Reiner Design

The 50th Anniversary Two-Volume Collector's Edition

As this year is the 50th anniversary of the Rocky Horror stage play, and feature film, Reiner Design was approached to create this two volume box set. Show creator Richard O’Brien opened his archives to give an unprecedented look at the origins of Frank n Furter and Rocky Horror in this unique and stunning two-volume set.

Book 1: It Was Great When It All Began: The Original Annotated Theatrical Script

Before the cult movie classic, there was the cult stage show. See where it all began with this original 1973 theatrical script, presented in all its Rocky Horror glory. Production notes, stage directions, and the script with lyrics are accompanied by rare performance images of the 1973 London and 1974 Roxy (Los Angeles) casts. Remembrances from cast members and an archival piece written by Richard O’Brien with insights on what makes a winning Rocky Horror stage performance put you in the front row of that little London theater. And because today’s theatrical performances take a page from the movie, the book also features a Virgin’s Guide—a complete theatrical script notated with the classic audience callbacks and partici . . . pation.

Book 2: Strange Journey: The Illustrated Oral History of Rocky Horror

Rocky Horror's strange journey may have begun with the stage show, but the entire story is so much more. Based on the groundbreaking documentary Strange Journey by Richard’s son, Linus O’Brien, this official oral history tells Rocky Horror’s story from its origins onstage to its cultural influence today. Never-before-seen images and ephemera from Richard O’Brian’s personal archives are accompanied by new interviews and insights with cast and crew including Tim Curry and Susan Sarandon, shadow cast performers, and of course, Richard O’Brien himself. Stars such as Trixie Mattel discuss the profound impact Rocky Horror has had on them and on the LGBTQ+ community. Packed with fascinating stories, rare images, and never-before-seen ephemera, Strange Journey: The Illustrated Oral History of Rocky Horror paints a picture of how this cult movie became a cultural phenomenon.

Experience the cult classic stage play like never before, featuring a complete script and lyrics, original cast photography, and insights from the original cast and show’s writer and creator, Richard O’Brien.

Never-before-seen set photography and design sketches from writer and creator, Richard O’Brien’s, personal collection.

The oral history featured new interviews with cast, crew, and historians, giving new and deeper insight into this cultural phenomenon.

For the last year or so, we have been designing a comprehensive visual history on Carlos Santana, one of the 100 Greatest Guitarists and one of the 100 Greatest Artists by Rolling Stone, who has been a musical force since his start in 1965. With numerous awards, including nearly a dozen Grammy Awards, a Kennedy Center Honor, and his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, Santana has cemented his name in rock and roll history, it was a pleasure to work on this impressive 400+ page volume.

It follows Santana through his musical journey, featuring hundreds of pieces from his personal archives such as rare backstage and onstage photography, tour memorabilia, personal art and correspondence, awards, and photographs of his old guitars. This is a collection as rare and unique as the music Santana creates, and one we hope fans will treasure.

Carlos Santana: Love, Devotion, Surrender offers a never-before-seen look at hundreds of pieces from Santana’s personal archives, including unpublished photos, sketches, itineraries, tour schedules, and concert tickets.

It features interviews given specifically for this volume, from producers (Clive Davis), band members (Gregg Rollie and Michael Carabello), collaborators (Rob Thomas, John McLaughlin, Steve Miller), and an exclusive interview with Santana himself. 

This book features more than 350 glorious images of some of the most incredible motorcycles ever made, The Motorcycle celebrates and showcases these beautiful machines as the pieces of fine art that they are.

The Haas Moto Museum in Dallas, Texas, houses a unique world-class collection that spans the history of motorcycles across thirteen decades. From early prototype models that featured a gas tank simply strapped onto a bicycle to today's radically new designs that push the limits of imagination and technology, more than 230 motorcycles are chronicled here.

Whether the unnamed stars of classic movies such as Akira and Easy Rider or the object of devotion in the lives of riders and collectors, the motorcycle has been a symbol of freedom throughout pop culture. The Motorcycle celebrates these iconic machines in this beautifully curated monography with sleek images and accompanying essays from the world-class Haas Moto Museum.

In addition to showing the evolution of motorcycles from 1899 to present day, this official museum monograph features 60 custom motorcycles– many of which were commissioned for the collection– from prize-winning builders from around the world including Mitsuhiro Kiyonaga, Maxwell Hazan, Jay Donovan, Cristian Sosa, and Craig Rodsmith.

WeldonOwen

The Birth of Rock ’n’ Roll: 70 Years of Sun Records is the official history of this legendary label, and looks at its story in a unique way: through the lens of 70 of its most iconic recordings. From the early days with primal blues artists like Howlin’ Wolf and B.B. King to long nights in the studio with Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis, you will see how the label was shaped and how it redefined American music. Accompanying the recordings is the label’s origin story and a look at the mission of the label today, as well as “Sun Spot” sidebars—a fascinating dive into subjects such as how the iconic logo was created, the legendary Million Dollar Quartet sessions, and how the song “Harper Valley, PTA” funded the purchase of the label.

