5 comments about Extreme Beauty: The Body Transformed (Metropolitan Museum of Art Series).

1. This is a beautiful book illustrating the different ways cultures reform the body and for what reasons. It is just like actually visiting an exhibit at a major museum. But this you get to take home and enjoy over and over. The photos are plentiful, full color, large and professional. The text is not overly scholarly, but informative and intelligent. It does leave me wanting to delve deeper into the subject intellectually.



2. To read this book reveals not only plenty of interesting and quite often surprising information on fashions past and current but its text and pictures are highly complementary. In addition a lot of the provided information gives insight into social structures of the centuries referred to - and once more it is proven that fashion is one of the quickest instruments to testify social and historical changes to the world.



3. Extreme Beauty is a wonderful book that celebrates the Metropolitan's equally brilliant exhibit about fashion and it's different preoccupations with the body. The exhibit was magnificent, and the book truly honors the tone and feeling of it, while being extremely informative in it's own right. The book is divided into different chapters such as neck and shoulders, waist, chest, etc. Each chapter features photos of the garments displayed in the original exhibit, as well as additional historical drawings and photographs of the various fashions and cultural trends that have celebrated the parts of the body. And, as promised in the title, the book explores the cultural foundations of bodily transformation and mutilation(?) through everything from extreme corsetry, [..] footwear and peircing to the tribal women who use metal rings to actually elongate their vertebrae. Harold Koda's insightful and meticulously researched commentary is just the icing on the cake. This is a must for any fashion library, but also of great interest to non-fashionistas.



4. Sentient humans with brains as well as bodies have always been fascinated by the way we adorn ourselves and why. Once we can get past the cultural anthropology of fashion, and the fads that make it a billion-dollar world industry, we can dig down to discover the roots of historical and current adorned beauty, and EXTREME BEAUTY does this . . . beautifully.
   It is pleasing--in an era in which physical beauty and adornment typified by fashion have been roundly rejected by most of the jeans-wearing public--to find a book that lets beauty out and helps us exercise our sense of mystery and wonder, based in no small part on human sexuality and attraction. Harold Koda (curator of the Costume Institute at New York's Met) has mounted a show and created a book with marvelous insights and passion, and the illustrations are wondrous--consider, as a case in point, Thiery Mugler's 'Chimere,' with its savage eroticism.
   One could quibble with Koda's arbitrary division of the body into 'neck and shoulders,' 'chest,' 'waist,' 'hips' and 'feet,'
   and his exclusion of the fascinating face/head/hair perplex, and the hands, with their magical touch and allure. But this book and its illustrations will become a benchmark by which human adornment is judged, and is a keeper of power and importance.



5. Harold Koda's Extreme Beauty surveys concepts of fashion and beauty. Koda considers the evolving, changing strategies of beauty around the world, focussing on different body parts and how they are accented and displayed through varying uses of clothing and cultural perception. Black and white and color photos of unusual fashion choices and styles make for some eye-opening insights.

1 comments about Typography 28 (Typography).

1. This is a good book, but if you want a book for graphic reference, with many crazy layouts, there are better books.

5 comments about Information Graphics: A Comprehensive Illustrated Reference.

1. This book is a gem. It's really a dictionary of just about all of the types of charts that exist with the exception of interactive ones of course (we'll excuse the author though). If you have a problem and you think that some form of chart could help you then this book should contain the answer. Note that this isn't a book that you'd read from cover to cover though.



2. I think anyone who solves serious problems by analyzing data will want to own a copy of this book. Being able to organize data into the right visual image can often make no less a difference than that between seeing the answer to the problem vs. getting lost in the complexity and variation in the data.
   
   This is a uniquely comprehensive encyclopedia of graphical techniques with just enough detail on each technique to help you choose the right one for each situation.
   
   There are no long, detailed explanations of principles. What you get are a few illustrations of each type of graph, with a general description of the strengths of that particular technique and several variations to show how it could be applied to different situations which share some central similarity.
   
   One review criticized the alphabetic listing of the techniques, which is a reasonable critique in general. However I think the weakness is mitigated significantly by the way the graphs are grouped together into broad categories once you get to those. The alphabetically listed individual headings are mainly for cross-reference. It seems clear to me that the book wasn't intended to be read from front to back alphabetically, but that the reader would have a rough idea what sort of graph they needed, would start with the heading for that category, and then when neccessary, would refer to the cross-referenced section alphabetically.
   
