No comments about Geometric Ornaments and Designs CD-ROM and Book (Dover Electronic Clip Art).

No comments about Active Literature: Jan Tschichold and New Typography.

No comments about Cracking The Whip: Essays On Design And Its Side Effects.

1 comments about Wallpaper.

1. one of the most innovative and good books i saw lately.inspirational and professional. well done

4 comments about Publication Design Workbook: A Real-World Guide to Designing Magazines, Newspapers, and Newsletters.

1. I blame Amazon for this horrible problem I have with buying gillions of design books...most are good references but not really day-2-day tools and inspiration...in my lastest order, got this book and RIGHT AWAY I was stoked with the samples and the dogma presented. YIPPEE!



2. As with other books by Samara (e.g. Typography Workbook), this one is filled with beautiful and relevant examples. My only gripe would be that... the type used for the main text is too light and hard to read! - which kind of contradicts the subject? :-/



3. As an introduction to publication design the book is good.
   
   The only criticism I have is that there is no glossary or even an index. There are some places in the book where a term is introduced before it's been described so at times I was wondering if I'd missed something. The term is eventually described, usually a couple of paragraphs or sometimes pages later, so if you're not reading the book from beginning to end it can be difficult to find the place where a term is described.
   
   The book does not offer an exhaustive treatment of design principles and I will buy other books to learn more, but it's been a helpful introduction.



4. This book is great. I'm not even finshed with it yet and already I've learned a lot. It's full of usefull tips that I never learned in school. It is a wlecome contrast to the many industry books that show you lot of examples but no explanations for the principles behind the design. I would highly recommend this book.

1 comments about Look at This: Contemporary Brochures, Catalogues & Documents.

1. Yo creo que este libro no es más que una muestra simple de trabajos realizados por reconocidos artistas, pero no profundiza en nada y aún si no lo hiciera, debería incluir más material gráfico o más muestras, osea, un libro para ver en una cita odontológica, creo que debería llamarse, look at this 30 designs....

5 comments about Graphic Designer's Guide to Clients: How to Make Clients Happy and Do Great Work.

1. Now I know why the clients who like me, like me and why the ones who didn't, didn't. Read this book when starting your own business! Good reading! Good advice!



2. I purchased the book because it says: "HOW to make clients happy and do great work". Now there is maybe one or two pages in the entire book that will explain how to deal with clients. The rest of the book is just interviews of clients, but there is no real content on how to deal with situations like what to do if a client doesn't pay, or if a client asks for something different every time. These are real problems and a book that says "how to..." should actually provide information on ...well..."how to...". In a way it's inspirational, but once again, the companies as clients mentioned in the book are BIG NAMES...and 99.9% of us Graphic Designers work with the average Joe as customer. No good advice in the book sorry.



3. The title suggests that this books provides "guidance" and advice on client management for graphic designers. It however, is a very long collection of conversation style stories (told via interview questions) with client and designer (all very big names at that). The books does not contain any real collection of practices, principles, and/or tactical steps one can use. There's also no real organization to the book which definitely makes it "not a guide". It really feels as if the author is just showing off that she knows these big designers/clients well enough to chat and have coffee.



4. As designers, creating solid, thoughtful solutions to design challenges is only part of the battle. While we spend time in school and on internships learning about design fundamentals, software packages and the printing process, its nearly impossible to gain an understanding of the complex designer/client relationship without the experience of a few successes and missteps.
   
   Ellen Shapiro's The Graphic Designer's Guide to Clients aims to speed that learning process by giving experienced and novice designers alike an insider's look at some of the most successful designer/client collaborations of the past few decades.
   
   Following the maxim that creatives learn best by following in the footsteps of the masters (an approach that is the basis of most fine arts programs), Graphic Designer's Guide shows us how the masters of our generation have perfected the art of successful designer/client collaborations.
   
   Beginning with her own experiences, Ms. Shapiro shares with the reader her own techniques for getting, pleasing and keeping clients. Following this five chapter prelude, the meat of the book begins, with a series of 17 interviews with well-known designers (and clients), including: Milton Glaser, April Greiman, Rick Valicenti and others.
   
   Whether you're looking to land your first client, or want to generate some referral business from your fifth, Graphic Designer's Guide is one book that will surely have some good advice to offer.



