Each issue of Hospitality Design is based around a theme, such as spa design, restaurant design, or the editor’s choice of best designs in a broader category. The chatty writing style of design reporters makes the magazine an easy read, and the photography is high quality, with excellent lighting choices to highlight each featured location.

With each issue of Hospitality Design, you can learn from the following features:

• Product reviews and design company profiles. The “Product Tips” section in each issue provides several examples of a chosen product, like carpeting or barstools, and compares and contrasts the various product features. The annual year-end buyers guide and design directory also serve as a useful reference.
• A “Solutions” feature in each issue offers the experiential “pet peeves” of hospitality professionals, and each month has a guest designer offer suggestions on how to solve those problems.
• Extensive advertising provides a good overview of current contract products on the market, with everything from traditional furniture and textiles to high-end ice chests for poolside and spa settings. The advertising itself is extremely creative, and worth a look. An advertiser’s index is included in the back of each issue for reference.

Hospitality Design’s web site, www.hdmag.com, offers a free searchable archive of past Hospitality Design articles, and archives of product reviews and business resources. There is also a small section of job listings on the web site. Hospitality Design is a good read for Interior Design majors, but the general design themes and excellent story layouts and photographs will be of interest to all majors. Hospitality Design magazine can be found in the green-labeled magazines on the rack in the Los Angeles’s campus FIDM Library.

Reviewed by R & RC Staff Member - Jennifer Ruden

“What would people think of me if I drove a Mercedes?” This question is not unlike the type of questions consumers ask themselves when making any type of purchase. In Branded?, Gareth Williams (co-curator of Victoria & Albert Museum exhibition Brand.New) effectively and concisely describes the relationship between brands and consumer behavior. Branded? helps the reader decode the “hidden” and “not so hidden” messages put forward by different brands from promises of a glamorous lifestyle to reliability or technological empowerment.

This book analyzes the following leading brands:

• Louis Vuitton
• Disney
• The Body Shop
• McDonald’s
• And many others.

Each case study captures clear and recognizable images of brand specific products and advertising. In addition some images include arrows pointing out the important details of a brand’s packaging history and development. In an effort to stress the competitive and global nature of today’s business market, Mr.Williams further illustrates the various facets of a brand’s cross-cultural appeal. Offering a unique insider’s look at a diverse array of brands, Branded? is a must have for any library and a must read for the business-savvy student or professional alike.



Reviewed by R & RC Staff Member - Negrete - S.D.