The Design of Dissent by Milton Glaser and Mirko Ilić
In an age when Americans seem to have forgotten how large a role dissent plays in our democracy, design greats Milton Glaser and Mirko Ilić have teamed up to provide a look into revolutionary design in The Design of Dissent, an overview of international posters and ephemera relating to this topic. “These posters, these works of art, have a restorative power,” writes playwright Tony Kushner in his foreword. “Each is an argument that stamps itself indelibly in on the soul of the passer-by.”

The graphic, violent, and risqué designs focus on such revolutionary topics as Communism, the Iraq War, Equality, Religion, and Government, and the authors approach these daunting subjects with brutal honesty. A valuable Q&A with Glaser by Steven Heller at the end of the book provides further insight into design’s ability to transform the world.
$50, hardcover, 240 pages, Rockport Publishers

Shoes: The Complete Sourcebook by John Peacock
True to its title, this book serves as a valuable reference tool for anyone interested in shoe design. Divided into six sections, John Peacock charts the development of every possible kind of footwear from Antiquity to the present day, with pages of illustrations (over 2,000) followed by schematic drawings and detailed descriptions of each piece.

“My main aim in this study,” writes Peacock in his introduction, “is to illustrate the evolution of footwear, including shoes, sandals, slippers, and boots, showing as many types and styles as possible, and concentrating on those that I consider to be the most representative of each period, and of greatest interest and usefulness to the designer, student, and non-specialist to whom this book is directed. The examples presented are, in the main, those worn by fashionable women and men, though on occasion I have chosen to illustrate interesting or unusual footwear, as well as military, sports, or workmen’s shoes and boots, where I feel them to be appropriate or informative.”

Shoe lovers will devour this book, and readers will marvel at how little—and how incredibly much—shoes have changed over the years. Some of us still wear sandals akin to those of Ancient Egypt, while others wouldn’t be caught dead wearing styles from 20 years ago. Many shoe styles of the past have come full circle, and others (jester pointy toes or two-foot platforms, anyone?) have—thankfully—completely dropped off the face of the fashion design world.
$40, hardcover, 168 pages, Thames & Hudson

46th Annual of American Illustration by The Society of Illustrators
In this latest edition of the Society of Illustrators’ annual, not only the best illustrations of the past year are showcased, but so are the ideas behind each piece. Designed by DJ Stout of Pentagram, the 46th Annual includes 502 projects selected by a jury of 45 professionals in the following categories: Sequential, Editorial, Book, Advertising, Institutional, and Uncommissioned Categories.

Not simply a coffee table book of work from talented artists, each selected piece also presents commentary from the designer explaining the inspiration behind the illustration. This year’s selection includes recent inductees to the Society of Illustrators’ Hall of Fame—John Groth (Ernest Hemingway collaborator and first art director for Esquire), Saul Steinberg (artist for The New Yorker, and focus of Steinberg at The New Yorker, featured in the May/June 2005 issue of STEP), Robert Andrew Parker (recognized in the fields of children’s books, film production, and reportorial illustration), and John Berkey (well-known science-fiction illustrator)—as well as this year’s recipient of the Hamilton King Award for the year’s best illustration, Michael J. Deas. The 46th Annual of American Illustration is—of course—a gorgeous, colorful book of beautiful work and a peek into the mind of each artist.
$45, softcover, 604 pages, Harper Design, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers