4 comments about Stylist: The Interpreters of Fashion.

1. The book itself is gorgeous and looks great in any library. As far as content, I was expecting more information on the featured stylists as well as more stylists in general. There are so many more that are more facinating and creative. It just seems as though the other featured her posse and that was it.



2. I Bought this book in January... (with another 2 books)
   
   AND SINCE THIS DAY AMAZON SAY TO ME THAT HAD SENT MY PACK 5 TIMES,
   
   BUT NEVER ARRIVED...
   
   So, a book, and a website NEVER stressed me so MUCH....



3. As a fashion journalist, I served as a reference as a creative director very much.
   Expect next edition.



4. The book is good. It have very good pictures. But I expected that it have more text and explain you more about the stylist career.

5 comments about Art of Modern Rock: The Poster Explosion.

1. I've had this book for several years now and this is my all time favourite art book, and I own far too many to even be considered in the realm of normal. The Art of Modern Rock is a huge book (almost 500 pages) and the art diverse and inspiring. I just love this book!!



2. I purchased the Art of Modern Rock online for my son and his wife for Christmas. I usually have a difficult time finding a gift I think they will like. They have a rock band themselves, and my daughter-in-law is also interested in art, so I gave this book a try. Not only did they love it, but they are in it! I wish now that I had opened it and looked through it before I mailed it to them. I was pleased with the book, and the service from Amazon is always excellent!



3. "Art of Modern Rock" is a fantastic compilation of rock posters form bands both famous and obscure over the last 15-20 years or so. Separating them by subject (for instance, some chapters focus on "silkscreened" posters, others on digitally-produced art; still others look at themes of content like posters with horror themes, etc.), here you will find examples of high-illustration, psychadelic extrapolation, absurd visual puns (such as in the art of Derek Hess's posters), and abstract greatness.
   
   Be warned - this book is an enormous book and has hundreds of pages printed on high-gloss paper. There is a bounteous selection of art here to be enjoyed. However, I was disappointed that some artists (such as the renowned master Coop) didn't receive as large an airing as other artists. However, this is an exceptional volume, one that artists will come back to again and again to appreciate and draw inspiration from.



4. This is one of the greatest books I've read in the last ten years about rock posters. All kind of rock music is here. If you really like rock'n'roll music, you must get this one.



5. This book is THE bible for poster art. Fantastic collection of art, with great interviews and history accompanying. Obviously a lot of hard work by a lot of people passionate about poster art. Highly recommended.

5 comments about Forms, Folds, and Sizes: All the Details Graphic Designers Need to Know but Can Never Find.

1. This is a great book for graphic designers, and as a teacher i am, i think this will be a great book to recommend to my students, great general facts about the final process of design



2. Working in customer service for a print shop, I love the fact this handy reference provides me images and simplified explanations for customers who are oblivious to a myriad of printing issues. Being as the book was published in 2004, some of the information--specifically about postal standards--is now dated, but that information is readily available online at the USPS Web site, so it's easy for anyone to find (even designers)!
   
   That issue aside, the book offers two great quick-reference charts for maximizing yield from a sheet and a terrific summarization of paper types, characteristics and finishes I can use to guide customers in their choices. Diagrams of folder templates are at 1/4 scale. The packaging templates show boxes broken down into flats. Simply scan the page and customize size. Standard package sizing is readily available online or you could just grab a calculator and do the math to calculate for custom fabrication. If you are designing labeling for plastic stock containers, the author recommends contacting specific manufacturers for their product specifications.
   
   For information about standard size envelopes, the measurements are all there. If you need to know what kind of standard envelope you need for a 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" invitation, you can find it. A2, by the way. The process color swatches are a great reference to use in concert with your Pantone swatches. If you don't know what process color is or how it differs from spot color--there are hundreds of Design 101 books out there to help you out.
   
   I agree with the reviewer who said, if you have no clue about design or the print industry, you may not know how to interpret the information this volume contains. If you speak the language, however, it is a great, handy desk reference.



3. This book is a must have for the designer. Although the layout is pretty mundane, the information is necessary. It is a package deal- from correct information about packaging, Pantone colors to envelope and paper sizes- it is everything you NEED to know in the design field.



4. This book has some great resources for any graphic designer, whether you're needing to figure out the right CMYK mixture for a color, or the average envelope size.



