Basheer Graphic Books

Heaven is a place on earth; well on the third level of Bras Bersah Complex anyway. They have a great collection of magazine and art books and they used to give discounts for students. Even so, I love and loved that place; it is a respite from the bustling city crowd.

What an amazing selection of books and magazines on art and design!
Located on the 3^rd floor of Bras Basah Complex, this gem has a pretty unassuming entrance (yes, there’s rows of magazine stands outside the shop, but almost every shop in the building looks the same)– but take a good look at the stands and you’ll see exclusive titles on art, fashion and design that you’d probably wouldn’t be able to find elsewhere.
Now, I’m no expert on these things (the only magazines that I were familiar with were the mass market choices: Vogue, Monocle, Wallpaper, Kinfolk) but I have spent enough time browsing through the magazines in Books Kinokuniya to know that this place has a greater selection than Kinokuniya! Prices for magazines were similar, but if you buy backdated copies the price goes down substantially. They have a pretty decent bargains rack where magazines go for $ 10 and less. There are posters stating that you can get subscriptions to rarer magazines through the bookshop, if you’d like.
The interior is clean, neat and filled with shelves of graphic/​architectural/​design books perfect for the coffee table (for us plebians trying to appear more refined) or the true aficionado.

Such a neat bookshop in Bras Basah complex! Before entering, I browsed the magazine stands outside. You won’t find tabloids or trashy reading material here– it’s all indie publications about smart people topics. I must admit I felt a little intimidated walking inside.
I love how there are shelves that go from floor to ceiling, all stacked with interesting books. Since there are no windows, you can easily lose yourself and your sense of time while browsing the stacks. Near the entrance, there were some new releases with a couple of tongue-​in-​cheek titles like «A financial guide on how to make your cat (or baby) internet famous».
I saw books on Asian street fashion, animé, architecture, and even a coffee table book on absolutely ridiculous homes in Singapore. I noticed a few books for children and some neat notebooks that catered to visual learners.
All throughout the store, there are little icons that say «No photography». I also saw a sign that basically said all photos taken of books slowly ruins the book industry — please support by purchasing instead. I’m a bit confused about that idea and I’d beg to differ, but I guess to each his own.
Definitely check this place out if you’re in the area. You’ll feel smarter!

As what the various earlier reviews have mentioned, Basheer is really a treasure chest for artists, designers, creatives to source for resources for inspiration and personal development creatively.
Even for amateurs, there are so many entry level books that can help you develop your interest into simple projects. The shop may not be huge but one can spend hours and hours just ploughing through the book store.
For those who love to buy international title magazines but is not willing to pay the price at regular book stores like Kino, you can actually purchase them here. While they have many titles and are usually recent copies, cos they order the magazines in bulk via container shipments, some titles may take a longer time to arrive.
In any case, the people are really friendly and you can always approach them to check on a title and work out an order.

Before the Kinokuniya and (now dysfunctional) page one, Basheer has been around for a really long time. This used to be one of my favorite bookstore for creative arts and media related books in Bras Basah Complex where I can spend hours looking at the range of books and magazines that they carry. Fret not if they dont have the title available, you can always get them to source it for you. Well, basically anything to do with arts and media, they have it. They even carry a range of lomo cameras!
This place is still a great source for books especially if you are one who love to browse the physical copy before purchasing. They too have an online arm. However, they do face a lot of stiff competition ahead especially since there are a lot of online international bookstores that now ship to singapore for free.

If you cant find that particular book on graphic design/​artrelatedthings, check this place out. This place stocks the most exclusive titles! I come here at least once every month because it is the only place that stocks my favourite art magazine which is only $ 12 at the store, but costs almost $ 20 when you ship it internationally. The staff here are really friendly too, so don’t be afraid to ask them if you can’t find what you want on the shelf, because it might just be hidden at some corner of the bookstore.
They have sales quite often, where they let go of magazines such as Wallpaper, Luzer’s archive at warehouse prices.

I love Basheer because of the sheer variety of design books they bring in. Fashion, photography, graphic design, architecture — they have a treasure trove of inspiration for anything. When you first step into the shop, you may get a little overwhelmed as to where to start but they do have a classification system so just keep a lookout for the little hints. If all else fails, just approach any of the staff and I am sure they will be happy to help you navigate the place — albeit a tad grudgingly and grouchily. There isn’t exactly a price range since you can pick up anything from a magazine to a coffee-​table book but most of the decent stuff definitely does not come cheap. If you aren’t too keen on splurging I would still recommend spending an hour or so just browsing — there is no harm getting a little inspiration for free.

One stop solution for every creative.
Great selection of art, craft and graphic design books and periodicals!
I’m a guy that likes to take a look at the content of the books before purchasing so although online shopping might have a more infinite range of books, Basheer is gives me the real thing. They normally have browsing copies of the books that they carry so you can take a look before you make your decision to buy.
I usually go there to get «Art of» books for reference and if you’re a student of Lasalle or NAFA… you are entitled to a discount of sorts. I’ve never been let down by their selection and sometimes you might even find great discounts. Love this place.

This is the place for all art students, designers, copywriters, and anyone else in the creative industry. This is usually where my friends pick up their monthly editions of «monocle» and «Creative Review» here.
This is also where my friends who are in the fashion industry come for books on clothes design and sketching. They sell Fashion Sketchpad which is a book of templates, which is ideal for those who are just starting out in fashion designing and not very confident in their drawing abilities.

Whether you’re looking for design publications or just looking to feel inspired by walking around shelves and shelves of design books, Basheer is a great place to go.
They stock one of the largest collections of design books ranging from logo design, architecture, comic drawing and interior design.
They also have a clearance section at the back of the store where you can find good bargains for old stock.
If you’re a story book person, dont go there. If you’re itching for inspiration for design, GO NOW.

I am glad I can still be surprised in Singapore. I had heard about the Bras Basah Complex, but until last Saturday, I had never been there. I certainly wasn’t looking for books just for a few watercolour paints and a new drawing block at Art Friend as I dreaded going to their main place in Takashimaya on a Saturday afternoon. I did not only find Art friend, but a complex full of interesting art-​relatedshops, ranging from places that make their own versions of comic book figures (I dared not go in to inquire about the prices), jades and ancient Tibetan bracelets, second hand books in Chinese and English, musical instruments, British looking new bric-​à-​brac and the like. Not every place is worth a visit of course.
But one I could not resist was this Basheer graphic books bookshop. When you are interested in architecture or interior design, drawing techniques or garden layout, this is the place to go. It is a bit overwhelming: the first time you walk from room to room to find each time books that look very beautiful (and that are not necessarily cheap!!). In the end, I bought a book on Mexican design to replace my cheap Taschen book that got lost somewhere between moves.