Palace Skateboards Elevates Product Descriptions To An Art Form

In the Introduction to a fascinating new book from Palace Skateboards co-founder Lev Tanju, literary critic Sam Buchan-Watts declares that Tanju has “pioneered an artform in a place where few people thought to look.” That's true. Palace Product Descriptions, published by art book publisher Phaidon, features a curated selection of the unique product descriptions used by the brand since its inception in 2013.

Great marketing can be iconic. Sometimes it is truly an underappreciated type of expression, offering the same commentary on our culture as any other form of art. To that end, this book is an argument that the lowbrow perception of marketing as nothing but noisy manipulation isn't always accurate.

As a reviewer from the luxury news site Highsnobriety writes: "the book not only serves as a catalog of some of the brand’s best (and funniest) works, but is a constant reminder of how an underground skate label from South London broke the mold to change the way we perceive the UK streetwear scene." Similarly, maybe this book might also change how we perceive the potential cultural value of marketing itself.