User Design Books

Three simple booklets bring wit, wordplay and graphic design shenanigans to the printed page

Boutique graphic design outfit User Design recently released a series of self-published works united by British wit and a simple, hand-drawn aesthetic. The titles include “The Journey of the Larks”, “Punctuation…?” and “Life”, and show an emerging playful side of the predominantly commercial publisher. Illustrated, designed and created by Thomas Bohm, the trio matches supremely minimal design with an endearing sense of play. “Journey of …

Ampersand Gallery and Dunderdon

A Portland collector's antique imagery and artifacts add new depth to a Swedish workwear label's NYC shop

The seemingly surprising collaboration between Portland’s Ampersand Gallery and Swedish workwear company Dunderdon came about in a wholly organic fashion. Les Szabo, a long-time Portland resident and the owner of Dunderdon USA, walked into Ampersand one day and simply liked the way it looked. “We started talking about a collaboration back in October, but it wasn’t until this spring that we began to formalize what …

Dror for Tumi

The multidisciplinary designer re-imagines travel in a transformational line

When designer Dror Benshetrit joined with Tumi to create a line of luggage, the unlikely marriage was bound to produce something unique. Rather than imagining this as a simple one-off collaboration, Tumi approached the project as their first line with a third-party designer, opening their heritage to Dror’s creative force. The brand’s commitment to sustainable design and perfectionism was well met with Dror’s hands-on, anything-is-possible …