Best selling Reference books from Abrams & Chronicle
On this page you’ll find a ranking of the best Reference books from Abrams & Chronicle. To give you a quick overview, we’ve added the most important product details. This page always stays fresh and updates automatically.
1. Abrams & Chronicle Thinking with Type
The essential and bestselling guide to typography from beloved design educator Ellen Lupton has been revised and expanded to include new voices, examples, principles, and a wider array of typefaces. "Thinking with Type" is to typography what Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time" is to physics.
The bestselling "Thinking with Type" in a revised and expanded third edition is the definitive guide to using typography in visual communication. Covering the essentials of typography, this book explores everything from typefaces and type families to kerning and tracking, as well as grids and layout principles. Ellen Lupton provides clear and focused guidance on how letters, words, and paragraphs should be aligned, spaced, ordered, and shaped. Historical and contemporary examples of graphic design illustrate how to learn the rules and how to break them.
Critical essays, eye-opening diagrams, helpful exercises, and dozens of examples and illustrations show readers how to be inventive within systems that inform and communicate. Featuring 32 pages of new content, the third edition is revised and refined from cover to cover, including:
- More fonts: old fonts, new fonts, weird fonts, libre fonts, Google fonts, Adobe fonts, fonts from independent foundries, and fonts and lettering by women and BIPOC designers
- Introductions to diverse writing systems, contributed by expert typographers from around the world
- Demonstrations of basic design principles, such as visual balance, Gestalt grouping, and responsive layout
- Current approaches to typeface design, including variable fonts and optical sizes
- Tips for readability, legibility, and accessibility
- Stunning reproductions from the Letterform Archive
"Thinking with Type" is the typography book for everyone: designers, writers, editors, students, anyone who works with words on page or screen, and enthusiasts of type and lettering. Readers will also love Ellen Lupton's book "Extra Bold.".
2. Abrams & Chronicle The Architecture of Trees
Any landscape architect worth their salt should pick up The Architecture of Trees, an all-encompassing atlas of all things tree-related. A 2019 Oprah's Favorite Things pick, this gorgeous, large format volume showcases each hand-drawn illustration in stunning detail. The Architecture of Trees is the result of over twenty years of dedicated study by landscape architects Cesare Leonardi and Franca Stagi. This new edition preserves the original magnificent illustrations and text, translated into English for the first time.
It features more than 550 exquisite quill-pen drawings of trees, with each of the 212 tree species drawn to a scale of 1:100, both with and without foliage. Complete with tables of seasonal color variation and projections of shadows cast during the hours of daylight and season by season, no other tree book contains such detailed and scientific drawings. This legendary and unsurpassed botanical masterwork is considered a standard in many landscape architecture firms. The drawings, essays, and detailed charts are essential for large scale landscaping projects and serve as a helpful tool for backyard renovations.
Landscape designers will think in new ways about the effect of seasons and the time of day on trees, and anyone interested in nature and trees will be captivated by the stunning illustrations. This book could be considered the Bible for tree lovers. It is an incredible resource for anyone interested in trees: an oversized, captivating coffee table book for lovers of art and nature illustrations, a helpful tree identification book with accurate drawings of trees and detailed looks at branches, leaves, and fruit, and a reference for students of landscape architecture, botany, dendrology, architecture, and illustration.
Reference books
CHF98.90
Abrams & Chronicle The Architecture of Trees
English, Cesare Leonardi, Franca Stagi, 2019
3. Abrams & Chronicle Vogue: The Covers
In this stunning updated edition of the successful "Vogue: The Covers," Vogue continues to pay tribute to its tradition of beauty and excellence with a collection of even more spectacular cover art. In addition to classic covers from the magazine's 125-year history, this updated edition includes every cover since 2010, each showcasing the magazine's innovative approaches to style, fashion, and culture. Unforgettable new covers feature celebrated personalities such as Michelle Obama, Kim and Kanye, Lena Dunham, and many more. This opulent, beautifully illustrated book even includes five new, frameable Vogue cover prints that can be removed from the back of the book. "Vogue: The Covers (Updated Edition)" is a must-have for any fashion enthusiast and collector.
4. Abrams & Chronicle Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
The definitive and lavishly illustrated companion book to one of the most popular and hotly debated lists in the world of music.
Reference books
CHF33.70
Abrams & Chronicle Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
English, Rolling Stone, 2022
5. Abrams & Chronicle Marvel Super Heroes: The Ultimate Pop-Up Book
The ultimate pop-up book of Marvel superheroes, from Spider-Man to the Avengers to the Fantastic Four, by renowned paper engineer Matthew Reinhart. This impressive pop-up book by New York Times bestselling author and paper engineer Matthew Reinhart showcases iconic Marvel superheroes. Watch Spider-Man swing across rooftops, pull tabs to transform Tony Stark into Iron Man and Bruce Banner into the Incredible Hulk, see the X-Men defeat a giant Sentinel, and much more.
