Book Description
So you have a great concept and all the fancy digital tools you could possibly require—what's stopping you from creating beautiful pages? Namely the training to pull all of these elements together into a cohesive design that effectively communicates your message. Not to worry: This book is the one place you can turn to find quick, non-intimidating, excellent design help. In
The Non-Designer's Design Book, 2nd Edition, best-selling author
Robin Williams turns her attention to the basic principles of good design and typography. All you have to do is follow her clearly explained concepts, and you'll begin producing more sophisticated, professional, and interesting pages immediately. Humor-infused, jargon-free prose interspersed with design exercises, quizzes, illustrations, and dozens of examples make learning a snap—which is just what audiences have come to expect from this best-selling author.
Customer Reviews:
A fun way to test your sense of style.......2007-10-18
Not getting the response you hope for from that poster in the window? Maybe you need to check your design... This book is key for anyone who was not born with the style gene, like me! The "What Not To Wear" for publication design. It is essential for anyone dealing with public relations and advertisement - even if it is a resume or business card. Excellent resource for beginning Web developers or anyone involved with graphic layout. Highly recommended for audiences middle school and up.
Design demystified.......2007-09-16
Writers who want to improve the look of whatever they write will find some excellent information here. This book will also suit anyone who wants to understand the basics of graphic design. Williams' engaging writing style makes this both an entertaining and useful read. Make sure you do the exercises and quizzes - they're fun and extremely helpful.
Worth the time to read!.......2007-07-17
This book is a quick and nice read. It really helps me have a better concept of the main ideas of graphic design. It is definitely a good investment to take the time to read it. Whether you are a beginning web-designer, or are involved in other types of graphic design, this book will certainly save you a lot of headaches in the future.
Opens a new world .......2007-07-16
I love this book! I've spent quite some time working on a new business card for myself using Williams' clear and basic instructions, and the process has been exciting and fun. I now have a business card that says much more about me and is light-years away from the standard format available at the do-it-yourself places.
If you can tell that your brochure/card/letterhead/flyer/poster looks terrible but have no idea why, do yourself a favor and buy this book.
Very informative........2007-06-25
My professor actually made us buy this book for our Intro. to Desktop Publishing course. I really like it. It has great design info for graphic designers and non-designers alike and has some humour thrown in there as well. I would highly recommend it.
Book Description
Forms, Folds & Sizes is the book that is always next to a designer's computer. Completely practical with only the most needed information, this book will provide designers with all the little details that can make or break a design such as how much space to leave in the gutter when designing barrel folds, how to layout a template for a box and the ratios of each part, metric conversion charts, standard envelope sizes in the USA, Europe, Canada and Asia, etc. This hardworking handbook is 2-color with a durable soft vinyl cover.
Customer Reviews:
Great Reference for any Graphic Designer.......2007-09-21
This book has some great resources for any graphic designer, whether you're needing to figure out the right CMYK mixture for a color, or the average envelope size.
Finally! A replacement for the "Pocket Pal".......2007-08-11
A great resource for all the little details you don't find in your design school text books. I've tossed my Pocket Pal and this is next to my copy of Bringhurst now.
for a beginner.........2007-08-04
i'm a big design book junky. i have shelves of them. so once you have all that.. you really don't need this one. it has little tidbits of design how-to's.
The Book Should Be Renamed.......2007-07-20
After reading the mixed reviews from ambiguous raves to detail specific criticisms, I checked out the book myself in a store.
The book isn't awful, but if you have a production department, it's probably better to ask them a question. The book doesn't outline anything that a production artist wouldn't know and that any competent graphic designer should know by heart.
Without any specific mechanicals or keylines, it'll give you an idea or suggestions for package design, but like a typographer doesn't need to get a book that just lists type samples of what they own (you can print samples out yourself with Fontbook or ask a freshman at any university to kidnap one from their Viscom dept.), a package designer should need such basic package design suggestions.
I was hoping for this to be a cheat-sheet kind of book much like the O'Reilly cookbook series might be, but it's the opposite.
An entire chapter devoted to how color prints! Great for a college freshman without access to a prepress class, but entirely asinine for someone who's done press checks. Your better off referencing Pantone's website or ordering yourself one of their color books since it'll be more accurate than a cheaply printed book like this.
