Designing Books


Book Description

Newly revised and expanded, this classic in book design argues for a non-dogmatic approach, one open to traditional and modern, and symmetrical and assymetrical solutions. Jost Hochuli's work of over 30 years as a book designer is showcased, along with detailed comments by noted designer and critic Robin Kinross."As a designer, Hochuli's main concern is to work out individual solutions for individual books. This book is sure to help anyone who is seeking to develop a considered attitude toward the design and production of the book as a codex." -Fernand Baudin, Logos




Theory of Type Design


Book Description

"Theory of Type Design by internationally renowned type designer Gerard Unger is the first comprehensive theory of typeface design. This volume consists of 24 concise chapters, each clearly describing a different aspect of type design, from the influence of language to today’s digital developments, from how our eyes and brain process letterforms to their power of expression. This splendid book includes more than 200 illustrations and practical examples that illuminate the theoretical material. The terminology is succinctly explained in the volume’s extensive glossary. The theory is internationally orientated and relevant for typography courses, professionals and those with a general interest in text and reading all over the world." --Publisher description.




Typographic Web Design


Book Description

Learn how to use typography on the web Typography has long been an invaluable tool for communicating ideas and information. Words and characters once impressed in clay, written on papyrus, and printed with ink are now manifest in pixels of light. Today's web typographers can help their readers find, understand, and connect with the words, ideas, and information they seek. Thus, legibility and readability are the foundations for the typographic theories and practice covered in Typographic Web Design. You'll learn how to choose fonts, organize information, create a system of hierarchy, work with tabular information, create a grid, apply a typographic system across multiple pages, and build a font library. Each chapter provides time-tested typography rules to follow (modified for the web), explains why they work, when to break them, and offers the opportunity to test the rules with hands-on exercises in HTML and CSS. If you don't know HTML and CSS, Typographic Web Design provides a walk-through for each lesson, showing you how to plan and write syntax. Readers are sure to come away with an understanding of typographic principles, as well as the HTML and CSS skills needed to implement them on the web. Typographic Web Design •Applies decades of typographic theory and practice (e.g., how to choose a font) directly to web design (e.g., how to use the @font-face property in CSS). •Clearly explains all typographic rules presented, providing examples that contrast successful and less successful typographic solutions. •Is written for visual thinkers. The book is supported by a web site with solutions, critiques, and revisions for each lesson. Laura Franz is an Associate Professor of Design at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where she has taught web typography for 12 years. She has presented lectures and workshops on Typographic Web Design, and has written a course on the topic for Lynda.com.







The Theory and Practice of Motion Design


Book Description

This collection offers an expansive, multiplatform exploration of the rapidly-expanding area of motion design and motion graphics, taking into account both theoretical questions and creative professional practice. Spanning interaction design, product interfaces, kinetic data visualizations, typography, TV and film title design, brand building, narrative storytelling, history, exhibits and environments, editors R. Brian Stone and Leah Wahlin offer an interdisciplinary range of academic essays and professional interviews that together form a dialogue between motion design theory and professional practice. Written for both those critically engaged with motion design as well as those working or aspiring to work professionally in the field, the book features a range of international contributors and interviews with some of the best-known designers in the field, including Kyle Cooper, Karin Fong, and Daniel Alenquer. The Theory and Practice of Motion Design seeks to illuminate the diverse, interdisciplinary field of motion design by offering a structured examination of how motion design has evolved, what forces define our current understanding and implementation of motion design, and how we can plan for and imagine the future of motion design as it unfolds. An accompanying online resource site, www.motionresource.com, contains visual representations of the examples described in the text.




