Books by Louise Fili

Stencil Type

by Steven Heller, Louise Fili

An invaluable collection of underappreciated stencil typography through history.
Designers often look to the past to inform their work. In this new paperback edition, design gurus Steven Heller and Louise Fili explore the variety and influence of the world’s most ubiquitous typographic style, which dates to prehistoric times and has been used on a range of surfaces, from street signs, buildings, and bridges to packaging and posters.
This expansive sourcebook presents hundreds of international examples of stencil typography from the late nineteenth through the twentieth centuries. The wonderful array of stencil types highlights surprising instances of artistry and ingenuity from a broad range of locations and objects―from military, traffic, and transportation to home decoration, mass communication, and street art. And the survey is global, drawing on design from America, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and Eastern Europe.
An introduction surveys the history and applications of stencil typography, and samples of stencil type ordered by their geographic origin. Illustrated in color and black-and-white throughout

Perfetto Pencils

by Louise Fili

Legendary designer Louise Fili brings her love of vintage packaging and all things Italian to this collection of beautiful pencils. Housed in a sturdy lidded case, Perfetto Pencils features twelve double-sided, two-color pencils that showcase Fili's unique ability to capture the bygone elegance of our design heritage.

Tutti Frutti 12 Colored Pencils

by Louise Fili

Inspired by classic Italian packaging and stationery, celebrated designer Louise Fili brings her pencil collection into full color. This fun and stylish set, a companion to Fili's Perfetto Pencils, contains twelve double-sided pencils in six Tutti Frutti shades, ideal for drawing or writing.

Quatre Mots Français Notecards

by Louise Fili

From graphic design phenomenon Louise Fili (Elegantissima, Grafica della Strada) comes another striking set of notecards, on the heels of Quattro Parole Italiane, this time inspired by the Art Deco ironwork of Paris. Four popular French expressions—salut (greetings), merci (thank you), plaisir (pleasure), bisous (kisses)— are framed with gorgeous graphics and colors, making the cards a delight both to send and receive. Quatre Mots Français is a must-have for Francophiles, designers, letter writers, and any combination thereof. A story from Fili on her inspiration for the set is enclosed.

Brillante Pencils

by Louise Fili

Legendary designer Louise Fili brings a sparkle to her stationery collection with this set of twelve double-sided pencils in six metallic shades. A shimmering twist on classic Italian packaging, Brillante is a companion to her bestselling pencil sets Perfetto and Tutti Frutti. This stunning new set is ideal for drawing, coloring, or writing and perfect for desktop display in a sturdy, elegant box.

Quattro Parole Italiane: 12 Notecards and Envelopes

by Louise Fili

This set of twelve impeccably-designed notecards features four iconic Italian expressions: grazie, prego, auguri, ciao (thank you, with pleasure, greetings, hello). Designer Louise Fili (Elegantissima, Shadow Type) has invested all her love of vintage Italian packaging into this collection, infusing it with color and elegance that make these cards perfect for all manner of festive correspondence. Includes an artist biography/statement insert.

Tesori: Three Nesting Keepsake Tins (stacking red, green and blue decorative tins, for kitchen, desktop, home storage and organization)

by Louise Fili

Tesori meaning (treasures in Italian) is a set of three beautiful keepsake tins by legendary designer Louise Fili. The tins nest inside each other, and can be used on your desktop (pencils and paper clips!), in your kitchen (receipts and recipes!) and in your home (love notes and photographs!).

