Renowned graphic designer and author Louise Fili takes us on a personal tour through her most famous brands, books, and packaging. This peek behind-the-scenes shows how research and vintage typography give rise to her unique and ingenious designs. See how her work-still done by hand-transforms from early sketches to final design. Her instantly recognizable style, elegant and timeless, takes shape on the page before our eyes. Also included are Fili's copyright pages, which are works of art in their own right. All content appears in print for the first time.

Stencils are ubiquitous in the fields of industry, military, traffic and transportation, as well as in the home, often applied as ornamental patterns on cabinets, walls and floors. And because they are an affordable means of mass communication, stencils are even employed by populist, rebellious and street-art movements. This follow-up to the cult typography volumes Scripts and Shadow Type, perennial favourites among designers looking for fresh and unexpected ideas, presents hundreds of examples from the 19th through the 20th centuries, artfully selected by Steven Heller and Louise Fili, preceded by a historical introduction and arranged by country of origin.

What is it about Italy that inspires passion, fascination, and utter devotion? This quirky guide to the Italian way of life, with its fifty witty mini-essays on iconic Italian subjects, will answer that question as well as entertain and delight both real and armchair travelers. Topics range from expressive hand gestures to patron saints, pasta, parmesan, shoes, opera, the Vespa, the Fiat 500, gelato, gondolas, and more. History, folklore, superstitions, traditions, and customs are tossed in a delicious sauce that also includes a wealth of factual information for the sophisticated traveler: - why lines, as we know them, are nonexistent in Italy- why a string of coral beads is often seen around a baby's wrist- what the unlucky number of Italy is (it's not thirteen, unless seating guests at a table, when it IS thirteen-taking into account the outcome of the Last Supper)- why red underwear begins to appear in shops as the New Year approaches In addition to the lyrical and poetic, "Italianissimo" provides useful and indispensable information for the traveler: deciphering the quirks of the language (while English has only one word for "you," in Italy there are three), the best place to find balsamic vinegar (in Modena, of course), the best gelato (in Sicily, where they first invented it using the snow from Mount Etna). There are also recommendations for little-known museums and destinations (the Bodoni museum, the Pinocchio park, legendary coffee bars).This is a new kind of guidebook overflowing with enlightening and hilarious miscellaneous information, filled with luscious graphics and unforgettable photographs that will decode and enrich all trips to Italy-both real and imaginary.