Graphic Design Books - Page 4

The Principles of Beautiful Web Design

Jason Beaird

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 56 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Tired of making web sites that work absolutely perfectly but just don't look nice?

If so, then The Principles of Beautiful Web Design is for you. A simple, easy-to-follow guide, illustrated with plenty of full-color examples, this book will lead you through the process of creating great designs from start to finish. Good design principles are not rocket science, and using the information contained in this book will help you create stunning web sites.

Understand the design process, from discovery to implementation

Understand what makes "good design"

Developing pleasing layouts using grids, the rule of thirds, balance and symmetry

Use color effectively, develop color schemes and create a palette

Use textures, lines, points, shapes, volumes and depth

Learn how good typography can make ordinary designs look great

Effective imagery: choosing, editing and placing images

And much more

Throughout the book, you'll follow an example design, from concept to completion, learning along the way. The book's full-color layout and large format (8" x 10") make The Principles Of Beautiful Wed Design a pleasure to read.

Editorial Reviews

"The Principles of Beautiful Web Design is a good book to kick start your graphic-design journey. The biggest benefit that I got from this book is the knowledge to learn from great designs as opposed to just admiring them in a state of awe." - Slashdot.org

"Jason is a great writer, and the book is quite easy to read. It's put together wonderfully, including many full color screenshots and other forms of imagery that make the book a pleasure to read. I'd definitely recommend the book to anyone in Web design." - MondayByNoon

"Jason Beaird covers web design in a way that non-designers can understand. He walks you through all of the aspects of design development from initial meeting to finished product. If you are just getting into web development, this is a must read." - Blogcritics.org

"This is a thoroughly practical guide to web design that is very well written: good technical depth in easy-to-understand language with excellent illustrations and graphics that support the text. For many users it will be the only web-design text they will need. For those who want to further advance their skills and knowledge it will provide a sound foundation." - PC Update

"His "Don't just tell, show!" style makes this book accessible to everyone... It strikes a carefully thought-out balance between describing principles and illustrating them. It is clear and well structured, with practical examples in every chapter." - Mitch Wheat

Photoshop CS4 For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))

Peter Bauer

Amazon Price: $19.79 List Price: $29.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: For Dummies Amazon Marketplace: 38 new & used starting at $11.85

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

This latest version of Photoshop has a few new tricks up its sleeve and Adobe Photoshop CS4 For Dummies will teach you how to use them. From the basics like getting your images into and out of Photoshop to enhancing, cropping, and color correction, it’s all here!

You’ll get all of the basics of digital images and master the importing and exporting of images. You’ll find out how to create easy enhancements like adding shadows and highlights and making color natural, in addition to learning how to use the Adobe camera raw plug-in. Before you know it, you’ll be making beautiful “art” with Photoshop by combining images, precision edges, dressing up images, painting in Photoshop, and using filters. You can even streamline your work in Photoshop using advanced techniques. Find out how to:

• Import images and use all the tools and processes
• Reduce digital noise, make colors look natural, add highlights and shadows
• Optimize images for print or the Web
• Edit images
• Explore the Painting function and master the daunting Brushes panel
• Add layer styles
• Create on-screen presentations, contact prints, and more

Complete with lists of ten reasons to love your Wacom tablet, ten reasons to own a digital camera, and ten favorite tips and tricks, Adobe CS4For Dummies is your one-stop guide to setting up, working with, and making the most of Photoshop CS4 for all your digital photography needs.

The Animator's Survival Kit: A Manual of Methods, Principles and Formulas for Classical, Computer, Games, Stop Motion and Internet Animators

Richard Williams

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 95 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The definitive working manual on animation, from the triple Academy Award winning Director of Animation of Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Animation is one of the hottest and most creative areas of film-making today-- and the master animator who bridges the old generation and the new is Richard Williams. During his more than forty years in the business, Williams has been one of the true innovators, and serves as the link between the golden age of animation by hand and the new computer animation successes.

Perhaps even more important, though, has been his dedication to passing along his knowledge to a new generation of animators so that they in turn can push the medium in new directions.

In this book, based on his sold-out Animation Masterclasses in the United States and across Europe attended by animators from The Walt Disney Company, PIXAR, DreamWorks, Blue Sky and Warner Bros, Williams provides the underlying principles of animation that every animator-- from beginner to expert, classic animator to computer animation whiz-- needs. Urging his readers to 'invent but be believable,' he illustrates his points with hundreds of drawings, distilling the secrets of the masters into a working system in order to create a book that will become the standard work on all forms of animation for professionals, students, and fans.

