2nd Sight

I've heard you either love or hate much of the work Carson does. I've also heard you can learn to love.

Above is a quote mentioned about Carson's aptly named '2nd sight' book; a progression from his first visually bombarding book 'End of Print'. Written by fellow designer Lewis Blasckwell, there is much more detail applied to the hows and whys or Carson's design nature. Sure, we have all heard of his surfer upbringing and lack of graphic education, this book however, explains his intuition behind his motivation to design and effectively allows you not so much to love his work, but understand it.

The different approaches to design and the so called 'rules' he is redefining have been the influence for my dissertation on the evolution of opinions towards rules. Carson's approach to design is dictated 100% by the target audience, with his own angle injected into the final outcome. The people who hate his work in my eyes have not and will not be his target audience. The book shows work from his past magazines, magazines he directed towards a rock n roll lifestyle. Take a look at it, granted you may hate it, but I struggle to believe you won't in some way shape or form start oozing creativity once you've laid the book down.