No comments about French Baroque Ornament (Dover Pictorial Archive Series).

3 comments about Heroes of the Negro Leagues (with free DVD: Only the Ball Was White).

1. I purchased this book for a young boy age 13 and I also have one myself. This book and DVD is an excellent, fun history lesson for a child or pre-teen to reference at his or her leasure. It's an easy read and a great reference for people of all ages who want to know more about the Negro Baseball Leagues! A must have!



2. This book preserves an important aspect in the history of baseball and in African American history, and it does so in a riveting way. A sincere and fascinating tribute -- and a handsome one, to boot.



3. If you have any interest in baseball, you'll definitely want to have this book! Created by very talented men, this is a book to keep.

No comments about Color Design Workbook: A Real World Guide to Using Color in Graphic Design.

5 comments about T-Shirt Makeovers: 20 Transformations for Fabulous Fashions.

1. I have a host of t-shirts that I've started to convert. Some of the designs are okay but if you tweak it a little you can even refashion their designs. I'm quite happy I made the purchase.



2. I purchased this book after Generation T; hoping for something more creative and challenging. I found Generation T a little too simple for my redesigning tastes. However, this turned out to be a little more than I bargained for. Just keep in mind:
   
   THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR ANYONE WHO HAS LITTLE OR NO EXPERIENCE WITH SEWING.
   
   Unlike Generation T, where 1/3 of the designs are No Sew, T Shirt Makeovers requires a substantial amount of experience, and for several designs, a sewing machine.
   
   Also, if you are a person who likes to cover themselves rather to wear anything revealing, or a person is self-conscious of how they body looks (esp. overweight) you will probably find yourself not recreating the designs in the book.
   
   If you are a senior/advanced sewer with a sense of fashion and not epidermis-shy, you will probably find this book a golden edition in your DIY library.
   
   For the newbies, I reccomend Generation T; which is as basic as you can possibly get.
   
   The designs are appealing and sexy, and the Sistahs coach you on fashion secrets, color, and body types. I, myself do not plan to create any of these designs, (with the exception of the first one) but it's been good inspiration for me, and I am satisfied with my purchase.



3. i love it. i've made several shirts for friends from this book- even put one in a fashion show!
   
   i love the texture, quality, photography, and the models of color in this book. One of my favorite and most recommended reconstruction books.
   
   Peace



4. Very disappointed with this book, designs reveal lots of flesh, will work for only the very thin.



5. EXCELLENT book! if you have a creative eye you can really create things from their templates...i see what all the hype is about!

No comments about Fashion Illustration Techniques (Drawing).

3 comments about PulpHope: The Art Of Paul Pope.

1. I've been a fan of Paul Pope since reading his THB series years ago. There's one thing that really stands out about his work--the lines seem almost imbued with a sense of energy. You can almost see the inked lines jump and move on the page, and this give Pope's works a sense of being alive. The works in this collection don't disappoint. You'll be drawn into every page as you flip through the book. Another thing that some people may overlook is that Pope is an excellent writer. This book contains several essays about his work and himself. Pope writes about as good as he draws, so it is difficult to put down the book once you start reading. I highly recommend this book.
   
   A few warnings though: if you became a fan of Pope through his mainstream comic work, there is none of it in this book. There is a bit of THB featured (not as much as I would have liked), but most of the book consists of his private projects and illustration work. Another warning is that if you find erotic illustrations offensive, be warned that this book includes a few.



2. Pope's work is full of frantic, almost desperate energy. His art seems driven, and the essays in this book (I was surprised by the amount of text, but not unpleasantly, as it turned out) enhance this feeling. The book paints a picture of an artist with a great deal of passion for his work, and also a deeply thoughtful, philosophic side, and a strong respect for the history of his chosen art.
   
   The pictures are often raw-edged, a few of them appear to have been lifted from sketchbooks or diaries, sometimes with blocks of handwritten (and not always legible) text running off the edge of the page, or stamped with rubber stamps in Japanese ("Paul Pope" "Comics Destroyer" and so on). It is deliberate, of course, and it seems right that way. Each picture is full of texture and detail, and rewards a careful viewing.
   