It's actually really baffling that any creative person would rather reference an off the rack book that might suffer light or acid deterioration for CMYK swatches rather than Pantone Formula Guide Coated, unCoated, matte.
Yeah, this is a cheap concise reference, but you get what you pay for and this isn't an exception.
The book should be renamed to:
A Cheap Concise Production Reference for Short-cut Takers
Forms, folds and sizes.......2007-06-27
This is an awesome reference for all types of folds and designer packaging stuff. Excellent.
Book Description
6 3/4 x 10 North American Distribution graphic design Whether you're a start-up business or an experienced owner, The Graphic Designer's Guide to Pricing, Estimating & Budgeting, Revised Edition, provides a one-stop source of indispensable, innovative methods for achieving productivity and profitability in every area of a graphic design business. This brand-new and completely updated edition offers practical guidelines for setting rates, dealing with clients' budgets, preparing an estimate, and establishing profitability. Readers will also discover step-by-step strategies for pricing on the Internet, negotiating effective pricing with clients, and developing options to traditional pricing. Plus, the easy-to-read sidebars throughout this valuable guide offer dozens of creative, resourceful success tips for running a top-notch business.
Customer Reviews:
basic theological discussion of pricing.......2007-10-11
This book is not nearly as helpful as I had hoped. If you want to read to entire book, you'll get an overview on basic ethical and pricing theories, but there is no pracitcal "this is what designers are charging now" basis, and it is less that fun to read. Skip it.
Not enough concrete information........2007-09-18
I have been operating a freelance graphic-design business on a casual basis for over 10 year and have just recently decided to take it to a more professional level. I purchased this book because I thought it would help me streamline my billing system and teach me something I didn't already know. Unfortunately, I found that this book was much more chatty than informative and that the information was a bit too vague. It would have also helped if the forms at the back of the book were more fully discussed in the book itself.
While I found it interesting and somewhat insightful to read about the author's opinions and experience (which is credible), I did not feel that I gained much new insight from the book. Another book that I found more pragmatic and useful was Cameron Foote's "The Business Side of Creativity". Even though that book covers all aspects of running a graphic design business, it also includes a section on billing with advice that is both practical and concrete (including how to deal with clients who are price-sensitive in an assertive manner). While this book may help someone who is completely new at billing clients for graphic-design services, I personally gained more from Foote's book than this one.
Freelancers, read this one!.......2007-08-02
Freelance Graphic Designers, or those considering it, get this one. It is excellent. I have read it 3 times and still learning from it. It is Good advice. She's a nice lady. I want to meet her. This helps you in negotiating and deciding on a price, and not letting the client take advantage of you, and invoicing.
The author is a woman, btw. I think it is cool that a woman can have such a hugely successful business.
Why didn't I read a book like this ten years ago?.......2007-05-24
In straight-forward, witty and very business-wise language, Theo Stephan Williams lays it all on the line for anyone in or thinking of getting in the design business. She explains exactly how to negotiate, what to say and how to actually make a profit. While all other books dance around the subject of money, she just lays it on the table, giving hourly rates and project break-downs and without having to feel bad justifying prices that will keep you in business, I finally realize that it is a right to make a profit out of what we do.
For ten years I've been operating exactly like the kinds of people Theo knows inside out - thinking that breaking even is good enough, afraid to raise prices for fear of losing work. All that gets, she explains, is a huge, unprofitable client base, all making demands and not paying a good price for the services they receive. Theo provides clear, logical, sensible and highly convincing arguments to turn your business around and make a real success of it, as she has done of hers.
Read it and join the ranks of enlightened designers and design firms who actually make great money out of doing great work.
Well-written and informative.......2006-12-13
Theo's writing style is lively and at times, entertaining. The multimedia section is starting to show its age, but this is still a very worthwhile read.
Book Description
This book provides easy to understand, step-by-step instructions and diagrams showing how to use Adobe Illustrator to create flat drawings, working drawings and storyboards for the fashion industry. Hand drawings are no longer good enough for an industry which demands increased productivity, profitability and accuracy. Adobe Illustrator enables the user to create clear and detailed drawings that satisfy the industry 's needs. Adobe Illustrator has become the industry standard, taking over from other software packages.Although Adobe Illustrator is a powerful CAD program, it is difficult to grasp quickly. This book provides the building blocks which enable fashion students and designers to get started quickly while learning the more sophisticated facilities as they become more fluent. Here they are shown simply, concisely and in a highly practical way all that new users need to know to begin to create acceptable work.
