The Designer People


Book Description

Even with the help of the best private eye on Vensoog, these are difficult cases for a rookie cop. Lucinda was a "designer child". Given genius level intelligence in an embryonic Thieves Guild lab, she learned survival in a harsh world. At twelve, she was rescued and adopted into a loving family. As an adult Lucinda chose to fight her former masters by joining the police force. She works hard to earn her place among Vensoog's law enforcement community. On her first assignment, compassion impelled her to protect an alien mother and daughter fleeing off-planet bounty hunters. To ensure their safety, she must defeat a deadly Soturi warrior in hand-to-hand combat. Then she rescues a 'designer child' who is a younger double for herself from a sex trafficking ring. To solve this case and rescue the other children trapped by those same criminals, she must capture a vicious Thieves Guild assassin.




100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People


Book Description

We design to elicit responses from people. We want them to buy something, read more, or take action of some kind. Designing without understanding what makes people act the way they do is like exploring a new city without a map: results will be haphazard, confusing, and inefficient. This book combines real science and research with practical examples to deliver a guide every designer needs. With it you’ll be able to design more intuitive and engaging work for print, websites, applications, and products that matches the way people think, work, and play. Learn to increase the effectiveness, conversion rates, and usability of your own design projects by finding the answers to questions such as: What grabs and holds attention on a page or screen? What makes memories stick? What is more important, peripheral or central vision? How can you predict the types of errors that people will make? What is the limit to someone’s social circle? How do you motivate people to continue on to (the next step? What line length for text is best? Are some fonts better than others? These are just a few of the questions that the book answers in its deep-dive exploration of what makes people tick.




Design for People


Book Description

Most design books focus on outcome rather than on process. Scott Stowell's Design for People is groundbreaking in its approach to design literature. Focusing on 12 design projects by Stowell's design firm, Open, the volume offers a sort of oral history as told by those involved with each project--designers, clients, interns, collaborators and those who interact with the finished product on a daily basis. In addition to the case studies, the book features texts from influential figures in the design world, including writer Karrie Jacobs, founding editor-in-chief of Dwell magazine; plus contributions from Pierre Bernard, revolutionary French graphic artist and designer; Charles Harrison, pioneering industrial designer; Maira Kalman, artist and writer; Wynton Marsalis, composer and musician; Emily Pilloton, design activist and author of Design Revolution; Michael Van Valkenburgh, landscape architect and professor at Harvard's Graduate School of Design; and Alissa Walker, design writer and urban advocate.




Designing for People


Book Description

From the first answering machine ("the electronic brain") and the Hoover vacuum cleaner to the SS Independence and the Bell telephone, the creations of Henry S. Dreyfuss have shaped the cultural landscape of the 20th century. Written in a robust, fresh style, this book offers an inviting mix of professional advice, case studies, and design history along with historical black-and-white photos and the author's whimsical drawings. In addition, the author's uncompromising commitment to public service, ethics, and design responsibility makes this masterful guide a timely read for today's designers.




The Politics of Design


Book Description

Many designs that appear in today's society will circulate and encounter audiences of many different cultures and languages. With communication comes responsibility; are designers aware of the meaning and impact of their work? An image or symbol that is acceptable in one culture can be offensive or even harmful in the next. A typeface or colour in a design might appear to be neutral, but its meaning is always culturally dependent. If designers learn to be aware of global cultural contexts, we can avoid stereotyping and help improve mutual understanding between people. Politics of Design is a collection of visual examples from around the world. Using ideas from anthropology and sociology, it creates surprising and educational insight in contemporary visual communication. The examples relate to the daily practice of both online and offline visual communication: typography, images, colour, symbols, and information. Politics of Design shows the importance of visual literacy when communicating beyond borders and cultures. It explores the cultural meaning behind the symbols, maps, photography, typography, and colours that are used every day. It is a practical guide for design and communication professionals and students to create more effective and responsible visual communication.




