Over the New Year I got a presale copy of On Air: The Visual Messages and Global Language of MTV, a book I was invited to contribute a couple of essays for. I’ve finally had a chance to check it out properly.
Lovely looking book, and very tactile. DGV have done a great design job. It makes my writing look good, which is always a bonus…
- On Air at Amazon UK
Congratulations to Sophie Lovell for bringing the cream of MTV’s on air branding together, and gathering contributions from all the international creatives who have contributed multifarious interstitials and ‘art breaks’ to the bewildering array of global stations MTV now comprises. She was a pleasure to work with.
The book is a great resource, and was a perfect lead-in to me restarting and finishing my Reinventing music video book. It definitely acted as a freshen of my thinking in the area.
I think ‘On Air’ is a eclectic portfolio of some of the best creative work around. I’ve been following MTV’s on-air design work since I was a kid and they’ve left lasting impressions. Next to a collection like ‘Not Teflon’, this book is far superior. The information is far more comprehensive and the companion DVD is a neat illustrative guide. Kudos!
just picked up on your comment. yes, despite the tightrope MTV has to walk between the cutting-edge and the mainstream their on-air branding has kept up a lofty excellence — with the odd blip (especially on the US channels!)
Great book. Excellent commentary. If only the channel was as interesting nowadays…