Bókakápa | Book cover for Rakel Helmsdal

Posted on March 17, 2014 by aslaugj

♦ Bókakápa: Samstarfskona mín í Færeyjum, Skrímsla-Rakel Helmsdal, er að senda frá sér nýja bók fyrir ungmenni á öllum aldri. Ég fékk það skemmtilega verkefni að gera kápu á bókina. Sagan segir frá stúlkunni Argantael og er að mörgu leyti bæði átaka- og áhrifamikil. Bókin heitir á frummálinu: „Hon, sum róði eftir ælaboganum“ eða „Hún, sem réri eftir regnboganum“. Rakel mun fagna útgáfunni á miðvikudaginn, 19. mars, í Gamla Bókhandil í Torshavn. Hér má lesa um bókina og viðtal við Rakel í Sandoyar Portalurin.

Til hamingju með nýju bókina, Rakel!

♦ Book cover: My friend and co-author Rakel Helmsdal has a new book coming out. I had the honor to do the cover design. This is a young-adult fiction, a dramatic story of the girl Argantael, her troubles and emotional turmoil. The title in Faroese is: “Hon, sum róði eftir ælaboganum“ or: “She, who rowed towards the rainbow”.

See more: Rakel’s homepage and the publisher Bókadeildin, and an interview with Rakel in Sandoyar Portalurin.

Congratulations on the new book, Rakel!

Tímamótabækur í afmælisriti | Book design and printing

Posted on February 14, 2014 by aslaugj

♦ Grafísk hönnun. Mér áskotnaðist eintak af afmælisriti Odda sem gefið var út á síðasta ári í tilefni af 70 ára afmæli prentsmiðjunnar. Saga fyrirtæksins er rakin með því að velja og kynna eitt bókverk frá hverju ári, en auk þess eru í bókinni kaflar um grafíska hönnun, framfarir í prentun, starfrænu byltinguna o.fl. Árið 1999 er það Sagan af bláa hnettinum eftir Andra Snæ Magnason sem markar tímamótin. Þar segir m.a. frá því þegar drifið var í endurprentun í Odda í desember, en fyrst upplagið var prentað erlendis. Í textanum segir svo: „Áslaug Jónsdóttir teiknaði myndirnar í ævintýri Andra Snæs og á sinn þátt í velgengni verksins. Kápumynd hennar af hnettinum bláa og sólinni sem brosir við börnunum er einkar vel heppnuð.“ (Sótt fram í 70 ár Oddi 1943-2013, bls. 85).
Það er skemmtilegt að glugga í ritið, lesa 70 ára hönnunarsögu af bókakápum og rifja upp áhugaverða kafla í sögu grafískrar hönnunar á Íslandi í greinum eftir Guðmund Odd Magnússon og fleiri. Bókin er hönnuð af Halldóri Þorsteinssyni.

♦ Graphic design. Iceland’s largest printing company, Oddi, celebrated 70 years in business last year. An anniversary book was published, focusing on graphic design and book printing. For every year a successful book is represented as a milestone in the history of the company. The Story of the Blue Planet by Andri Snær Magnason was chosen for the year 1999. The very first edition was printed abroad but Oddi did the reprinting already in December because of good sales and the nomination to the Icelandic Literary Prize, which Andri Snær Magnason later received for the book.
A review of the illustrations and the cover goes as follows: “Áslaug Jónsdóttir illustrated Magnason’s fable and contributed to the success of the book. The cover with the blue planet and the sun smiling towards the children is excellently carried out.”

This anniversary book of Oddi Printing gives an interesting overview of graphic design and book design in Iceland for 70 years. Texts by Goddur, Guðmundur Oddur Magnússon et al. Book design by Halldór Þorsteinsson.

Þrjár kápur | Three covers

Posted on March 17, 2013 by aslaugj

♦ Bókaútgáfa. Sagan af bláa hnettinum eftir Andra Snæ Magnason heldur áfram að gera víðreist. Nú er hvað úr hverju von á bresku útgáfunni hjá Pushkin Press í London. Ég fékk eintakið mitt með póstinum í síðustu viku (til hægri). Bandaríska útgáfan (til vinstri) kom út í lok síðasta árs hjá Seven Stories Press og hefur fengið fína dóma og viðurkenningar. Báðar þessar útgáfur eru í öðru broti en íslenska frumútgáfan og dökki geimurinn á kápunni fékk að fjúka. Kápu- og bókarhönnun var í höndum erlendu útgefendanna.

♦ Bókadómur. School Library Journal birti á dögunum bókadóm um Söguna af bláa hnettinum og hann má lesa hér fyrir neðan. Þar segir m.a.: „Well-paced, with some wonderful, story-enhancing color illustrations.“

♦ Book release. The UK-version of The Story of the Blue Planet by Andri Snær Magnason is soon to be released by Pushkin Press in London. I got my copy in the mail last week. The US-version (left) was published several months ago by Seven Stories Press and has received excellent reviews and honors. The two English versions have the original illustrations, but differ quite a bit from the original edition in layout. Cover and book design was made by the publishing houses.

