Classic '70s design manual brought back to life

Some (non-creative) people might think it's weird, but at Creative Boom, we have a particular love for design manuals. So we're delighted to hear that designers Hamish Smyth and Jesse Reed of New York publishers Standards Manual are planning to reissue the 1977 Graphic Standards System for America's EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) as a hardcover book.

Designed in 1977 by Ivan Chermayeff, Tom Geismar, and Steff Geissbuhler, the manual details a customised system created to unify the federal program’s communications across hundreds of offices. It's a beautiful encapsulation of the role design has played in advancing government programs for the public good.

Now Smyth and Reed two have partnered with The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) and design firm Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv to launch a Kickstarter campaign to bring this iconic design book back to physical life.

You can order your copy via Kickstarter now, and a portion of the proceeds of every book sold will go to Earthjustice and AIGA.

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