5. If you agree that doing great work for great clients is one of those things that you love about being in the design business...then this is a book you should read. I appreciated the keen client insights as well as the wisdom Ellen Shapiro provided on keeping and growing a design business post 9/11. The second part of the book interviews many of the greats in design highlighting their successful client relationships and work processes. It's a terrific behind the scenes review of how the big firms made their way. Some of the problems we may face as business owners in this field have, at one time or another, been faced by others who've gone onto further their own company's success. A good resource for the graphic design professional and business owner!

5 comments about Using QuarkXPress 6.

1. The files that don't open on the CD can be found at the following URL: http://support.delmar.com/downloads/Using_QuarkXpress_6_1401859054/
   
   The publisher realized that there was a mistake and has supplied the lesson files that would only open with Passport. I had the same problem that people were complaining about, but the used copy that I bought had the publisher's support site written on the inside cover.



2. If you just have QuarkXPress 6 in you computer, I would like to say "DON'T buy this book, because most of the files included in the CD were created in QuarkXPress Passport. That means you can't open those files from QuarkXPress 6. The book is supposed to be named "Using QuarkXPress Passport".



3. I found this book to be extremely helpful. The book consists in short explanations of Quark's capabilities followed by tutorials every second or third page. Except for a very few typos, the text is clearly written and quickly absorbed. I considered other books on Quark and was glad I went with this one, in spite of its hefty price. I was able to go through every major feature of Quark in four days with this book as my guide. This did not mean that I was fluent in four days, but I was able to continue to build on this book's foundation and eventually become fluent in Quark.



4. I wasted my money buying this book. Most all lesson files wont open without Quark passport. This is suppose to be a book for Quarkxpress not Quark passport I give this book a -5 a waste of money. Dont believe me try it, starting at page 44 file Invite .qxp lesson 2 If in anyway I'm wrong I'm sorry. This is what's happening to me.



5. As a small independent, I was already familiar with Photoshop and layering content, so I delved into QuarkXpress by experimentation. Scratching my head in wonderment caused me to buy this book (as a paperback) and it's been a wonderful helpmate. It has a great index for reference and the accompaning CD-Rom in the back of the book guided me through tutorial exercises which made understanding the possibilities of QuarkXpress easier.
   
   I certainly didn't see the necessity of buying a whole library to explain one software program but I'm glad I chose this book. It's laid out well, simple to follow, has sufficient explanations of procedures and is written in everyday language.
   
   Two thumbs up.
   
   Gail Gupton, Author: The 31-Day Diet of Spiritual Enlightenment and Seekers of Truth

2 comments about The Elements of Design: Rediscovering Colors, Textures, Forms, and Shapes.

1. This is not a book that will teach you much of anything. Not about design, or the elements of design, or how various design elements might be used either separately or in conjunction to evoke feelings or images.

   The book is broken into sections, one for each design element such as color, texture, etc. The first page of each section is a very general description of that design element. This is then followed by 15 pages or so of full-page pictures highlighting that design element. Looking at 15 pages of colorful objects or highly textured objects may be mildly interesting but it isn't terribly informative or useful.

   This book may be marginally adequate if you just want to flip through the pictures looking for inspiration. But the pictures are largely mediocre and too few to really exhaust the topics at hand so it isn't even terribly useful as inspiration. No matter what your needs or purpose you would do well to pass on this book and look for something better.




2. The Elements Of Design: Rediscovering Colors, Textures, Forms And Shapes is a joint-project by Amsterdam exhibitions curator Loan Oei and Antwerp based Decile De Kegel, a graduate in textile design and weaving expert. The heart of Elements Of Design lies not in words, for it contains precious few of those, but rather in the stunning, full-color, full-page photographs that fill it cover to cover. Each photograph presents a different, majestic juxtaposition of colors, shapes, patterns, and fascinating medleys in this inspirational book created specifically to motivate artists and designers everywhere. An amazing treat for the eyes and especially recommended for personal and professional fabric-based art and needlecraft reference collections, The Elements Of Design is a beautiful and varied book sure to open one's eyes to brand new possibilities for artistic creation.

No comments about Art Nouveau Decorative Borders and Frames CD-ROM and Book (Dover Electronic Clip Art).