Design for Communication: Conceptual Graphic Design Basics

Book Description

Complete coverage of basic design principles illustrated by student examples

Design for Communication offers a unique approach to mastering the basic design principles, conceptual problem-solving methods, and critical-thinking skills that distinguish graphic designers from desktop technicians.

This book presents forty-two basic to advanced graphic design and typography assignments collaboratively written by college educators to teach the fundamental processes, concepts, and techniques through hands-on applications. Each assignment is illustrated with actual student solutions, and each includes a process narrative and an educator's critical analysis revealing the reasoning behind the creative strategies employed by each individual student solution.

Assignments are organized from basic to advanced within six sections:
* The elements and principles of design
* Typography as image
* Creative word play
* Word and image
* Grid and visual hierarchy
* Visual advocacy

Design for Communication is a highly visual resource of instruction, information, ideas, and inspiration for students and professionals.

Customer Reviews:

Advanced "homework".......2007-06-08

I am just starting out in graphic design and this book, though interesting, is very hard for me to grasp at this time. I think I will really enjoy doing the instructionals as I learn more about design though. I tried a few of the exercises and (for me) they are hard to do right now.

This work contributes to graphic design education.......2004-01-22

This review was sent to me by a colleague.

"I am particularly impressed with the strength of the sections and introductory texts for each section. It is very cleverly planned and well written. More importantly, the strength of the book for me lies on the fact that the assignments do not illustrate but on the contrary, strengthens your observations, aims/objectives, methodology, structure and propositions for the design education.

The book is also in excellent record of what goes on in design colleges in terms of methods of working (to record students statements and instructors evaluations is, on its own right, a great contribution to knowledge within the design education). The interaction between students statements and instructors evaluations are very important for me. The two different texts create a dialogue within the book.

The book brings theory and practice together for the students and educators which is very rare in design publication and education and even more so at the BA/ undergraduate level.

Thank you for your great work!"

A Unique Approach to Graphic Design Education.......2003-07-10

Professor Resnick's new text, Graphic Design for Communication offers a fresh, innovative approach to teaching visual communication in general and graphic design in particular. She presents many conceptual design principles in a format that is easy-to-understand, practical, and clear in its organizational hierarchy. The book provides intelligent, pragmatic lessons about design that will be of use to both students and teachers alike.

The book's most notable strength lies in its author's unique approach to the subject matter. In the past, most authors have tackled the task of writing an instructional text on design by focusing on a few basic principles of the craft and supplementing these with exercises designed to impart specific skills and techniques to the reader. In contrast, Resnick has employed a far more inclusive, conceptually focused approach. Like her peers, as an educator she does offer text that presents her perspective on various basic design principles. Yet unlike many others her focus is clearly on the reason we design-namely to effectively express and communicate ideas. And again unlike some other texts, ideas about BOTH form and content are give their due here. The different principles explored each section are illuminated with appropriate exercises. This is where Resnick's book shines as a unique accomplishment. For her illustrative exercises, Resnick invited a remarkable group of international educators to work with her as collaborators. All were invited to submit their best assignments along with student work for inclusion. In this respect, Graphic Design for Communication is unlike most other texts because it offers an inclusive diversity of approaches to design and will certainly be a great tool for educators. As a text for use at all levels of instruction, it offers the best, "road-tested", assignments for lecturers to draw upon as inspiration when explaining the principles of design to students. The numerous exercises impart information in a manner that is at once both practical and conceptually expressive.

Graphic Design for Communication features a structure that is pragmatic and clear. Each section opens with a well-written, articulate introduction to a different design principle (e.g., basic elements of design; typography as both image and semiotic message; word and image relationships; the grid and visual hierarchy; and visual advocacy). This text is followed by a series of design assignments (from basic to advanced) that teach students how to effectively integrate ideas with various techniques and processes. The design exercises are amply illustrated with examples of real student work completed in response to the assignments. In addition, most of the student samples include a brief process statement from the student as well as a critical instructor evaluation. As another reviewer pointed out, students will certainly appreciate the many illustrations (some in color) and the opportunity to examine both the process and critical evaluation of peer work outside the classroom. By using student work for examples (as opposed to those created by master designers), Resnick succeeds in bringing both the assignments and the creative design process to life.

Because of the great range of exercises included, this text will serve both students and educators as a useful handbook. For anyone who has either audited a class or wished they could have, the book is a joy. It is a little like auditing the "best of" graphic design education-all the more rewarding because the author was enlightened enough to collect some assignments and visual examples from cultures outside the U.S.

