5 comments about Robin Williams Design Workshop, 2nd Edition.

1. I lived actually in Spain and the sender estimate that my item will last at las more than a month, but it arrives in excellent conditions by the 2 first weeks.



2. The second edition was needed, but could be more meatier than adding a few extra insights from the first version. But hey, I love the writer.



3. This book was used as the textbook for a class I took. I was very dissappointed. The info was from first year design classes, and there were even suggestions given that are common "no-no's" in graphic design. It had several interpretations of each design problem, which was interesting to look at, but nothing too inspirational.



4. Book has excellant information, good examples, and plenty of suggestions and recommendations. Easy to understand with many design images.



5. The book is an excellent tool to assist in text layout for various documents, ads, marketing pieces etc. Helps the reader to understand the reasons and components of what makes a layout eye apealing

5 comments about Audrey Style.

1. If you admire Audrey Hepburn, you'll enjoy this book. This is my inspiration for my sewing projects.



2. Even though I'm definitely an AH fan, I thought that the author went overboard with praise for Miss Hepburn's personal qualities. No doubt AH herself would be embarassed to read all this fawning and adulation.
   
   This book attempts to combine into one an AH biography and an analysis of her fashion style. Unfortunately, both fall short. The only worthwhile text was the introduction by Hubert de Givenchy.



3. I think Audrey Hepburn will be eternally remembered not only as one of the kindest and most generous women that has ever volunteered for Unicef, but to us women as a timeless, most graceful role model of style. She's the perfect embodiment of the adagio that in elegance less is more. Her streamlined, understated style that yet made one of the biggest statements in fashion history continues to be an inspiration to us women of the 21st century despite the forty years that separate us from "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Clarke Keogh's book captures Audrey's spirit like no other. It is beautifully illustrated and there are contributions from Hubert de Givenchy, Ralph Lauren or Gregory Peck, among other people who generously share with us souvenirs of this angel of grace that they had the chance to meet in person. Her wardrobe and makeup are meticulously reviewed and this book will prove an invaluable tool and source of inspiration for all those women who want to bring more elegance and refinement into their lives. One of the best assets in your style bookcase and one that you will gladly pass down to generations of graceful women to come.



4. If they reprinted this without any words, it would get 5 stars.
   
   Random examples of the writing:
   
   "'Oh, they were fated to meet,' says Connie, curiously choosing the exact same words used to describe Audrey's friendship with Givenchy." (Like OMG! Someone said Audrey was _fated_ to meet Givenchy! And someone else said she was _fated_ to meet another person!)
   
   "... she intones with the well-bred vowels of a Farmington girl, with some of her old boss, Diana Vreeland, thrown in for emphasis."
   
   Pamela Clarke Keogh comes off like an untalented high school student in a creative writing class. You know the sort, under the impression that bludgeoning the reader with random vignettes and a morass of clauses is "descriptive."
   
   And don't get me started on the over-the-top hagiographic nature of this book. Look, I love Audrey as much as the next person. Probably more. But how many quotes like "and she couldn't have been sweeter! So gracious! Beyond gracious! Heavenly!" do we need? There's such a thing as praising so much it becomes meaningless.



5. It's putting the quirky details together that makes this book more revealing than the standard saccharin drenched puff piece.
   
   For example, Hepburn is quoted as saying that she wears a size 8 1/2 shoe, while the author clearly states later in the book that Hepburn wore a size ten.
   
   Her mother's quotes, if accurate, provide convincing evidence that the Baroness Von Heemstra was more than a little jealous of her far more beautiful daughter.
   
   The author's claim that Audrey "didn't eat during times of stress" directly contradicts close friends Audrey Wilder and Doris Brynner, who claimed that Hepburn loved to eat. As for her staying so thin due to malnutrition that "permanently altered her metabolism", this is unlikely. According to the author, Hepburn speaks of gaining twenty pounds early in her career. Other bios confirm this. Perhaps in later years Hepburn simply watched what she ate.
   
   According to the author, Hepburn washed her hair every four or five days. She SMOKED. Whew, draw your OWN conclusions about that one!
   