Designing Your Life


Book Description

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • At last, a book that shows you how to build—design—a life you can thrive in, at any age or stage • “Life has questions. They have answers.” —The New York Times Designers create worlds and solve problems using design thinking. Look around your office or home—at the tablet or smartphone you may be holding or the chair you are sitting in. Everything in our lives was designed by someone. And every design starts with a problem that a designer or team of designers seeks to solve. In this book, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans show us how design thinking can help us create a life that is both meaningful and fulfilling, regardless of who or where we are, what we do or have done for a living, or how young or old we are. The same design thinking responsible for amazing technology, products, and spaces can be used to design and build your career and your life, a life of fulfillment and joy, constantly creative and productive, one that always holds the possibility of surprise.




Now You See It and Other Essays on Design


Book Description

"Design is a way to engage with real content, real experience," writes celebrated essayist Michael Bierut in this follow-up to his best-selling Seventy-Nine Short Essays on Design (2007). In more than fifty smart and accessible short pieces from the past decade, Bierut engages with a fascinating and diverse array of subjects. Essays range across design history, practice, and process; urban design and architecture; design hoaxes; pop culture; Hydrox cookies, Peggy Noonan, baseball, The Sopranos; and an inside look at his experience creating the "forward" logo for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. Other writings celebrate such legendary figures as Jerry della Femina, Alan Fletcher, Charley Harper, and his own mentor, Massimo Vignelli. Bierut's longtime work in the trenches of graphic design informs everything he writes, lending depth, insight, and humor to this important and engrossing collection.




100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People


Book Description

WE DESIGN TO ELICIT RESPONSES from people. We want them to buy something, read more, or take action of some kind. Designing without understanding what makes people act the way they do is like exploring a new city without a map: results will be haphazard, confusing, and inefficient. This book combines real science and research with practical examples to deliver a guide every designer needs. With this book you’ll design more intuitive and engaging apps, software, websites and products that match the way people think, decide and behave. INCREASE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOUR PRODUCTS. Apply psychology and behavioral science to your designs. Here are some of the questions this book will answer: • What grabs and holds attention. • What makes memories stick? • What is more important, peripheral or central vision? • Can you predict the types of errors people will make? • What is the limit to someone’s social circle? • What line length for text is best? • Are some fonts better than others? These are just a few of the questions that the book answers in its deep-dive exploration of what makes people tick.




100 MORE Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People


Book Description

Thousands of designers, marketers, and product managers have come to rely on Susan Weinschenk’s original 100 Things Every Designer Needs To Know About People as a “go-to book” for practical advice on how to use the latest findings in psychology and neuroscience to directly inform and improve their designs, brands, and products. Research hasn’t stopped since the book was written, and new design challenges have emerged. Weinschenk’s new book, 100 MORE Things Every Designer Needs To Know About People applies the latest research in psychology, neuroscience, brain research, and social psychology to the design of technology products, including websites, apps, wearables, and artificial intelligence. Weinschenk combines real science and research citations with practical examples to make her 100 MORE Things engaging, persuasive, easy to read, accessible, and useful. 100 MORE Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People is not just another “design guidelines” book because it explains the WHY behind the guidelines, providing concrete examples and prescriptions that can be easily and instantly applied.




Brand Identity Essentials, Revised and Expanded


Book Description

Brand Identity Essentials, Revised and Expanded outlines and demonstrates basic logo and branding design guidelines and rules through 100 principles. These include the elements of a successful graphic identity, identity programs and brand identity, and all the various strategies and elements involved. A company's identity encompasses far more than just its logo. Identity is crucial to establishing the public's perception of a company, its products, and its effectiveness—and it's the designer's job to envision the brand and create what the public sees. Brand Identity Essentials, a classic design reference now updated and expanded, lays a foundation for brand building, illustrating the construction of strong brands through examples of world-class design. Topics include: A Sense of Place, Cultural Symbols, Logos as Storytellers, What is "On Brand?", Brand Psychology, Building an Online Identity, Managing Multiple Brands, Owning an Aesthetic, Logo Lifecycles, Programs That Stand Out, Promising Something, and Honesty is Sustainable The new, revised edition expands each of the categories, descriptions, and selections of images, and incorporates emergent themes in digital design and delivery that have developed since the book first appeared. Brand Identity Essentials is a must-have reference for budding design professionals and established designers alike.