   Don't just look at the pretty pictures, though. The book contains several autobiographical essays that are worth the price of admission by themselves. Pope talks about his inspirations and methods, discusses his thinking during the creation of some of the pieces in the book, and such topics as pornography as it relates to art and erotica. (Note to the prudish, a few of the pictures in this book are quite explicit. Although there are no sex acts shown, Pope is very frank about his appreciation for sex as a source of passion and inspiration, and he doesn't shy away from portraying all parts of human anatomy.) Reading the essays enhanced my appreciation for the art significantly.
   
   It's a fine book, especially if you like Paul Pope's style. Recommended.
   
   (As a side note, the version I received does not have the cover shown by Amazon, a drawing of a woman's face, but a black and white design based on an image of the author, I believe, and some abstract ink lines. It's not a bad cover, but I think I might have preferred the drawing.)



3. all in all a very cool book. being relatively new to pope (first through heavy liquid and batman 100, the best bat thing ever!) i find the book a very good intro to him, his ideas and thought process. he really seems to be on the path of re-creating / re-defining the "comic". the different essays throughout go from open self effacement to sadly comedic in his dealings with poss. employers and his tenure in japan. his knowledge of art history and his own desire to be a leader in his chosen area is very evident and well deserved.
   
   For being an artist's opus, i would have actually preferred a bit more art (the first and usu. obvious complaint any art geek would say regardless the amount given), there too is none of the Bat 100 art here, prob. for rights reasons, fair enough. Alot of the stuff here is blown to full bleed, possibly unnecessarily so, but if one sits and meditates on those pages you begin to see something, his art does seep in and soak a bit... one cannot argue with the overall design in any way, alot of the newer art books (ash wood's stuff, james jean's) push the boundaries of the medium and give the fan what they want, possibly b/c they are fans themselves and are giving what they want from those they admire.
   
   this one is going on the shelf between Malicious Resplendence and Lowlife Paradise...
   
   

5 comments about Information Design.

1. I bought this book because it was on the reading list for Sheffield Hallam University's MA in Technical Communications. If I ever take the course I'm going to ask them why they bothered to put this book on the list, because it has very little to do with what is commonly accepted as 'Technical Communication'.
   
   This book is basically a collection of essays by people who are trying to answer the question "What is information design?". Most of the articles are concerned with such things as signage and navigation in public places. This is entirely WORTHLESS for the average Technical Communicator/Writer. I was hoping to learn something about structuring written communications, or about the presentation of technical information. Instead I simply learnt not to buy a book just because it is on a University reading list. Extremely disappointing.



2. This book consists of a series of cross-disciplinary articles on information design. In the concluding chapter of the book, Jeff Raskin summarizes the volume by saying "I find that [the articles] accurately represent the diversity of the field - - from fuzzy New Age touchy-feely rantings to thoughtful studies." I'm inclined to agree, but fortunately, the thoughtful studies outnumber the rantings. I was fascinated most by Whitehouse's article on architectural signposting for the blind. However, many of the other articles were also exceptionally thought-provoking. Before I read this book, I thought "information design" had something to do with drawing effective graphs. But after reading these articles, I would say it is making meaning by revealing the relationships between data through planned presentation. Or something to that effect- -the field is much wider than I had ever thought before.



3. I am a professional Information Architect; However, I picked up the book without any preconcieved notions or superficial expectations. I found especially illuminating (and actually empathisized with) the comparisons between IAs conceptualizing Information Design and Traditional Architects conceptualizing "wayfinding" through building structures. For those of you who are looking for a Home Deopt style "How-To" manual on creating intuitive interface design for software applications; you simply have to surf the web for 1001 lessons on HOW NOT TO do it. Seriously, the only effective Information Design training program is years of experience in software development. A "blueprint" or plan is key to useful execution, but there is a lot more to good Information Design than a pile of flowcharts. The best an author can do is to share some of his/her insight on ergonomic design with the rest of us. While many of the reviewers found this book's exposition of visionary and philosophical approaches to design impractical; I found it to be both informative and refreshing. Information design is not about how rigidly organized the branching structure is; instead, it's about how the user "moves through" an application (hopefully with pleasure and ease of use). This calls for a combination of clever engineering and artistic design, and cannot be accomplished simply by "keeping all your ducks in a row" The most significant aspect of good Info Design, in the end, is clear, intuitive, useable interface.



