1 comments about Chinese Posters: Art from the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.

1. Say what you want about oppressive regimes, they always have the best propaganda. Art, when made to serve the purpose of convincing a population that what is going on around them is actually great and wonderful even though they are starving, produces something eerily inspiring, something that taps into a subconscious desire to believe in those in power.
   
   This is the artwork in "Chinese Posters: Art from the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution". These are images of a bright future, where the land is abundant and serves the will of the people, where industry is clean and progressive, bringing fair income to everyone, where everyone pulls their weight with a smile and Chairman Mao shines light on us all. The art here is joyful, optimistic and hopeful. It makes you feel good to look at it. It makes you feel bad knowing that this optimistic, hopeful future never materialized, and was followed by starvation and oppression.
   
   But this is so much more than just a picture book. The author, Ann Tompkins collected these posters while living in China during the Cultural Revolution, a full participant in Mao's glorious dream who wanted to live and work alongside the people forging this Brave New World. Reading her introduction is a bit shocking. I expected a historical critique on the nature of propaganda, not the flip side of the coin, someone who believes in the dream and remains inspired by the message.
   
   And through her eyes, I saw these posters from a different perspective. How progressive, how revolutionary they were at the time. Here were positive images of women working in factories, firing guns and conducting scientific experiments during a time when they were expected to be house wives and mothers. Here were glorious scenes of all human beings struggling together, separated not by race, religion or gender, but bound by the brotherhood of the proletariat. The fact that it failed: is it the fault of the dream or the dreamers? This is the kind of art that makes you ask those questions.
   
   As both an art book and a history book, "Chinese Posters" succeeds beautifully. I enjoyed it much more than I was expecting to, especially after reading the introductions and then looking at the posters in a whole new light.

5 comments about Game Development Essentials: Game Project Management: Game Project Management (Game Development Essentials).

1. I have not quite ran through the whole book yet, as I am also reading it for a game design class. But this book was obviously worked on by people who know how to get a game of the ground. Very informative, fun to read, and covers pretty much everything. Not a perfect book, as another reviewer said a few topics don't go as in depth as they could, but not flawed enough for me to subtract a whole star.



2. This is a good overview for people who are familiar with project management but haven't worked in the Computer Game Industry before. The focus is on console games, but the book does references the MMO industry as well.



3. My second review...YAY....:D. Anyway, i bought this book for my Intro to game development class and it did pay off. I was reading though it and it really gives you an idea of what all types of games there are, who made them, and in depth explanation of them. Really good book for learning about games and game management.
   
   Now to shipping....:D
   Amazon has probably one of the fastest shipping out of all the companies that i have visited. And also for the money, they are good. So don't be afraid of buying from them. They really a good company!



4. I'm currently a student at the University of Baltimore, and our teacher required this book as our main text, its a very nice book. The information is laid out to make sense. Each chapter starts by telling you what the main points of the chapter is, so you can jump right into the section that you specifically want. Its also not a big book, its thin but filled with great information. Its also very light to read, it has pictures, and small paragraphs, and in each section there is one page paragraph or two written by those who are in the industry, giving advise from their real world experience about the particular topic the chapter is on.
   I never thought I would ever say this, but my summary homework for this book is actually fun to do. =)
   Enjoy.



5. The book is great for an introductory course on game development and has a lot of info about how a game was (it talks a lot about the past and how it was done bofore) and how it is now developed, from the early stages up to the final ones. It covers many aspects that a project manager needs to know that are specific for the gaming industry, so it is great to get the "big picture" of the gaming industry... but it lacks some depth in some aspects that are covered "very quick", that's why i substract a star. It also has a lot of nice "tips" from great game developers, that's a nice plus.

1 comments about Complete Color Index.

1. I am a graphic designer and I have considered the first "color index" book and "color index 2" to be INVALUABLE. Not only have I saved thousands of dollars in CMYK color books, but it has allowed me to show clients a slice of the vision on any project with it's color combinations and descriptions. However, I will not be purchasing this combined version of the two because it states that it is hardcover and I'm afraid that it will also be rather large in size.
   
   The content inside is undoubtedly impeccable. However, 60% of the reason I used the first two versions was the handy small size and durable 'turtleback' covers. They have a permanent place in my laptop bag for all consultations with clients. I won't be lugging around a hardcover book to my consultations anytime soon. Let me know when the small turtleback version of this comes out and I'll be the first one in line to purchase!
   