   I've found Robert Wolders a bit creepy ever since I read about him in "Queenie", a superb biography of Merle Oberon. From Merle to Audrey to Shirlee Fonda; this guy clearly has a THING for wealthy, older glamour girls. He's always described as an actor/businessman. Hmmmmmmm.
   
   An additional strength of this book is its focus on her personal fashion philosophy--not just her association with Givenchy.
   
   Audrey Hepburn is my absolute favorite and always will be. She had many lessons to teach; not only about beauty and elegance, but also about tolerance, grace and kindness. No star of today can compare.
   
   PS-I'm just tucking into the Barry Paris book, which is FAR more in depth. I recommend following Audrey Style with this one if you haven't already read it.

5 comments about Sacred Mirrors: The Visionary Art of Alex Grey.

1. This book is easy to get lost in. The art has alot of stuff in it to absorb.



2. This book is filled with incredible art by Alex Grey. The only problem with the book is the fact that it is listed on Amazon as a HARDBACK and it is not. This is no fault of the artist but Amazon should be sure to correctly list their products.



3. Alex Grey's art is unique, provocative, visionary and striking. The anatomical detail, overall composition and beauty is uplifting. While this type of art may not be everyone's cup of tea, it is undeniably creative and powerful.
   
   This book is based on a series of paintings that are approximately 6'0" tall. They were meant to be used as a mirror for an individual to experience different aspects of themselves. In other words, to serve as a lens for a different perspective on what it is to be human. In general, the book proceeds from an outline of the body made up of elements, through the skelton system, blood vessels, nerves, etc. What is unique is that it goes beyond this to subtle and causal realms based on the experience of Alex Gray and the testimony of various mystics. It is meant to evoke awareness of these more subtle dimensions and even in book form could be used for meditations.
   
   This book also contains images of Jesus, the Boddhisattva of infinite compassion and other enlightened beings. Again, these are meant for contemplative experiences where you look for these energies in yourself as part of a contemplative practice. There are also some beautiful images of a couple kissing, making love, a small family, etc. These latter category of images are similar to the cover in that they represent the various spheres of Being from the gross body through the spirit.
   
   This book is on the large side, is printed on very high quality paper and contains a lot of color plates as well as contextual information. It is a bargain at the price it is being sold and some of the text is written by Ken Wilber.
   
   If you are not familiar with Ken Wilber's work, either Kosmic Consciousness or A Brief History of Everything would be a great place to get started. Either of these resources will help you to appreciate Grey's art in more depth and understand what he is trying to achieve.



4. I bought this for my fiance because he LOVES Alex Grey and He LOVES TOOL. He absolutely loved the book and actually I DID TOO!!! If you are a fan of either or (Alex Grey or Tool) it's a MUST BUY!!!



5. the images of sacred body - energy currents are incredible! Nowhere else will you find this kind of anatomical imagery. This is an incredible book. Alex Grey is a genius!

5 comments about The Arthur Rackham Treasury: 86 Full-Color Illustrations.

1. As advertised. This is a Dover book, so it includes no scholarly apparatus to speak of. Still, the printing is good, and it includes a nice collection of prints that I hadn't seen. Shipping was timely.



2. As a child I was thrilled with Arthur Rackham's illustrations and I haven't lost my love for his work. They're timeless. He combines the real world with magical kingdoms, the almost-grotesque creatures with the unusually beautiful, the fairy creatures with the mortals, humor with terror. Rackham paints beautiful landscapes and beautiful people, yet we know to beware of the creatures who may lurk under the gnarly tree roots. His colors are subdued, but rich; and his detail is gracefully executed.
   
   His illustrations have been and still are an inspiration to artists who wish to delve into an imaginative realm. And for those who wish to delve in themselves, I highly recommend this excellent book. Thanks to Arthur Rackham, the fairy world is alive and well, and shall remain so.
   
   Denise Hillman Moynahan
   The Great Cavern of the Winds: Tales from Backbone Mountain



3. I was introduced to Arthur Rackham's magical illustrations as a child via the old St. Nicholas children's magazines, and his pictures have lost none of their magic in the ensuing years. Rackham's pen-and-ink drawings are complemented by a muted palette of colors that transform the glossy pages into insubstantial doors that open into an enchanted world populated by slender butterfly-winged fairies, multitudes of elves and gnomes, and twisted anthropomorphic trees that capture a child's imagination, without being threatening. At the same time, the sharp angular faces of the children in his drawings suggest a subtle mischievous humor that prevents Rackham's illustrations from ever sinking into sentimentality.
   