Professor Resnick deserves special credit for her concise editing and clean layout. I suspect one of the challenges in a compilation of this sort had to be the careful editing of her collaborator's assignments. It would appear that she did not just leave them to their own devices in this regard. Rather, as an educator herself she has thoughtfully and carefully applied her writing skills to the task. The result is a well-considered, consistent survey of the principles that guide modern graphic design. In addition, I must add that her bibliography is outstanding. It should be adopted as a standard reading list for anyone interested in the field.

As with the very best cookbooks (I am thinking of the classics here, such as Rombauer and Becker's Joy of Cooking or Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking) this book will find a place in the libraries of both novices and experienced students of design. Like those texts, it effectively explains the important principles that guide all design work. Her decision to present contemporary master "recipes" (those proven to work in the classroom) introduces students to design as a thoughtful "process" without forfeiting any artistry or pleasure along the way. It is clear that Professor Resnick is passionate about her work as BOTH a designer and educator and in this book she she shares that pleasure with us, the reader.

Design for Communication: Conceptual Graphic Design Basics.......2003-06-17

This new book, like Elizabeth Resnick's earlier one (Graphic Design: A Problem-Solving Approach to Visual Communication), that was published in the early '80s, has a generous amount of student work on its pages, providing the reader with some wonderful and useful examples of solutions to the problems presented. There's even a section with some of these shown in full color!

When Ms. Resnick wrote her first book, no graphic design was being done on a computer. This current text, published now that we're fully into the digital age, also very wisely steers clear of a "how to" approach. It's all too easy for students starting out in graphic design now to think that it's about "how to use QuarkXPress" or some other software package, but Resnick's book stresses concepts, communication, and the art of creating fresh and thoughtful solutions to design problems. It will help students to learn the importance of research, and how to develop the analytical and conceptual skills they will need as professional designers later on.

The idea of using quality student work as a teaching tool is a very good one. It results in a book that is much more appealing to the student. Each solution has a statement by its creator as well as the instructor's feedback. I think students will find the author's approach to the subject fresh, direct, and very accessible. The presentation of each problem consists of: the Assignment Brief, Objectives, Specifications, Process, and Critiques. This results in a very clear, useful, and well-structured text. I highly recommend this book!

Finally, a graphic design text with depth.......2003-06-07

There are so many books out there on graphic design that are merely pretty picture books, and focus only on what a piece LOOKS like. What students need is something with depth, something that addresses the conceptual aspects that can be so difficult to grasp.
Resnick's book really targets this need, by presenting an integration of formal and conceptual issues and respecting the students' intelligence in the process. It shows them how FORM influences and strengthens CONCEPT, which I haven't seen in any other text. This is one of the most important (and elusive) issues in graphic design education.

The book is illustrated entirely with student work, all high quality. Students will love this approach; they are used to being shown only the work of experienced professionals.

The book is also going to be really useful for instructors
who want to improve the rigor and depth of their assignments but aren't sure how to go about it.

Book Description

ARTnews, the oldest art magazine in America and the most widely circulated art magazine in the world, is celebrating its one-hundredth anniversary in 2002. This attractive book celebrates and commemorates this milestone event, presenting one hundred of the best photographic portraits commissioned by and reproduced in the magazine since its origin. These fascinating photographs chronicle the history of the magazine and present a "who's who" of people who have shaped the art world over the last century.

Portrait of the Art World includes photographs of many of the great European and American artists of the twentieth century, including George Bellows, Francis Bacon, Pablo Picasso, Piet Mondrian, Jackson Pollock, Alexander Calder, and Alice Neel. The photographers-often as fascinating as their subjects-range from Zaida Ben-Yusuf, Alice Boughton (early members of Alfred Stieglitz's circle), and Jessie Tarbox Beals (perhaps the first woman photojournalist) to Stieglitz himself, Man Ray, and Cecil Beaton. Contemporary photographers featured in the book include Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Arnold Newman, Richard Avedon, and Robert Mapplethorpe. The book also presents an essay by William F. Stapp exploring the historical context of portrait photography in ARTnews; an essay on the history of ARTnews by Pete Hamill; and an essay by Milton Esterow, the current editor and publisher of ARTnews, discussing his personal view of the magazine.

This handsomely illustrated book is the catalogue for an exhibition at the New-York Historical Society from September 27, 2002, to January 5, 2003, which will then travel to Washington, Chicago, and San Francisco (venues to be announced).