   In any case, I found it useful to place sticker-tabs on the pages for the main categories of graph that I care most about, and use those tabs as my starting place for choosing the right graphic. There are about ten broad categories of graphs I usually care most about, such as bar, area, column, line, and point graphs, control charts, statistical distribution charts, and time/activity charts. In addition there are about another dozen or so big categories of topics about graphs in general, such as choosing the right aspect ratio, the right font, and the right scale.
   
   Don't get the wrong idea here, none of these topics is covered in great detail, this book is wonderful *index* to visual techniques for showing data for operational purposes but it is not a detailed how-to or an academic treatise on the individual techniques. Also, the book is not intended for creating flashy presentation or marketing graphics, nor does it cover argument maps, truth maps, or any other single sort of conceptual maps in any great detail (although it does touch on the topic in general).
   
   A welcome bonus is that the bibliography is particularly well selected, and not just a list of popular books on graphs. Some of his references are difficult to get and I suspect that some of these sources may even out of print, but some of them like Tukey's work and William Cleveland's texts are well worth searching for.
   
   This is an indispensible encyclopedia of operational information graphics for helping you to help data tell its own story in its clearest and most revealing light, whether you are trying to manage the quality of a process or track down the source of a problem. The examples are extremely well chosen and representative, and the explanations are concise and helpful in a way that lets you use this as a quick reference and not just as a textbook.



3. this is an excellent book if you are working with different types of graphs or charts. we use it as the bible while programming gui tools to create graphs. if you are looking to make meaningful graphs, this book can clue you in to the different types of graphs that will best illustrate your data.



4. This book is 400+ pages, and I would estimate it contains
   5-10 graphics examples per page. If you've got "writer's block"
   and can't think of a new way to graphically present your data,
   then this is the book for you. Just thumb through it until
   something catches your eye, and then read the details about
   that kind of graph. Maybe not 100% 'comprehensive' as the
   title implies ... but pretty darn close! ;)
   
   For people like me who have to do a lot of different kinds
   of graphs, this book is a great resource to have on your shelf.



5. Three stars is perhaps harsh, but this book would be much more useful if it had been structured differently. Open this book
   and on the first page the entries start rolling: "Abscissa", "Abscissa axis", "Abstract graph", etc. Most readers will be
   exhausted before reaching the letters D or E...
   
   Having compiled this exhaustive list of information graphics, one would expect the author to provide some kind of an
   overview, guidelines, or some useful grouping of the different types of graphics. The closest thing to such insights is
   found in the brief preface (pp. 4-5) and the "Graph" entry (pp. 164-177).
   
   I have to disagree with the reviewers describing this book as helpful "to select the best graphic or chart to convey
   information in the most efficient way". When you "turn to this book and and pick the most appropriate graphic type", which
   alphabetical entries are you going to look up? And which entries are you going to miss?
   
   This book does serve a purpose as a catalogue and a 4 page bibliography, but the best books for learning how to create
   informative and efficient graphics are those written by Edward Tufte and William Cleveland.

5 comments about The World of the Dark Crystal: The Collector's Edition.

1. This book does a great job of enhancing the experience of watching The Dark Crystal. Objects that are only seen for an instant or merely in the background are explained in detail in this beautiful collection. My only complaint? There's lots of white space on some of the pages, which makes it feel like less of a guide to an ancient world and more like a textbook.
   
   Even so, highly recommended for fans of the movie, faerie stuff in general, or just great artwork.



2. Brian Froud, the creator of the Dark Crystal, is a Genius.
   
   This book is a small Bible.
   
   Well written, and with images so refined it makes you wonder if it is all "human" made.
   
   All your questions about the Dark Crystal will be answered.
   The information contained in the book seems almost sacred,
   as for the capacity for the human mind to understand it all,
   that is yet to be proven...



3. This book is an amazing tome for anyone who grew up in adoration of The Dark Crystal. Brian Froud's illustrations and concepts are gorgeous and so incredibly creative. This book is delivered as a history of the World in which the film takes place. It is narrated by Aughra, "...the first and last," who witnessed thousands of years of creation and destruction. She monitors the cyclical suns, a spectator of the conjunctions that bring the wise urSkeks, and their division a thousand years later into the cruel Skeksis and the mystical urRu. Aughra alone knows the long history of the crystal and throughout the pages, describes life throughout the ages. There are so many subtleties that the book describes that I can't wait to watch the film again, knowing the significance of the shapes of rocks, the intricate details of the clothes the characters wear, and the elaborate symbolism peppered throughout. The art is gorgeous and the insights into the World of the Dark Crystal shed a new light on the film and its philosophy. Bravo!



