Books to Read: Graphic Design

“The true University of these days is a Collection of Books.”
— Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), The Hero as a Man of Letters

Graphic Design Books: arranging images & texts for visual pleasure...
	*Paul Rand, Design Form and Chaos* (1993), Yale University Press; ISBN: 0300055536**— Paul Rand's stature as one of the world's leading graphic designers is incontestable. For half a century his pioneering work in the field of advertising design and typography has exerted a profound influence on the design profession; he almost single-handedly transformed “commercial art” to a place among the other fine arts. Among the clients for whom he has been a consultant and/or designer are ABC, IBM, and Westinghouse. In this witty and instructive book, Paul Rand speaks on the process and passion that foster good design and indicting faddism and trendiness. Using examples of his own stunning graphic work, Rand discusses such topics as: the values on which aesthetic judgments are based; the part played by intuition in good design; the proper relationship between management and designers; the place of market research; how and when to use computers in the production of a design; choosing a typeface; principles of book design; and the thought processes that lead to a final design. The centerpiece of the book consists of seven design portfolios— with diagrams and ultimate choices— that Rand used to present his logos to clients such as Next, IDEO, and IBM. Avg. Review (2):
	*Robin Williams, The Non-Designer's Design Book: Design and Typographic Principles for the Visual Novice* (1994), Peachpit Press; ISBN: 1566091594**— If you wish to make your printed or web pages look better, learn more about design, use the right combination of typefaces on the page, make your page layout more dynamic, make people read what you create— then this book is for you! Robin Williams wrote this book “for all the people who now need to design pages, but who have no background or formal training in design.” Follow the basic principles clearly explained in this book and your work is guaranteed to look more professional, organized, unified, and interesting. You'll never again look at a pagein the same way. Full of practical design exercises and quizzes. Williams outlines the essentials of page layout, emphasizing the four concrete principles of design— proximity, alignment, repetition, and contrast— in an illustrated volume that features before and after examples of page design. Avg. Review (25):
	*Leonard Koren & R. Wippo Meckler, Graphic Design Cookbook: Mix and Match Recipes for Faster Better Layouts* (1989), Chronicle Books; ISBN: 0877015694*— When you need a new design idea, don't waste valuable time shuffling through piles of books and magazines— pick up Graphic Design Cookbook.* You'll find over 1,000 line drawings illustrating different design samples, type treatments, and spatial solutions that can be examined and compared in minutes. This easy-to-use reference book is organized by specific graphic components— such as text systems, space structuring, and pictorial considerations— with eight to twelve samples on each page. This book is indispensable for designers with projects as large as a book or as small as a wine label. You can combine the different design elements and create your own compositions for ads, labels, logos, magazines, menus, posters, and reports. All information is presented graphically for easy, immediate use. There are so many interesting page layouts in this book that you'll find fresh ideas in designing innovative web pages as well as for traditional print media.
	*Graphic Artists Guild, Rachel Burd (Editor), Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines (9th Ed)* (1997), Graphic Artists Guild; ISBN: 0932102093**— This is the ultimate bible reference for freelancing artists, illustrators, photographers, graphic and web designers. The 9th edition of this guide is a comprehensive reference book compiled to help both artists and art buyers determine how to arrive at fair prices. It is also a complete guide to ethical business standards for both the art professionals and the graphics industry. Nearly every discipline in the visual communications industry is covered— from advertising to publishing to corporate markets, from traditional media to multimedia, from graphic to web design. The lists of comparative fees for sample jobs will help you negotiate fair fees with your clients. You'll save time using the book's contract templates, billing procedures, and proposals. There is no other book on the business of graphic design that comes close to this gem of a guide. All three customers who bought this book at Amazon.com gave it !