Book Description
Every graphic designer works diligently to make his or her creative impressions exceptional and long lasting. Achieving this goal can make first impressions extremely important. Every aspect of a piece must be thoughtful and well laid out to communicate the pertinent information and, most importantly, draw attention. Whether working on a full-blown media kit or a custom envelope, the packaging is what sets the tone of a project and provides the intended audience a perspective with which to view the materials.
Through inspired designs, Fantastic Folders and Exceptional Envelopes relays the secrets behind each of the wonderful examples presented and covers all the technical details that can make or break a job, including ideas for unique closures and flap styles, not to mention glue and paper choices. This book provides all the vital information needed to create the perfect folder or envelope that is innovative, eye catching, and functional.
Book Description
A wealth of insider information for graphic designers collected from vendors illuminates how to get faster, more accurate and less expensive results. Prepress services, paper merchants, photographers, copywriters, illustrators, printers, and web technicians are all included, with information for each provided in quick informed tips.
* This book will appeal to designers of all experience as well as desktop publishers
* Saves designers time and money--the two things they need most
* Invaluable information presented in quick, easy bite-sized pieces
Customer Reviews:
Covers the basics of how to survive in the profession.......2001-11-09
Graphic designers will appreciate an approach which covers the basics of how to survive in the profession. From obtaining strong copy and locating the right illustrator for the job to producing professional-quality photos and preparing digital files, this covers all the details necessary to build professional working relationships with writers, illustrators, Web technicians and others. An essential reference.
Book Description
It has been more than twenty years since desktop publishing reinvented design, and it's clear that there is a growing need for designers and artists to learn programming skills to fill the widening gap between their ideas and the capability of their purchased software. This book is an introduction to the concepts of computer programming within the context of the visual arts. It offers a comprehensive reference and text for Processing (www.processing.org), an open-source programming language that can be used by students, artists, designers, architects, researchers, and anyone who wants to program images, animation, and interactivity.
The ideas in Processing have been tested in classrooms, workshops, and arts institutions, including UCLA, Carnegie Mellon, New York University, and Harvard University. Tutorial units make up the bulk of the book and introduce the syntax and concepts of software (including variables, functions, and object-oriented programming), cover such topics as photography and drawing in relation to software, and feature many short, prototypical example programs with related images and explanations. More advanced professional projects from such domains as animation, performance, and typography are discussed in interviews with their creators. "Extensions" present concise introductions to further areas of investigation, including computer vision, sound, and electronics. Appendixes, references to other material, and a glossary contain additional technical details. Processing can be used by reading each unit in order, or by following each category from the beginning of the book to the end. The Processing software and all of the code presented can be downloaded and run for future exploration.
Essays by:
Alexander R. Galloway, Golan Levin, R. Luke DuBois, Simon Greenwold, Francis Li, Hernando Barragán
Interviews with:
Jared Tarbell, Martin Wattenberg, James Paterson, Erik van Blockland, Ed Burton, Josh On, Jürg Lehni, Auriea Harvey and Michaël Samyn, Mathew Cullen and Grady Hall, Bob Sabiston, Jennifer Steinkamp, Ruth Jarman and Joseph Gerhardt, Sue Costabile, Chris Csikszentmihályi, Golan Levin and Zachary Lieberman, Mark Hansen
Book Description
Following up on the popular Designer's Guide to Color Combinations, this book is certain to be an endless source of ideas and instruction for designers, illustrators and creative professionals in all fields. It features original designs from various regions around the world and examines their use of type and color. From Africa and Asia to Europe and the Middle East, readers will find dozens of fascinating pieces on display. Each design is carefully analyzed to show how and why it works. The author also makes recommendations about which colors should be used for type, border, background, etc. These suggestions, along with exact CMYK and RGB percentages for each design, will save designers much valuable time should they choose to incorporate the featured color combinations into their own work--a huge benefit for this audience.
