Liquid Treat

Designer Todd Oldham and writer Kiera Coffee have outdone themselves with their mega-monograph on Alexander Girard, new from Ammo Books. The product of nearly four years of research and, at 672 pages, an innovative scheme of printing and binding, this coffee table book is a must for any design lover. Oldham was granted exclusive permission to sift through the fastidiously kept archives of Girard (1907-1993), who is best known for his folk art-infused textiles for Herman Miller but also designed everything from buildings to typography. "I'd estimate that 90 percent of the work in the book hasn’t been seen before," Oldham told us recently. "Wait 'til you see the stuff from his early design career, in the '20s." And take a closer look at the image credits: Many of the archival photos were taken by frequent Girard collaborator Charles Eames.

New York's Museum of Modern Art demystifies everything from woodcuts and engravings to photographs and modern-day digital wizardry in The Printed Picture, a new website based on the publication and exhibition of the same name that focused on the history of the printing of pictures. Developed by Read and Note with Richard Benson, former dean of the Yale University School of Art, the site includes eight hours worth of videos that trace the dominant technologies used for printing pictures throughout the modern era. Despite its museum origins, Benson focuses not on museum masterpieces but on "everyday pictures," many of them gathered through his 40-year career as a photographer, printer and junk collector.

BucketFeet only sounds like a disease contracted by sailors in olden times. It's actually a line of snappy sneakers that feature the work of emerging guest artists from around the world. Lightweight and unisex, the colorful kicks were the brainchild of Berkeley native Aaron Firestein, who saw fresh white sneakers as the ideal canvas for his intricate doodles. With the help of Raaja Nemani, who Firestein met while they were both doing volunteer work in Buenos Aires, the two have added a "buy one, give some" spin: 5 percent of every sale is donated to a charitable organization dedicated to helping children. See a style you like? Grab it now, as many of the limited-edition designs sell out before you can say "BucketFeet."

"Apple Computer, Inc. has never developed an entirely new electronic product: it did not invent the computer or the MP3 player or even the cell phone," writes Ina Grätz in her introduction to Apple Design (Hatje Cantz). "That these devices from the company are nevertheless considered to be among the most innovative of our time can be explained above all on the basis of their product design." The new book features more than 200 examples of Apple designs by Jonathan Ive and his team, from the Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh to the latest iPad. Each object is pictured from multiple angles and examined in detail as part of a broader exploration of Apple's approach to industrial design, production, materials (including pioneering applications of translucent plastic and aluminum) and, of course, marketing.

After weeks of speculation, Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday. While the 132-year-old company scrambles to sell off some patents and hype its digital printers, we're toasting to its more photogenic history with camera lens shot glasses from Berkeley-based DERELIQ. The student-run design studio has created sturdy ceramic shot glasses that are dead ringers for DSLR lenses (your choice of Canon or Nikon), complete with raised numbers, focus-ring ridges and an auto/manual focus switch. Plus, the price -- $18 for a set of three -- is far nicer than that of the real thing. According to the designers at DERELIQ, "It's a conversation starter, a shot glass and a bad-ass piece of decor all in one." We'll drink to that.

Ready for your work to get the recognition it deserves? Check out the design awards program from Core77, which will honor the best professional and student work in 17 categories ranging from products and graphic design to "food design" and “Never Saw the Light of Day” (swell projects completed, but killed, in 2011). The online submission invites designers to show off their pitching skills by uploading a two-and-a-half minute video as part of their entry, and all judging takes place in teams that will later reconvene to discuss their top picks in live webcasts. You have until April 10 to claim your rightful place in the global design world.