Go: A Kidd’s Guide to Graphic Design

by Chip Kidd

• ISBN13: 9781523515653
• ISBN10: 1523515651
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2022-06-07
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company

Summary

A curious kid's guide to graphic design, covering form, function, color, typography, and much more, plus 10 hands-on design projects. Written by Chip Kidd, "the closest thing to a rock star" in the design world (USA Today).

​Design is all around you. And whether you realize it or not, you are already a designer. In Go, renowned graphic designer Chip Kidd explains not just the elements of design, including form, line, color, scale, typography, and more, but most important, how to use those elements in creative ways. Like putting the word “go” on a stop sign, Go is all about shaking things up.

Kidd writes about scale: When a picture looks good small, don’t stop there—see how it looks when it’s really small. Or really big. He explains the difference between vertical lines and horizontal lines. The effect of cropping a picture to make it beautiful—or, cropping it even more to make it mysterious and compelling. How different colors signify different moods. The art of typography, including serifs and sans serifs, kerning and leading. The book ends with ten hands-on design projects for kids.

“An excellent introduction to graphic design through [the author’s] own excellent work. Anyone interested in the subject, including most practitioners, will find it delightful.”—Milton Glaser

Author Biography

Chip Kidd is an award-winning designer whose work for Knopf and other publishers helped create a revolution in book design. He is also the author of two novels, The Cheese Monkeys and The Learners, as well as the graphic novel Batman: Death by Design. He lectures frequently on design, and his 2012 TED talk was cited as one of the “funniest of the year.” Mr. Kidd divides his time among New York City; Stonington, Connecticut; and Palm Beach, Florida.

Table of Contents

Contents

Introduction: Okay, So Just What Is Graphic Design?
Chapter 1: Form
Chapter 2: Typography
Chapter 3: Content
Chapter 4: Concept
Chapter 5: 10 Design Projects
  Project 1: Start a Graphic Design Collection
  Project 2: Color Your World
  Project 3: Get Positive (and a Bit Negative) - positive and negative spaces
  Project 4: Create a Small Poster - scale and cropping
  Project 5: Redesign Something That You Love - concept
  Project 6: Make Your Own Font Specimen Sheet - typography
  Project 7: Create Your Own Visual Identity 
  Project 8: Mark Your Sutff
  Project 9: Design a Logo for a Cause You Believe In
  Project 10: Do Your Thing - and Then Post It!