5. A great resource for all the little details you don't find in your design school text books. I've tossed my Pocket Pal and this is next to my copy of Bringhurst now.

5 comments about Business and Legal Forms for Graphic Designers (3rd Edition).

1. First off, I have to say this book is absolutely perfect for all first-time freelance graphic designers. My business partner and I recently started our own design agency at [...] and didn't have a clue about where to get our hands on the legal forms needed. We were referred to this book from another source. And since my partner's father-in-law is a lawyer, we decided to let him take a look at it to see what he thought. He said everything was solid. He couldn't find any holes on any of the forms inside. So after making a few small changes to custom fit our business, we were set. I can honestly say this book should be on the shelf of every aspiring freelance graphic designer. I highly recommend it.



2. I have only serious clients who are willing to pay me because I take a contract to our first meeting and make them sign it. These contracts will protect you and your clients! They are worded with the legal stuff but easy to understand. He even explains what it all means. It even has a CD so you can pop it in your computer right before your meeting (as I have done) and print a contract.



3. In starting out and gathering information it's hard to determine what books will be helpful. This is great. It is filled with tear out forms you can make copies of and use over and over. Great information. And the CD-ROM includes all the forms in pdf format, as well as Pagemaker and Quark XPress so that you can make changes to fonts and style, logo additions, and more, to suit your own home business. Files are compatible with Mac and IBMC platform, which is great for me being a designer working mostly on an IBM computer. Excellent book!



4. Our small graphic design firm had been relying on the legal forms and contracts from this book for about one year. Finally, we decided that perhaps we ought to visit with a lawyer to make sure we were doing it right...$560.00 later for an initial consultation, we realized that this $29.95 book was the best business investment we'd ever made! The lawyer confirmed that the contracts that we had been using were airtight and were great (he had a few other pointers...but, none worth $560.00).

   We have had many comments from our clients that over all the creative teams they'd worked with over the years, our design firm had surpassed them all in business professionalism. If you are serious about running a firm, or just want to protect yourself, you really can't go wrong with this book! Such a small investment for such a large return!




5. This book has EVERYTHING you need ... and then some. When you think you're not going to need one of the forms in this book, you later realize that YOU DO! As a freelance artist, using these forms made me feel as though clients noticed that they were dealing with a real professional. Absolutely a great investment.

5 comments about Mexicolor: The Spirit of Mexican Design.

1. A really beautiful book. One of the best I have seen. I live in Mexico and will be using many ideas.



2. While I was in the process of planning and building my next casa in Baja, this book provided mucho inspiration. The Spanish Colonial, and Hacienda designs, the avalanche of colors and gardens provided me the basis of making mi casa as Mexico as I could.
   Yes, the binding is weak, but the book remains as an Essential. I now have 2 copies, one very worn out copy.



3. If you love the bold, life-affirming colors of Mexican houses and interiors but not necessarily the traditional architecture and furnishings of the mexican tradition, this is the book for you! I ordered several books on Mexican interiors and details and this was the best. It gave me great ideas for using bold, bright color in my house without turning it into a hacienda. The book is beautifully designed and the color just blows off the pages. It has in it everything I love about Mexico that is bright, lively, joyous, and enlivening and nothing that is stodgy. As An artist, I found the book irresistable.



4. i've been to colonial mexico, and i've seen more exciting stuff than what's on this book. also, the pages come appart easily



5. I have always loved everything about Mexico, especially their use of color. When I bought my new house I wanted to bring that freedom and joy into my home.
   
   This book was a wonderful guide. Almost every page reminded me to let go and celebrate. There are so many visual feasts and ideas. If you are timid about colors this book will definitely give you a new lease on life.

5 comments about Graphic Design Solutions, Third Edition.

1. This book was for a advanced graphic design production class I took. Overall the book was very comprehensive covering a wide range of topics for graphic design and advertising. However, due to the vast amount of info each topic was only touched on, nothing too in depth. There are however many reference materials the author suggests throughout the book and in the back. For the price though, I would have thought there would have been more meat to the book. Definitely not a book for advanced designers... great book for beginners and/or people who have taught themselves graphic design.



2. I bought this one through an Amazon seller. Although secondhand, the book is like new and it was very very cheap. The book is a valuable source of ideas, visual references and good examples of Graphic design. Recommended for all levels.