Teach Yourself VISUALLY Photoshop Elements 7

Mike Wooldridge, Linda Wooldridge

Amazon Price: $19.79 List Price: $29.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Visual Amazon Marketplace: 23 new & used starting at $16.94

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Much needed tool 5 out of 5 stars.
22 of 22 people found this review helpful.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 is an excellent product. However, it contains almost no documentation and can strain the defination of "user friendly". This book is an essential training & reference guide for the product. Each chapter cover a topic. The pages are in full color, with notations of where to find the item on the screen. Since each screen is reporduced, you have almost no guess work or endless searching.
The topics are presented in a logical sequential manner that works you through the system. This book will alllow you to get the most out of the software. In addition, it allows you to stop when you have what you need for you photo editing.
An index allows you to quickly find a specified action and the format of the books walks you through the steps to do it. The text is both easy to understand without talking down to the user.
This book works both as a training and reference tool. I'm very happy with mind and it helps me get the most out of the product. My suggestion buy them together!

Editorial Review:

Covers the most important features of Photoshop Elements including: importing photos from digital cameras and scanners, retouching and repairing damaged photos, compositing great group shots, enhancing digital images, changing print size, canvas size, and resolution, editing images for posting on the Web, creating a Web photo gallery, and incorporating graphics into desktop publishing programs. Teach Yourself VISUALLY? Photoshop Elements 7 contains tasks on all the newest features of Photoshop Elements; covering new topics such as using the sharpness and curves tool, converting color to black and white images, and geographically tagging photos and viewing them as icons on a map. The associated website provides all the images used in the book so that readers can practice along with all the example techniques featured in the book. Photoshop Elements features the sophisticated tools and functionality of Photoshop but at a much more affordable price for home and prosumer users.

Photoshop Elements 6 for Mac: The Missing Manual

Barbara Brundage

Amazon Price: $29.69 List Price: $44.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Pogue Press Amazon Marketplace: 50 new & used starting at $25.00

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Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

After more than two years, Adobe has finally released a new version of Photoshop Elements for the Mac. Version 6 packs a lot more editing firepower than iPhoto, and this Missing Manual puts every feature into a clear, easy-to-understand context -- something that no other book on Elements does! Photoshop Elements 6 is perfect for scrapbooking, making fancy photo collages, and creating Web galleries. It has lots of new features such as Guided Edit for performing basic editing tasks, an improved Photomerge feature, a handy Quick Selection Tool, and much more. But knowing what to do and when is tricky. Photoshop Elements 6 for Mac: The Missing Manual explains not only how the tools and commands work, but when to use them. With it, you will: Learn to import, organize, and fix photos quickly and easily. Repair and restore old and damaged photos, and retouch any image. Jazz up your pictures with dozens of filters, frames, and special effects. Learn which tools the pros use -- you'll finally understand how layers work! Create collages and photo layout pages for greeting cards and other projects. Get downloadable practice images and try new tricks right away. This full-color guide starts with the simplest functions and progresses to increasingly complex features of Elements. If you're ready for the more sophisticated tools, you can easily jump around to learn specific techniques. As always, author Barbara Brundage lets you know which Elements features work well, which don't, and why -- all with a bit of wit and humor. Don't hesitate: Now that Adobe's outstanding photo editor has been updated for the Mac, dive in with Photoshop Elements 6 for Mac: The Missing Manual right away.

Essential ActionScript 3.0 (Essential) (Essential)

Colin Moock

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 58 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

ActionScript 3.0 is a huge upgrade to Flash's programming language. The enhancements to ActionScript's performance, feature set, ease of use, cleanliness, and sophistication are considerable. Essential ActionScript 3.0 focuses on the core language and object-oriented programming, along with the Flash Player API. Essential ActionScript has become the #1 resource for the Flash and ActionScript development community, and the reason is the author, Colin Moock. Many people even refer to it simply as "The Colin Moock book." And for good reason: No one is better at turning ActionScript inside out, learning its nuances and capabilities, and then explaining everything in such an accessible way. Colin Moock is not just a talented programmer and technologist; he's also a gifted teacher. Essential ActionScript 3.0 is a radically overhauled update to Essential ActionScript 2.0. True to its roots, the book once again focuses on the core language and object-oriented programming, but also adds a deep look at the centerpiece of Flash Player's new API: display programming. Enjoy hundreds of brand new pages covering exciting new language features, such as the DOM-based event architecture, E4X, and namespaces--all brimming with real-world sample code. The ActionScript 3.0 revolution is here, and Essential ActionScript 3.0's steady hand is waiting to guide you through it.

Google SketchUp For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))

Aidan Chopra

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 28 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

REVIEW FOR GOOGLE SKETCH UP FOR DUMMIES 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

THIS BOOK WAS EASY TO READ AND UNDERSTAND. THE AUTHOR WAS TOTALY HONEST, HE TALKED ABOUT THE STUFF HE KNEW, SPREAD OUT THE PRINCIPLES IN EASY TO UNDERSTAND CHUNKS, IF THE AUTHOR DID NOT KNOW SOMETHING, HE SAID SO, GAVE REFERENCES TO FIND OUT FOR ONES SELF.

