General Books

Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students (Design Briefs)

Ellen Lupton

Amazon Price: $14.93 List Price: $21.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Princeton Architectural Press Amazon Marketplace: 60 new & used starting at $10.43

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 48 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Strange, superficial overview of type-related topics 2 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I love type, but I lack an educated background on its use. I was so looking forward to learning about such details as when to prefer a sans-serif versus a serif in certain situations, how people react to various different families of faces, prescriptions for when to apply different types of layouts, and so forth.

When I got was a partially complete history lesson on how different types of faces and families evolved, an introduction to grid layouts with very little prescriptive advice, and weirdly, a brief editorial primer teaching how to mark up the printed page with pen.

To its credit, the book is full of examples of layouts. As I read, I expected any minute I'd penetrate the entry level "Here we see an example of a layout" to the real meat, but it never ever happened.

To the author's credit, the book was meticulously assembled and was clearly the product of a great deal of effort. And, this is not the first design-related book I've discovered that lacked meaningful depth.

But to any practicing designer looking for some guidance for taking their use of type to the next level, or understanding beyond his own innate instincts when to apply certain techniques, this is not the book for you. In fact, I'm not sure who this book is for.

Editorial Review:

The organization of letters on a blank sheet -- or screen -- is the most basic challenge facing anyone who practices design. What type of font to use? How big? How should those letters, words, and paragraphs be aligned, spaced, ordered, shaped, and otherwise manipulated? In this groundbreaking new primer, leading design educator and historian Ellen Lupton provides clear and concise guidance for anyone learning or brushing up on their typographic skills.
Thinking with Type is divided into three sections: letter, text, and grid. Each section begins with an easy-to-grasp essay that reviews historical, technological, and theoretical concepts, and is then followed by a set of practical exercises that bring the material covered to life. Sections conclude with examples of work by leading practitioners that demonstrate creative possibilities (along with some classic no-no's to avoid).

Meggs' History of Graphic Design

Philip B. Meggs, Alston W. Purvis

Amazon Price: $55.44 List Price: $80.00 By: Wiley Amazon Marketplace: 80 new & used starting at $55.44

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 33 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Not as good as former editions 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

After using all the editions, the latest isn't up to the late Phil Meggs' standards. In its attempt to
be concise and concept oriented, it omits much cultural and marginal information that was
interesting and flavorful. This edition is not as delicious as the others. I'm thinking of switching
textbooks for my students.

Excellent resource 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book provides an excellent resource on the graphic design industry with in-depth information on typography and how different art movements affected graphic design. It is well written and has great pictures with detailed descriptions. I recommend it for every graphic designer's personal library.

Editorial Review:

Now in its Fourth Edition, this unrivaled, seminal work continues its long tradition of providing balanced insight and thorough historical background. Under the new authorial leadership of Alston Purvis, this authoritative book offers more than 450 new images, along with expansive coverage of such topics as Italian, Russian, and Dutch design. It reveals a saga of creative innovators, breakthrough technologies, and important design innovations.

David Busch's Nikon D300 Guide to Digital SLR Photography

David D. Busch

Amazon Price: $19.79 List Price: $29.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Course Technology PTR Amazon Marketplace: 25 new & used starting at $18.57

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 53 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Have you unpacked your new Nikon D300 digital SLR camera and want to get started right away taking professional quality pictures? David Busch’s Nikon D300 Guide to Digital SLR Photography will show you how, when, and why to use all the cool features, controls, and functions of your camera to take great photographs of anything. After a brief introduction to the camera to help you get your bearings, you’ll dive right into all the exciting, innovative capabilities of the D300 including the focus controls, flash synchronization options, how to choose lenses, and which exposure modes are best. Beautiful, full-color images illustrate where the essential buttons and dials are, and you’ll find tips and techniques that can be applied to any type of photography to help you take better pictures with your new digital SLR. Whether you are new to digital SLR photography or an experienced pro, David Busch’s Nikon D300 Guide to Digital SLR Photography will help you maximize your camera’s capabilities.

