The Elements of Graphic Design

By Alex W. White

Approach page design in a revolutionary new way! Unlike other graphic design books, The Elements of Graphic Design reveals the secrets of successful graphic design from the unique perspective of the page’s “white space.” With the help of carefully selected examples from art, design, and architecture, the role of white space as a connection between page elements is thoroughly explored. Clear, insightful comments are presented in a dynamic page design, and interactive design elements, thought-provoking captions, and scores of illustrations challenge designers to “think out of the box.” This unique resource is guaranteed to inspire more creative and thorough thinking.

Thinking in Type

By Alex W. White

With this visually stunning primer, designers will develop the skills and vision to produce truly innovative, stunning type design. Using more than 1,500 images from the 18th century up to the present day, the author describes type as a unique language that follows its own rules for communication and that requires great sensitivity for the readerís needs.

Like its companion volume, The Elements of Graphic Design, the book can be used as a first exposure for students and as a reader for professionals. Section One covers basic information about type design, while the remaining sections (What Readers Want; Creativity; and Typography Timeline) provide in-depth information about more advanced topics.

Chapters include the elements of typography; the differences between type applications; how typography creates identity; what readers look for and respond to; step-by-step guides to developing distinctive type treatments; and the historical development of typographic rules and letter forms.

Written by a practitioner who regularly collaborates with todayís leading type designers around the globe, this book offers insights into typography that normally require years of professional practice. Designed in an innovative two-color layout, the book provides a fun and systematic learning experience on multiple levels.

Advertising Design and Typography

By Alex W. White

This unique, comprehensive overview of advertising design strategies, written by a best-selling, award-winning designer, will help students and professionals in advertising, design, and typography understand and use persuasive visual messaging. Design principles such as unity, contrast, hierarchy, dominance, scale, abstraction, and type and image relationships are covered in depth. Readers will also learn how print design compares to television, web, and interactive design, and how to apply each style to create persuasive designs. The extensive section on typography offers essential information on how readers perceive type, typographic history, principles, and practice. Helpful appendices include an extensive glossary, bibliography, and art director’s checklist. Complete with more than 1,500 examples and illustrations of outstanding advertising design from around the world, Advertising Design and Typography is a groundbreaking book that will train the reader’s mind to! see more accurately and more critically–ultimately changing the way designers think and develop visual ideas.

How To Be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul

By Adrian Shaughnessy (Author), Stefan Sagmeister (Foreword)

Designers are quick to tell us about their sources of inspiration, but they are much less willing to reveal such critical matters as how to find work, how much they charge, and what to do when a client rejects three weeks of work and refuses to pay the bill. How to be a graphic designer without losing your soul addresses the concerns of young designers who want to earn a living by doing expressive and meaningful work, and who want to avoid becoming hired drones working on soulless projects. Written by a designer for designers, it combines practical advice with philosophical guidance to help young professionals embark on their careers.

How should designers manage the creative process? What’s the first step in the successful interpretation of a brief? How do you generate ideas when everything just seems blank? How to be a graphic designer offers clear, concise guidance for these questions, along with focused, no-nonsense strategies for setting up, running, and promoting a studio, finding work, and collaborating with clients.

The book also includes inspiring interviews with ten leading designers, including Rudy VanderLans (Emigre), John Warwicker (Tomato), Neville Brody (Research Studios), and Andy Cruz (House Industries). All told, How to be a graphic designer covers just about every aspect of the profession, and stands as an indispensable guide for any young designer.