5 comments about Creative Advertising: Ideas and Techniques from the World's Best Campaigns.

1. Finally, a way to beat your caffeine addiction! Creative Advertising. For aspiring and seasoned creatives alike, Creative Advertising is fuel for great ideas. The Kickstart Catalogue is an invaluable resource for getting the creative juices a'flowin. My work noticeably improved after reading this book. I could go on and on, but I don't want to waste your time. Instead of reading this, you should be reading this book. You will not be sorry.



2. I expected this book would contain some cool ads and lots of boring text about advertising. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it is actually full of awesome examples of ads, pretty much from cover to cover.
   
   It also contains a good How To guide to help eliminate 'art directors block', based on methods used by the creators of the ads featured throughout this book.
   
   A very good buy with lots of pages of 'wow'.



3. When you first lay your hands on this book you will realize this book is something special with its elegant appearance. The book speaks directly to two audiences creatives and professionals on the acct mgt/client side. The author chooses over 20 different styles that an ad can use to effectively communicate.
   
   For example before and after is a technique has been used countless times and requires diverse imagery that dramatizes the benefit to the consumer yet intrigues them to look at ad. This book has 7 full color ads and explanations that demonstrate how to effectively use this technique.
   
   You will find the examples are from across the globe using brands from all verticals. Although you can pick up a lot from reading cover to cover, anyone can enjoy viewing the ads in this book as a critiquing exercise.



4. Huge book. Lots of tips. Color photos. Interviews with the pros. An overall great guide to team creativity.



5. This book has become one of my favorite books in my library. Extremely creative ideas and large, colorful photos. I am very pleased to have this book.

5 comments about Color Harmony: A Guide to Creative Color Combinations.

1. Overwhelmed with color combos, but not effective guidelines for combining.



2. The primary target audience for this books seems to have been Japanese, with Westerners as an afterthought.
   
   The books does contain hundreds of color combinations, but throughout the book the 61 colors used to form different combinations are identified according to the Dai Nippon Inc Color (DIC) System.
   
   The book also contains swatches in 61 colors, which you can cut out with scissors, and which are on the back also identified according to DIC system.
   
   At the end of the book there is a conversion chart, where you can find what color in DIC system correspondes to what color in CMYK, but it is way less convenient that using color combination books like Color Harmony Workbook by Lisa Sawahata, which I have found to be infinitely better and much more practical and user-friendly for Westerners.



3. This book has some decent information, but using the colors in the book is made ridiculously difficult by the color chart at the end of the book. First, if a value is a zero, they put nothing at all. This makes it difficult for your eye to trace the line of numbers for your color. Second, though the colors are given in CMYK, they are given in the order YMCK. This means to enter the color into Photoshop or another image program, you have to start with the third number, read back to the first, then jump to the last. It's not brain surgery, but much more difficult than it should be.



4. This book is a great tool for finding color combinations. It contains small samples of 2, 3, and 4-color combinations. At the bottom of each combination page is a tip for using colors together. My only quibble is that the samples are VERY small, probably because the footprint of the book is also small.
   
   Recommended for getting ideas on color.



5. Book came in good condition about two weeks after order.

3 comments about Prints and Printmaking: An Introduction to the History and Techniques.

1. If you've just started your love affair with fine prints, you're sure to want a better understanding of just what this thing is and how its unique character came about. Griffiths's book would work well as your first guide to the technique and history of printmaking.
   
   The tour starts with the major categories of technique (relief, intaglio, litho, and silkscreen), then discusses the extensions needed for printing in multiple colors, followed by a summary of photo processes applicable to each technique. This isn't a how-to for the aspiring printmaker or an academically meticulous history. Instead, it's just enough to let the new printlover know what the words mean and what the differences are, along with a sketch of the major who and when in printmaking innovation. I fault it only for under-representing the incredible art and technique of the Japanese woodcut masters.
   
   Illustrations abound, demonstrating nearly every point that Griffiths brings up. The bibliography by itself is worth attention - it not only lists sources of information, it categorizes them by areas of interest and adds other comments about each one. Very few bibliographies in any field offer that kind of help to the reader. And, as the beginner might hope, it ends with a list of common abbreviations and a strong glossary. This book is a great way to introduce new printlovers to the object their of affection.
   
   -- wiredweird



2. This is an excellent book for anyone trying to learn more about the various kinds of printmaking techniques. It is very useful for identification of prints. Lots of great pictures and text that explains the techniques and history very well. I highly recommend it.



