Melle Hammer - LaLaLa - De Best Verzorgde Boeken

‘A fine mess,’ exclaimed one member of the panel on leafing through this book. Graphic designer Melle Hammer has produced a wonderful, intimate work about the things that interest him. It reminds one of those comfortable holiday books we used to have, with poems, short stories, photos, drawings, collages, all inviting us to look, read, solve puzzles, decipher riddles and make connections. A third of the subtitle, Typografie, Centrifuge, Grootboek, underlines how important text and letters are for Hammer, not just as a designer but also as writer and reader. Letters dance through the entire book, images and patterns jump up and down, mind and eye tumble every which way. The book is printed on nicely thin paper, with back and front bright green card, protected by a dust jacket. It feels beautifully supple, falls open nicely, is unpretentious, and contents and execution go together wonderfully well. With one voice the panel declared themselves won over by this personal, cheerful and likeable book.