Reviews (4)

This work contributes to graphic design education
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. A Unique Approach to Graphic Design Education
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. Design for Communication: Conceptual Graphic Design Basics
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!Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Commercial Art    3. Communication in art    4. Computer Graphics - General    5. Computers - General Information    6. Drawing    7. General    8. Graphic Arts - General    9. Graphic arts    10. Technique    11. Techniques - Drawing    12. Art / Graphic Arts    13. Graphic design   

Reviews (33)

Got me drawing again!
Thanks to Danny I was able to re-energize my love of drawing/sketching.
Freedom to draw
After reading Everyday matters you must own this book.It's liberating to realize that at 48 I have given my self permission to draw.The way that he instructs each "lesson" is ingenuis.This book is well written and illistrated (dahhh). Take the time to feel this free in your drawing creativeity. He guides you in a new way of thinking.
Draws You In
This book motivated me to start keeping a journal and drawing more. I'd been journaling for years but stopped soon after I read "SCRAPS: Adventures in Scrapbooking" (very funny essays but the book promotes journal slacking) then I picked up Danny Gregory's and I'm glad he shared his take on really noticing what's all around us in life in this book. Very cool, this guy. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Creative ability    2. Creativity    3. Drawing    4. General    5. Psychology    6. Self-Help    7. Study and teaching    8. Techniques - Drawing    9. Art techniques & materials    10. Drawing & drawings    11. Mind, body, spirit: disciplines & techniques    12. Self-Help / Motivational   

Subjects:  1. Comics & Cartoons    2. Comics & Graphic Novels    3. Graphic Satire And Humor    4. Humor    5. Comics & Graphic Novels / Comics & Cartoons   

Reviews (2)

very good little handbook, but really ugly
This book is full of information, and is really well laid out. I use it frequently in the 2D class I teach, along with two other 2D design books. I like the clarity and the examples. However, there's no getting away from the fact that although this book is loaded with great stuff, that it is also as ugly and cheesy looking as a bad Xerox. That might be okay for a math book, but ummmmm, 2D design?

A tiny gem
A romp through the construction of visual form and pattern. This book is subtle yet deep. Although the example designs are not exquisitely rendered (but rather student projects), the principles that Wong exposes should be part of any designers knowledge base. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Design    3. Design & Drafting    4. Reference    5. Computers / Computer Graphics / Design    6. Industrial / Commercial Art & Design   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    4. Fashion    5. History - Contemporary (1945- )    6. Nudes & Erotic    7. Fashion design    8. Photographs: collections   

Reviews (4)

great book for packaging
This is a great book for patterns and I found just the right design for my project

Make a package for anything
This incredible reference shows hundred of patterns for boxes, cartons, tubes, displays, etc. I don't mean "four sides and a bottom", though you have plenty of those. I mean things with internal dividers, things the hold together by themselves, decorative, utilitarian, and the entire range.
Must have for Packaging Engineers
This book contains lots of creative, (and basic), packaging patterns which are scaled so mock-ups are easily made.When I am starting a package design project I page through the book to get ideas.The carton section is especially helpful. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Industrial Design - Packaging    2. Technology & Industrial Arts    3. Packaging    4. Engineering - Industrial    5. Product design    6. Technical design    7. Technology / Industrial Design / Packaging    8. Design    9. Design - General    10. Graphic Arts - General    11. Paperboard    12. Art   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Drawing    4. Painting    5. Technique    6. Techniques - Drawing    7. Techniques - Painting   

Editorial Review

Alan Fletcher's Read more

Reviews (32)

Endless supply of inspiration
Whenever I need to reset my thinking about a particular problem, this is the book I reach for. It is essentially an entire book of prompts to get your mind moving again. I find it an irreplaceable source of inspiration for new ideas.
A Unique Look at Art
The Art of Looking Sideways is fascinating.A Potpourri of different treasures, from written words to visual art.After buying a copy used, I was so impressed that I bought seven more new copies, one for each of my adult kids.I'm sorry I can't describe the book in more detail, but each page is a different detail.If you want a wealth of ... well, just a wealth--I recommend this book.

