Andy Altmann founded Why Not Associates in 1987, with fellow Royal College of Art graduates David Ellis and Howard Greenhalgh. Earlier this year, they closed the studio and Andy went solo. tat* – Andy’s new book – is the result of that venture.

tat* is a book about all the great stuff that usually gets thrown away – the kind of stuff that graphic designers secretly love to collect. Walk into any design studio and you will see tat pinned to the walls or placed with loving care on top of a computer screen. Even the purist will have a secret cache hidden away. Andy has been collecting tat for more than 30 years. He finds inspiration in the ordinary, and magic in the mundane. Finally he has decided to share his collection with the world.

Although he trained as a graphic designer, Andy’s work has taken him into the blurred boundaries of design and art. Over the past 30 years he has worked on projects ranging from exhibition design to postage stamps, via advertising, publishing, television titles, commercials, corporate identity and large-scale public art. His clients include the Royal Academy of Arts, Channel 4, V&A, Grace Jones, Pompidou Centre, Royal Mail, Nike, Paul Smith, Chris Ofili, Kobe Museum of Fashion, and Tate Modern. All his work is bound by a fundamental love of typography, research and experimentation – plus a basis fascination with tat.