Written by two of the most acclaimed music writers of our time, Peter Guralnick and Colin Escott, and featuring hundreds of rare images from the Sun archives as well as a foreword by music legend Jerry Lee Lewis, this is a one-of-a-kind book for anyone who wants to know where it all started.

WeldonOwen

Photojournalist Ron Haviv found over 200 rolls of undeveloped film in 2015—material spanning twenty years, and as many countries. When he had them developed and scanned, he encountered famous faces, close friends, and places of conflict—the stuff of his trade. We were asked to design the book that would reflect these photographic "lost memories", along with a US and French promotional magazine to accompany the project, all within a very short framework of six weeks.

Images of Northern Ireland riots, gangs in El Salvador, war in Kosovo, China, refugees, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and a wild mix of lost memories that forced the photographer to sit quietly while doing mental detective work to try to recover the context for these frames.

The film wasn’t perfect. In fact, the film was massively flawed. But it was beautiful. A blend of mold, pooling dye, time and fog, the film had transformed into one-of-a-kind analog artwork, representing some of the most important news stories in recent history.

The Lost Rolls is edited by Robert Peacock with essays by W.M. Hunt, Dr. Lauren Walsh and Ron Haviv.

The Lost Rolls comes alive in both this hardcover book as well as a softcover magazine publication, each offering a unique edit aimed at complimenting their specific format.

Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wonder Woman, the Avengers, the X-Men, Watchmen, and more: the companion volume to the PBS documentary series of the same name that tells the story of the superhero in American popular culture.
 
Based on the three-part PBS documentary series Superheroes, this companion volume chronicles the never-ending battle of the comic book industry, its greatest creators, and its greatest creations.  Covering the effect of superheroes on American culture—in print, on film and television, and in digital media—and the effect of American culture on its superheroes, Superheroes: Capes, Cowls, and the Creation of Comic Book Culture appeals to readers of all ages, from the casual observer of the phenomenon to the most exacting fan of the genre.
 
Drawing from more than 50 new interviews conducted expressly for Superheroes!—creators from Stan Lee to Grant Morrison, commentators from Michael Chabon to Jules Feiffer, actors from Adam West to Lynda Carter, and filmmakers such as Zach Snyder—this is an up-to-the-minute narrative history of the superhero, from the comic strip adventurers of the Great Depression, up to the blockbuster CGI movie superstars of the 21st Century.  Featuring more than 500 full-color comic book panels, covers, sketches, photographs of both essential and rare artwork, Superheroes is the definitive story of this powerful presence in pop culture.

Random House/Crown

Our brief in 2021 was to develop a creative design approach that captures the unique spirit of the intellectual and entertainment value of A+E’s History Channel celebrating its 25th Anniversary on the air, and it’s respective launch of three documentaries on the lives of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant. This involved the creation of a cohesive merchandising product lines that connected to the History Channel, and each Theme to create an insightful, fun and supremely marketable merchandising catalog of materials, including apparel, drink ware, electronic accessories and retail displays. These centered around the three documentaries, and important milestones of American history, through politics, invention and and ingenuity. The brief also involved developing a 25th Anniversary logo, that would be consistent across the developed branding.

For more than 60 years, Barbie has reflected fashion trends and set them. Now, her iconic outfits are paired with the legendary looks from iconic designers for a fascinating celebration of the relationship between the runway and the toy aisle.

Barbie has always been a fashion icon, with a wardrobe of looks inspired by the world’s great fashion designers, and inspiring them as well with her signature style.

From decade-defining designs by formidable fashion royalty such as Dior, Balenciaga, Yves St. Laurent, Pucci, and Chanel, to skateboard culture and rave fashion, Barbie doll’s outfits have reflected the fashion and the time.

In Barbie Takes the Catwalk, hundreds of images from designer runways, magazine editorials, and fashion archives are paired with detailed photographs of vintage Barbie outfits to offer an unprecedented examination of the Barbie brand’s sartorial impact.

Author and costume historian Karan Feder thoughtfully explores Barbie doll's first 40 years to highlight the vast artistry and cultural significance of the doll’s fashion canon, and looks at contemporary fashion designers influenced by the Barbie legacy. This meticulously researched and gorgeous book is a must for any fan of fashion, pop culture, and Barbie.

