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The graphic design equivalent to Strunk & White's The Elements of Style This book is simply the most compact and lucid handbook available outlining the basic principles of layout, typography, color usage, and space. Being a creative designer is often about coming up with unique design solutions. Unfortunately, when the basic rules of design are ignored in an effort to be distinctive, design becomes useless. In language, a departure from the rules is only appreciated as great literature if recognition of the rules underlies the text. Graphic design is a "visual language," and brilliance is recognized in designers whose work seems to break all the rules, yet communicates its messages clearly. ...
Under the witty and metaphorical guise of a high-end cookbook, the author provides visual “ingredients,” such as grid structures, folios, border devices, type treatments, abstract graphic elements, categorized stylistically and functionally. These ingredients are shown in use through a “recipe” format to accomplish strategies such as movement, rhythm, organization, contrast, metaphor, etc. Ingredients are coded and cross-referenced among categories for mix and matching purposes as well as demonstrating varied alternate combinations to achieving different approaches to strategies.
Take your design work to the next level with Making and Breaking the Grid: A Graphic Design Layout Workshop (Third Edition), the essential easy-to-use guide for designers working in every medium. With over 150,000 copies in print, this new edition makes a classic text relevant to a new generation of designers. Updates include: A cross-cultural inclusive re-envisioning of design history related to the grid, including alternative approaches to layout Expanded discussion of grid use in interactive, UX/UI scenarios Greater equity in the representation of design work by women and BIPOC designers Grids are the most basic and essential forms in graphic design—and they can be the most rigid. This ...
Designer, author, educator Timothy Samara is a world authority on type and graphic design. His 2004 Rockport book, Typography Workbook has become an essential reference text for design classrooms and industry professionals. Now, in Letter Forms: The Design of Type, Past to Future he takes readers even deeper, expertly guiding them through the aesthetics as well as the technical considerations of his subject. He begins with an overview spanning the invention of movable type to today's digital typography, and ends with a showcase of contemporary fonts. Samara's true focus in this book is conveying the essentials of type design to practitioners, and thoughtfully and thoroughly explaining and illustrating the development of form and style. He walks you through letter form anatomy, stroke formation and rhythm, tool methodologies, structure and proportion, tool methodologies, and tons more. This all makes for one excellent, timely reference work that designers can return to in designing logos, wordmarks, signage, titling accents, and all of their graphic design work.
FOREWORD BY GUY KAWASAKI Presentation designer and internationally acclaimed communications expert Garr Reynolds, creator of the most popular Web site on presentation design and delivery on the Net — presentationzen.com — shares his experience in a provocative mix of illumination, inspiration, education, and guidance that will change the way you think about making presentations with PowerPoint or Keynote. Presentation Zen challenges the conventional wisdom of making "slide presentations" in today’s world and encourages you to think differently and more creatively about the preparation, design, and delivery of your presentations. Garr shares lessons and perspectives that draw upon practical advice from the fields of communication and business. Combining solid principles of design with the tenets of Zen simplicity, this book will help you along the path to simpler, more effective presentations.
Presents diverse, international, in-depth case studies. While there are many books showcasing graphic design work, few present in-depth projects, exploring concept, designerÆs strategy, visual problem-solving, and specifics, illustrating the concrete use of design principles to achieve intended communication goals. As a result, readers are often left with only a surface understanding of how a project might have evolved or how the visual aspects of its design are brought together to convey its intended message. The case studies in Design Evolution comprehensively demonstrate the real-world application of visual principles discussed in a more formal, educational context. Readers will understand how the principles for image, layout, type, and color explored in volume 1, Design Elements, work in combination, to execute the overall solutions showcased in this volume. The depth and range of content presented in these case studies distinguishes this book from all others in the design showcase genre -- offering readers a chance to not only be inspired by the quality and innovation of showcased projects, but to understand how they were realized.
"The work included provides a dynamic cross section of the publicly consumed reading material available today. The startling breadth of subject matter, informational complexity, creative effort, and visual diversity illustrate the challenges that publication designers face everyday. Through close-up examinations of beautiful and effective design solutions and the comprehensive and accessible workshop-style format, readers will develop a clear understanding of necessary, and often elusive, design principles. Fundamentals of form and content are clearly demonstrated with the aid of diagrams, making this the most complete book for designers on applied publication design principles."--BOOK JACKET.
DIVA good designer, like a good chef, is aware not only of how each ingredient is similar or different, but also which delivers one message in contrast to another, which will combine to create experiences that are harmonious or jarring, financial, medical, or industrial.By comparing the designer to a chef, author Timothy Samara, walks readers through the ingredients, tools, and techniques it takes to create successful design recipes.This book is broken into easy-to-follow sections, including basic design techniques, graphic ingredients, and projects recipes. The Graphic Ingredients section is categorized into four groups: Pictorial Staples, Chromatic Flavors, Typographic Confections, and Spatial Presentations. Once the basic design techniques and ingredients are established, the author demonstrates how to concoct delectable design recipes. Graphic Designer's Essential Reference is an inspirational resource that all graphic designers should keep by their workspace for handy reference./div
A comprehensive layout design workshop that assumes that in order to effectively break the rules of grid-based design, one must first understand those rules.