Reference books
CHF34.–
Abrams & Chronicle Marvel Super Heroes: The Ultimate Pop-Up Book
English, Matthew Reinhart, 2022
6. Abrams & Chronicle Chanel
This revised and updated book celebrates Chanel as the couturier who changed the way stylish women dress, both then and now. It examines the creative achievements of this most famous fashion house, from its beginnings in the 1920s through Karl Lagerfeld's incredibly successful tenure to the present, where it continues to thrive under Virginie Viard.
7. Abrams & Chronicle Poolside with Slim Aarons
Like its predecessors "Once Upon a Time" and "A Place in the Sun," "Poolside with Slim Aarons" offers images of jet-setters and the wealthy, showcasing beautiful, glamorous people living the high life. This new collection of stunning photographs captures the rich and well-connected as they engage in "attractive things" in their favorite playgrounds, with a focus on pools and everything that comes with them – magnificent, sun-kissed bodies, well-oiled skin, women in bikinis, yachts, summer cocktails, lavish buffets, spectacular locations, and above all, fun.
"Poolside with Slim Aarons" is less of a who's who of society, aristocracy, and celebrity – although figures like C. Z. Guest, Lily Pulitzer, Cheryl Tiegs, Peter Beard, and many others who appeared in earlier books are also included – and more of a celebration of leisure and how the affluent enjoy it. This collection provides a more intimate glimpse into very private lives, to which Slim Aarons had unprecedented access in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. From the Caribbean to Italy, Mexico, and Monaco, "Poolside with Slim Aarons" transports the reader to an exclusive realm where taste, style, luxury, and splendor reign.
Reference books
CHF60.90
Abrams & Chronicle Poolside with Slim Aarons
English, Getty Images, Slim Aarons, 2007
8. Abrams & Chronicle 100 Years of Grand Ole Opry
"100 Years of Grand Ole Opry" is a comprehensive reference book that celebrates the history and influence of the Grand Ole Opry, the home of country music, over a century. Written by the experts of the Grand Ole Opry, this book offers deep insights into the artists, fans, and cultural significance of this legendary institution. With a hardcover and written in English, the book spans 352 pages rich in information and visual representations. It is an essential work for music lovers and anyone interested in the development of country music. This nonfiction book is not only a tribute to the past but also a valuable resource for future generations who wish to understand the roots and evolution of country music.
9. Abrams & Chronicle Art of Inside Out
From an adventurous balloon ride above the clouds to a monster-filled metropolis, Academy Award-winning director Pete Docter has taken audiences to unique and imaginative places. In Disney-Pixar's original movie 'Inside Out,' he will take us to the most extraordinary location of all—inside the mind.
Growing up can be a bumpy road, and it's no exception for Riley, who is uprooted from her Midwest life when her father starts a new job in San Francisco. Like all of us, Riley is guided by her emotions – Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust, and Sadness. The emotions live in Headquarters, the control center inside Riley's mind, where they help advise her through everyday life. As Riley and her emotions struggle to adjust to a new life in San Francisco, turmoil ensues in Headquarters. Although Joy, Riley's main and most important emotion, tries to keep things positive, the emotions conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house, and school.
In this groundbreaking and illuminating film, Pixar Animation Studios examines the extraordinary depths of the mind and the powers of emotion and imagination. The Art of Inside Out provides an exclusive look into the artistic exploration that went into the making of this vibrant film. Featuring concept art—including sketches, collages, color scripts, and much more—and opening with a foreword by actress Amy Poehler and introduction by the film's writer and director Pete Docter, this is the ultimate behind-the-scenes experience of the making of this landmark film.
Reference books
CHF28.70
Abrams & Chronicle Art of Inside Out
English, Amy Docter Poehler, Amy Poehler, Pete Docter, Poehler Amy Docter Pete, 2015
10. Abrams & Chronicle Queer Icons and Their Cats
These cat lovers are proud and purring with joy!
Freddie Mercury, Sylvia Rivera, Alison Bechdel, Dusty Springfield. This book is a tribute to queer icons of the past and present, along with their furry friends. From images of lost legends like Josephine Baker and James Baldwin to snapshots of contemporary trailblazers like comedian Tig Notaro and fashion designer Jason Wu, these charming and eccentric photographs capture what it truly means to be a cat lover.
• Perfect for cat lovers: This book celebrates the love between humans and cats. What better gift could you give to the cat lover in your life?
• Amusing anecdotes and significant moments: Learn more about the lives of the queer heroes who came before us and those who continue to fight for equality and inclusion. We're not joking – with turning points like the Stonewall riots and sweet stories of domestic bliss, this book will both entertain and inspire.
• Photos with cat charm: In these precious photographs, you’ll see your heroes in unguarded moments expressing their love for their pets. This collection of images will delight the heart of any cat lover.
Perfect for:
• LGBTQIA+ cat lovers and the people who shop for them
• Anyone who wants to learn more about influential queer personalities and their pets.
Reference books
CHF16.70
Abrams & Chronicle Queer Icons and Their Cats
English, Alison Nastasi, P. J. Nastasi, 2021
Product order
See all products