   Rackham's pen covered a wide range of subjects, from Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream" and "The Tempest" by way of Kenneth Grahame's "Wind in the Willows", Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland," and classical fairy tales, to Wagner's "Ring of the Niebelungen."
   
   We are so lucky to have these beautifully reproduced Dover illustrations in a single book. They should be introduced to one's grandchildren so that their own imaginations may also take flight with the enchanting creatures of Arthur Rackham's world.



4. I love this book! I found that the introduction was helpful in placing each piece of art in context. The works themselves are gorgeous and enchanting. The book really shows the breadth of talent and subject matter Rackham mastered, as well as his superb use of composition and imagination. An excellent book for any collection, for children and adults alike.



5. A dying art of illustration. Wonderful collection of illustrations from differnt books. No one draws like this anymore. A precursor to Norman Rockwell. Good book to have in an artists library. Cheerio

5 comments about Building Design Portfolios: Innovative Concepts for Presenting Your Work (Design Field Guide).

1. Porque me gustaría que esté en español.
   Los datos que deberian incluir los diseñadores sobre su vida me parecio muy interesante. Algunos de nosotros nos cuesta escribir que es lo que quieren saber y deben saber de nosotros.
   Porque no todo es diseño sino que se tiene que seguir un protocolo, que es importantísimo.



2. I think this is a great book for those looking for ideas on making a new portfolio. Especially students about to graduate (like me). I got the idea for my portfolio from this book. It shows a ton of awesome examples in there and it is really inspiring.



3. es un buen libro sin enbargo esperaba mas de el....esperaba procedimientos en composicion y diseño y no una extensa galeria de fotos ..de los cuales muchos portafolios son muy poco practicos y casi ridiculos..lo que hizo el autor es recopilar ejemplos y presentarlos...
   
   esperaba de que hablara mas de materiales y de criterios dirigidos mas a la arquitectura, asi como formatos mas comunes, tamaños, etc...sin embargo aun se se le puede sacar algun provecho pues muestra algunod buenos ejemplos de portafolios.
   
   me hubiera gustado que relacionaran donde adquirir por medio de web..algunos cases y portfolios...



4. This is the information I've been needing to assemble a portfolio that will shine. I think it should be require reading for anyone in Graphic Design who is trying to sell themselves through their portfolio.



5. This is a great book - I have found it to be very informative and the author is quite thorough. Gorgeous images and I am really happy with the purchase.
   
   I just wish someone would write a book such as this relative to the Asia Pacific market!
   
   Definitely worth a look as it is really well presented.

1 comments about Information Design Workbook: Graphic approaches, solutions, and inspiration plus 20 case studies.

1. Kim Baer knows what she is talking about. Her vast and varied client list makes her the de facto expert in the ID field. I have had the pleasure of working directly with her co-author Jill Vacarra, and the two of them make a dynamic team - exceptionally well able to explain and illustrate the concepts they are chronicling - both for the professional and the student of graphic design. BRAVO!

5 comments about LogoLounge 3: 2,000 International Identities by Leading Designers (LogoLounge).

1. This is another good book of logo ideas. Great for inspiration. Nicely laid out and the pages are of good quality glossy paper. Very nice book for my collection.



2. This series is a must have for any designer. Not only is it great for ideas, but a nice tool to have when a wishy-washy client just isn't sure what they want. If you are a serious designer, you must own all the Logo Lounge books.



3. Always a fan, the assemblage of brands from every corner is impressive and helpful. The Lounge has always been and continues to be a wonderful resource for jump-starting logo block.



4. Whether you are fresh out of college or a seasoned Senior designer, you will find this book an amazing resource of ideas, trends and just plain good design.
   
   We actually have purchased every volume and they keep getting better and better. Logo Lounge 3 is no different in terms of the unique talent chosen to be showcased in this edition.
   
   If you need a design spark look no further, this is the book of choice.
   
   [...]



5. Great book for inspiration and search for the right ideas. This time RockPub. is making few more pages showing how the logos work in the graphic design environment.
   
