The Brick Index

The cover of a book. The title, Brick Index, is printed vertically in bold white text against a dark brick red background.

Living in California means I live in a wooden house, which feels like I'm the second of The Three Little Pigs. But I grew up just north of London in a brick terrace house so this book on bricks from brickworks across the UK had huge appeal. The Brick Index from Patrick Fry Studio (photographs by Inge Clemente) is a wonderful photographic exploration of the brick, the colours, and the marks and typography on it. The images are near actual size and there are 155 of them!

It's organised by colour, from light to dark, with an index explaining the material, manufacturer, and location at the back. There's also some good essays upfront from David Kitching and Rick Poynor.

One thing I love the most are all the backwards letters and typographic mishaps that occur.

Cover of the book Brick Index, it's a little taller and wider than a standard house brick.
stamped letters on a brick, the N and S are backwards
stamped letters on a brick, the N is backwards
One of the index pages and list of bricks and manufacturer

Published by Centre Centre and still available.

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