4. This is a mixed-bag of articles on (of course) information design, in which every author defines the field differently. It would have been nice if the editor had set up a single definition and had authors work within that. But you'll end up skipping whole chapters which discuss left-field topics. I'm also amazed that a bunch of people writing about information design can't produce clearer illustrations.

   The best of the bunch is by Nathan Shedrof, who comes up with a decent definition and gets into the details of it gracefully and eloquently. Ask a colleague who bought the book to copy chapter 11 for you.




5. Its like hanging out with an interesting group of people. They speak from experience, some talk too much, some don't talk enough. Great book for getting exposed to ideas rooted in a variety of experiences (much better than a one-author book)

5 comments about Dos Logos.

1. It's great! so many examples of many different logos, but I prefer "Tres logos" is the latest book of the latest designs for logos



2. this set of books is an excellent resource for any designer ...stay in touch and on top of your game by looking at what other designers are producing around the world.



3. lots of fresh new, creative logos, well catagorized. I belive there is a First one called Los Logos. And if I'm not mistaken there is also a thrid, i'm guessing it's called Tres Logos.



4. If you're a designer that needs inspiration in this synthetic world (just like me) look no further.
   Just go ahead and buy the 3 books of the series (just like me). Don't be afraid the logos don't are seppareted in themes so one book complements the other.
   
   It impress me because I acctually hate logo books, they are so corporate usually. But these stand up for the creative explorations over style, application and paradigm breaking.
   A huge collection of logos, I feel I don't need to buy other books in the genre, all I need is there (i am a designer not a agency director, so don't get me wrong)



5. i have tons of logo and corporate branding books and was pretty excited when I saw this in the undergroud book shop in the LES. when I got home, i must say though, was a little dissapointed. some are the logos are cool, but most of them are crap. the only thing that makes this book "ok" is the amount of logos in it, but even then, many pages of logos all look the same... over and over.

3 comments about Citizen Designer: Perspectives on Design Responsibility.

1. I got this book hoping it would shed more light on an issue I find very pressing within the design community: social responsibility. Is it important for the designer to know his/her great poster that helped make a Hollywood movie into a blockbuster also helped clear cut a forest killing an ecosystem for numerous species of wildlife? Is it important for a designer to only do work for companies that match their own morals and ethics? The book touches on the latter topic in a couple essays but largely provides a number of pieces of writing with good intentions but with no actual "next steps" to achieve more fruitful results. Desigers have to eat, so blowing off huge $$ tobacco ad campaigns can seem ridiculous. However by making social responsibility a key point of dialogue in the education of the designer, one could see a more responsible result in the business world. Maybe designers could receive the respect they deserve if they actually stood for something besides edgy looking websites and whatnot. Anyway, the book wasn't all bad. Its a good start to an important conversation... so three stars!



2. This book is incredible. I have only read the first 20 pages and I think it should be a mandatory read for anyone in the design industry. It is informative on specific ethical issues a designer faces and it allows for varying perspectives on the topics in the book.

   Great for a student, teacher, or anyone within the design realm.




3. Designer David Vogler always contributes to these design books churned out by Mr. Heller. And once again, Vogler has cooked up a hilarious editorial that thumbs it's nose at the industry while making valid observations. This is worth the cover price alone. My staff laffed out loud.

1 comments about Non-Format Love Song.

1. I don't care who you are, what your design "style" is, if you are an illustrator, graphic artist, or art director you can learn a lot from Non-Format. It's great to see how one studio's work can evolve from project to project, and it's a much more intimate way to experience it than just clicking through their site. There was a lot of work in this book I had never seen before as well, so definitely worth buying.