Type and Image


Book Description

Type and Image The Language of Graphic Design Philip B. Meggs What is the essence of graphic design? How do graphic designers solve problems, organize space, and imbue their work with those visual and symbolic qualities that enable it to convey visual and verbal information with expression and clarity? The extraordinary flowering of graphic design in our time, as a potent means for communication and a major component of our visual culture, increases the need for designers, clients, and students to comprehend its nature. In this lively and lavishly illustrated book, the author reveals the very essence of graphic design. The elements that combine to form a design— sings, symbols, words, pictures, and supporting forms—are analyzed and explained. Graphic design’s ability to function as language, and the innovative ways that designers combine words and pictures, are discussed. While all visual arts share common spatial properties, the author demonstrates that graphic space has unique characteristics that are determined by its communicative function. Graphic designs can have visual and symbolic properties which empower them to communicate with deep expression and meaning. The author defines this property as graphic resonance and explains how it occurs. After defining design as a problem-solving process, a model for this process is developed and illustrated by an in-depth analysis of actual case histories. This book will provide insight and inspiration for everyone who is interested or involved in graphic communications. While most materials about form and meaning in design have a European origin, this volume is based on the dynamic and expressive graphic design of America. The reader will find inspiration, hundreds of exciting examples by many of America’s outstanding graphic designers, and keen insights in Type and Image.




Design Evolution


Book Description

Presents diverse, international, in-depth case studies. While there are many books showcasing graphic design work, few present in-depth projects, exploring concept, designerÆs strategy, visual problem-solving, and specifics, illustrating the concrete use of design principles to achieve intended communication goals. As a result, readers are often left with only a surface understanding of how a project might have evolved or how the visual aspects of its design are brought together to convey its intended message. The case studies in Design Evolution comprehensively demonstrate the real-world application of visual principles discussed in a more formal, educational context. Readers will understand how the principles for image, layout, type, and color explored in volume 1, Design Elements, work in combination, to execute the overall solutions showcased in this volume. The depth and range of content presented in these case studies distinguishes this book from all others in the design showcase genre -- offering readers a chance to not only be inspired by the quality and innovation of showcased projects, but to understand how they were realized.




Design Anthropology


Book Description

Design Anthropology provides the definitive introduction to the field of design anthropology and the concepts, methods, practices and challenges of this exciting and emerging area of study




Graphic Design Theory


Book Description

Graphic Design Theory is organized in three sections: "Creating the Field" traces the evolution of graphic design over the course of the early 1900s, including influential avant-garde ideas of futurism, constructivism, and the Bauhaus; "Building on Success" covers the mid- to late twentieth century and considers the International Style, modernism, and postmodernism; and "Mapping the Future" opens at the end of the last century and includes current discussions on legibility, social responsibility, and new media. Striking color images illustrate each of the movements discussed and demonstrate the ongoing relationship between theory and practice. A brief commentary prefaces each text, providing a cultural and historical framework through which the work can be evaluated. Authors include such influential designers as Herbert Bayer, L'szlo Moholy-Nagy, Karl Gerstner, Katherine McCoy, Michael Rock, Lev Manovich, Ellen Lupton, and Lorraine Wild. Additional features include a timeline, glossary, and bibliography for further reading. A must-have survey for graduate and undergraduate courses in design history, theory, and contemporary issues, Graphic Design Theory invites designers and interested readers of all levels to plunge into the world of design discourse.




Digital Design Theory


Book Description

Digital Design Theory bridges the gap between the discourse of print design and interactive experience by examining the impact of computation on the field of design. As graphic design moves from the creation of closed, static objects to the development of open, interactive frameworks, designers seek to understand their own rapidly shifting profession. Helen Armstrong's carefully curated introduction to groundbreaking primary texts, from the 1960s to the present, provides the background necessary for an understanding of digital design vocabulary and thought. Accessible essays from designers and programmers are by influential figures such as Ladislav Sutnar, Bruno Munari, Wim Crouwel, Sol LeWitt, Muriel Cooper, Zuzana Licko, Rudy VanderLans, John Maeda, Paola Antonelli, Luna Maurer, and Keetra Dean Dixon. Their topics range from graphic design's fascination with programmatic design, to early strivings for an authentic digital aesthetic, to the move from object-based design and to experience-based design. Accompanying commentary assesses the relevance of each excerpt to the working and intellectual life of designers.