The Art of Looking Sideways Hardcover – August 20, 2001

It seems to be consensus opinion that you cannot READ "Sideways." So what on earth can you DO with it? The answer is: just about anything. The very least that Alan Fletcher's book will do is add sparkle to your dinner conversations. It can even stimulate new and innovative thinking in your business - as it has for me and my husband.In our household, this book has taken on a persona all of its own. Like the Family Bible of yore, "Sideways" reposes on the sideboard in our dining room, open every day at a randomly selected page. We have included a large magnifying glass. Yes, it's necessary at times for anyone with less than 20/20 vision. (Okay, FAR less.) What is more, "Sideways" must be perused - well, naturally - sideways. Even upside down at times. (Headstands optional.) For those who complained of reading difficulties, I suspect that Alan Fletcher deliberately provided these "hindrances" to force us to stop and THINK. Otherwise we would treat his two-page spreads like billboards that we glance at casually as we speed past.When anyone in our household passes Alan Fletcher's book there's a sudden, silence. This has prompted me to make the sideboard our "shrine" to creativity. I now see "Spaces for Silence" by Alen MacWeeney and Caro Ness in a completely different way. Spaces for Silence We have added a table easel to our tableau to hold a mini-corkboard to which "sideways" ideas can be added at any time they occur. Our ideas can be expressed as puns, quotes, slogans (the latest being "Campaign for Curiosity!") as well as questions, and even our own, tongue-in-cheek cartoon attempts.To the cynics (aka the 1 star reviewers) have you ever flown a kite without taking a child as an excuse; have you danced in the rain; licked your plate; worn a balloon hat in public; eaten candy floss after middle age; had a conversation entirely in puns; written a limerick; drawn with your eyes shut; read Dr Seuss after "growing up?" In other words, have you ever set aside your conventional script? If you haven't, maybe you need to cut your teeth on Keri Smith's book: "Destroy this Journal." (Even literally, as you will see.) Wreck This Journal Amazonians have responded creatively to that book, as shown by all the images displayed. Of course, you have the benefit - or should I say "safety" - of Keri's telling you exactly what to do. With "Sideways," Alan Fletcher expects you to improvise, generating your own ideas by using creative initiative. His book is simply the catalyst.PS And yes, I have done every single thing on that list.

I have had this book and A Smile in the Mind for almost a decade. They are not books I look through every day, but every couple of months I do enjoy "wasting" some time flipping through them.If you are a designer, you NEED this book. Whether you design websites, or print media or even if you design gardens or interior decor, the out of the box thinking that this book is so good at triggering will help to keep your work fresh. If you are not a designer, but you love design... maybe you don't "need" this book, but you definitely want it.This might look like just another artsy coffee table book that you'll look at once and put on a shelf forever, but I sincerely hope you don't do that. Even if you can only find the time to flip through it over a cup of coffee once a quarter, the visual tricks displayed in this book will make you glad you picked it over any one of the other coffee table books you had to pick from. This one might actually keep your brain alive.This is an ideal gift for a design student, or for anyone interested in design and typography. It is also excellent for anyone interested in how the mind works or in advertising. A brain puzzle enthusiast, and even a magician would like this. If you are furnishing a cabin or a weekend retreat, this is a terrific book to get for that, too. It even has a dual use... it's big and heavy enough to use to press flowers. I have actually photocopied pages from it over the years and put them up on the refrigerator or other places. That was back when I was designing print media.I've thinned out about 80% of my books over the years since I bought this book, and it has made every cut. If I had to cull my books down again to half of what I have now, this book would still make the cut.

This has to be one of the most amazing books I have ever read / seen / encountered. First, although I have read every word of this amazing text, I cannot say that one reads it as much as experiences it. I received it from my amazingly perceptive and wise wife for Christmas of 2006, and I took it to the relatives' house that day. All day, while everyone else was playing Rummikube and watching football, I was browsing through my "giant book."The design is gorgeous, with fascinating fonts and colors and layouts on every page. The content is an adventure, with information on everything from Salvadore Dali to ancient runes, to the power of an elephant's trunk. There is an amazing "shadow motorcycle" on page 48 which you must see to believe, and there's a photo of a faded cardboard box that the author found to be interesting.When I finally finished it, I closed it sadly and told my wife that I'd read every word and studied every image in the "giant book." She asked, "What will you do now?""Read it again, of course," I replied.When I was considering a birthday present for my 29 year old son who is a web designer for an advertising firm, this was my first and only thought. He liked it so much that he brought it to his workplace and told his colleagues to dip into it when they needed inspiration. They did, and they love it too.Get this book. It will change your life! (A little).