Average customer rating:
portrait of the art world - a century oft ARTnews photographs
william f. stapp
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OS9PTA

Average customer rating:
Portrait of the Art World: A Century of ARTnews Photographs
William F. Stapp; Contributor-Pete Hamill; Contributor-Milton Esterow
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MC1R4Y

Average customer rating:
ORBIT - Volume 1, number 2 - 1953: Potential Enemy; Exploiter's End; The Mating of the Moons; A Traveler in Time; Tony and the Beetles; Place of Meeting; Luna Escapade; Time and the Woman; The Butterfly Kiss; Museum Piece
Jules (editor) (Mack Reynolds; James Causey; Kenneth O'Hara; August Derleth; Philip K. Dick; Charles Beaumont; H. B. Fyfe; G. Gordon Dewey; Arthur Dekker Savage; John Christopher) Saltman
Manufacturer: Hanro Corp
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000I4A454

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Traveler of the Moon Review

Traveler Of The Moon Volume 1
Lee Na Hyeon
Manufacturer: Infinity Studios
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Similar Items:

Bambi Bambi

The Missing White Dragon

ASIN: 1596970618

Book Description

When most girls ask their parents for a pet they'll get either a cat or a dog. In Yuh-ur's case, she ended up with a bat and that's not the end of it. Not only did she get a bat for a pet, it turns out that Dori is actually a vampire! Come and emerge yourself in an alternate world where magic is taught at high schools and vampires are a dangerous yet virtually extinct race. Traveler of the Moon intricately brings together a well told love comedy by narrating through the perspectives of various characters. And with all the varying personalities of the many characters in this series, every reader can fall in love with at least one aspect of the book.

Customer Reviews:

Traveler of the Moon Review.......2006-10-23

The book I read was Traveler of the Moon by Lee Na Hyeon. This book is about a girl named Ida. Ida, Her Brother, and Kira have never seen humans before. In there religion you are supposed to drink humans blood if they come into there village. Her brother and Kira were so excited because they were finally old enough to go hunting together. Ida was not happy at all though. Ida was mad because they got to go and she did not. She was so mad once her brother and Kira left she left too because she "thought I will show thoughts two that I can go hunting by myself." When she was out hunting she meant creatures she has never seen before because she lived in a small village and has never left the village sense the year she was boon. She found out this creatures were humans. Once she got back to her village she learned never to go out of the village again.
I loved this book. If you are someone who likes stories about lessons or friendship, this is the book to read. This book was very exciting to read because you did not know what is coming next so I kept on wanting to go on and never stop. This book ended really good because Ida learned her lesson. If you did not catch the lesson in was, you should always do what you know is the right thing to do.
I think Lee Na Hyeon (the author) is great. I loved how she used all her vocabulary and I love how she told this story in 1st person point of view. I loved how she used her vocabulary because she made it sound very interesting and sometimes funny. I loved how she told it in 1st person point of view because it is what Ida thinks. Now if it was what her brother or Kira were to think I know it would be so different because they have two toddaly different personalities.
If I had to rate this book 1-10 I would pick 9 because it has almost everything I like in a book. It is a really good book and I think you should defiantly ready it.
This book is great as you can proably already tell. It is an animated book. (Somewhat like a comic book) I encourage you to read this book.
-Sarah Straw

Customer Reviews:

Worth the price even at just 3000 words/dollar.......2005-04-29

I've been wanting to review this book for a long time, having read and enjoyed it immensely, but now that Amazon's text stats tell me that it comes at 3059 words/dollar, I feel good recommending it as both a good read and a solid bargain!

Silly abuses of high tech aside, I imagine that Linda Fink often is compared to Dave Barry. She has a somewhat similar whimsical style and flair for turning events from her life into humorous anecdotes. The book is an easy read and carries you along well as you learn more about the Fink family.

You may think that your family does not have that much in common with one living out on a farm in Oregon, particularly a quirky family like the Finks (and believe me, they are quirky), but this book is filled with delightful moments of recognition and genuine emotion that will resonate with all readers. It is particular good if you have a geek in the family or are one yourself. I'd actually love to give you more detail, but as soon as I finished it, I sent it off to my mom because I knew she'd love it and see a lot of our family in it, too.

So pick it up! It's a bargain, it's a fun and easy read, it is typeset relatively well, I suppose, and you'll want to share it with everyone you know.

