Gift Ideas for Creative Types

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If you're buying for a sartorialist, photographer, font geek or designer this Christmas, then there's no shortage of big, bold and beautiful publications to choose from. From Annie Leibovitz's personal travels to Melbourne's typographical history and Apple's cutting-edge industrial design, here are a few gift ideas for creatve types.

Characters: Cultural Stories Revealed Through Typography
Stephen Banham

Font geeks rejoice - this book is all you could want out of a beautifully typeset (naturally), winningly photographed study of the art of the alphabet. Stephen Banham is something of a type-archaelogist and here, he reveals the story of Melbourne through the signs, people and serifs that have shaped it, from the Skipping Vinegar Girl to Slade Knitwear and Craven A. 272 full-colour photographs of pure fascination.

Design*Sponge At Home
Grace Bonney

The print incarnation of Grace Bonney's immensely popular blog of the same name, this lovely hardback is the perfect antidote to highbrow interior design. Bursting with colour and creativity, the projects showcased here include a table made out of abandoned chair legs and a butterfly dome. This isn't just lavish photography either, but includes plenty of tutorials on home decor basics and detailed instructions on how to DIY with flair.

Pilgrimage
Annie Leibovitz

Annie Leibovitz is a name that needs no introduction in the world of photography and Pilgrimage is probably one of her more personal projects to date. The book began as a documentation of her travels - to Emily Dickinson's house in Massachusetts and then Niagara Falls. From there, it took on a life of its own, from houses to objects to wide, ambitious landscapes. Literary types will relish seeing Ralph Waldo Emerson's home and Louisa May Alcott's residence through the eyes of this master photographer.

Apple Design
Friedrich Von Borries

One for the technophiles of the design world. It goes without saying that Apple has revolutionised our digital lives, but what about our visual one? The company's products are ubiquitous for their sleek, streamlined look and this aspect has contributed in no small part to their overall dominance. This bright green hardback is all about getting to the heart of the brand's industrial design, which has been headed by up Jonathan Ive and his team since 1997.

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
Andrew Bolton, Harold Koda and Tim Blanks

Fashion designer Alexander McQueen passed away in 2010 and this book is a retrospective visual biography of his work and talent. The pieces featured here are truly mindblowing, and show just how McQueen was able to mix culture, history, politics and identity with other-worldly fashion, contour and form. One of the sartorialists of the year.

Make Hey! Pip Lincolne

We just can't go past this collection of sweet and whimsical projects by crafter-extraordinaire and blogger Pip Lincolne. The book is full of handy summertime projects, from vintage bike seat covers to crocheted baubles and deer quilts(!), and the layout is gorgeous to boot. Perfect of ideas for those looking to while away the hours.

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