IMHO, A PERFECT BOOK TO START WITH, '10', I NOW HAVE A PRETTY GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF GOOGLE SKETCH UP.

BECAUSE OF THIS BOOK, I WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SKETCH UP.

I HONESTLY CAN'T THINK OF ANY NEGATIVES,
easy to read,
proper cartoons
good quality paper
no jesus stuff
good basic primer on the subject
price seems fair
great tips and tricks
good sense of 'oops' and how to fix them
the type was little bigger, made for less straining to read
the book was bound well, did not split any pages, I carried this book everywhere,

might want to include an interactive dvd, show something, then let the reader copy the action

also, might consider a coupon for a discount on the pro 6, I would take avantage of this offer

Jack g

Editorial Review:

• Considerably easier to use than other 3D software, Google SketchUp has found a niche in architecture, landscaping, real estate development, furniture building, and other design professions
• The fun and friendly approach assumes no previous 3D modeling experience and explains the basic concepts involved in 3D modeling
• Shows readers how to build a 3D model, print it, share it, export it to another professional design package, export it to Google Earth, and create a 3D animated tour
• Helps readers harness the power of Google SketchUp so that they can populate Google Earth with 3D buildings, monuments, and other sculptures

Photoshop Elements 6 For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))

Barbara Obermeier, Ted Padova

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 24 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Want to get more fun from your photos?   To edit and enhance your pictures, fix flaws, and create greeting cards or cool photo projects to share? What about turning out some really professional prints with simply stunning color? Photoshop Elements can handle it, and Photoshop Elements 6 For Dummies gets you up and running on Elements in a hurry.

Photoshop Elements 6 is a reasonably priced, full-featured, powerful image-editing program for Windows (Adobe stopped supporting Elements for Mac with version 4.) This colorful guide helps you make the most of all its coolest features. You'll quickly get familiar with the work area and all the tools; be able to find, organize, and manage your images; correct common mistakes; and explore fun ways to share your photos. You’ll discover how to:

• Acquire images from your camera or scanner
• Organize your files and photos you so can quickly find what you’re looking for
• Crop and straighten pictures, fix exposure, and clean up dust and scratches
• Create sharp and colorful images for printing
• Correct color, contrast, and clarity
• Combine multiple images into creative collages
• Use filters to create different effects
• Turn your photos into slide shows, movie files, or Web-hosted images

Elements has something for everyone, from beginning dabblers to serious photo hobbyists to professionals. With plenty of full-color illustrations that show what you can achieve, this friendly guide will help you use Elements to make the most of your digital photos.

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

Ellen Lupton

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 49 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Strange, superficial overview of type-related topics 2 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 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).

Canon EOS Rebel XSi/450D Digital Field Guide

Charlotte K. Lowrie

Amazon Price: $13.59 List Price: $19.99 By: Wiley Amazon Marketplace: 47 new & used starting at $10.68

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Less helpful than owner's manual 2 out of 5 stars.
14 of 22 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book based on the reviews of the author's "field guide" on the XTi, which were quite positive, with only a few critics. Usually, that's enough to steer me away if there's another choice, but I thought since there were so many positive reviews, the book must be pretty good. I was very disappointed, however, and I agree with the analysis of those critics of the XTi book.

If you're looking for a version of the owner's manual that's larger and in full color, you might be happy with this "field guide", but if you're looking for something to help you take advantage of what the XSi can do (i.e. tips and techniques), you'll be disappointed too. It was actually less helpful to me than the owner's manual was. For example, I'm new to SLRs (as most of the audience for this book should be), and I didn't know very much about the 4 metering modes that this camera offers. Both the owner's manual and this book describe what they do, but only the owner's manual gives a recommendation (spot metering and center-weighted average are labeled "for advanced users"). Perhaps Lowrie wouldn't agree with that, but at least it's something besides the nuts & bolts.

I can't imagine how Lowrie went about taking up so much space without saying something valuable, or even subjective, about this camera. Perhaps it was all the "full color photos". I also can't imagine ever bringing this "field guide" into "the field". I'd much sooner stick the owner's guide in my back pocket. I found Lowrie's blog much more informative and useful than this book.

Editorial Review:

Your Digital Rebel XSi/450D, with its 12.2 megapixel resolution, 3-inch view screen, and the option for "Live View" shooting, is designed for simplicity without sacrificing creative freedom. This guide is ideal for helping you use that creative control and get great shots anywhere, anytime. If you’re new to dSLRs, it makes the transition easy. If you’re already comfortable with the various modes and settings, the book helps you make the most of every one.

• Set up your camera and learn when to choose automatic, semi-automatic, and manual modes
• Understand the camera's controls, menus, and when to use different metering and autofocus modes
• Explore Canon Picture Styles and custom functions
• Learn to manipulate ISO, exposure, depth of field, and shutter speed
• Create intriguing night and low-light images, capture sports action, portraits, and get tips for better macro photography