Some people send postcards because they're on vacation. Others, like me, wish they could send a postcard every time they see an expensive piece of mid-century modern design that is otherwise outside their budget: an original Eames chair, perhaps, or one of Dieter Rams's classic side tables.
Thames & Hudson—sellers of some of the most beautifully designed books around—and graphic design studio Here Design have just unveiled Mid-Century Modern, a new postcard-cum-notebook-cum quartet of reference books that pay homage to the titans of 20th-century design: Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson, Dieter Rams, Eileen Gray, and more.
The Mid-Century Modern series portrays each design as a profile, with a minimalist, Herman Miller-like line drawing. The set favors the pastels of the era, including mustard yellows and pale turquoises, while the illustrations are in black-and-white, revealing the lines and contours of each given piece.
The reference books are split between themes: "Tables and Storage,""Product and Industrial Design,""Lighting," and "Chairs." Each book contains text by Frances Amber, a guest editor at MidCentury Magazine, while the illustrations drill down into details of each piece.
The Mid-Century Modernpostcards, books, and notebooks are all due out in May, and will be available from $14.95 to $24.95.