   I was excited to see foreign companies using the latest styles in advertisement, like the russian phone company "BeeLine."
   
   Wold highly recoment this book for a graphic design major and advertisement.

5 comments about 5000 Designs and Motifs from India.

1. This book is just okay. Five thousand designs is a lot to put into one book. If I had realized this BEFORE I bought this book, I would have known these pictures were all very TINY. Although this book is overwhelming, I give it 3 stars for inspiration.



2. This book was a real disappointment. I expected to see well drawn motifs with sources listed. This book delivered a whole lot of images that are hard to use and really poorly drawn.



3. This is a great way to get aquainted with India's graphic history.There are many items worth using and particularly clear for many art project uses!Have fun!



4. This is an excellent collection of images that cover a wide range of subject matter. All of the images are approximately 5 cm wide by 3.5 cm high, so you would need access to a good scanner and softwware program to use them at any significant size.



5. This book has a nice selection of Indian designs although some are very simple & primitive.I bought it for using in graphic designs, not all the patterns but at least 1/3 are useful.Nevertheless I'm very fond of owning it.

5 comments about Designing Design.

1. This title is exactly what you expect from the cover, it is absolutely amazing inside. Clean, conceptual work that ranges from product design to printing techniques. Its very Japanese aesthetics, the interiors are well designed and beautiful. This is a book that will inspire even the quiet.



2. Not only a beautiful book but also a great collection of images and essays, a strong contribution to the field of design literature.



3. The Book has a different approach when it comes to design, and its not the mere use of the banal connotation that design has become, but the art of designing and undertaking projects with special sensibility which is explained in its pages. The author shows through different examples of his work, when designing how he engage his projects in a more significant way. Simplicity and common sense.
   The eastern perspective and its way of life is strongly reflected in a very palpable philosophy which is the guideline throughout the book. Truly special lecture.



4. DESIGNING DESIGN is quite possibly the most beautiful book on design ever published. Not only is the content illuminating and intelligent, allowing the world to gain an appreciation for one of the truly unique voices in the design field - that voice being the Japanese master Kenya Hara - but also in keeping with the subject, the book itself is a paramount of elegance, simplicity and superb creative force. This is a white book, a volume of information and illustration that embraces the purity of white as the matrix upon which everything blossoms and emerges.
   
   In an introductory essay by John Maeda the author states `Kenya Hara is a complex man. He views the world through his many lenses of seeing, tasting, smelling, erasing, evaporating, and all the forms of construction and deconstruction.' And after those appropriate words this pristine book opens into the genius that is Kenya Hara. `Verbalizing design is another act of design....To understand something is not to be able to define it or describe it. Instead, taking something that we think we already know and making it unknown thrills us afresh with its reality and deepens our understanding of it.' What follows on the pages are images of page design, paper, bowls of white cabbage leaves, signs, images of Swatch watches that come down through projected air onto any surface presented, unique signage for public spaces, soft ice cream shapes, furniture, spaces, lamps, posters - any object that requires rendering is treated and discussed in concept and philosophy by a man of great wisdom as well as endless creativity. The illustrations accompanying the text are clean and as well placed on the page as any creation by Hara. This is a seemingly endless array of fascinating subjects.
   
   For the non-designer reader, the reader fortunate enough to open this book without the prejudice of traditional design information, this text contains powerful philosophical concepts. `The human brain likes anything that entails a great deal of information. Its extensive capacity waits eagerly to perceive the world by completely exhausting its great receptive powers. That potential power, though, remains today in a state of extreme constriction and is a source of the information stress we're all under.' Hara approaches this conundrum by dividing his book into sections that approach answers to these problems: RE-DESIGN, HAPTIC (Awakening the Senses), SENSEWARE, WHITE, MUJI (Nothing, yet Everything), VIEWING THE WORLD FROM THE TIP OF ASIA, EXFORMATION (Rivers, Resorts), and finally WHAT IS DESIGN? This book is meant to be absorbed slowly, portion by portion, and then to be read again once the reader understands Hara's contributions - quiet yet majestic though they be. The text reads very well (thanks to the superb translation efforts by Maggie Kinser Hohle and Yukiko Naito) and while the information is complex, the writing style is comfortably conversational.
   
