The books I bought at the LUMA Arles bookshop

Hello everyone! I went back to LUMA Arles on a Monday, a few months after my first visit with Greg. I had to move forward on some projects Minuit d’Orsay And since we had found the Drum Café super nice the first time, I thought it was a good opportunity to go back. I really like working in beautiful places, especially when I know I’ll have to stay for several hours in front of my computer.

I arrived around 2 p.m., asked if I could have a coffee and a juice and they told me I could stay without any problem. So I spent a good part of the afternoon working on my projects. When I finished, I went to the bookstore to look at the new books they had received. Well… I ended up staying there for quite a while anyway.

The bookstore of LUMA Arles

I had already discovered the bookstore during Our Sunday at LUMA with Greg, After seeing the David Armstrong and Maria Lassnig exhibitions, But the selection has changed since then. There are books on photography, fashion, design, architecture, independent magazines, posters, and also some objects. Naturally, in a bookstore like this one, I want to look at everything.

I can spend a lot of time leafing through the books, looking at the covers, the colors, the typography and the layouts. But I still try to sort out the ones that are just very beautiful from the ones that will really serve me. Because let’s face it: beautiful books can quickly cost a lot of money. They also belong in my home decor, of course. A beautiful book on a table is still a beautiful object. But if I never open it, it won’t do much for me either.

The four books I bought

After much hesitation, I finally left with four books:

• Design Stories: New Perspectives on a Collection
• Sofia Coppola Archive
• Marc by Sofia
• Novembre Magazine

Yes, four anyway. But these are the ones that I found most interesting and especially the ones that I knew I could pick up later, either for my work or simply because I really like their universe.

Design Stories

Design Stories It’s the one that first attracted me. The blue and pink cover is already stunning. But it’s not just for that reason that I chose it. The book talks about objects, their history, their use, and the way they are presented in a collection. It’s the one that will probably serve me the most for my projects. I often look at how objects are photographed, the associations of colors, the placement of text, and the entire construction of a page. It’s typically the kind of book I can leave open next to my computer while I work.

Sofia Coppola's books

I also took Sofia Coppola Archive. I love her films, but I especially love the whole universe she creates around them: the sets, the clothes, the rooms, the colors, the photos from the filming… Everything is always very well-crafted, without it seeming forced. The book actually brings together all of that archive. You can open it to any page, stumble upon a photo or a note, and stay there for ten minutes. I also bought Marc by Sofia, This time, it’s all about Marc Jacobs and fashion. The photos are much more personal than in a classic fashion catalog. It’s more like looking at memories and images from over the years than a perfectly organized and structured book to tell a career story. And that’s exactly what I like.

Novembre Magazine

I have finally chosen Novembre Magazine for all its artistic direction. The images, the fashion, the typography and the layouts take up a lot of space. It’s sometimes quite dense, sometimes a bit strange, but at least something is happening. I much prefer that to a very beautiful magazine that’s so clever that you already forget everything once it’s closed.

The books I keep for my projects

Fortunately, I don’t only buy my books to work with. But when I’m torn between several, I often pick the one in which I can go back to look for an image, a layout, a color, or just an idea. I find them in bookstores, during exhibitions, but also in the training I take. I had even dedicated an article to books recommended by Fraser Muggeridge in his Domestika training. This selection is really interesting if you are interested in graphic design.

My opinion about the LUMA bookstore

I really like the selection at the LUMA bookstore. You can come to look at a specific book and end up leaving with something you knew nothing about. That’s also what I love about museum bookstores. I’ve already spent way too much time in them. the Tate Modern shop in London, In that store, where I obviously still wanted to buy everything.

After that, you still have to look at the prices and try to calm down a little. So I went back with my four books, I collected my belongings and went home. I started by opening Design Stories, the one I had spotted first at the bookstore. I also told my working day at the Drum Café in a separate article.