   Also, someone make sure to post what the EXACT SIZE of this book is when you get an actual copy in your hands. I can't believe Amazon doesn't already list the overall dimensions of every book, but for this book in particular it has a lot to do with the usability of the product. Thanks!

5 comments about Color Drawing: Design Drawing Skills and Techniques for Architects, Landscape Architects, and Interior Designers, 2nd Edition.

1. I have a copy of the first edition of this book and am still mesmerized by it. When it first came out, everyone I knew at design school who bought it felt like the information and techniques had given them an out-of-body-experience and it quickly became THE book to own, learn from, and emulate. Anyone who buys this book and applies the material and techniques will become better at drawing, rendering, and creative presentation methods...it is a sure-fire way to achieve "star power" in your office and in front of your clients!



2. great book! Out of the dozens of hand rendering guides I looked at, this was by far the best and the easiest to learn from. It tells you what pencils, markers, and tools to buy to achieve certain effects, and gives you step-by-step rendering instructions for tons of different types of materials and lighting situations. I highly recommend this- in fact, it should be mandatory for interior design students!



3. It's really hard to say too many things about this book. Even older editions of Color Drawing are great, but this newest one goes above and beyond the call of duty. In an age when a lot of books get re-released as new editions with few substantive changes, Color Drawing breaks the mold by updating the techniques with current technology (i.e. Photoshop). It's great to see that the author and publisher realize that pure hand-drawing and rendering is quickly becoming a thing of the past and that the practitioners of today and tomorrow need to have excellent computer skills too. This book is full of very useful tips for combining Photoshop with hand drawings to create great effects. So even if you have an earlier edition, do yourself a favor and buy the new one anyway because you will learn a lot.



4. This is an excellent resouce for the study of rendering. After detailing the elements of color and design, it describes, step-by-step, how to achieve many finishes both interior and exterior. It is both instructive and informative.



5. This is the standard for rendering in architecture and interior design as far as I am concerned. It will most definitely become a required textbook for my classes in visual presentation in the years to come. Doyle takes you step-by-step into the process of rendering with marker, color pencil, and pastels. But he doesn't just spoon feed you the recipe for each material rendering, he presents the basis for a process that allows you to render virtually any material not found in the book.

5 comments about Editing by Design: For Designers, Art Directors, and Editors--the Classic Guide to Winning Readers.

1. I like the book, but the hand drawn illustrations get a bit old about half way into the book. Great info though that I haven't seen in other books. Will be on my reference shelf for possible layout designs and tidbits of info. I would buy it again.



2. I use this book to teach my first year graphic design students. It has some excellent and simple illustrations. The layout of the book is very friendly and easy to follow.



3. First of all, if "Conflicted" found the book difficult to follow, so be it. Mileage varies from person to person. And I will agree, the cover is a disappointment.
   
   However, the part you couldn't read was a design element, not intended as text to be read; the **title** is printed in clear letters at the top of the cover. Second, this book is intended for beginners and - since we supposedly learn 90% of everything we *ever* learn by example - it tries to teach as much by example as by assertion. Hence, the informal style and wonderful profusion of examples. White **shows** as well as tells on almost every two-page spread - that's one of the major strengths of the book, in my opinion. Instead of distracting the reader by content-specific illustrations, he chose **very carefully** hand-drawn illustrations - and, by the way, mostly black and white to keep the book affordable. And for all that concrete terminology you couldn't find - try the Glossary that begins on p. 241.
   
   As I said, your mileage may vary. But to me, this book presents the basic concepts of page and type design for the beginner in a way that really worked for me. 30 years later, I still value it!



4. I have probably never learned more about any subject than I have with this book. Being the eternal student, I can be critical if a book doesn't teach me anything new, or pads itself out with extraneous rot. This book does neither of these things. It is concise, incredibly comprehensive, clear, honest and delivers much much MUCH. How I would love to get inside this man's brain and/or have him partner my business! The attention to detail and range of example is exhilarating. An exemplary work that could very well have delivered the bones of my entrepreneurial idea, or at the very least, given me the vim and knowledge to execute it. Thank you, Mr White.



