Fletcher, Forbes, Gill in 1962, which became renowned for sophisticated graphic design and enduring wit. Their branding for Reuters was used for over 30 years. In 1971, Fletcher co-founded Pentagram, then in 1991 set up his own company. He was Designer of the Year in 1993 and became Consultant Art Director at Phaidon. He wrote a number of books including 'The Art of Looking Sideways' (2001). In 2006, a major retrospective of his work was held at London's Design Museum, where his graphic archive is now held.

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring. Here's what I wrote in my blog (www.kimhermanson.com) about it:
My new fave art book is Picturing and Poeting by noted graphic designer Alan Fletcher.

British writer Fiona MacCarthy wrote something interesting in her forward to the book. She describes the "moment of crystallization" when "an idea changes state. The point at which the word transforms itself to make a picture. The stage at which the visual image claims an intellectual meaning."

I like that description of the "point of crystallization." That transformative, art-making moment is what I try to encourage in my creative process classes--where we play with merging art, image, and word.

In any case, I'm glad to have found Alan Fletcher and his book (he also wrote The Art of Looking Sideways), because I'm always looking for fresh inspiration. The book isn't cheap, but as far as I'm concerned, inspiration is priceless.

There's probably not a better segueway into my Painted Word class at Book Passage on March 14th. Here's the writeup: The Painted Word: Letting Art Evoke Writing In this one-day workshop we will have an intimate conversation between art & writing, using art and its principles to shape and inspire the written word. Innovative writing exercises that engage the provocative relationship between words and images will encourage fresh ways of expression. Collage and other art materials will be used to open us up to a rich aesthetic realm. As the art forms merge you will be free to explore new directions in your writing. Both beginning and experienced writers will find this workshop valuable to inspire the creative process. To sign up, click on this link: http://www.bookpassage.com/class_detalied.php?id=411 (The class usually fills up, so sign up early if you're interested.)

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book compiled by a design legend, personally I'm not too well informed about the 'design-world' but was compelled to read this book as I am extremely interested in the relationship between the image and the word.

Design-person or not, I am sure that anyone who reads this book will feel Alan Fletcher's passion and childlike inquisitive pondering through his personal tinkering and thought processes.

One will definitely feel inspired to pick up something and create their own visual language after reading this book.

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like The Art of Looking Sideways and was excited to borrow this book through interlibrary loan. It was okay, but not as good as I was hoping based on the other.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was enjoyable and creative, though it didn't knock my socks off. I enjoyed the texts, anecdotes and quotations that accompanied these doodles and letter collages. Of the work here, my favorite was the water-logged note that said "I'm going to stick this in a puddle."

[Rachel Gladwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

[Pia Camara · Rating 3 out of 5]

To me, it is a more intimate view on Fletcher's work.

[Azem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking at Alan Fletcher's work is always inspiring. This book features projects and ideas from his sketchbook. Work he did for fun as opposed to commissioned work.