Features
- Cover Type: Paperback with 272 pages
- Published by: Rockport Publishers April 1, 2007
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 1592532616
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-1592532612
-
Book Dimensions:
10 x 7.8 x 0.9 inches
- Weighs: 2.2 pounds
Book Description
The graphic design equivalent to Strunk & White's The Elements of StyleThis 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 basics of design in lists, tips, brief text, and examples. Chapters include Graphic Design: What It Is; What Are They and What Do They Do?; twenty 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: twenty Reminders for Working Designers; and Breaking the Rules: When and Why to Challenge all the Rules of this Book.
About The Author
Timothy Samara is a
New York City-based graphic designer and educator. His fifteen-year career, focused primarily on visual identity development, includes a diverse project history-from branding systems and user interfaces to books, animation, and architectural work. He is currently a member of the design faculty of the School of Visual Arts,
Fashion Institute of Technology, Purchase College School of Art + Design, and New York University. He is the author of
Making and Breaking the Grid, Typography Workbook, Publication Workbook, and
Type Style Finder, all from Rockport Publishers. Tim lives in New York, NY.
Reader Reviews
As a graphic designer with little academic preparation in the field (my college major was in psychology, supplemented by a handful of college-level art classes and several continuing education classes in Adobe software & printing technologies), I rely heavily on books for my continued growth and education. Over the past few years, I've amassed a rather large library of graphic design books. The vast majority of my collection falls into one of two categories - either "technical" (dealing with software & printing techniques) or "eye candy" (fun to look at and good for inspiring a new idea now and then, but not suited to actually improving my design skills). Timothy Samara's books are one of the few exceptions. I actually *read* his books and learn a great deal about design from them. Design Elements is the best primer on graphic design I've encountered. It starts out with twenty rules for good design, while readily admitting that rules are meant to be broken, once you fully understand them and can break them *deliberately*. It goes on to cover the topics of form & space, color, typography, images, and layout. Finished examples are combined with simple thumbnail "studies" that illustrate the concepts quite well and provide you a springboard for playing around on your own. The textual portions are concise and well-written. I heartily recommend this book for anyone seeking a serious, concise overview of all the major elements of graphic design - whether you're a student or a seasoned professional looking for a good reference book/refresher. Yes, there are books out there that cover each of these topics in much greater depth. But for what this book attempts to do, it does amazingly well.
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