4. A must have for any Dark Crystal fan. It contains detailed pictures, decriptios of the various races, and a breif overveiw of how the world works. It also contains some history on the making of the movie, and a copy of the orginal movie idea. Even if you don't like the movie, it would be hard not to appreciate level of detail that went into this imaginary world.
   
   Overall: An excellent book, which I highly recomend.



5. I didn't grow up with "The Dark Crystal" like most others who bought this book. I watched it for the first time in 2007. While I found the movie charming, it didn't leave much of an impression. Still, I was fascinated with just how so powerfully so many people love this movie. The film has such a following that a sequel is on the way after 25 years. So, I bought this book to see what it was I was missing. This book is mostly written from the point of view of Aughra, one of the main characters in the film. The art is fantastic but what I adored was the mythology I found within these pages. In this book is a vivid history of the world of the Dark Crystal, complete with philosophical and religious ideas that have a strong connection to the events of the film. If you wish to understand the films themes and events better, there is no better book than this. A MUST for all fans of "The Dark Crystal"

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

1. When i ordered Logo Lounge i wasnt to sure as to what to expect. After receiving the book I found it to be very inspirational and can really get the creative juices flowing. Especially when your stuck with a creative block (which sometime or another all designers get) It is loaded with examples of commercial and non commercial logos.
   
   The first section of the book has a detailed approach as to how some design firms came up with their design for their clients. They talk about the design process, show great examples, and talk about some of the problems and solutions they had while doing the design.
   
   The rest of the book has loads of examples of logos all sectioned out in a nice format (type logos, crest logos, animal logos, etc...)
   
   Overall it's a good tool to have on any designers shelf at home or work!



2. I'm very impressed with the wide array and organization of this book (and the others in the series). Such great colors, and layout... everything just makes me want to study every last detail on every last page. I've bought the first two... and have added the third one to my wish list. If you want to be a good logo designer but experience "designer's block," this should get you over that [...]. Thanks, Bill Gardner, and all the fabulous designers who were featured in the book!



3. The larger format of this book, hard or soft cover, deserves 5 stars. This new pocket size (5.5" x 6") proves to be awkward and detrimental to the viewing and appreciation of the graphics.



4. I bought it last year, and it has been very useful for my job. I can find many different kind of logos.... it's one of my favorite books...



5. great logos and tons of them. a little hard to understand at first how they organized the logos as far as who did what but once you get the hang of it, no biggie. A definate book to get inspiration from

5 comments about Designer's Color Manual: The Complete Guide to Color Theory and Application.

1. This book had been recommended for a graphic design class but it was too text based. I found some other books on color that dealt with the subject more effectively with less a technical/abstract approach. The abstract method of explaining color scientifically that this author used did not reach me so much. I found myself trying to translate his meanings in my head. Books that explain color in terms of psychological and emotional effects make a lot more sense to me and quickly get at the impact of color on an intuitional level...where it actually hits the audience.



2. The product was as described and it was fine, but it took over a month to ship, which is ridiculous. The project I needed it for was done and turned in by the time I actually received the book.



3. A book dedicated to colors really can't afford making a major mistake as found on page 26 where Cyan is described as the mixture of Red and Blue. Not only in words, but also in a colorful RGB model. (Cyan is a mixture of Green and Blue). I just bought this book to get a clear introduction in (the theory of) colors and being and this mistake confused me a lot. Thank the Spirit for Wikipedia :).
   Anyway, I still recommend this book because it tries to explore allmost every aspect of colors and I like the design !!
   Jan Hoogesteijn, Amsterdam Netherlands



4. I bought this book because I don't have an arts background, but am starting to expand my efforts in the field of graphic design. This book is laid out in a superb format. Each sub topic spans only a single double page, and there are plenty of pictures and captions to illustrate and reinforce the points raised.
   
   The subject area is broad, and many different aspects of colour are covered ranging from the history and perception of colour to issues such as colour blindness right though to some common Photoshop techniques for colour correction.
   
   As I sat holding this pleasantly heavy book in my hand it occured to me that I felt as if I was being drawn back into my childhood, staring with fascination into those "how things work" encyclopedia-style books with cut-out cross-sections of machines and other interesting tidbits. Do you remember how you could just keep looking at those types of books time and time and again, and just look at the pictures and captions if you wanted to?
   
   This is a book that I feel I could put on my coffee table rather than my reference bookshelf, but that by no means that it is not useful as a reference, at least for me. If you are looking for detailed examination of something specific then you may want to choose a different book, but if you want to get a broad overview and awareness of something we are surrounded by all the time (colour!), then I think this is an excellent choice.