3. I just finished reading all but one or two chapters of this book for a class where this was the primary text. I have to say that this book goes everywhere with me and has become a favorite. Compared to the other text books I had this semester (and many others as well), this was a breath of fresh air. The writing was never dry and it never dragged. What I read really stuck with me and I looked forward to my weekly reading. Also having the exercises at the end of most of the chapters is wonderful for a student for further learning that truly is self-paced. I plan on doing most, if not all of these exercises for further practice. I am definitely going to have to look into Landa's other titles as well.



4. Was advised to buy from instrucor as additional class materials and found I love this book! Covers from core information to breaking down new media and cutting edge styles. Would not go without this book if you are interested in learning about graphic design as an art and a science. Great organization and use of information -good for any level designer.
   
   Don't pay retail... GET IT ON AMAZON!



5. I am taking a night course that required this book. Amazon.com had the best price. The book itself has many beautiful graphic illustrations and the text is fairly easy to read. It is not the total snoozer I thought it would be and has many fun projects to illustrate the points made in the text. All-in-all not a bad course book although this is not something I would have ever picked up for personal reading.

5 comments about Hot Textiles: Inspiration and Techniques with Heat Tools.

1. I am really enjoying all the ideas and great instructions for techniques packed into this book. I feel I really got my moneys worth with this purchase and will browse through it over and over.



2. This is one of the few books I have bought that I read cover to cover. I can't wait to get started on everything!
   
   There are not step by step directions but there are good descriptions of what to do to achieve each effect. It might not be the book for a beginner. The pictures are wonderful.



3. Although I am not skilled in this type of art, I am a visual artist. This book and the methods shown intrigued me enough that I will try to find a way to incorporate some of the methods and materials into my work.



4. Contrary to the previous reviewer who didn't think Kim Thittichai (Hot Textiles) did a good job on addressing the safety issues...I beg to differ. I'm only on page 27 and so far Ms. Thittichai addresses the safety issue on page(s) 7 (2 paragraphs); pg 10, entire page; pg 12, 1 paragraph; pg. 15, 1 paragraph; pg. 17, warning; pg 24, entire page. I think this is an excellent book which leads the artist into using different mediums and how to safely use each of them. I'd highly recommend this book to someone who has used some of the products as well as someone who is new to working in this textile environment.



5. Lots of innovative fiber techniques are coming out of the UK,
   and this is no exception.
   However, I found some inaccuracies, like MX dyes dyeing polyester
   (doesn't happen), and some downright blatant safety issues ignored.

2 comments about 1,000 Retail Graphics: From Signage to Logos and Everything for In-Store (1000 Series).

1. Nice Book, incredible works and logo aplications, amazing for students and professionals from advertasing, marketing and graphic design



2. A MUST for your art library. Any serious designer should buy every one of the "1,000" series of books. Every page is totally chock-full of ideas to springboard any project. And I have found them to be an absolute time saver when I have been against the clock and needed a source to unlock the mind cobwebs. Make that investment and buy the series!

5 comments about Complete Printmaker.

1. A very intense book on print making. A must have book for serious artists, who want to expand in their field. Lots and lots of contacts in back of book maiking it easy to find anyone you need for print making! A+



2. I am taking a class at the local community college. The professor of my printmaking class recommended this book highly and said it was the best on the market, so I purchased it and am totally happy and satisfied. It explains the different processes very well and the illustrations accompanying the text help visualize the different methods of printmaking. I am totally satisfied and will use it as a reference book throughout my printmaking activities.
   Susy Moesch



3. Very lengthy but i did learn from it



4. Delivery time was as promised. The book came securely packaged and the book itself was in pristine condition. I save $25 under the cost as charged in my college bookstore.



5. This book is almost a catalog of every printmaking process around. It covers all the basics: intaglio, relief, screen prints, litho, and monoprint. It covers related technique, including embossed "dimensional" prints (aka "blind" prints), molded paper, and more. It devotes special attention to collographs, prints from textured or collage surface, and much too much more to describe.
   
   Best, the tools, materials, and how-to of every process are described in a fair bit of detail. Because so many processes are listed, each one gets just a short section, nowhere near what a printmaker would need in practice. Still, the descriptions serve at least two purposes. First, they may entice an artist into learning more about a process.
   