Customer Reviews:
Eyecandy of great inspirational and practical value........2004-04-26
This is the second volume, following The Designer's Guide To Color Combination. I own both and regularly browse them, just for pleasure or for practical use.
For artists, designers and the general public interested in color combinations, this marvellous book offers a cross cultural approach to the use of color. Each page depicts an artists piece, which may be paintings, illustration or fabric, with a small description and why the color use is interesting. The main colors in the piece are then broken down into CMYK and RGB values. (For non computer artists: this means the values you have to type in graphic software to get the colors depicted).
And if all this is not enough, there is also a second example on each page with a variation on the palette of the main piece, but with the main colors structured in a different way, which may give another mood.
Add to each page, even more creatieve variations on the main piece, and you get an enormous amount of color combinations.
However, this book will not teach you color theory. The author takes a intuitive subjective approach which does not go any further than 'this is eye catching'. But when you are from the school 'I don't mind about the theory, just show me the pictures', this book is simply the best you can get.
If there is one negative thing I could say about this book: because the RGB and CMYK values are given for each piece it would be even more practical for computer users to add a cd, so they could straight away add all the palettes as files to their graphic software.
Apart from this: this is book which you'll browse and browse again.
A Great Time-Waster (I Mean That in the Best Way).......2003-12-14
A practical book, a beautiful book and a wonderful resource. Even if you have no need for a graphic design book, this would make a great coffee table book to impress your friends. For the graphic designer, fresh color combinations can (and have for me) changed the direction of an entire project. I work with small business clients in a wide range of businesses and have found this book invaluable for starting new projects, establishing an identity or finding a few neat color combos for a flyer. This book is worth the money!
Global Color.......2003-11-20
This book looks beautiful and does have many color combinations to inspire. I was disappointed by the lack of information on the background of why the countries covered would favor the colors they do. Also, Canada was not covered and sarcasm written about their tardy submission-so all Canadians should suffer because of this? The book would be useful if you have a number of color references already as this uses a different approach.
A must for any visual artist.......2002-11-19
Along with its companion book in the series - The Designer's Guide to Color Combinations, The Designer's Guide to "Global" Color Combinations forms an essential reference for any visual artist or print publisher. I recommend these books to my students for their concept, storyboarding, color design, and animation layout work.
Each page breaks down a period, era, or style, and analyzes its color makeup with color and contrast swatches, CMYK data for each color, and a series of various combinations that are possible using the specified palette.
An artist could spend hours testing and comparing colors. Or they could look through these pages and find a color scheme in minutes.
Pretty, but not helpful.......2002-10-24
The first in this series was a marvelous reference book. This one, however, seems more of an excuse for the author to "write" rather than illustrate color usage. The examples in the book are adequate, but not as comprehensive of a treatment of the various geographical locations represented as one would like. The commentary is superfluous and at times irritating.
Not a bad reference for color combo inspiration, but overall disappointing and does not live up to its predecessor.
Average customer rating:
- Teaching Pearl
- Well-written, attractive, but it's missing a lot
- A must have for every graphic designer!!!
|
Graphic Designer's Digital Printing and Prepress Handbook
Constance Sidles
Manufacturer: Rockport Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Instructional & How-To
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Graphic Arts
| Graphic Design
| Design & Decorative Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
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Printing
| Graphic Design
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
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General
| Industrial, Manufacturing & Operational Systems
| Engineering
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
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Forms, Folds, and Sizes: All the Details Graphic Designers Need to Know but Can Never Find
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Getting it Right in Print: Digital Prepress for Graphic Designers
ASIN: 1564967743 |
Customer Reviews:
Teaching Pearl.......2003-10-22
I have used this book as a text for college students in Print Production classes during the past two academic years. I don't know what I'd use if this gem didn't exist! Its tone is intelligent, witty and practical, its content is right-on!
Further, the book itself is designed well. A prime example of "do what you say"--- form and function blend to delight the eye, hand and mind.
Well-written, attractive, but it's missing a lot.......2002-07-08
Well-written, physically beautiful, and without a lot of the information this DP tyro had hoped to find in a prepress handbook. I suspect that the writer has been in the biz so long that it's tough to put herself in the shoes of the beginner. So: nothing on PDF settings, little on trapping, nothing on bleeds, etc.