A right hemisphere brain stimulant, an excellent book
The Art of Looking Sideways [Alan Fletcher] is inspirational, intelligent, invigorating, and stimulating. This book is a collage of witty text, images, metaphors, idioms, paradoxes, and humor.
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Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Design    4. Design - General    5. Graphic Arts - General    6. Individual Artist    7. Popular Culture - General    8. Reference    9. Visual communication    10. Art / Design / General    11. Collections & anthologies of various literary forms    12. Graphic design   

Reviews (2)

Es bueno, pero pudo ser mucho mejor!
Creo que es un libro interesante, pero sería conveniente que cada una de las piezas producidas que se muestran en el documento llevasen una ficha técnica de diseño y producción mucho más detallada, así como en algunos casos que cuente con el diagrama de construcción de la misma, el sitio de internet, un correo electrónico.
1000 Bags, Tags & Labels Review
This book has a LOT of great ideas and inspirations. I will say that I wish there was more variety amoung contributors. There tends to be a lot of the same designers contributing work. There is also a handful of work that I would not consider to be worthy of "book status".
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Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Commercial - General    4. Commercial Art    5. Design - General    6. Graphic Arts - General    7. Graphic Design    8. Art / Graphic Arts   

Reviews (15)

Say "cheese" cake
I ordered this book because of the glowing reviews.Even the review that was negative sited "faults" that I view as pluses. I returned this book as soon as it arrived because I found the poses to be cliched cheese cake for the most part.

YOU MUST PURCHASE THIS BOOK
This book is essential for all artists. each shot is posed and designed so beautifully, that it reaches the level of perfection. your drawings will tremendiously improve if you study from THE FEMALE NUDE I. it's impossible to flip through the book, without getting an intense desire to draw. and then you sit in awe, from the fact that a book can have such an impact on you. YOU MUST PURCHASE THIS BOOK!!!!!

A MUST MUST ABSOLUTELY MUST HAVE... and here's why
If you really want to learn to draw... buy this book. Don't hesitate. This is the best pose book I have ever seen! Carefully designed by an artist for artists. Each pose is a full page. It's in black and white, so you can really work out your values / tones without getting distracted by color. The model is perfection itself, not a stick figure but curvy, streamlined with amazing muscle tone. Loads of varied poses and so well arranged. She poses barefoot and in heels. In heels she strikes a totally different attitude, you don't see this in other books. No dull expressionless faces, she's alive from head to toe. Having a great model is half way to a great drawing.
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Subjects:  1. Art / Study & Teaching    2. Art / Subjects & Themes / Human Figure    3. Art / Techniques / Life Drawing    4. Art    5. Artists' models    6. Figure drawing    7. Figure painting    8. Nude in art    9. Study & Teaching    10. Subjects & Themes - Human Figure    11. Techniques - Life Drawing    12. Women in art   

Editorial Review

A timeless classic in how complex information should be presented graphically.The Strunk & Whiteof visual design. Should occupy a place of honor--within arm's reach--of everyoneattempting to understand or depict numerical data graphically.The design of the book is an exemplar of the principles it espouses:elegant typography and layout, and seamless integration of lucid text and perfectly chosen graphical examples. Very Highly Recommended. ... Read more

Reviews (71)

If a picture is worth a thousand words, better draw it carefully
The Visual Diplay of Quantitative Information is not exactly a how-to book, in that it won't give you step by step instructions on how to create charts. Rather Tufte shows us principles of good design, principles of bad design (i.e. how people lie with graphics) all accompanied by many inspirational examples.
Changed my style
I was one of those chart-makers who used color just because I could, even when it was unnecessary or even inappropriate.This book changed the way I looked at graph-making.His concepts of data per unit of ink (which should be maximized), and trying to make each droplet of ink convey something useful were extremely helpful, as were his suggestions to minimize distractions and phony 3-d effects.
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
Very good book. I really enjoyed the quality of graphs and interpretion of them. Tufte gives practical guidelines and observations about graphs and graph-making. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. Economics - General    3. Graphic methods    4. Mathematical Analysis    5. Mathematics    6. Probability & Statistics - General    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Statistics    9. Industrial / Commercial Art & Design   

Reviews (41)

Mostly good with a bit of nonsense
All the stuff about "R-mode" and "L-mode" is really just pop-science. Like Freud before it, and as is the current trend with "memetics", it's a popular idea which people use to pigeonhole and explain social and psychological phenomenon which rely more on theory than anything else. Edwards makes the all-too-often assumption that any difficulty facing a potential artist is the "right-brain's fault". And after the first few chapters it gets really tedious. I wouldn't be surprised if she read this review and said to me that my "right-brain" is tricking me into thinking it's not really doing anything ;o)
can't say enough good things!
i can't say enough good things about this book. the explanations make sense, the exercises progress logically, and each one pushes your limits a little bit more. my drawing skills have improved immensely, and i'm only 1/2 way through the book. the basis of good painting is having a good drawing and sense of the perspective in your subject. without the ability to "see" what you're looking at, paintings will come out less than stellar - this book will prepare you to be able to "see" the way an artist sees. buy it!