   Second, and more importantly for me, is that you don't have to be a printmaker to read this book and benefit from it. I'm a fan of fine prints, even though I don't make prints myself. I like to know what I'm looking at. I like to see a mark in a print and understand where it came from, how the artist's hand created it. By explaining each process, this book helps me understand the result of the process, and understand its effect on the finished product. Not everyone sees art that way, but it makes me feel somehow closer to the creator.
   
   I recommend this to anyone who loves fine prints. Perhaps it's helpful to the printmaker looking for new techniques to try. It is certainly useful for the viewer, in understanding how the artist makes a vision come alive on paper.
   
   //wiredweird

5 comments about Idea Index: Graphic Effects and Typographic Treatments.

1. 
   
   You may be a design superstar, but you need this. If not now, you will eventually and it will be at 2am in the morning and 4 Red Bulls shy of an 8am deadline when you realize you should have had it, while all the local bookstores are closed and the one person awake that you know owns it lives one hour away, but your car is out of gas due to the money you're not making from the ideas you're not creating from the Idea Index you don't own and anyone else you think may own it is sleeping or competing for the same work and laughing at your naivety because they know they are going to win the job and raise their arms in ecstatic passion, kissing the boss's butt and laughing with an evil smiling scowl in a moment of unfair glory you are not a part of. Invest in saving your tail from that moment.
   
   The greatest designers and artists will tell you they don't always just "make it appear", but go to other sources for inspiration. Even if you don't think you need it, you need it just to give you a fresh perspective at times.
   
   I can't tell you the number of times this little idea factory will save your tail during a mind block! It has saved me many times and probably has resulted in thousands of dollars worth of design work won due to the ideas generated from it during a blank out. Just that alone should be enough to convince you to get it.
   
   This durable, vinyl covered gemlette is geared toward graphic design folks and is divided into two sections:
   
   1. Graphic Effects:
   2. Typographic Treatments
   
   What I really like about the Idea Index is that amongst its 300+ ideas, you will find multiple versions of each individual idea per page, not just one little instance. Also, the ideas use varying techniques, not just what the author may be predisposed to. The ideas are indeed simple in many cases and that is enough to spark that one little idea that will build and build, compounding the ideas until you have just thrown your hands over your head in ecstatic excitement over the design award you just won, after making all that money from that job you wrested from the hands of the other guy 4 Red Bulls shy of an 8am meeting at 2am who doesn't own this book. Uhh . . .
   
   Save yourself the drama. Just get it, my brain hurts . . . from all the ideas this book creates.



2. This is a great little source of ideas to keep in your back pocket. It is good to flip through when you need to work past a creative blcok.



3. I was happy to find this little book. It has two main sections, one for graphics and one for type treatments. In each section are several ideas explained in both words and visuals. There isn't anything ground breaking here. But it's awesome because there are so many ideas and approaches tightly packed in a small book. So when my brain is dead and and I need to pull out of my tunnel vision...it's there for me.



4. Sometimes I find myself a little stuck on projects but flipping through this book always gets me back on track. Just as he says it is useful tool to "get ideas stirring or later on, expand a page or two of thumbnail sketches." The graphical examples used in the book aren't finished, polished pieces but they are great illustrations of how to expand your ideas and speed the creative process.



5. Another book that is definately a "must buy", especially if you're a logo designer.Funny thing is, the publisher has released another book that is especially focused on logos named "logo index" but i find this "idea index" to be a hundred times more useful when it comes to logos.
   
   So what kind of book exactly is it ?
   
   It's a book about design principles.In other words, the book consists of hundreds of instructions, guides and examples of ways to apply certain design principles.Every principle is illustrated with one or more examples, most of them being logos.While many of the principles do not reinvent the wheel, it's *the* book to have handy when having a "designer's block" staring at a white sheet of paper not knowing where to begin or just when you're looking for ideas to start.
   
   What makes this book so much more valuable than any of these logo collection books is that its focus is on principles, not nice logo examples only.In other words, this book helps you to develop your *own* ideas instead of seduce you into copying a logo you found in one of the collection books.
   
   It also does apply for not only logos but anything where good graphic design principles are asked for.It's a real workbook just as Cabarga's book "Logo Font & Lettering Bible" is (which i highly recommend as well) and i would not want to be without it.