Our 10 Favourite

Commemorative Books

“THERE ARE THREE RESPONSES TO A PIECE OF DESIGN:

YES, NO, AND WOW! WOW IS THE ONE TO AIM FOR.”

–Milton Glaser

VANITY FAIR: 100 YEARSVIEW HERE

This book is a stunning collection of writing, photography and illustration. Covering a century of content, the book is a timeless record of culture and talent. Be sure to appreciate the beautiful illustrated endpapers.

PIONEERING SPIRIT: A HISTORY OF FISHER & PAYKELVIEW HERE

Fisher & Paykel make kitchen appliances. Sound dull? You wouldn’t know it from this beautiful book. The mix of archival and contemporary photography have a nostalgic tone and identify the company’s roots, while the design is courageous and sophisticated — at times even avant-garde.

10/100VIEW HERE

This is another example of history meeting contemporary design. Sports are not well-known for cutting edge design, but the nostalgia and vintage aesthetic still maintains a lot of artistic cache and this book makes good use of it. Check out the signatures stitched together exposed by the open spine and the red bubble wrap that the book is shipped in!

WHAT DO YOU LOVE? INTERNATIONAL DESIGN NETWORK 15 YEAR ANNIVERSARY BOOKVIEW HERE

Featured here are images from Yuko Shimizu (featured recently on the cover of local Vancouver magazine Ricepaper). More of a catalogue than a commemorative history, this book features a broad range of creators and their stories and process.

MANIC: 10TH ANNIVERSARY BOOKVIEW HERE

Notable for printing on uncoated stock, the effort to ensure quality reproduction is apparent. More tactile in feel, this stock can sit back and feel muted, but here the colours and contrasts are very well done. The minimal cover design and black linen binding lend to that tactile feel as well.

50: A FIFTY-YEAR INSPECTIONVIEW HERE

This book represents a fantastic union of book design and content. Taking the appearance of a field note-book, this book is a beautifully done ‘scrap-book’ style approach to 50 years of Korte Company construction work. There’s great use of contemporary design with archival imagery — “A new idea. And old idea” — side by side.

ONE DAY IN CABRAMATTAVIEW HERE

This book commemorates a documentary series with a bold use of colour paired with hand written elements, archival images and artwork. A book like this can be an object for a community to rally around as well as an example of authentic storytelling.

AUDIO PURITY: MARK LEVINSON AT FORTY YEARSVIEW HERE

Linen covers tend to date a book, but not here. The debossed title on black linen looks anything but old. This stands out for being a commemorative book by sticking to hyper-slick design and professional high-quality photography and modern typefaces. The book as a whole seems to stand for high-fidelity.

CONVERSE 100TH ANNIVERSARY BOOK BOX SETVIEW HERE

Being a fan of Chucks myself, I’d love to see a book on their 100 years of making shoes, but this one’s not a book. Surprise! It’s a shoebox meant to resemble many volumes of history. Rather cool example of thinking outside the box by making just that: a box.

CALIFORNIA CASUALTY: 100TH ANNIVERSARY BOOKVIEW HERE

Another example of a company making courageous design and storytelling choices to tell their deep and compelling history. Check out the gorgeous illustrated chapter open pages and the innovative typography and imagery. This company shared its history unafraid of making a book that breaks the mould of what a ‘corporate history’ can be.

ECHO IS A STORYTELLING AGENCYWe make books, videos and digital stories for companies who need to

engage customers and employees, and for individuals who want to leave a legacy.

WWW.ECHOSTORIES.COM