5. Color is the foundation of successful design, and so many designer's guides focus on the finer art of using color effectively. Tom Fraser and Adam Banks' Designer's Color Manual brings together key basic concepts of color theory for a title which focuses on the marriage between theory and application. From color psychology and the underlying effects of color on mental state and observational arts to color in craft and the social environment, introductory concepts evolve into easy step-by-step techniques for using color in a design environment. Add over 1,000 color images and you have a winning text in Designer's Color Manual.

1 comments about Erotic Fantasy Art.

1. This collection proves - not that it needed proving - that there's no end to the imagery that the female figure can evoke. Eighty artists, averaging about two contributions each, offer dozens illustrations. Their styles range from cartoony (like Laberis and Bawidamann) or manga-like (e.g. Tan, Hepworth) to vividly realistic (too many to name) or nearly abstract (Bailey, Eliot). Media range just as widely: pencil, oils, watercolor, acrylic, gouache, electronic tools, and combinations.
   
   Each picture freezes a moment from some story, whether that story has yet been told or not. Some convey a dark or disturbing mood, others elicit a giggle, and yet others offer simple awe, wonder, or enticing bits of titillation. Although some of these artists (including Suydam and Brom) have well established careers, other names aren't nearly as familiar - at least, not yet. They display many influences, though. I picked out visual references to Vaugh Bode, Barbarella, Frazetta, and Wood, and I probably missed at least as many others. Reference does not imply imitation, though; each work in this collection stands solidly on its own.
   
   And, as an artifact in itself, I find the book well printed, solidly bound, and well laid out. Libraries of fantasy art and figure art will both welcome this lovely volume.
   
   -- wiredweird

3 comments about The Fairchild Dictionary of Fashion.

1. It's a good reference book when you need information fast. The book is set up that way. It's a wealth of information



2. This is the ultimate resource for a student of costume and fashion design, the key for readers of all levels to decode the jargon that fills this profession's books. The organization is impeccable, the language clear and concise, and the rare but sufficient pictures are crisply adept at illustrating the necessary word or concept.
   
   It covers everything from names of period pieces, accessories, and undergarments to modern terms in the fashion world. It has everything you'd need.



3. A thorough, detail-packed reference book that's invaluable for anyone connected with the fashion industry. We have found it to be the best "first place to turn" for terms and descriptions that add insight and excitement to the marketing messages we create for our fashion clients.

5 comments about 9 Heads: A Guide to Drawing Fashion (3rd Edition).

1. I took an illustration class and we used a different book and felt that my illustrations were still horrible, even after the class. I saw this book was being used for the next illustration class and looked at my friend's book and decided to get it. Upon receiving this book, I started really sketching and I got a lot of compliments on my new sketches! This is a great instructional book!



2. i could honestly say i have a ton of books and as a fashion designer this is the best book out there.. it will teach you step by step and the best thing to do is to get colors for modern fashion. You have both of these you are set. I had Nancy R. as a teacher and shes the best! the money is worth it !! it will be your fashion bible! :)



3. I can't explain what a great help this book has been for my studies. It is very indepth and the steps to creating the croqui are excellent. I am a first year fashion design student with very limited skills in drawing and this book has helped me improve in my class by leaps and bounds in just a short span of time. A must for all Fashion Illustrators.



4. This book is a must have for anyone who is seriosly into Fashion Illustration. I do some of my teaching with it, and students go crazy over the simplicity of the explanations.



5. This book is a must have for anyone who wants to learn to draw human figures or wants to go into fashion design. The language is easy to understand and the results are great. Your drawing skills improve and your drawings become more realistic. A must have for artists and future fashion designers.

5 comments about Essential Fashion Illustration.

1. Pros: Great illustrations for the artist learning to draw the human body.
   Cons: Only one body type and covers only one age group. So that's a pro for fashion folks, a con for Artists.



2. this one is really good for over all fashion illustration. a must have for rising designers!



3. This is a great book for all those fashion illustration enthusiasts! Whether you are contemplating a professional career or are exercizing your creative talent, this is a great book to start with. It is well executed - the illustrations break down into phases so you can sketch with some clarity. I highly recommend this book. I was so excited when I bought it that I immediately ran out to buy sketch materials and get started right away!



4. The images in this book are unreal.
   
   If you want to learn how to draw figures which look natural and have a realistic flow with posture and movement - this is the book for you.
   
   I got it for my old girl for Xmas and she LOVES it.
   Money well spent.



5. Highly recommended! This book offers step by step instructions on drawing the figure and its proportions. If you want to learn how to draw, better yet, illustrate fashion, this is the book for you. Perfect for beginners!