Aaron Draplin might possibly be the most prolific graphic designer of our time. He’s best known for making logos, producing a lots of stuff, and creating the booming Field Notes brand of notebooks. This year he decided to cram his life’s work into a book, appropriately titled, Pretty Much Everything.

Pretty Much Everything is an autobiography, a textbook, a coffee-table book, and a vanity project all squeezed between a bunch of black and orange pages. Much of the book chronicles Draplin’s career, from his humble origins in the Midwest, to his snowboarding days in the Northeast, and the steady growth of his Draplin Design Co. brand. He talks a lot about his influences and his family throughout, and he offers up his design philosophy (which can probably be boiled down to something like ‘work hard, enthusiastically, and be nice to people’).

Just looking through the pictures, it’s hard not to be impressed by Draplin’s output. Between his fondness for bright colors, his “thick lines” artistic style, and his aptitude for space economics, it’s easy to flip this book open to a random page and just sit and stare for a while. Practically every inch of this book is filled with stuff to look at.

Aside from a couple of big grammatical errors, Pretty Much Everything is really quite a delightful book. Any student of graphic design will learn a lot, any fan of Field Notes notebooks will get their fill, too, and lovers of Pantone Orange 021 will find a kindred spirit within these pages as well. And beyond that, Draplin comes across as a very friendly person, someone who lives and dies by his friends.

Everything Else Enhancement Kit

If, after closing the final pages of Pretty Much Everything, you long for more Aaron Draplin, then you’re in luck. Along with the book’s release, Draplin began selling an “Everything Else” Enhancement Kit (aka EEEK), which includes a bunch of bonus stuff.

At $55, the kit is about double the price of the book. So it’s probably best considered by hardcore fans only. However, you will get your money’s worth. There are bookmarks, stickers, a handful of prints, a certificate of authenticity (in case you were worried), and a Pretty Much Everything slip case (that, to my eye, looks more red than orange).

There’s plenty of other stuff too; a pencil, a button, a patch – and two 3-packs of a special Field Notes edition. Those Field Notes books are pretty unique, and I’ll definitely have a lot more to say about them in a future review.