GROWING UP IN ALPHABET CITY The Unexpected Letterform Art of Michael Doret

In this vivid and humorous monograph-meets-memoir, Los Angeles–based lettering supremo Michael Doret (born 1946) shares his top-secret tricks for making mere words into iconic words-as-images for clients such as Disney, Pixar, Time, Kiss, the Knicks and more. With more than 700 images, Alphabet City traces Doret’s influences from 1950s Brooklyn to 2000s LA, showcasing his clever logo, signage and poster projects along the way. It also presents and preserves the pre-digital process of custom lettering -- from initial pencil sketches to printer mechanicals to final art (plus some spurned client proposals for good measure!). With original photo tutorials that teach all the classic lettering tricks, a foreword by type aficionado Nick Sherman and a freshly commissioned cover by Doret himself, Alphabet City offers a dose of welcome nostalgia -- and endless inspiration -- for letterform lovers of any generation. In the introduction, Doret credits R. Crumb, Zap Comix and classic lettering styles dating back to the Art Deco 1930s for his inspired work. You'll recognize a lot of pieces here, but since letterers and logo designers very rarely sign their work or get credit, here we have a top line creator whose name is new even to us. But his work is not! He even designed Barry Windsor-Smith's well known celtic style logo!! And...the logo for the New York Knicks; the Toronto Blue Jays; Penn Central & The New York Times; The National Lampoon Radio Hour; the iconic musical Damn Yankees; the film What's New Pussycat; Kiss rock and roll logo; and much, much more.