I'm new at all this. I had hoped to find that information in this book. I realize that all writers of technical manuals must decide what to include and what to omit -- Do you tell the reader how to install software? -- but I do think a handbook on prepress should have included much more than is included here. I learned nearly as much from the prepress section of about.com.
I recommend this book to people who don't need to read it: graphics professionals who will enjoy Sidles' smooth writing and amusing anecdotes. But if you want hard info, you'd better look elsewhere.
A must have for every graphic designer!!!.......2002-05-12
This is the most comprehensive work I've found on digital prepress yet! It clearly outlines every aspect of getting jobs printed from choosing the right papers that will be appropriate for your job, to running type over images, to knowing exactly how different types of digital press' work. It is the perfect book for all graphic design students as well as a bible for professionals wanting to know how the industry is changing, and how to avoid the hidden pitfalls that can ruin a job. Buy this book to aviod disasters on press.
Book Description
The Newspaper Designer's Handbook is a step by step guide to every aspect of newspaper design, from basic page layout to complex infographics. A lavishly illustrated tutorial for journalism students and professionals alike, The Newspaper Designer's Handbook is loaded with examples, advice, design ideas, and exercises that teach students how to manipulate the basic elements of design (photos, headlines, and text); create charts, maps, and diagrams; design attractive photo spreads; add effective, appealing sidebars to complex stories; create lively, engaging feature page designs; work with color; and redesign a newspaper.
Customer Reviews:
The rules of good newspaper design.......2007-07-03
Tim Harrower provides a very practical guide to newspaper design. The art of newspaper design tends to be very subjective, so this book lays down some facts and guidelines to put to rest some of the indecisive elements of design.
For a beginner, this is a book that will give you the confidence and understanding to conquer page layout.
The CD gives the novice an even more practical guide than the book can deliver.
One criticism is that the book is printed on light gloss stock and is spiral bound. I am not sure how it was survive rough treatment.
Brian Hurst
A must have .......2007-06-14
When I accepted my first "real" job in journalism as a page designer for a local weekly I was struck by a horrifying thought, I really knew nothing about newspaper design. I had done it before for my college paper, sure, but this was the big time. I needed a refresher course and I needed it fast... Tim Harrower and this spiral-bound book came to my rescue.
Although it was first published in 1989, this book will be relevant as long as newspapers exist, even in this age of computer design. Harrower explains and shows why certain designs are good and bad and he approaches it in a situational, problem-solving format. For example, he explains what should be done when you have to design a page with no art, when you have butting headlines, or two horizontal photos etc. Harrower says that most page designers stumble into the job and from this point of view he explains what exactly, a good design is. This book will always be on my desk.
(I wish my publications professor used this instead of the worthless $105 monstrosity he made us buy (and that we never used by the way).)
So, after some mild freaking out followed by a lot of reading, I can start my new job with confidence thanks to this book.
Practical and useful for the professional.......2006-07-22
I am an editor these days.
I came on this book quite a few years ago when I was a sub. It was recommended to me by an old hand in the newspaper game.
Without doubt, it is the single best aquisition I have made in terms of newspaper design.
In the places I have worked, I have been regarded extremely highly for my layout skills.
This book, with a little creativity, is the basis of almost everything I do in terms of layout.
If you are serious about the newspaper game, get it, study it and then apply what you learn. It will help our career enormously.
Awesome Textbook.......2006-03-19
This textbook is awesome. I've never seen a better textbook. It lays everything out, and makes it simple to understand. It tells you what to do and what not to do in simple language and clear pictures. It's one of few textbooks worth keeping for future use in your career (provided you're going into the newspaper industry)!
No customer service.......2005-10-26
I ordered the hardbound and got the spiral bound, a product worth $12 less. It was then that I discovered there is no way to express a complaint to Amazon: no phone number, no email address, no human help. All that is available is a maze of pre-written web help, none of which includes "credit my account $12, since I don't want to go through the hassle of sending this book back." What's up, Amazon? Don't you want satisfied customers? I spend literally hundreds here each year. This egregious deficit needs to be fixed immediately. Otherwise, I highly recommend this book.
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