Designer Collector: Art, design and children's books
Written by Aidan Searle RGD, Hood & Searle Design Inc.What do you collect?
I collect quite a few things: paper ephemera, art prints, art books, design books and children's books. But this article is all about my precious books.
Since when?
I grew up with a mother who is very fond of books of all types. When I was little, we would go to flea markets, used bookstores and library book sales so my collecting started pretty early, around the age of 10 or so. She always bought me books and then, once I started making a bit of money, I would buy them myself. When I was younger, I bought art and art history books. I have had two major moves in my life, so my current collection is only about 11 years old, and I still have books in storage in Saskatchewan.
How does it inspire you as a designer?
I have a lot of design education books which I read periodically to help keep my foundational skills sharp. I have some type finders/encyclopedias which I reference at the start of projects. I like the way the fonts look on paper moreso than on a screen. My art book collection is indispensable from an inspiration standpoint—I collect books from a wide range of artists but gravitate to New Objectivity, contemporary art, children's books and outsider/naive art. I do a lot of illustration work, so looking for inspiration in unlikely books yields cool results.
Your favourites?
My favourites are probably the older children's books that are beautifully illustrated, which I've kept since childhood, books by Sven Nordqvist, William Stieg and Jan Brett. I also recently found a book illustrated by one of my favourite artists, Ralph Steadman—it's called The False Flamingoes. He illustrated it right out of art school, and it's absolutely stunning.
Items you aspire to have in your collection?
Anything old and rare by Ludwig Bemelmans (his novels, not the kids' books). Old New Yorkers illustrated by William Stieg, visual identity manuals from Canadian Modernism and old weird counterculture zines.
Aidan Searle RGD
Hood & Searle Design Inc.
Aidan Searle is a Dartmouth, NS-based graphic designer, multidisciplinary artist, and entrepreneur. He has worked with big companies and small companies. He considers himself very lucky to be able to pick up a pencil every morning and make things for people.
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