   This is an important book on many levels and should be required reading for all students of design, practitioners of design, and for everyone whose eyes are influenced by astute observation. Brilliant! Grady Harp, December 07



5. A plain white cover with some black text in Helvetica. That's the dust jacket cover of a design book? If I'd judged the book solely by the cover I would have missed what is actually a quite unique and wonderful book about design.
   
   The cloth-bound cover itself is also all type, but now white type embossed into a white cover--not the most readable (though you can read it) but in a way the essence of this book--minimal, elegant, playful, clever and thought-provoking.
   
   This understated and often witty approach is a refreshing antidote to the frantic overkill that constitutes much of the commercial design we're bombarded hundreds of times a day.
   
   Like the cover, the text can be mysterious. When I first read the preface I balked. But I was intrigued and read it again and this time, it was surprising and beautiful.
   
   "To understand something is not to be able to define it or describe it. Instead, taking something that we think we know already and making it unknown thrills us afresh with its reality and deepens our understanding." It's almost as if he's talking about a Claes Oldenburg sculpture which takes a common object and shows it to us in a gigantic size that makes us see it in a new light--yet the designs and ideas featured in the book give us this new perspective right on a printed page.
   
   You're not going to see innovative typography in this book (though the book itself is beautifully designed, typeset and produced). But you are going to see stunningly understated photography and a Japanese approach to design that can be an inspiration everywhere in the world.

5 comments about The Evolution of Useful Things: How Everyday Artifacts-From Forks and Pins to Paper Clips and Zippers-Came to be as They are.

1. I expected this book to be a collection of "stories" about the development of everyday items. Instead I read about how and why inventors invent new things. Although this is somewhat interesting, the book has not been work the purchase.



2. Henry Petroski writes an indepth look at how everyday items evolve. He thesis, which he rarely tires of repeating, is that the form of an object follows its failure. He rejects the saying "form follows function" as being quaint and incomplete. He uses numerous examples of the evolution of the paperclip, fork, scotch tape and other common items to illustrate that objects change not due to far sighted design, but instead to users finding fault with how the object does its job and trying to improve it. The book can be a little dry and repetitive at times but offers fascinating insights into why a fork has four tines or why the paperclip looks the way it does.



3. this book is so intriguing and offers such great insight into the world of design, patents, and the evolutionary history of some of the most "mundane" objects in our everyday lives! definitely worth a read! then pass it on to a friend!



4. This book draged on and on on the history of the fork. Poorly written and hard to follow.



5. Forks, pins, paperclips, zippers: why are they as they are? Henry Petroski thinks he knows, and his history of the inventions you use everyday arrives at a fairly radical conclusion. Necessity is not the mother of invention: annoyance is. And -- to topple another shibboleth of modern design theory -- form does not follow function. Need proof? Compare chopsticks and forks. Starting from tableware, Petroski launches into the world of tools, tools that make tools, and the way tools are fashioned by those who use them. The air of secrecy which surrounded many of the "trades" until quite recently (and to some degree continues yet, see below), has had the result that there are numerous specialized tools only decades old whose purpose we don't know. Many of us remember the rapid evolution of the pop-top, but the author has pulled together the whole story from its invention in 1959 by Ermal Fraze (it came to him in a dream) until the emergence of the non-removable version we know today, in 1980. All of which fits into the bigger picture of sealing and reopening containers, an historical duet, since canning begat the can opener. The author's discussion of secrecy in the manual arts reminds me of a friend and fellow mason who plied his trade in New England in the 1970s. When working for someone whose willingness to pay was in question, my friend would install a pane of glass between two of the flue tiles about halfway up a chimney. If the contractor didn't deliver payment in full, the chimney didn't work, and no one looking up or down the stack could figure out why. Once the bill was satisfied, the mason would go up on the roof and drop a brick down the chimney. (How this particular use of a "useful thing" evolved is not addressed in the book.) Most telling of all, perhaps, is Petroski's look at some of the unintended consequences of invention. For example, the plastic garbage bag was introduced as a solution to the sticky dirtiness which often accrued to unlined garbage containers. His discussion of the downside of this solution is enough to start you wrapping trash in paper once again, and long for the good old days. A fun read.