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A collage of six graphic design examples. These include a character illustration, three hotel logos featuring stylised fans for “The Mandarin” and “The Oriental”, and three typographic experiments.

Delve into Bunker – an infrequent blog dusting off old design tomes

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Date
29 January 2013

You don’t have to be a card-carrying bibliophile to appreciate that an old book’s better in the flesh. It’s not only the texture and smell, it’s the way the colours change over time. With the sad demise of the UK’s fine libraries, we’ll no doubt be increasingly relying on blogs like Bunker to dust off design tomes for our online perusal. That can, however, bring its own perks.

Born in 2013, Bunker uncovers an eclectic mix of design classics from the 1980s. Lovingly introduced with a brief history of purchase and interest, the selection has clearly been curated by a knowledgeable design nut. Featuring books on typographic legends like Jan Tschichold, graphic designer Paul Rand and a Pentagram series as well as a sprinkling of comics and Star Wars, there’s already some real gems, and with such a well arranged collage of images one gets an immediate feel for the book on display. It’s shaping up to be a very nice personal assemblage – a private tour round a design connoisseur’s library.

A collage of four images showcasing industrial design. It includes a split blue and red colour field, the yellow nose of a British Rail train, a set of electric shavers, and a brand identity guide with colourful folders and a logo grid.
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Bunker: Pentagram – Living by Design

A collage of four images showcasing design work. A bright red square features the word “Pentagram” in a serif typeface. An illustration of a white vehicle displays the “air BP” logo and a green BP shield. Below this, colourful paper scraps and a strip of film are arranged on a surface. A collection of white stationery and envelopes features the “Cape Universal” logo. A final image shows a minimalist, futuristic interior with a curved white wall and a row of orange seats.
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Bunker: Pentagram – The Work of Five Designers

A collage of six design projects. It includes a red book titled “The Compendium” by Pentagram, a green Wimbledon calendar, and a side-by-side comparison of the Empire State Building and a radio tower. Below these are a front page of The Guardian newspaper, a “Weekend” magazine cover featuring a portrait, and a minimalist poster with an illustration of a teapot.
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Bunker: Pentagram – Compendium

A collage of graphic design work by Pentagram. It includes a black book cover with the bold white text “IDEAS ON DESIGN”, a minimalist face illustration, and a series of hotel posters featuring stylised fans. Other elements include a character illustration and two typographic grids.
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Bunker: Pentagram – Ideas on Design

A collage of graphic design works by Jan Tschichold. It includes a book cover titled “Jan Tschichold”, a hand-drawn sketch of a letter “S”, and various typographic layouts and book covers.
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Bunker: Jan Tschichold – Master Typographer

A collage of graphic design work by Paul Rand. The images include a book cover, a series of black and white logos, a poster featuring a dog, and a colourful travel advertisement for the “Kauai Surf Hotel Hawaii”.
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Bunker: Paul Rand

A collage of images showcasing typography and layout. It includes the cover of Robert Bringhurst’s book “The Elements of Typographic Style” and a page of text detailing “Harmony & Counterpoint”. Other panels show close-ups of ligatures, glyphs and character sets.
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Bunker: Element of Typographic Style – Robert Bringhurst

A comic strip page featuring several panels. One panel shows a chaotic scene of soldiers fighting zombies under a headline that reads “The Hateful Dead!” and “2000 AD”. Another panel shows a person in a mask holding a gun to a person’s head, with a sign nearby advertising “Aubergines 20 R per lb”. Other panels depict a couple talking in a car and a group of warriors in a dark, textured setting.
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Bunker: 2000AD – Prog 508

A collage of behind-the-scenes images and promotional material for the film Return of the Jedi. It includes a magazine cover featuring a lightsaber, a wide shot of a film set, and a technical drawing of a blaster.
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Bunker: Return of the Jedi – Making of Souvenir

A collage of graphic design works by David Carson. The layouts feature fragmented typography, overlapping images and distorted text, including a book cover titled “The Graphic Design of David Carson”.
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Bunker: Pentagram – The End of Print – David Carson

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About the Author

Anna Trench

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