Response to Bruce R. Bain
For those who can already do "that", it must be difficult to appreciate that some of us can't do "that", so for us non-"that"ers, doing "this" in order to do "that" can be stunning!
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Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Cerebral dominance    4. Drawing    5. Study & Teaching    6. Technique    7. Techniques    8. Visual perception    9. Art / General   

Reviews (8)

Buy it and keep it for reference
Wow! A very nice book for learning perspective for artists (without even one formula!). As an artist you must obay to the laws of perspective for your creation to become natural.
easiest way to learn perspective
It's funny that reviewers are saying that this book still holds up for being written in 1939, as if our eyeballs have evolved since then.
Easy to Understand
Good, solid, workmanlike explanation of perspective, described step by step.Plain language, no wasted words.Clear drawings.Do the assignments, it's like taking a class you'd pay $350 for.I've tried to learn perspective from other books, but they were too complicated.This is THE classic.Every illustrator needs it.I use this knowledge every day. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Design - General    4. Drawing    5. Perspective    6. Study & Teaching    7. Technique    8. Techniques - Drawing    9. Art / Techniques    10. Art techniques & principles    11. Drawing & drawings   

Reviews (1)

Robert Kirkman's Superhero Story Continues To Improve
Invincible is still a fairly recent discovery for me.I just sort of came across it one day, but everything I heard about it was positive.I decided to check out the first hardcover, and I was hooked.Though the story started off a little slow, the early character development paid off many times over after the series' first big twist.This second Ultimate Collection hardcover is even better than the first; the characters grow naturally from the events that they have experienced, new villains and allies are introduced, and many subplots are set up.Some of them come to fruition in this collection, others are merely hinted at.
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Subjects:  1. Comics & Graphic Novels    2. Commercial - Illustration    3. Fantasy    4. Graphic Novels    5. Graphic Novels - Fantasy    6. Graphic Novels - Superheroes    7. Comics & Graphic Novels / General   

Reviews (12)

Nice detailed explanation
For the advanced Latex user, this book will enhance your documents to professional looking documents.

Dissertation Salvation
I am not a LaTeX newbie. I have used various LaTeX implementations for several years over the course of my graduate student career. Nevertheless, most of my LaTeX experience was with simpler more forgiving projects. Those projects\textemdash and my frustrations with Word instability during the development of several grant proposals\textemdash (joke) were what encouraged me to tackle my dissertation using LaTeX.
not practical, incomplete
I give it 2 stars, because it means "I don't like it" according to Amazon's rating system. I tried to "quickly" figure out how to change margins in a document. It turned out to be much more easier to do it with Google! So, OK, this is not a recipes book. It runs pages and pages, though. if you can stand it, you can find it.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computerized typesetting    3. Computers    4. Computers - Desktop Publishing    5. Desktop Publishing - General    6. Electronic Publishing    7. LaTeX (Computer file)    8. LaTeX (Computer software)    9. Microcomputer Text Processing Software    10. Typesetting    11. Typography    12. Computers / Electronic Publishing    13. Desktop publishing software   

Reviews (13)

Something original and unique
Not satisfied with store-bought offerings, and seeking something original and unique? D.I.Y is the 'design it yourself' movement which pair new technologies with the opportunity to design your own graphics. It fills the gap between a designer's knowledge and an average person's vision, showing how to create everything from web blogs and business cards to unique gifts, eye-catching flyers and newsletters, stickers, t-shirts and more. And if that wasn't enough - it covers copyright, branding and more.
Great ideas, but limited instruction
This book is a treat in terms of project ideas, but if you are not experienced in design, it may not be helpful.Executing the ideas won't happen unless you "drill-down" a bit and receive some instruction.This book does not offer that step-by-step information.
Excellent Book for Already Talented Readers
This is a terrific book for ideas all across the board!I bought this book after flipping through it at a friends and was excited to see so many hip and unique ideas.I modeled my wedding invitations after an example from the book and have gotten compliments from all of the invitees!This is an amazing "get you thinking" book.The only drawback, there are no instructions or tips for carrying out the projects, so... you should have some crafting/design knowledge before picking this book up.I would highly recommend it for adventurous souls who want to create something out of the ordinary, or for anyone looking for fresh, new ideas.I've even purchased another copy to give as a gift to a design-oriented friend! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Design - General    4. Non-Classifiable    5. Nonfiction    6. Reference    7. Architecture / Design & Drafting    8. Architecture / General    9. Design    10. Graphic design   

Reviews (5)

good for learning the basics
excellent and easy to understand.this book is well written and really helps with learning basic fusing/slumping techniques.

Great for beginners and advanced glass fusers
A great book with a lot of helpful advice. It's not too technical and easy to understand. I've shared it with my other glass fusing peers and each of us learned something different from it. It's a short book and some of the projects are a little outdated but I did great ideas from seeing them.

Good basic review book
If you are just starting out (like you've had a class, get home, and say to yourself "now what do I do"?), this is a really good book to have on hand.It is an older book, true, so some of the kiln options, etc. are a bit dated.But the techniques of finding out if your glass is compatible or the annealing process are still very valid.There's much to be learned from this book, especially if you want the comfort of a good resource on your shelf and available. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Glass Arts And Crafts    2. Glass fusing    3. Hobbies/Crafts   

Reviews (12)

Simply amazing
This book is an enchanting and fun way to learn how to draw dragons and other mythical creatures. It helped me a lot in my art with it's easy to follow instructions and beautiful illustrations. Jessica Peffer really knows what she is doing and this book is really well organized. A truely amazing book.

A Wonderful Way To Learn How To Draw!
As far as drawing can go, this has to be one of the most helpful books out there. I must admit that I am a dragon-obsessed freak, but you don't have to like dragons or fantasy art in order to like this book.
Simply Amazing.
I found this book to be extremely helpful.The author of this book did an amazing job with the illustrations and breaking down the steps where they are able to be followed to the finished product.As far as drawing books go, this was one of the far more helpful and I was thrilled with gaining insight on how to draw the more complicated anatomical features of the fantasy creatures, such as wings with feathers.I suggest this book to anyone who is interested in fantasy drawing, but cannot seem to pinpoint certain features such as feathers, horns, or tails.
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Subjects:  1. Animals, Mythical, in art    2. Art    3. Art - Drawing    4. Children's 9-12 - Art & Art Instruction    5. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    6. Children: Grades 4-6    7. Dragons in art    8. Drawing    9. Juvenile Nonfiction    10. Juvenile literature    11. Technique    12. Techniques - Drawing    13. Drawing & drawings    14. Iconography, subjects depicted in art   

Reviews (18)

Praise For Lono!
Once again HST delves deep into the dark side of the human mind. Whether it's fishing for drugs in an airplane toilet or running over stray dogs in a drunken stupor, Hunter takes his reader on a wild ride through mysterious Hawaii. If you want to take a trip without the airfare (or the acid) crack open this oversized volume and enjoy.

Amazing visual collectors item
This book is so big that it won't fit on my flippin' book shelf, and the reason for that is because of Ralph Steadman's full size color pictures throughout. As a matter of fact, there's more to the pictures than to the actual writings of the good doctor. It's an interesting read, all in all, but the book itself is only 200 some odd pages and a little less than half of these pages are dedicated to Ralphs artwork. The actual read only takes about an hour, and during the read, one can't help but think that there is whole chapters missing from the text. Anyways, I consider this an essential "collectors item" from the king of Gonzo, but not quite essential reading. Just because of the unique book design and layout (and artwork) it is a real treasure to own, but it is not the "Fear and Loathing in Hawaii", as some have called it. It is worth the money (36$)and if you find one cheaper (not hardcover) I would not buy it. This is an essential hardcover buy, and if it was reduced to anything less than it is, I would have been disappointed.

great release
this is a fantastic release of one of HST's least known works. not as crazy as fear and loathing in las vegas or as well written as the rum diaries, but still a fine read. ralph steadman's artwork infull color and at the large size they are printed in for this book are simply amazing ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Editors, Journalists, Publishers    4. Individual Artist    5. Popular Culture - General    6. Hawaii    7. Travel writing   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (53)

Mourning Superman
This is a great graphic novel for those that want to know what occured to kill Superman.Many may not get the whole idea of Superman dying but this is one great compendium of action, drama, heroes, and loss.It is one of those graphic novels that everyone needs to read.If you like Superman or if you don't you may find yourself moved by this well crafted short series.

Metropolis Marvel Killed in Action
I have just started getting back into comics.Honestly, as a child, I was never really that into them, but as the world has changed and those heroes of light have slowly mutated into much darker figures, I have found myself compelled to pick up a story or two.This comic I found at a local Book Fair for an unbeatable price.I remember, back in 1993, when my friends were all talking about the inevitable death of the man that we thought could never die, Superman.It was what pulled DC comics out of a possible bankruptcy and inevitable downfall (and what television programs now use today to boost ratings), they killed their most prized hero.Alas, what they did not do was plausibly do this.Again, I am not a huge comic book follower and while I did enjoy this storyline merely for posterity, there were huge gaping holes that DC desperately needed to plug to ensure a cult story.
Good idea, but...
The Greatest superhero ever finally meets his match.As a kid we love Superman, but as we get older we turn to more realistic heroes like Batman or Spiderman.We all deep down want a hero that can swoop in, save us from danger without any real trouble.In reality, this could never happen.With the DEATH OF SUPERMAN however Superman became a little more beleiveable, more human.With his popularity waining at the start of the 90's, it was about time that Superman died.
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Subjects:  1. Comic books, strips, etc    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - Fantasy    4. Graphic Novels    5. Graphic Novels - Superheroes    6. Superman (Comic strip)    7. Superman (Fictitious character    8. Superman (Fictitious character)    9. Fiction / Graphic Novels