3. Have you ever tried to explain to an art student what is printmaking? Better. Have you ever tried to explain to an art student why it's still important? You can try to do a very long speech about how it was and still is important for artists. You can say that print was for an artist like Rembrant a way of thinking. And you could even explain how the techniques used by the artists were connected with their subjects. But you can't only talk you must show some pictures. That is exactaly what this book does. The autor was very sucesfully in showing us the value of printmaking since the "unknow masters" to our century. He can explain without being boring how etchings were doing and I believe he could do so because the pictures were sharpily choosen. Without doubt no art teatcher can miss these piece. And it's essential to any print lover.

2 comments about Typographic Specimens: The Great Typefaces.

1. Goes well with Revival of the Fittest also edited by Meggs. This sample book is different in that the faces shown were chosen by other designers. The faces seen in this book are the ones that you will be using 95% of the time. It is always good to study the classic faces in detail to get a better sense of their character and see the posibilities in their shapes.



2. This book presents beautiful specimens of the best typefamilies. Each section (Bodoni, Stone, Gill Sans, Garamond, etc.) opens with an experimental composition by a renowned grapphic designers such as Paula Scher, Louise Fili, Paul Rand, and Wolfgang Weingart. The authors' concise write-up on each typefamily provides the history and discusses its character and usage.

No comments about Guide to Producing a Fashion Show.

No comments about Restaurant Graphics.

5 comments about Looking Good in Print.

1. Once you've covered first base with the "Non-Designers Design Book" you are well equipped to start reading this book. Since this book also covers the basics (though not as well I find), you could also decide to skip ahead and go directly to second base.
   
   Here you'll also learn about managing grid systems, white space management, basic text composition and the effective use of fonts and illustration. The last sections of the book applies your new found knowledge to the design of various types of documents. Finally, in the last section is a hoge-poge of trap to avoid (the counter examples if you like).
   
   A book well worth the money (all books are cheap compared to IT books ;-)



2. Are you discovering the challenges of desktop publishing? If you are, then this book is for you! Author Roger C Parker, has done an outstanding job of writing the sixth edition of a book that has been in print for 16 years, which is for those who want to make the most of their publishing investment.
   
   Parker, begins by exploring the organizational tools you'll use in creating your published projects. Then, the author discusses in some detail the rules you must follow when selecting and arranging type. Next, the author explores the graphic page elements that are used in conjunction with type, to highlight and enhance the printed word. The author then shows you how to choose graphic elements and position them on the page for maximum effect. He continues by focusing on the techniques of designing a range of documents from newsletters to business communications to coupons. Then, the author discusses planning and design techniques that are important for any larger project. He then lists and illustrates the most common errors that sabotage otherwise effective designs. Finally, the author takes a look at some sample documents that are riddled with errors, while others are teetering on the brink of success; and, shows you how they can be improved, through the application of basic design concepts and a smattering of common sense.
   
   This most excellent book has grown over the years to become the "Bible" for many students and publishers. More importantly, the best part of this book is that it will encourage you to learn while practicing your craft.



3. If you do anything with print or web media (aka desktop publishing), you probably know how easy it is to make mistakes and produce amateurish results. Looking Good in Print (6th Edition) by Roger C. Parker gives you the background and practical advice you need to start, well... looking good in print.
   
   Contents:
   Part 1 - Elements Of Design: Getting Started; Tools of Organization; The Architecture of Type; Building Blocks of Graphic Design; The Art of Illustration; Working with Photographs
   Part 2 - Putting Your Knowledge To Work: Publications; Advertisements; Sales Material; Business Communication; Response Devices - Forms, Surveys, and Coupons; Designing Large Documents and Publications; Common Pitfalls; Redesign; Designing Documents for Web Distribution
   Appendix; Prepress Tips and Techniques
   Index
   
   Any book that makes it past the 2nd edition is one I usually figure has stood the test of time, and must have something to offer. This book definitely fulfills that. It starts off with the basics of fonts, lines, alignment, and all those things that you probably just take for granted. There's a real science behind it, and Parker does a good job of clearly explaining it. But rather than just dealing in generalities and theory, he applies the knowledge to real areas of writing. Part 2 is valuable both for the explanation of how things should be done, as well as visual examples of how things go wrong. Unless you can see "what's not right", it's often hard to know why something would be considered a good practice. There's an abundance of example layouts and samples to illustrate his points, and you'd be hard pressed to find this much quality information in a single source anywhere else.
   