5. The Good:
   The book contains an abundance of illustrations which can be very helpful. The author uses the text of the book itself as bad examples of design.
   The Bad:
   As a newbie to publication design, I approached this book as a student. I probably would have never even opened the cover of it if it weren't required for a class. The design of the cover (and most of the book) is horrible. I can't read the title and it does nothing to attract me visually. The illustrations are so sloppy they are unprofessional. Although sketches in real life should be messy, the sketches in the book should at least be interpretable. The author never uses any concrete terminology, so it is difficult categorize information as you absorb it.

5 comments about Adrian: Silver Screen to Custom Label.

1. I've got to say that when I saw a book devoted to "Adrian," I got very excited, because I am a great admirer of his work during his years at MGM. However I must admit that I was disappointed with this book for its lack of actual content. If this were a simple photographic display of Adrian's works, I would have enjoyed the book more; it is the content that weakens the presentation.
   
   The narrative starts out fine, giving the reader a sense of Adrian's struggles to delve into the fashion business first in Paris, then in America. Wonderful tidbits about the actresses like Crawford and Garbo are scattered throughout the initial 20 pages. But once Adrian's reign at MGM ends, so does the intrigue of the text. The interesting dichotomy of grand art and snappy human interest evolves into a verbose textual rendering of Adrian's creations, spanning about 15 years. Pages upon pages are spent lightly describing gowns from each collection, them not all having photographic companions to help the non-seamstress reader visualize these descriptions. In addition, the layout of the book causes confusion in that gowns described in the text are not necessarily juxtaposed on the same or corresponding page; then, too, some photographs are included that never were referenced in the text, making the reader wonder if they "missed" something.
   
   I feel that this book's content could have been made stronger if more was included about Adrian's personal life, to give the reader insight into the genius behind the design. It is obvious that very little research, outside of photographic, has contributed to the content, which I think reasons its sketchiness. Critique and criticism by reviewing columnists as well as quotes by models or celebrities would surely have been a wonderful addition to the plodding text.
   
   Because of the wonderful photographs, this makes for a great coffee table book. However its lack of content diminishes its viability as a strong read.



2. I have long been an admirer of Adrian. It's a shame that Oscars for costume design weren't given out until 1949, because he'd have garnered many of them. He could design something as basic (yet revolutionary) as the "Letty Lynton" dress, or as dazzling as the costumes in "The Great Zigfeld," both in the "A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody" number, then in the "You Never Looked So Beautiful Before" stage show. I think his crowning glory was his work on "Marie Antionette." I knew little about Adrian after he stopped turning out his stunning creations for the movies, and went into private business. This is a beautifully produced book, with many pictures of his later coture creations, some insights about his married life with actress Janet Gaynor, and his passion for travel. For Adrian fans everywhere, this is a book to own and cherish.



3. Fantastic book - gorgeous photographs and behind the scenes antidotes give you the sense of actually being there in Hollywood during this glamorous age.



4. adrian, a/k/a gilbert adrian, was one of the few designers for the classic hollywood films that did not blow his own horn during his time in the fashion industry as both costume designer and couturier.
   
   in his somewhat short life, he worked hard, played hard and draped some of the film industry's most glamourous bodies in uniquely beautiful designs. his creativity was unstoppable. yet, in a weird twist of fate, he was never to compete for an academy award.
   
   it is a wonderful thing to see another book published about this genius/workhorse! there are some of his gowns that defy description, such as his 'letty lynton' dress with its wildly ruffled sleeves. or, his showgirl get-ups that were featured in 'the great ziegfeld' and re-used time and again for mgm's less lavish musicals. and his period designs for the films of garbo and jeanette macdonald (to name a few), while not painstakingly researched, supply great amounts of aura for these actresses and the films.
   
   it would be nice for the academy to pay tribute to him, travis banton and many others one year. but as it won't get more people to watch, it probably won't happen.
   
   but that's fine. let the books keep coming and let the reinvestigations of the makings of glamour, hollywood style, spark many a scholarly discussion as they should.



5. I love this book soooo much i remember all the old movies that Adrian desigend for .. so happy with this book thanks Robert

No comments about A Bathing Ape.

3 comments about Packaging Design: Successful Product Branding from Concept to Shelf.

1. This book takes a different approach to the packaging development. It has a decent amount of information on the whole process in packaging development from concept to shelf. However, the book does focus more on packaging appearance or graphic. Overall, I believe this is a book that is more suitable for management level rather than for packaging designers or engineers. The book doesn't offer enough details on some subjects that some packaging engineers or designers might be looking for.
   
   If you are interested in knowing the whole process, this is definitely a good book to start up with.



