Graphic Design Books

If you want to learn to draw charicatures, this is the best book I've found so far. It has step by step lessons, as well as SO many great charicatures by Robert Gautier. He explains the process in great detail, shows examples of what to do as well as what not to do, how to get the look you're after - whether it's more realistic, or more free flowing. And he also explains why certain materials will produce the look you want to achieve moreso than others.

Invaluable resource for coming up with ideas for design solutions. Unique visuals and text teach you to look beyond the expected for inspiration. I keep it on my desk at all times. Thanks!

This book offers a great insight into how design firms go about designing various logos and the challenges they face. There are ample examples from different industries, and the design firms chosen have their creativity together! A must have for designers, those who wish to be inspired, and resource for businesses to find a legitimate design firm to work with.

Creativity 33 is an excellent guide for anyone looking for a concise overview of contemporary design practices in a variety of media.

As is often true with books edited by David Carter, the quality of the choices is only matched by their presentation on the page. Each oversize page contains three to eight reproductions of various types of print projects as well as online examples. Illustrations are large enough to teach meaningful lessons.

Samples are grouped by category. Printing and production values are high. The tinest details clearly emerge.

Thumbing through the book, one of my first impressions is the power that comes from the simplicity of the designs and the designer's use of color.

This book would make a great "sample book" for internal training of a design studios' staff, as well as a framework for a semester-long commercial graphic design course or workshop.

A landmark publication in the history of modern art surveys, this book was written by Alfred Barr, then director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, in 1936. (A paperback re-issue appeared in 1974.) Intended as a primer for the lay reader, the book is nevertheless an insightful survey of virtually all the important modern artists and movements to have appeared on the world stage up until that time, and Barr speaks from the vantage point of someone who personally knew and had exhibited many of the artists discussed. Barr covers, however succintly, a broad terrain with the inclusion of architecture, film, and photography, in addition to painting and sculpture, and traces the development of modern art from its roots in Impressionism to the then-current Surrealism. The book is noteworthy for its inclusion of the famous chart detailing the influences and divergences of the various styles, much like a rendition of one's ancestors on a family tree, and for the categorization of artists and styles into two broadly opposing groups: the expressionist vein, begun by Gauguin and continued by the Fauves, German Expressionists, Dadaists and Surrealists; and the conceptual vein, initiated by Cezanne and continued by Cubism, Constructivism, and De Stijl. The chosen artists, names of styles or movements in which they participated, and the canonical works they produced have remained remarkably stable, despite the ever-shifting, multi-faceted defintions of modern art, as important examples of modern works across the distance of nearly seventy years after the book's first release. Additionally, Barr offers definitions of terms such as "abstract," as well as discussions of techniques like collage.

A multitude of reproductions completes this highly readable and comprehensive account of the often bewildering and competing strands of modern art.

If you are looking for a book of cute little critters then this one is not for you. The figures are rather odd but very expressive. Most are neither person or animal; many with armour, cloaks, single socks and scabbards. It is a truly bizarre collection but for someone looking for something very different, this book is a gem.

The drawings are line drawings with a little 'texture'. They would be great for altered books, collage or card art. I've taken to painting mine with twinkling H20s for a vibrant watercolour which suits these unusual creations.

As with many Dover books - you can use up to ten images in your art copyright free. These are so delectable that one is all you need to make a statement.

An excellent, in-depth treatment of the subject of representing curves and surfaces on a computer. Written in a clear expository style, it covers the mathematics and algorithms behind Bezier and related classes of curves. Contributed sections on the differential geometry of curves and surfaces provide an excellent introduction to the mathematical framework behind the algorithms. Though not for the casual reader, Farin's book is a perfect reference for the programmer or architect of computer aided design software. I recommend it highly.

Ya know how it is when you're reading up on how to do something and the text says something about this being to extensive a subject to cover here so they just gloss over the top and you say to yourself, "Where do I go now?" You go to this book and it explains the nuances of making Autocad work for you in great detail. Probably, more detail than you want to know; but eventually you will want to know. In addition it takes the space to explain how certain features work (hatching for example) and the how and why certain features/commands work they way they do. It's great for a little help or a lot.

You may have seen scherrenschnit or cut-paper silhouettes. The Asian versions of this art move into using the paper like heavy line strokes, or the lead in stained glass. This allows techniques like filling the frames with different papers (those fabulous Asian papers!) or even backing it with a sheet painted to suit. Different colors, even metallics, for the cut paper, cutting two colors to be arranged on a fairly simply background -- the variety of techniques possible in just "cutting paper" make this a fascinating media. If you drool over decorative papers, this may be the art you've been waiting to find.

An excellent book that stretches the comic medium. I don't agree with everything he says, but it's always fascinating to be exposed to other points of view. Kochalka makes a bunch of excellent points. His essay "The Horrible Truth About Comics" is particularly thought provoking. A lot of what he says could be applied to any art field. Good food for thought.