Italianissimo: The Quintessential Guide to What Italians Do Best

by Louise Fili, Lise Apatoff

What is it about Italy that inspires passion, fascination, and utter devotion? This quirky guide to the Italian way of life, with its fifty witty mini-essays on iconic Italian subjects, will answer that question as well as entertain and delight both real and armchair travelers. Topics range from expressive hand gestures to patron saints, pasta, parmesan, shoes, opera, the Vespa, the Fiat 500, gelato, gondolas, and more. History, folklore, superstitions, traditions, and customs are tossed in a delicious sauce that also includes a wealth of factual information for the sophisticated traveler:• why lines, as we know them, are nonexistent in Italy• why a string of coral beads is often seen around a baby’s wrist• what the unlucky number of Italy is (it’s not thirteen, unless seating guests at a table, when it IS thirteen–taking into account the outcome of the Last Supper)• why red underwear begins to appear in shops as the New Year approaches In addition to the lyrical and poetic, Italianissimo provides useful and indispensable information for the traveler: deciphering the quirks of the language (while English has only one word for “you,” in Italy there are three), the best place to find balsamic vinegar (in Modena, of course), the best gelato (in Sicily, where they first invented it using the snow from Mount Etna). There are also recommendations for little-known museums and destinations (the Bodoni museum, the Pinocchio park, legendary coffee bars).This is a new kind of guidebook overflowing with enlightening and hilarious miscellaneous information, filled with luscious graphics and unforgettable photographs that will decode and enrich all trips to Italy–both real and imaginary.

Slab Serif Type: A Century of Bold Letterforms

by Steven Heller, Louise Fili

A compact, yet comprehensive design resource, expertly selected by graphic design’s leading historians
The slab serif typeface―in their classic form, wood types made for large-scale posters, ads, and newspapers―may not be as all-purpose as the gothic or sans serif, but it is equal, if not more powerful, in graphic appeal. Since being introduced in the nineteenth century, slabs have become ubiquitous and are today as popular as ever.
Slabs come from a genre of Egyptian typefaces (some of the leading slabs are called Cairo and Sphinx) brought back to France by Napoleon and marketed in specimen sheets and books as representing a glorious heritage brought to the present. In 1931, Morris Fuller Benton created the Stymie typeface, a reworking of a slab serif type popular in Europe at that time: Memphis. The IBM logo is one of the most famous slab serif marks. The serifs were often exaggerated so they would not result in simply beautiful letterforms but would be functionally superior to other faces. Slabs, therefore, came in many iterations and were eventually recognized as a face with many characters―and nationalities.
Following the cult typography volumes Scripts, Shadow Type, and Stencil Type, this new volume comprises an artfully curated selection of hundreds of international and classic examples to inspire fresh and unexpected typographic ideas.
500+ illustrations, 450+ in color

100 Logos A to Z

by Louise Fili

A collection of iconic designer Louise Fili's illustrious logo designs for every letter in the alphabet, from restaurant Artisanal to fashion designer Zelda.



Louise Fili is one of the most iconic graphic designers of our time. In 100 Logos: A to Z, she collects her favorites among the brand designs created in her unique and distinctive style. Encompassing brand identities from restaurants to vineyards, publishers to jewelers, coffee roasters to gelato makers, Fili's playful, elegant, and whimsical designs showcase her expertise and mastery of typographic forms. Within these pages, we see logos for:

• Good Housekeeping
• Hyperion
• Late July
• Paperless Post
• Tate's Bake Shop
• Tiffany & Co.
• and many more

Each logo is paired with a caption exploring the design's influences and processes. And the elegant package includes an iconic Fili cover, with flowing lines and beautiful typography, perfect for lovers of graphic design.



AWARD-WINNING DESIGNER: Louise Fili has received Gold and Silver Medals from the Society of Illustrators and the New York Art Director's Club, the Premio Grafico from the Bologna Book Fair, and three James Beard award nominations.



A PEEK BEHIND THE DESIGN OF ALL-STAR BRANDS: Take a deep dive into the fascinating design process of the iconic design studio, Louise Fili Ltd. Readers can see how acclaimed clients like Sarabeth's, Tate's Bake Shop, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Tiffany & Co., and well-known Manhattan restaurants including Via Carota, Pisellino, The Mermaid Inn, Claudette, and Pearl Oyster Bar collaborate with Fili to incorporate her incredible signature style into their branding.



A PLAYFUL DESIGN BOOK FROM A TO Z: A design book like no other, 100 Logos is a sophisticated volume that is a must-have for graphic design students and professionals, as well as anyone interested in advertising, branding, typography, and travel.



Perfect for:

• Louise Fili fans
• Hand-lettering and calligraphy artists and admirers
• Art and design students, professionals, and enthusiasts
• Graduation, teacher, holiday, birthday, or housewarming gift