The highly sought after RAC Guidelines designed by North can now be yours for the bargain bin price of 750 pounds sterling. Not too bad eh? ;)
This post is tagged Books, Identity, London, North
North
23 Comments
Hahaha someone clearly doesn’t want to part with those guidelines!
It’s nice but it ain’t 750quid nice!
Helv
It’s a pretty rare book so I guess it has been priced accordingly ;)
Alex
I’m there’s at least one North nut out there that is willing to buy it!
I was looking at that last night – very nice it is too. JUST out of my price range though ;)
seriously, thats ridiculous. as are many of the prices on Blanka, they really should stop being so exclusive and suggest some pricing that is actually realistic for the rest of us.
Neil,
I’m still thinking about it. The only problem is I need a new Mac, so I have to make a wise decision.
J
There is an element of truth to what you said but Blam always has good reasons as to why his products are priced the way they are. I’m guessing that the North Guidelines had a limited print run and are no longer in production hence the expensive price.
As much as I love books I don’t think I could part with that amount of money :(
it’s a book about of design guidelines for the RAC!!! lets get some perspective here people!
I agree J, but after expressing similar thoughts about Blanka’s pricing on another forum, Blam kindly pointed out to me (as I assumed the pricing structure was also a little odd) that in many cases the agency handing over their print samples or whatever dictate the prices, therefore making Blanka merely a vehicle for a studio to sell it’s wares.
I couldn’t agree more, £750 is an absolutely stupid price for what it is, limited print run or not, I have a feeling this item will be available for some time (so plenty of time for us all to save :D
But when you think about it, as designers we are conditioned quite early on to paying over the odds for things, I have on quite a few occasions parted with over £50 for a book, I shudder to think how much I have spent on books alone, plus (or this just might be me) but I view a £20 book as a bargain, and would think nothing about handing it over in Magma, but £20 is still a lot of money for something that lets face it, will spend more time on my shelf than in my hand, bought merely as a reference point and for the few pages of Cartlidge Levene projects I hadn’t seen before!!
We are easy targets as I think many designers collect things (well the ones I know do, me being the biggest hoarder) and the more rare or limited the better, these guidelines I guarantee will not be available any where else, and whoever set that price, knows this will appeal to somebody’s need to collect and own such an artifact!
u_helv
I agree with you there, we are easy targets, and in the case of posters and other ltd editions there is no competition, one vendor, and so prices are kept artificially high… so Blanka themselves are not to blame but i think the studios are being a little greedy…
If David can produce a beautiful poster on quality stock and nicely printed for £15 all in (assuming he wasn’t making a loss?) then i think generally we can assume, like you say, our desire for the desirable makes us shell out over the odds.
I just rang up the RAC and got a copy for free! LOL 750 quid, your having a larf mate!
Helv,
Very good comment mate. I guess North can charge a hefty amount for something that could, in James’ case, come for free because they have a reputation for producing beautiful design and like you said, we’re easy targets!
I can really relate on the design book side of things. I think there are only two design books I have that are constantly on my desk. The rest just stay on the bookshelf collecting dust!
J
I didn’t make a loss, but I didn’t make a huge profit either. At the end of the day I wasn’t motivated by money, but by the love of design ;) I really shouldn’t consider buying the guidelines at that price, but like you said, designers often desire the desirable!
James…
I think you have have just proved our collective point!
good work
I wonder how many free copies the RAC will give out before they twig?
Neil
I’m curious about that as well! I suspect they will soon realise that we are taking advantage of their company and start charging!
I doubt they will have any left, this re-brand was done years a go, I can’t see them having stocks left, I think James was make the point of what it is, something that in theory has very little value outside it’s function, except to perhaps a collective few!!
“At the end of the day I wasn’t motivated by money, but by the love of design”
Well said David. The poster is lovely by the way, and congrats on getting it to the States in one piece. US postal service has a wonderful tendency to deliver “damaged goods”. Cheers.
-MP
ffs
Helv
You are quite the wise designer :)
MP
The kind words are much appreciated. Before I sent the posters I went through a months worth of testing to see what packaging/tubes could withstand the harshest of beatings ;)
Ed
“Fast File System” ;)
North have had the same website for as long as I can remember. When are they going to update it?
James
That’s been bugging me for as long as I can remember! It may be worth shooting them an email some time soon actually. I think that in this day and age, a one page flash animation just isn’t going to cut it.
As I think I’ve said before on here?!, a North website is well overdue, infact I have long given up hope, having said that I almost did the same with Farrow, and they came up with the goods, so never say never!
But do North need a website? did Farrow need one? probably not, but more than a website, I’d love to see North’s work (and Farrow’s for that matter) in their strongest medium… print, I’m sure it would be a thing of such tactile beauty, I would part with my coffers at any cover price, no matter how outrageous that might be! (well NOT £750) to see all those beautifully crafted projects in one or several volumes, would be a real treat!
Maybe get a petition going David :D
Helv
I guess North don’t really need a site because they already have an established reputation for producing beautiful and well executed work. I would also love to see a North Monograph. However, the closest thing you’re going to get at the moment is the North: Idea Mag Special which is a collection of their work from 95 to 2000. I actually had a flickr set containing all the spreads from the publication but I unfortunately lost the user name for that account! Not to worry, I’m working on getting it back!
23 Comments