News Blog @ Wellington City Libraries

Have you ever heard of Kawaii? It means ‘cute’ in Japanese and has become entirely part of Japanese popular culture. The little book of Kawaii shows the reader how this trend started as a sub-culture and impacted the lives of so many it has become mainstream. The new age of feminine drawing explains how drawing, a medium once shunned, is making a comeback and is the main way some artists express themselves today. Beyond the street is a book about street art and the one hundred artists who champion it. You can find out more about these books and other new titles available in our selection by checking this month’s Graphic Arts Recent Picks.

Is your life devoted to design? Are you always looking for new ideas and inspiration to create beautiful things? If you are, you’ll be delighted by our latest items on the subject. We have a book dealing with Chinese weaving and embroidery patterns and another about Italian furniture, both with beautiful pictures. Our selection also includes books about using colours appropriately when knitting, the universal principles of design and tips & tricks to make your design Zen. And if your are also interested in interior design for restaurants, check out this month’s Design Recent Picks.

Our Design books’ selection this month include an Italian magazine called Abitare, a book about home design entitled The Art of Living, and a publication about visual arts: More Things like This. If you are interested in patterns and surface design, you can borrow The Pattern Sourcebook. If you are a fan of plastic jewelry, you can peruse over 500 different designs. And if you are interested by Jean Despres and chairs, check out this month’s Design Recent Picks.

Our new Design books will keep you occupied this month and give you a buzz of inspiration and creativity! We have available two British magazines: Computer Arts Project and Computers Arts magazines. Also in our selection: a book dealing with Charley Harper (the unconventional American illustrator), graffiti in New York, and a guide about modern wallpaper. If you want to know what other books are in store, check out this month’s Design Recent Picks.

Do you have a wide imagination and dream about castles in the sky, nebulous galaxies and awesome spaceships? You can give your dreams shape with two books that feature in our selection: Mega Manga and Sci-Fi art. We also have a number of items dedicated to sustainable designs and green architecture. You can learn about 100 new eco designs and where to find them, Green design and Designing sustainable packaging. And if you are interested in American illustration and graphics, check out this month’s Graphic design and art Recent Picks.

You can apply design to many products and concepts if you have a keen eye and are resourceful. Ecological design proves the point with 60 products marrying elegance with sustainability. Haute-Couture is also a form of design. Thanks to our selection, you can find out about Lucien Lelong who presented famous collections at the beginning of the twentieth century. Items about a new wave of architects, interior decoration, Harakuju fashion, restaurant and CD designs are also available. If you want to know more about these titles, check out this month’s Design Recent Picks.

 This month, our selection will please you if you can’t imagine life without design. Best brochure design.10 presents you with innovative ideas concerning the design of brochures. Ultimate illustrations! compiles the work of today’s most talented illustrators. Stereographics: graphics in new dimensions and Tangible: high touch visuals show how 3D designs are becoming increasingly popular, with illustrations and examples for the reader to draw inspiration from. Packaging sustainability deals with the tips and tricks of producing functional and beautifully designed packages. Small environments offers design and architectural solutions to making the most of lack of space. And if you want to know more about Color & layout: from asparagus white to burnt olive, check out this month’s Graphic Arts Recent Picks.

This month, our design selection covers a wide range of topics. Atlas of fashion designers showcases the most influential fashion designers of the last five years and their work. Architecture is covered with a book that illustrates the wild and daring imagination of some urban designs. Modern stages and sets are the canvas onto which talented designers express their love for architecture and technology. Interior decoration gets a boost with Print, pattern & colour and street fashion has a guru with Vice Dos and Don’ts. Do you want to know what is happening in the world of fashion ? Check out the second volume of Fashion now, and if you are looking for romantic inspiration, have a look at the Design parts sourcebook. Finally, you can learn more about Japanese street fashion from Harajuku in this month’s Design Recent Picks.

Fashion prints are seen everywhere: on wallpaper, cushions, clothes and more. Our design selection this month includes two books about these: New fashion Print , and if you are a bit nostalgic and like vintage, you can also borrow 1960’s Fashion Print: a sourcebook. If you are a fan of US designer Narciso Rodriguez, you can read about his work, and you can also find out more about design packaging, including  music graphics and design. You can also try out new and inventive ways of presenting your business cards and other RSVPs with 1,000 greetings: creative correspondence designed for all occasions. And if you want to know all about selling design successfully, check out this month’s Design Recent Picks.

Do you ever get given flyers for parties and nightclubs in the street and just throw them in the nearest bin? Well, you might have passed up an opportunity to appreciate some real graphic art, such as the kind featured in Fly by night : the new art of the club flyer. Other books in our Graphics selection this month deal with typography, logos, and how to unlock your imagination and get creative. You can also discover the possibilities the two- and three-dimensional qualities of CD disc packaging offer artists to create unique artwork, in Best of disc art. Plus, get advice about in-house design in every type of company and organisation. All in this month’s Graphic Art Recent Picks.