- ISBN13: 9783899552799
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
Stripes, numbers, colors, and logos- the graphic visual look of a racecar has to stand out from all the others as they go zooming by. Most people don’t know that racing cars from the likes of Porsche, Ferrari, Maserati, and Lotus were given their looks not by marketing strategists or designers, but by pure chance. Go Faster is a collection of over one hundred examples of racecar design that documents the carefree anarchy in which they were created. In the book, each… More >>
Go Faster: The Graphic Design of Racing Cars
Tags: anarchy, Cars, Design, Faster, Graphic, graphic design, lotus, marketing strategists, maserati, porsche, porsche ferrari, racecar, Racing, racing cars, remainder mark
#1 by Michael J. Quarterman on April 17, 2010 - 1:30 am
This is my first review after buying literally hundreds of books over the years. This book is so poorly done that I feel sorry for anyone who bought it unseen.
Of 140 pages, only 40 have any useful content, and even that is of little value.
The “models” are poor diecast, no consistency in size or accuracy, etc, etc. I wish I had seen the other reviews prior to purchasing.
Overall the book looks like a high school level project. (Freshman year!)
Rating: 1 / 5
#2 by thatguy01 on April 17, 2010 - 1:42 am
This book is a nearly random collection of pictures of racing cars, not a study that can tell you more than you see.
Note that some of the subject cars are made up liveries for toys, not attempts to show real liveries.
Rating: 2 / 5
#3 by Alfistian on April 17, 2010 - 2:21 am
Anyone with a can of white spray paint and their old matchbox collection could duplicate the efforts of the author. There’s a couple good photos in the book, but hardly worth the paper it’s printed on. Totally disappointed. I was hoping for something informative and thought provoking based on the “artsy” promotion video I saw.
Rating: 1 / 5
#4 by Raymond L. Denison on April 17, 2010 - 3:18 am
As a graphic designer and a race fan I got very excited when I heard of this book, so much so that I ordered it immediately. At first pass it is a very clean and artful presentation that seems to cover the topic well. Unfortunately after spending an evening with the book I am left wanting so much more. While the author does offer more insight to the topic than any other published piece that I am aware of, he stops shy of giving us a good and thoughtful overview. Only 14 written pages occupy this 144 page book. Even then many of these pages are only a quarter to half page full. With such a rich topic I wish that the author had explored the subject with much greater depth. There are two pages that are left unexplainably blank which only added to my growing frustration. I would not be so critical if the book were under $20.
Presenting the topic in a chronological format would have also helped me to understand the evolution and role of graphic communication in the sport. The book is somewhat random in it’s presentation. Maybe even a comparison on the good versus bad design in relationship to art as a form of communication. The author as a graphic designer and would have been able to express his opinion on that. Yes, the author does explain how design was used to create a sense of speed but he stops short of the multi-faceted role color, shape, and text play on the undulating canvas of the automotive form. With exception of a couple of pictures of GT3 Porsche the last decade of racecars are not covered. NASCAR offers some graphically rich images and why no mention or pictures of the great Benetton F1 cars?
I was also disappointed that so many “toy” cars were used as illustrations. Many of the toys used are not very faithful to the real car thus water down the exercise. Some higher quality Minichamps models were used. I understand the creativity the author was trying to exercise but unfortunately the presentation suffered. The toys also dilute the representation of any serious attempt. I do like the “blank canvas” effect of the white car form to compare against. More photography or illustrations might have served him better. Even employing Photoshop to correct the flaws would have improved the presentation. Kevin Cameron’s, The Grand Prix Motorcycle: The Official Technical History is a masterful example of how to artfully present such a topic.
All that said I would encourage a second edition of this book to improve upon, in my opinion the shortcomings that keep this book for being exceptional look at a worthy topic.
Rating: 2 / 5