From the collection
of Roger Bova
Edited by Gary Hustwit, with a foreword by Paula Scher
From the NASA
archives
From the collection
of Brian Kelley
Designed by Massimo Vignelli
and Bob Noorda, Unimark
Designed by Richard Danne
and Bruce Blackburn,
Danne & Blackburn
A 60-year monograph celebrating the work of the seminal firm
Designed by Steff Geissbühler, Chermayeff & Geismar Associates
Designed by
Bruce Blackburn
From the collection
of Brian Kelley
Shipping August 2022
Standards Manual is pleased to announce their tenth title: QSL? (Do You Confirm Receipt of My Transmission?), a collection of over 150 “QSL cards”, showcasing the often overlooked visual history of amateur, or “ham”, radio. Archived from the collection of designer Roger Bova, the cards reveal a rich typographic expression that is rare in their authenticity—each card a personal reflection of the station’s operator.
A topic mostly unknown to those outside of the amateur radio community, QSL cards represent a time in global communication before the Internet age, yet distinctly remind us of the social media “handles” used today. Each card prominently displays a typographic “call sign” on the front, often followed by technical “contact data” on the verso. Produced by the radio operators themselves (or local print shop), the results are broad in approach—some minimal, others maximal, hand-drawn, photographic, or a hybrid of media.
QSL? is now available.
Standards Manual is an independent publishing imprint founded by designers Jesse Reed and Hamish Smyth in New York City in 2014.
Our mission is to archive and preserve artifacts of design history and make them available to future generations. From reprinted graphics standards manuals to new compendiums of archival work, our titles always aim to make great design available to all.
As designers ourselves, we value high quality books. As an independent publisher, we produce our books using only the finest papers, printing, and finishing methods. We don’t cut corners when it comes to quality.