Graphic Design Solutions, Third Edition

Robin Landa

Amazon Price: $67.87 List Price: $97.95 In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served. By: Delmar Cengage Learning Amazon Marketplace: 48 new & used starting at $67.50

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Best G.D. Book out there! 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Was advised to buy from instrucor as additional class materials and found I love this book! Covers from core information to breaking down new media and cutting edge styles. Would not go without this book if you are interested in learning about graphic design as an art and a science. Great organization and use of information -good for any level designer.

Don't pay retail... GET IT ON AMAZON!

Editorial Review:

Cutting-edge concepts, a beautifully illustrated text, and a dazzling array of award-winning design make the third edition of this standout best-seller one of the most highly acclaimed design texts in the world. Graphic Design Solutions continues to provide a clear and comprehensive introduction to graphic design and advertising design, with step-by-step visual solutions that readers can apply with confidence to their own design and advertising projects. A highly illustrative, straightforward assessment of developing winning graphic design solutions for a variety of media-including print, Web, television, and unconventional formats-helps designers think critically and creatively about their work while understanding the demands of the graphic design profession in today's world.

Design Elements: A Graphic Style Manual

Timothy Samara

Amazon Price: $19.80 List Price: $30.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Rockport Publishers Amazon Marketplace: 27 new & used starting at $19.78

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

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.

This book is a fun and accessible handbook that presents the fundamentals of design in lists, tips, brief text, and examples. Chapters include Graphic Design: What It Is; What Are They and What Do They Do?; 20 Basic Rules of Good Design; Form and Space-The Basics; Color Fundamentals; Choosing and Using Type; The World of Imagery; Putting it All Together?Essential Layout Concepts; The Right Design Choices: 20 Reminders for Working Designers; and Breaking the Rules: When and Why to Challenge all the Rules of this Book.

Designing Brand Identity: A Complete Guide to Creating, Building, and Maintaining Strong Brands

Alina Wheeler

Amazon Price: $29.70 List Price: $45.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Wiley Amazon Marketplace: 54 new & used starting at $24.88

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 42 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

This innovative approach -- blending practicality and creativity -- is now in full-color!

From translating the vision of a CEO and conducting research, through designing a sustainable identity program and building online branding tools, Designing Brand Identity helps companies create stronger brands by offering real substance. With an easy-to-follow style, step-by-step considerations, and a proven, universal five-phase process for creating and implementing effective brand identity, the book offers the tools you need, whether a brand manager, marketer, or designer, when creating or managing a brand. This edition includes a wealth of full-color examples and updated case studies for world-class brands such as BP, Unilever, Citi, Tazo Tea, and Mini Cooper.

Alina Wheeler (Philadelphia, PA) applies her strategic imagination to help build brands, create new identities, and design brand-identity programs for Fortune 100 companies, entrepreneurial ventures, foundations, and cities.

Envisioning Information

Edward R. Tufte

Amazon Price: $34.56 List Price: $48.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Graphics Press Amazon Marketplace: 77 new & used starting at $24.50

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 50 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

An unveiling of visual design 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I admit. I do not have natural tendencies for developing web sites, color maps, charts, schedules, power points, diagrams or GUIs. Anything as such comes out in complete discord until I came across Edward Tufte's name in a seminar brochure.

Edward Tufte scrutinizes design strategies all they way back in time from the Renaissance period into the 20th century. Initially I wondered, how on earth are these prestigious techniques presented in ancient times similarly applied today? They are not common today. Computer programs and marketing propaganda have limited our visual expectations to only broad and small pieces of information, limiting our learning space about the world we live in. Beyond contemporary appeals, Edward sheds out underlying utility out of these relics into everyday use. His prime example is a 1735 London figure of two dancers. The drawing describes their dance in time, motion, and sound without common resort to animation.

Chapters in this book: Escaping Flatland, Micro/Macro Readings, Layering and Separation, Small Multiples, Color and Information, and Narratives of Space and Time.

Editorial Review:

A remarkable range of examples for the idea of visual thinking, with beautifully printed pages. A real treat for all who reason and learn by means of images. -- Rudolf Arnheim

Graphic Design: The New Basics

Ellen Lupton, Phillips Jennifer Cole

Amazon Price: $23.10 List Price: $35.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Princeton Architectural Press Amazon Marketplace: 35 new & used starting at $18.74

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

How do designers get ideas? Many spend their time searching for clever combinations of forms, fonts, and colors inside the design annuals and monographs of other designers’ work. For those looking to challenge the cut-and-paste mentality there are few resources that are both informative and inspirational. In Graphic Design: The New Basics, Ellen Lupton, best-selling author of such books as Thinking with Type and Design It Yourself, and design educator Jennifer Cole Phillips refocus design instruction on the study of the fundamentals of form and ideas in a critical, rigorous way, informed by contemporary media, theory, and software systems.

