General

Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students (Design Briefs)

The organization of letters on a blank sheet -- or screen -- is the most basic challenge facing anyone who practices design. What type of font to use? How big? How should those letters, words, and paragraphs be aligned, spaced, ordered, shaped, and otherwise manipulated? In this groundbreaking new primer, leading design educator and historian Ellen Lupton provides clear and concise guidance for anyone learning or brushing up on their typographic skills.
Thinking with Type is divided into three sections: letter, text, and grid. Each section begins with an easy-to-grasp essay that reviews historical, technological, and theoretical concepts, and is then followed by a set of practical exercises that bring the material covered to life. Sections conclude with examples of work by leading practitioners that demonstrate creative possibilities (along with some classic no-no's to avoid).

Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art

A comic book about comic books. McCloud, in an incredibly accessible style, explains the details of how comics work: how they're composed, read and understood. More than just a book about comics, this gets to the heart of how we deal with visual languages in general. "The potential of comics is limitless and exciting!" writes McCloud. This should be required reading for every school teacher. Pulitzer Prize-winner Art Spiegelman says, "The most intelligent comics I've seen in a long time."

Praised throughout the cartoon industry by such luminaries as Art Spiegelman, Matt Groening, and Will Eisner, this innovative comic book provides a detailed look at the history, meaning, and art of comics and cartooning.

The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

illustrated with 12-page color photo insert and line art throughout

A revised and expanded edition of the classic drawing-instruction book that has sold more than 2,500,000 copies.

When Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain was first published in 1979, it hit the New York Times bestseller list within two weeks and stayed there for more than a year. In 1989, when Dr. Betty Edwards revised the book, it went straight to the Times list again. Now Dr. Edwards celebrates the twentieth anniversary of her classic book with a second revised edition.

Over the last decade, Dr. Edwards has refined her material through teaching hundreds of workshops and seminars. Truly The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, this edition includes:

* the very latest developments in brain research;
* new material on using drawing techniques in the corporate world and in education;
* instruction on self-expression through drawing;
* an updated section on using color; and
* detailed information on using the five basic skills of drawing for problem solving.

Translated into thirteen languages, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is the world's most widely used drawing-instruction guide. People from just about every walk of life--artists, students, corporate executives, architects, real estate agents, designers, engineers--have applied its revolutionary approach to problem solving. The Los Angeles Times said it best: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is "not only a book about drawing, it is a book about living. This brilliant approach to the teaching of drawing . . . should not be dismissed as a mere text. It emancipates."

Meggs' History of Graphic Design

Now in its Fourth Edition, this unrivaled, seminal work continues its long tradition of providing balanced insight and thorough historical background. Under the new authorial leadership of Alston Purvis, this authoritative book offers more than 450 new images, along with expansive coverage of such topics as Italian, Russian, and Dutch design. It reveals a saga of creative innovators, breakthrough technologies, and important design innovations.

Design Drawing

Design Drawing Book and CD - ROM Francis D.K. Ching with Steven P. Juroszek Author and architecture educator Francis D.K. Ching shares his unique command of visual language in this new presentation of drawing principles and techniques. Design Drawing is a comprehensive introduction to drawing and more-its innovative book-plus-CD-ROM package sheds new light on the relationship between perception, drawing, and design. In his distinctive graphic style, Ching takes us on an exciting journey through the process of creation. He unmasks the basic cognitive processes that drive visual perception and expression, incorporating observation, memory, and rendering into a creative whole. But the author sees drawing "not only as artistic expression but also as a practical tool for formulating and working through design problems," showing us how to apply "visual thinking" as a versatile tool for approaching design projects. Design Drawing covers the traditional basics of drawing, including line, shape, tone, and space. Different types of artistic conventions such as multiview, paraline, and perspective drawings are also lucidly explained. The final section, "Drawing from the Imagination," fuels the creative spirit to find its own direction. Throughout the book you'll find over a 1,500 hand-rendered drawings and exercises which reinforce the concepts and lessons of each chapter. The supplemental CD-ROM is packed with brilliant gems of information and instruction, elucidating a broad range of design drawing concepts through the communicative power of animation, video, and three-dimensional models. Intended for use with the book or as a stand-alone supplement, the CD-ROM includes 25 interactive lessons which demonstrate concepts and techniques in a way that a 2-D book format cannot. For example, the CD-ROM contains video of the author demonstrating freehand techniques in a step-by-step manner, as well as the author's voice throughout the CD-ROM explaining the various lessons. For professional architects, designers, fine artists, illustrators, teachers and students alike, this all-in-one package is both an effective tool and an outstanding value. System Requirements: Windows(r) Processor - 486DX 66 MHz (Pentium recommended) RAM - 16 MB Hard disk space available - 10 MB Graphics card and monitor - 640 × 480 SVGA display/256 ColorSound Blaser compatible sound card and external speakers Windows(r) 3.1 or Windows '95(r) 4X CD-ROM Drive Macintosh(r) Processor - 68040 25 MHz or PowerMac 601 (Quadra 650 or/PowerMac 6100 or better) RAM 16 MB Hard disk space available - 10 MB Monitor - 256 colors (640×480) Standard internal Mac sound (external speakers optional) Operating System: System 7 or later 4X CD-ROM drive