Half lies or half truths?.......2003-11-23

I half agree with my brother. The parts that portray me as a loving, intelligent, handsome, and in all other ways perfect young man are true. The other 95% are entirely made up, and should be regarded as the ravings of a lunatic. Unless mom is reading this and Christmas or my birthday are coming up, in which case it's all true, witty, erudite, and otherwise the most wonderful thing anyone has ever written...

LIES!!! ALL LIES!!!.......2002-08-10

Please do not believe a word this crazy woman says in this book. She made it all up. Sure, it's funny, but it bears no relation whatsoever to the truth. Nope, not a bit. I have no clue where she got all those crazy ideas. It was nothing like that, I promise you -- I'm her son, so I ought to know. So only buy it for the humor value of a completely fictionalized account of raising two extremely obnoxious children (the exact opposite of the real me and my brother, I assure you).

How to Live with Teenagers!! By Linda Fink.......2001-08-29

Linda has done it again with her book on teenagers, I really enjoyed her books on raising goats but not many of us have had that experiance. But many of us have had or will have teenagers.Maybe this book should be compulsory reading for prospective teen parents. I think many will relate to her experiences, but doubt whether many of us could write so hilariously. I laughed all the way through. I have also bought a copy for my son amd daughter in law who have three sons aproaching that age.I know they will laugh as much as I did.Maybe even learn something too!! If you wish to learn how not to play Croquet, there is a chapter for you, ever played with kids who make up the rules just after you made the shot! Linda has too. Her kids were certainly inventive at making a chroquet course into an obstacle course!! I hope Linda still has some more books in her I will certainly be on the lookout for them.

Linda Fink has written a very funny book........1998-01-23

Linda Fink has managed to take the terror of raising teenagers & show us the funny side. I would swear that conversations she tells about with her sons took place at our home also... For instance, "Kev, did you hear me?" "No, I'm reading" "What are you reading?" "The ketchup bottle"

She takes us through the joys (?) of the family outing for the Christmas tree, teaching the boys to drive ("This bridge is too narrow." "Close your eyes" advises Dad ), boys adventures with rocketry, on through going away to college.

This is a very funny book that is perfect for those of us who have survived teenagers, those who are hoping to survive teenagers & those who know their kids will never be like that.

I suggest you get several of these books & share them with your friends.

Customer Reviews:

WAGNER IN HIS OWN WORDS.......2001-01-03

A prolific writer of both opera and prose, Wagner has always been engulfed in controversy. Over the past century and a half, a great deal has been written about him; the book stores are full of such works. After a while, one gets tired of constantly reading what other people think of Wagner. In this book, you can read his own words.

His collected prose extends to 8 volumes of densely packed type. Wading through them is a daunting task. This book is a carefully chosen selection of those writings where Wagner specifically talks about music, opera, or drama. If you are more interested in Wagner the musician than Wagner the political polemicist, this book is for you.

This is a reprint of the 1964 edition by Dutton. It contains the following sections: Cultural Decadence of the Nineteenth Century; The Greek Ideal; The Origins of Modern Opera, Drama, and Music; The Artwork of the Future; Wagner's Development; Bayreuth; Politics. You will find gems such as the original plot for The Ring, and an interesting essay where Wagner describes how he "fixed" some of Beethoven's symphonies.

Is Wagner a brilliant, far-reaching visionary who changed the course of art and philosophy for the next century, or a superficial, self-centered despot with a mercurial thought process? Now, you can decide for yourself.

Average customer rating:
Wagner on music and drama;: A compendium of Richard Wagner's prose works. Selected and arranged, and with an introd. by Albert Goldman and Evert Sprinchorn
Richard Wagner
Manufacturer: E.P. Dutton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0007DPBUE

Average customer rating:
WAGNER ON MUSIC AND DRAMA A COMPENDIUM OF RICHARD WAGNER'S PROSE WORKS
ALBERT GOLDMAN AND EVERT SPRINCHORN
Manufacturer: E.P.DUTTON
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000RXZTG0

Average customer rating:
Wagner on music and drama; a compendium of Richard Wagner's prose works.
Albert Goldman
Manufacturer: E P DUTTON & CO INC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UZII7W

Book Description

As sport has grown, progressively replacing religion in its power to excite passion, provide emotional escape, and offer fraternal and sororital bonding, it has come to loom larger and larger in the lives of Europeans and others. It has become an inescapable reality linking public environment with intimate experience and thus offers the historian an opportunity to inspect and attempt to grasp all the dimensions of the recent past and their relative share in individual and collective experience. These essays consider the evolution of modern sport in Europe and examine its relationship with politics, gender and class.

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