2. This book has it all, the perfect addition to a Package Designers Library. Krasovec and Ms. Klimchuk have thoroughly explained to how a package is developed and also show the thought process of today's package designer. This book has been a long time coming!



3. Ms. Krasovec and Ms. Klimchuk have written a first rate analysis of the process of packaging a brand. A resource asset for both design rookies and professionals, Packaging Design: Successful Product Branding from Concept to Shelf highlights important case studies that provide model roadmaps for achieving retail brand recognition. With a focus on environmental considerations, Ms. Krasovec and Ms. Klimchuk emphasize a critical concern for all product marketers.

5 comments about i am 8-bit: Art Inspired by Classic Videogames of the '80s.

1. This is for fans of old school games from the NES and old atari games. really cool art. takes me back 10 to 20 years.



2. Coffee table or bookcase, this book is for the most artistic of videogame fans, as well as those that appreciate mixed media with their pop culture. Joust, Mario Bros, Donkey Kong, Pac Man, Q-Bert and more are all displayed like you've never seen them by talented artists. The nostalgia is thick and sweet smelling; a feeling that few will appreciate to it's fullest. Highly recommended for artists and nerds alike. Also check out Arcade Fever and Supercade for the history behind our favorite up up down down history.



3. "I AM 8-BIT" is a must have for those old school fanatics who long for another golden era... one of the best books ever made. Buy it now!!!



4. this book is a great collection of established and up and coming artists interpreting classic video games. what more could you want?



5. First and foremost, this book makes a wonderful inexpensive gift for anyone who grew up in the '80s playing the 'ole 8-bit video systems and still has a bit of nostalgia for those simpler times. It's also pretty neat as a bound exhibit of how pop culture can be transformed into art that's actually quite captivating. About 70 artists contributed works, and the medium of choice is definitely oil and acrylic paint, with a fair number of mixed media pieces thrown in. The styles vary wildly, with influences ranging from surrealism to manga to skateboard art to graffiti to crafting to abstract to pixelation and on and on. It's actually a pretty decent overview of modern pop art sensibilities.
   
   In terms of subject matter, far and away the most prevalent "inspirations" are from the Donkey Kong/Mario Bros. franchise, with Pac Man coming in next, and Frogger, Zelda, and Dig Dug also getting much play. However, some of the best pieces are from less popular games, like Tim Tomkinson's "Duck Hunter S. Thompson" mashup of a portrait of the gonzo journalist with the Sega "Duck Hunter" graphics, Jim Rugg's faux poster for a pro wrestling event featuring characters from the Nintendo wrestling game, or Jason Sho Green's pen and ink "Tantric Tetris". On the whole it's a very fun, well-designed book, nicely produced, and sure to bring a smile to many 30somethings. It's worth noting that I like Chuck Klosterman too, but his foreword is pretty slim, maybe 500 words, so don't buy it for that!

4 comments about Calligraphy For Dummies (For Dummies (Sports & Hobbies)).

1. This book was fantastic. It supplied all the information needed to begin calligraphy, including how to set up your lap board for an easier beginning writing experience. I really don't feel I would ever have been able to complete the projects without the help and guidance of this book. I would highly recommend it to anyone in the beginning stages of calligraphy.



2. This book is great for the beginner who doesn't mind being seen with a book for Dummies. The explanations are clear and there is even help for the left handed calligrapher. The illustrations help a lot. Although there are some different fonts to work with the selection has been kept to the simpler types. It is a good way to get started with the art of beautiful writing.



3. It has little depth to it but for the beginner is quite good. Better than many beginner calligraphy books.



4. I just wanted to say that I recently purchased this book and am pleased with it. The book has a nice structure to it and helps walk me through everything from getting the tools of the trade, to building my confidence. For someone with my complete lack of experience, this book was exactly what I needed. Some of the other books I've found have been somewhat slim on explanation, or a poor choice for a tutorial. While it doesn't have the full suite of letter forms inside it that others may have, it seems to have the major ones I'd like to start with, and is a great way to get started. I suspect that someone with experience already would find this book somewhat too basic.
   
   I would have given this book five out of five, were it not for the fact that I really have nothing else to compare it to. As well as the fact that the pages are not really suited to practise on as they are of a newsprint type quality. For those who wish to begin with calligraphy, I suggest using this book to get started with without reservation.
   
   Cheers,
   
   t.