Pushing Buttons

Buttons are really fascinating – they’re still very popular today, in this digital age of smartphones, augmented reality, and immersive virtual experiences. Button Power: 125 Years of Saying It with Buttons is by bonafide button experts Christen Carter and Ted Hake, and is just out from Princeton Architectural Press. Full disclosure, I’ve purchased hundreds of buttons wholesale from Carter’s Chicago-based production source Busy Beaver Buttons over the years! Ted Hake runs an auction house centered around American pop culture artifacts. Together, they examine a long history of these little round pin-backed message delivery devices; everything from political parties to pop bands, and from sports events to social movements. My favorites are the Civil Rights buttons and the ’60s rock & roll fan buttons. Being such a tiny medium, there is an inherent creative challenge in creating an eye-catching design through focused artistry or perhaps clever typography or both. It’s certainly a fascinating way to observe over a century of U.S. history through the lens of pop culture. This sharp new hardcover is 8 x 9 inches and features over 1000 color illustrations across 192 pages. This first in-depth book on the topic of buttons is, well, all buttoned-up very nicely.