Through visual demonstrations and concise commentary, The New Basics shows students and professionals how to build interest and complexity around simple relationships between formal elements of two-dimensional design such as point, line, plane, scale, hierarchy, layers, and transparency. The New Basics explains the key concepts of visual language that inform any work of design—from a logo or letterhead to a complex Web site. It takes a fresh approach to design instruction by emphasizing visually intensive, form-based thinking in a manner that is in tune with the latest developments in contemporary media, theory, art, and technology. Colorful, compact, and clearly written, The New Basics is the new indispensable resource for anyone seeking a smart inspiring introduction to graphic design, and destined to become the standard reference work in design education.

www.gdbasics.com, the on-line companion to Graphic Design: The New Basics, includes a variety of student responses to the design problems featured in the book. Sample syllabi for a variety of course levels are included along with key technical information from each chapter.

Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines (Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines)

Graphic Artists Guild

Amazon Price: $21.00 List Price: $35.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Graphic Artists Guild Amazon Marketplace: 36 new & used starting at $19.99

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 58 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Graphic Artists Guild Handbook 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Great book for pricing guidlines. Lots of good general information. Recommended if your getting started in the graphic field.

The best resource their is... 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The graphic design industry bible on how to understand and execute the business of graphic design. Needs to be next to you at all times when beginning any kid of project. These best practices are the standard for running a design business.

This Is A Necessary Book For The Graphic Artist 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book is necessary for anyone wanting to start their own company in the graphic design industry. It covers every aspect of the business & things that you wouldn't think of.

Just a lot of the best information available... 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

So much information that it will take a lot of time to read it all, but it is so well written and with the right and necessary information that it is a must for everyone in this field. Very informative, clear and to the point. Covers almost every aspect of the Graphic Artist business. Will help a lot, specially with themes regarding your rights and obligation, what is to be expected from an artist and what should an artist expect from others.

The price tables are not accurate for everyone since I believe that there are different markets for different reasons, geographical, economical targets and so on... so you should not expect them to apply exactly to you, but those are really good points of reference you should consider and seriously evaluate.

I don't like the cover at all since it is very confusing and non practical, specially if you are looking for this book in a bookstore by reference and not knowing how it looks like, since it is hard to read it's title at first glance, which I think is a huge violation to the basic rules of commercial design. I think it should have some practical and useful design for that matters. Thats's a no, no, for something coming from an "Artist" Guild. Actually it is an ugly cover (sorry for the artist who created it). The size of it does not help to make it a carry on book say to read everywhere, but for the amount of information it carries, I don't see any more practical shape.

Buy it!

Editorial Review:

Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical guidelines, 12th Edition is the industry bible, containing information all graphic artists and their clients need to buy and sell work in a totally professional manner. This edition has been revised and updated to provide all the information you need to compete in an industry moving at lightning speed.

Universal Principles of Design

William Lidwell, Kritina Holden, Jill Butler

Amazon Price: $26.40 List Price: $40.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Rockport Publishers Amazon Marketplace: 27 new & used starting at $22.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 49 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Whether a marketing campaign or a museum exhibit, a video game or a complex control system, the design we see is the culmination of many concepts and practices brought together from a variety of disciplines. Because no one can be an expert on everything, designers have always had to scramble to find the information and know-how required to make a design workùuntil now.

Universal Principles of Design is the first cross-disciplinary reference of design. Richly illustrated and easy to navigate, this book pairs clear explanations of the design concepts featured with visual examples of those concepts applied in practice. From the 80/20 rule to chunking, from baby-face bias to Ockham's razor, and from self-similarity to storytelling, 100 design concepts are defined and illustrated for readers to expand their knowledge.

This landmark reference will become the standard for designers, engineers, architects, and students who seek to broaden and improve their design expertise.