   This will be a book I'll keep close at hand when I do my writing assignments. I'm normally more focused on content rather than form, but knowing what an editor might do to your work (both good *and* bad) can help you make sure that you come out looking polished, and that your content doesn't get lost in the layout.



4. 'Looking Good in Print' by Roger Parker is an absolute must have for anyone working with print media and how it travels from the production house to the reader/end-user. Now in its 6th Edition, this guide provides essential advice, tips, and tricks from someone in the know who has been working with said topic for over a decade and a half.
   
   Discussion in this book revolves around layouts, design, working with images, text, and how to output content itself in the wisest and slickest way possible.
   
   For anyone that works with the design of laying out information in Print form (live or online), this book is an absolute best buy!!
   
   ***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED



5. The sixth updated edition of Roger C. Parker's LOOKING GOOD IN PRINT tops fifteen years in print with another edition addressing the latest potentials of desktop design. From creating professional-quality letterhead and business cards to learning how to print Internet documents, advice for desktop publishers assume no special program or experience but survey different design pitfalls, how to work with large documents, and how to create designs which 'wow'. Design tips apply to either PC or MAC users alike and are packed with techniques and tips that avoid the common pitfalls.

4 comments about Print, Pattern & Colour.

1. Excellent overview of various print methods as well as visual stimulus
   to create your own designs.



2. Ruth's enthusiasism for color and textiles comes through on every page. Her specific advice and instructions make one get into the workroom right away and start experimenting.



3. Print, Pattern & Colour
   
   I have quite a few books on surface design, dyeing and so on, but found this book well worth buying, unlike the previous reviewer. After all, how many NEW techniques are there? The photos are sumptuous and eyecatching, techniques are well-summarised, and there were ideas in there that I haven't tried before. A good buy as far as I'm concerned.



4. Disappointing - no real eye candy or new approaches. Processes have been around for a while and their application, as demonstrated by the images in the book, are pretty ordinary. I liked previous books by this author but think this one is a waste of my funds.

1 comments about Wildflowers CD-ROM and Book (Dover Electronic Clip Art).

1. Having been a fan of these Electronic Clip Art books for some time now, I was delighted that Wildflowers didn't let me down. The images are good, clear ones with plenty of detail and will give good results whether you print them out using the CD-Rom, or opt for copying or tracing from the pictures in the book.
   
   There are also coloured pictures to print or to use as a guide should you prefer to do the colouring yourself. Perfect way to impress your friends with your skills as a botanical watercolour artist!

5 comments about Let's Toon Caricatures.

1. Keelan is a master a simple caricatures, cartooning, and creating abstract design within the face. This book will show a beginner how to understand and create caricatures as well as equipping a novice with the knowledge and tools to sell caricatures in a retail or party environment. This is a great beginner's manual and perfect for anyone trying to understand the "why and how" of basic line-based caricature.
   
   As a seasoned illustrator, character designer, caricaturist, and author of my own caricature book (REJECTS: the Extreme Art of Retail Caricature), I can safely say that my experience in the field has shown me that one of the hardest thing to do is train a new artist to draw a caricature and explain why you make the choice you make. This book is great and will show you just that.



2. I highly recommend this book! It is a fun and easy read. It breaks down the drawing process step by step, body part by body part getting you on your way to start drawing caricatures like a pro!



3. For a complete novice who suddenly realised it would be fun to have a go at drawing caricatures, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Other "how to" books on the subject left me feeling inadeqate and incapable of drawing anything resembling my victims. When Keelans book safely and quickly arrived to me here in the UK, the easy step by step illustrations immediatley gave me the confidence and skill I was lacking and my results have rapidly improved.
   
   I now find myself staring a strangers trying to decide how I would tackle their caricature by wondering what their head shape is and how their features are arranged. Thanks Keelan!



4. Keelan, I am so happy for your success selling your great "How To" book. I have shown it to curious youngsters and it's a wonderful starting point for future Face Hustlers. Concise and fun to look at.
   
   Thanks for the inspiration. I am trying to get mine for sale here as well. Wish me luck!
   
   All the best and Watch out for those Hurricanes!
   
   Sam Klemke
   Gypsy Caricaturist



5. Yap it's a useful Book..it help me a lot in improving my drawing.. learn a lot from this book.. it's a great book to buy! Pic is more than the word, not like others like writing grandmother story.. word more than pic..that would be boring but this book won't..overall this book is very useful to me for drawing pic for my teachers..