♦ Book review. School Library Journal has published a review on The Story of the Blue Planet, stating: “Well-paced, with some wonderful, story-enhancing color illustrations.”

“Those who enjoyed Adam Gidwitz’s A Tale Dark and Grimm (Dutton, 2010) may find Magnason’s cautionary ecological tale a perfect compliment. Like Gidwitz, Magnason does not shy away from graphic descriptions of danger and death. That being said, as in all good fables, he begins with once upon a time and readers learn of an innocuous-looking blue planet floating in space. It is inhabited solely by children, who live an idyllic, although somewhat savage life (they hunt for food, even clubbing seals). They are happy and this is most fully realized once a year when the butterflies of the Blue Mountains follow the sun across the sky, a beautiful and breathtaking sight. But as in all good tales and life itself, things are never static. Enter the villain, Mr. Goodday, who lands on the planet and is discovered by the protagonists, Brimir and Hulda. Mr. Goodday, over the course of a very short time, corrupts the children by giving them the power to fly and by introducing them to, among other things, the concept of sefishness. In the process the planet is corrupted as well, affecting the entire ecosystem. After a number of harrowing events, Mr. Goodday is outsmarted by Hulda, who offers to fulfill his greatest wish in return for restoring the children and planet to their former states. Well-paced, with some wonderful, story-enhancing color illustrations.” — Mary Beth Rassulo, Ridgefield Library, CT

Skrímslaerjur | Monster Squabbles

Posted on October 16, 2012 by aslaugj

♦ Ný bók. Skrímslaerjurnar eru komnar úr prentun! Ég fékk fyrsta eintakið í hendur í dag. Skrímslaerjur er sjöunda bókin um litla skrímslið og stóra skrímslið sem ég skrifa í samvinnu við Kalle Güettler í Svíþjóð og Rakel Helmsdal í Færeyjum. Bókin heitir á sænsku: Monsterbråk og Klandursskrímsl á færeysku.

Svona er bókin kynnt á baksíðu kápu: „Skrímslunum leiðist. Þeim kemur ekki saman um hvað þau eigi að taka sér fyrir hendur. Hvernig gengur skrímsli í stórum skóm að hoppa í parís? Í hita leiksins falla þung orð og þá fýkur í gæfustu skrímsli.“

♦ New book. Fresh from the printers! Got the first copy of Skrímslaerjur (Monster Squabbles) today. It’s the seventh book in the series about The Little Monster and The Big Monster, book series I write together with my co-authors Kalle Güettler in Sweden and Rakel Helmsdal in Faroe Islands.

The monsters are usually good friends despite their differences. But this time a quarrel gets out of hand …

Skrímslaerjur: Soon in the book stores!

Stórt lítið skrímsli | A big Little Monster

Posted on October 11, 2012 by aslaugj

♦ Bókahönnun. Litla skrímslið tók sig ljómandi vel út á hönnunarsýningunni „Everyday Discoveries“ í Helsinki. Ég skrifaði um sýninguna í sumar en fékk þessar myndir frá Hönnunarmiðstöð fyrir skemmstu. Það má lesa meira um sýninguna hér og hér og um finnska hönnunarveldið og World Design Capital Helsinki hér.

♦ Book design. These are photos from the exhibition “Everyday Discoveries” in September in Helsinki. World Design Capital Helsinki is still on and worth visiting as always. I wrote about the exhibition earlier. More on Everyday Discoveries here og here and World Design Capital Helsinki here.

Litla skrímslið í Helsinki | Little Monster in Helsinki

Posted on August 20, 2012 by aslaugj

♦ Bókahönnun. Litla skrímslið fer hamförum í Helsinki í september. Þá opnar sýningin „Everyday Discoveries“ og kápumynd fyrstu skrímslabókarinnar, Nei! sagði litla skrímslið, verður til sýnis í yfirstærð, ásamt margskonar hvunndagshönnun frá 23 löndum. Það má lesa um sýninguna hér. Sýningin er í Suvilahti, Helsinki, 6. -16. september 2012.

♦ Book design. Little monster will be screaming NO! in Helsinki. (Available in Finnish, it could scream: “Ei!”). I am invited to participate in a design exhibition, displaying the cover of “No! Said the Little Monster”. Helsinki is World Design Capital 2012 and the exhibition is called “Everyday Discoveries“, in Suvilahti, Helsinki, 6. -16. September 2012. Here is what they say:

“Everyday Discoveries” is unique in its comprehensive presentation of international design. The exhibition will see more than 20 countries showcase their design, ideas and concepts as well as organise a number of different events. The exhibition’s underlying theme is day-to-day life – what is it like in the participating countries, and what kind of solutions to certain everyday situations have people come up with in the different countries?

“Everyday Discoveries” is produced by Design Forum Finland. Everyday Discoveries is a World Design Capital Signature Event.