Graphic Design: The New Basics

How do designers get ideas? Many spend their time searching for clever combinations of forms, fonts, and colors inside the design annuals and monographs of other designers’ work. For those looking to challenge the cut-and-paste mentality there are few resources that are both informative and inspirational. In Graphic Design: The New Basics, Ellen Lupton, best-selling author of such books as Thinking with Type and Design It Yourself, and design educator Jennifer Cole Phillips refocus design instruction on the study of the fundamentals of form and ideas in a critical, rigorous way, informed by contemporary media, theory, and software systems.

Through visual demonstrations and concise commentary, The New Basics shows students and professionals how to build interest and complexity around simple relationships between formal elements of two-dimensional design such as point, line, plane, scale, hierarchy, layers, and transparency. The New Basics explains the key concepts of visual language that inform any work of design—from a logo or letterhead to a complex Web site. It takes a fresh approach to design instruction by emphasizing visually intensive, form-based thinking in a manner that is in tune with the latest developments in contemporary media, theory, art, and technology. Colorful, compact, and clearly written, The New Basics is the new indispensable resource for anyone seeking a smart inspiring introduction to graphic design, and destined to become the standard reference work in design education.

www.gdbasics.com, the on-line companion to Graphic Design: The New Basics, includes a variety of student responses to the design problems featured in the book. Sample syllabi for a variety of course levels are included along with key technical information from each chapter.

New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain Workbook: Guided Practice in the Five Basic Skills of Drawing

Millions of people have learned to draw using the methods of Dr. Betty Edwards. Now, in an essential companion to her bestselling classic, Edwards offers readers the key to mastering this art form: guided practice in their newfound creative abilities.

Here are forty new exercises that cover each of the five basic skills of drawing. Each practice session includes a brief explanation and instructional drawings, suggestions for materials, sample drawings, and blank pages for the reader's own drawings. Also provided in this spiral-bound workbook is a pullout viewfinder, a crucial tool for effective practice. While The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain focused primarily on portrait drawing with pencil, this workbook gives readers experience in various subject matter-still life, landscape, imaginative drawing-using alternative mediums such as pen and ink, charcoal, and conté crayon.

For all those who are taking a drawing class, who have already received instruction through a book or course, or who prefer to learn by doing, this volume of carefully structured "homework" offers the perfect opportunity to reinforce and improve their skills and expand their repertoire.

Wall and Piece

Banksy, Britain's now-legendary "guerilla" street artist, has painted the walls, streets, and bridges of towns and cities throughout the world. Not only did he smuggle his pieces into four of New York City's major art museums, he's also "hung" his work at London's Tate Gallery and adorned Israel's West Bank barrier with satirical images. Banksy's identity remains unknown, but his work is unmistakable—with prints selling for as much as $45,000.

Graphic Design Solutions, Third Edition

Cutting-edge concepts, a beautifully illustrated text, and a dazzling array of award-winning design make the third edition of this standout best-seller one of the most highly acclaimed design texts in the world. Graphic Design Solutions continues to provide a clear and comprehensive introduction to graphic design and advertising design, with step-by-step visual solutions that readers can apply with confidence to their own design and advertising projects. A highly illustrative, straightforward assessment of developing winning graphic design solutions for a variety of media-including print, Web, television, and unconventional formats-helps designers think critically and creatively about their work while understanding the demands of the graphic design profession in today's world.

Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning