Design Elements: A Graphic Style Manual: Understanding the Rules And Knowing When to Break Them

by Samara, Timothy

• ISBN13: 9781592532612
• ISBN10: 1592532616
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-04-01
• Publisher: Rockport Publishers

Summary

The graphic design equivalent to Strunk & White'sThe Elements of StyleThis book is simply the most compact and lucid handbook available outlining the basic principles of layout, typography, color usage, and space.Being a creative designer is often about coming up with unique design solutions. Unfortunately, when the basic rules of design are ignored in an effort to be distinctive, design becomes useless. In language, a departure from the rules is only appreciated as great literature if recognition of the rules underlies the text. Graphic design is a "visual language," and brilliance is recognized in designers whose work seems to break all the rules, yet communicates its messages clearly.This book is a fun and accessible handbook that presents the fundamentals of design in lists, tips, brief text, and examples. Chapters include Graphic Design: What It Is; What Are They and What Do They Do?; 20 Basic Rules of Good Design; Form and Space-The Basics; Color Fundamentals; Choosing and Using Type; The World of Imagery; Putting it All Together?Essential Layout Concepts; The Right Design Choices: 20 Reminders for Working Designers; and Breaking the Rules: When and Why to Challenge all the Rules of this Book.

Author Biography

Timothy Samara is a New York City-based graphic designer and educator. His fifteen-year career, focused primarily on visual identity development, includes a diverse project history-from branding systems and user interfaces to books, animation, and architectural work. He is currently a member of the design faculty of the School of Visual Arts, Fashion Institute of Technology, Purchase College School of Art + Design, and New York University. He is the author of Making and Breaking the Grid, Typography Workbook, Publication Workbook, and Type Style Finder, all from Rockport Publishers. Tim lives in New York, NY.

Table of Contents

Preface : graphic design : what it is	p. 6
Introduction : twenty rules for making good design	p. 8
Form and space	p. 30
Color fundamentals	p. 80
Choosing and using type	p. 114
The world of image	p. 164
Putting it all together	p. 196
The right design choices : twenty reminders for working designers	p. 246
Causin' some trouble : when and why to challenge anything in this book	p. 248
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.