In the US market Barcardi introduced six new flavored rums with new bottle designs. The brief was to introduce a verve and hipness to this new drink line. The campaign consisted of product and lifestyle billboards and print advertising. The project was designed and produced for McCann Erikson, USA

Even before the Beatnik Riots of 1961, New York City's Greenwich Village was the epicenter of revolutionary movements in American music and culture. But, in the early 1960s and throughout the decade, a new wave of writers and performers inspired by the folk music revival of the 1950s created socially aware and deeply personal songs that spoke to a generation like never before. These writers—Bob Dylan, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Janis Ian, and Phil Ochs, to name a few—changed the folk repertoire from traditional songs to songs sprung from personal, contemporary experiences and the nation's headlines, raising the level of political self-expression to high art. Message and music merged and mirrored society.

In Music + Revolution: Greenwich Village in the 1960s, Richard Barone unrolls a freewheeling historical narrative, peppered with personal stories and insights from those who were there. Illustrated with contemporaneous portraits of the musicians by renowned photographer David Gahr, it celebrates the lasting legacy of a pivotal decade with stories behind the songs that resonate just as strongly today.

Backbeat Books

The Municipal Art Society is New York’s leading organization dedicated to creating a more livable city. For 120 years, MAS—a nonprofit membership organization—has been committed to promoting New York City’s economic vitality, cultural vibrancy, environmental sustainability and social diversity. Working to protect the best of New York’s existing landscape, from landmarks and historic districts to public open spaces, MAS encourages visionary design, planning and architecture that promote resilience and the livability of New York.

Since 1956, MAS has been offering walking tours of New York’s cityscape, led by architectural, urban and art historians, preservationists, urban geographers, architects, teachers and writers. 

We were commissioned to design and prouce a bimonthly newsletter/calendar that illustrated the tours and current MAS topics. The calendar folded down to an easy manageable  pocket size.

In 2018, we worked with the Syrian documentary photographer Alaa Hassan on his book Cardboard Castle, documenting from 2007-2012, the national referendum in Syria to extend the presidency of Bashar Al- Assad. A major advertisement campaign was enforced over Syrian cities. The campaign reintroduced the image of an individual leader to represent the political authority with ultimate power. From “modernization and development” to “we love you”; this paradigm shift brought back authoritari-an traditions from Assad’s father time, protecting the implementation of governmental policies with minimum disturbance. This is the singularity of image, voice and therefor policy.

As the book was a dual language publication, the book had to work front to back (english), and back to front (arabic), it therefore had two covers, an interesting layout conundrum.

Self published

We have been involved with Richard designing music packaging since the late 80's. On the 25th anniversary of the release of his seminal album "Cool Blue Halo", we were asked to create a commemorative box set, contain 3 x CDs, DVD, hardbound book and a T-shirt.

Reiner Design has a history of redesigning medical journals. Historically they are often very staid and unimaginative publications, we have often been asked to impart a breath of visual fresh air to enliven their content.

One such publication was Clinical Cardiology, J. Wiley & Sons had just acquired this title,  The journal had not been redesigned since the early 60s. We created a contemporary, yet authoritative vision for the publication.

Carmindy had become a very popular personality on What Not To Wear with her makeup segment. This was a tie in book that gave women the know how to look and feel beautiful.

In GET POSITIVELY BEAUTIFUL, makeup artist Carmindy from TLC's hit program What Not to Wear shows you how to change your mindset from negative fault-finding to a positive beauty philosophy. You learn how to find and focus on your best features and how to combat negative thoughts about your appearance. Carmindy demonstrates easy makeup techniques for eyes, brows, lashes, lips, cheeks, and skin, and how to adapt looks to different weather conditions and 'beauty moods.'

Center Street Publishing

The official behind-the-scenes guide to the making of the movie about the life and music of Whitney Houston, one of the greatest female R&B pop vocalists of the 20th century.

The film I Wanna Dance with Somebody tells the joyous, emotional, and heartbreaking story of Whitney Houston's journey from obscurity to musical super stardom. This stunning accompanying volume tells the story of bringing Whitney's life to the big screen, with behind-the-scenes photography and interviews with key cast members including star Naomi Ackie (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker), Tamara Tunie (Flight, The Devil’s Advocate), and Nafessa Williams (Black Lightning), as well as key members of the production crew. Learn how the pivotal moments and places in Whitney's history, as well as her spectacular wardrobe and her look, were recreated for the film, with additional insight about the film from director Kasi Lemmons and about Whitney herself from producer Pat Houston.

Insight Editions

During the summer of 2008, Reiner Design were approached to help redesign the look of Shape magazine. Even though we were not traditionally known as magazine designers, the publisher felt our background of advertising design and music graphics would give the magazine a strong graphic identity that would be powerful yet simple.

Companion book from the groundbreaking PBS series, the authors have gone deeper into the works and lives of America's great comic artists, with biographical portraits, archival materials, cultural overviews, and rare photos. Brilliantly illustrated, with insights (and jokes) from comedians, writers and producers, along with film, radio, television, and theater historians, MAKE 'EM LAUGH is an indispensible, definitive book about comedy in America.

12 Books/Hachette

"Seattle quintet Queensryche has always stood apart from other heavy metal bands through their artful progressive bent and intense observations on the world around them. With their third album, 1988's Grammy-nominated and critically acclaimed Operation: Mindcrime-a concept opus born out of Reagan-era disilllusionment-Queensryche transcended the metal label and sealed their reputation for cerebral musci and heady lyrical vision. Set 20 years later, and awash in "rock, revenge, and redemption," this brilliant new sequel was inspired by current political and social climates."

It was a surprise to be asked to design a followup package to the original project from 1988, and was fun to revisit the original design concept, though very hard to find the old xerox machines that help define the original graphic look in 2007. The final look was a mix of xerox and photoshop, a fun project.

Rhino Records

Print campaign for Pfizer/Viagra

This creative pitch for Viagra, gives the product an attitude and personality in a market currently saturated with generic imitators. The elements included fly posters, magazine ads, billboards and doctor office promotionals.

McCann Erikson/World Creative Group

Chopper first published in 2005 to great acclaim, and reissued here in a glorious deluxe edition, Art of the Chopper profiles twenty of today's top chopper builders. Through an extensive colour photo gallery of each builder's creations, author and photographer Tom Zimberoff provides an in-depth analysis of that builder's design philosophies and unique style. Art of the Chopper celebrates these timeless machines and the artists who build them.

Chopper II,  the follow-up to one of the most successful books on choppers ever published presents 21 new artist profiles and more than 300 new bikes.

Hachette/Bullfinch Press 

We were asked to create a suite of six promotional folder holders that reflected the wide range of architectural and historical aspects of New York that the Municipal Art Society of New York had been involved in over the last decade.

2007 St Francis Annual Report focused on the important statistical acheivements and those individuals responsible for a banner tear at the hospital.

With over 400 films to her credit, Edith Head ruled the Costume Design departments at Paramount and Universal Studios for nearly six decades, garnering thirty-five Oscar nominations and winning eight—the most of any woman to date.

In this book writer, photographer, and collector Jay Jorgensen brings together rare, never-before-seen sketches, fabric samples, costume tests, and behind-the-scenes photos from the Edith Head archives. This book is a must-have for any film buff or person interested in fashion.

Thoroughly researched and masterfully produced, Edith Head is a remarkable book that includes quotes and anecdotes from some of the silver screen’s biggest stars. Jay Jorgenson documents Edith’s career stitch-by-stitch, from the 1930s Westerns to the Hollywood classic, All About Eve, to Alfred Hitchcock’s  The Birds. 

Running Press

Tin Machine were a British–American rock band formed in 1989, they consisted of English singer-songwriter David Bowie on lead vocals, saxophone and guitar; Reeves Gabrels on guitar and vocals; Tony Fox Sales on bass and vocals; and Hunt Sales on drums and vocals. This project followed on the heels of us completing the Sound and Vision boxset. This was a great corporate like minimalist solution, on all four formats the band was rotated so there weren’t any perceived frontman, David was very onboard with our concept. The amazing Japanese photographer Sukita took the photos, a great visual craftsman.

Just before pre-Covid, as an non-teaching adjunct at Lehman College/CUNY, I designed the promotional materials for the 2019/2020 Performing Arts Department season.

European Martini print campaign for McCann Erikson/Amsteryard, which complimented the “Viva la Vita” TV commercials. This campaign, introduced in phases introduced the six main characters and their respective intriques and liasons.

We were commissioned to design Silver Surfers this year to commemorate Neil Peart’s, (the legendary drummer for Rush), lifelong passion for sixties sports cars. Now, in Neil's final work—a never-before-seen piece complied before his untimely passing in 2020—he writes about his beloved Silver Surfers collection; the joy of collecting these exquisite, rare, and important sports cars, and the even bigger joy of driving them. He first traces the roots of his auto obsession, taking us back to where it all began, with a 1969 Lotus Europa; through the cars he bought when the band first made it big and even his first “family car,” before taking us on a tour of the Silver Surfers themselves—a rare collection of the best sports cars from the 1960s. From a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 to a classic 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray, each is a gorgeous silver (with the exception of one: a black 1964 Shelby Cobra whose patina Neil loved so much he wrote, “I am not going to paint it”).

Gorgeous images of the cars and photos curated by Neil himself accompany his warm, personal story of building the collection, the friends he made along the way, and what it was like to be behind the wheel of these classics. Neil’s final work is a love letter to these cars that meant so much to him, and to the passion of the road that fueled his life.

Insight Editions