Graphic Design Books

This manual has been the standard for the training that I send all of my employees to and the return on investment cannot be beat.

In modeling there is no other book I would have at my desk than the Mechanical Deesktop 3.0 Assembly Modeling Manual from the Technical Learningware Company. The authors really know there stuff.

I had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to go through the Communication Arts & Design program at VCU with Phil as illustration instructor, and student advisor.

This book, about the life and times of Phil Meggs is essential reading for all graphic designers and artists whether you knew Phil or not. It follows a time line up to his death, showing sketch books, projects and designs by Phil, giving a glimpse of this truly gifted designer -- while providing any creative visual communicator a recipe for gathering, digesting and interpreting visuals -- a creative shot in the arm to say the least.

The rememberances of those last months, written by Libby Meggs (Phil's wife) noted illustrator in her own right, brought tears to my eyes.

Bottom line: the graphic designer, illustrator or visual communicator now has a detailed map on how to get where they want to go -- creatively. And for me, when faced with difficult design projects, I finally have the answer to the question: "What would Phil Meggs do"

This book is in the number ONE spot for nomination for "BOOK OF THE YEAR" at www.Design-Bookshelf.com and DTG Magazine. And that recommendation says it all.

Just buy it.

If you were fortunate enough to have been taught by Phil Meggs or perhaps you had a professor that used A History of Graphic Design in class, then you must own this book.

It's beautiful and touching. I will treasure it always with my fond memories of Professor Meggs.

A curatorial masterpiece of 20th century magazine design. Well designed, copiously illustrated, another first rate addition to design research by Steven Heller. A must have for any serious practictioner of our profession.

This is not as I expected, a collection of vintage covers of old magazines, but a detailed and interesting history of how the avant garde expressed itself and produced original art in the process. It covers the 20th century well up until the zines of the 80s - 90s. It kind of stops there because, says the author, the web takes over. I may not agree with that exactly, but I believe this is a must book for anyone who is passionate about magazine design.

The book shows, excellent projects, process and goals.
How MetaDesign resolves design problems, how they produce elegant solutions and clean comunication of the concepts.

I have always been a fan of Meta design's style. This book is just what I wanted, a look into MetaDesign's world. The layout and the content of this book is really outstanding, it will be great inspiration to you.

Fred Fenster came to the metals program at the U. of Wisconsin-Madison in the early 1960s, followed a decade later by Eleanor Moty. Together they put their stamp of the highest artistic standards and workmanship while allowing for individual penchants and visions on the program. They ideally complemented each other in that "Moty's emphasis...as on surface treatments, while Fenster's [was] on form and structure."

Different sections take up their complementary effects as heads of the metals program and also each of them individually as exceptional, distinctive artists in metalwork. Coming after the chapters on each individually are lengthy photographic galleries of numerous art works over the years. A photographic section at the end has works by program graduates and current faculty.

The metals art works done by and inspired by Fenster and Moty are distinctly, often strikingly, modern, as in Modernism. It's hard to grasp until you see the many photographs the range of creativity and high quality of the art works by mentors Fenster and Moty and those students and faculty influenced by them. Tradition, familiar, objects such as cups, jewelry, and teapots and other pots have innovative forms and details. Most of the purely artistic, aesthetic, works have imaginative shapes and proportions, including often sharp angles and unexpected circular parts. All of the works, despite their individuality, share a boldness of concept and have an almost graphic presence. Fenster and Moty were not only exceptional artists, but gifted mentors who imparted to others how to nurture and achieve the best art within them.

Metalsmiths and Mentors is a fabulous exhibition catalogue of modern metalwork pieces shown at the Chazen Museum of Art. The exhibition includes works created by Fred Fenster and Eleanor Moty, metalsmithing instructors at University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as pieces by other students and faculty. Full-color photography reveals the exquisite detail in each piece, from cups to hornbooks, plaster-and-gold sculptures, and much more. Extremely brief notes on the title, size, composition, and date of each piece accompany the illustrations in this one-of-a-kind showcase of creativity and originality in metalworking art.

It's certainly unbelievable that nobody reviewed this book before (july 30 1999). Milton Glaser means to the history of graphic design what Michelangelo or Arcimboldo or Leonardo mean to the history of art. In a time when the likes of David Carson or any of the trendy computer BS designers reign, discovering Milton Glaser should be like a breath of fresh air. He represents a rare breed (almost extinct) of designers who master the craft of casting a good idea with the appropiate "visual language" in order to get the message across. His illustration skills as well as his thinking are always on the crest of the wave, regardless of who is "en vogue" at the time. He stands for excellency in the widest sense of the word. No designer who prides himself/herself of being one, should continue practising/studying without -at least- flipping through this book.

Since you've made it this far, allow me to briefly write about the book--the other commenter puts Glaser's personality so well in context. The book's content is graphic material, both published and rejected, complemented by Glaser's succinct explanations concerning any of the following: historic/social context, guiding professional principles, technique and process, interpretation, the tension between client and creator, etc. The text and the graphical works are very diverse, ranging from terse to lengthy, and simple to complex, respectively. All in all, the feeling of being in Glaser's presence (in class or studio) is likely to grow in you as you progress through the book.

If what you've read so far compels you to get the book, do so by all means, it's a 5-star! Otherwise, if, let's say, you are looking for for something akin to a cafe-table book, this one gets only 3 to 4 stars.

One of the greatest random books I've seen in a long time. What a great idea, compile all the quotes from the begining of the wired's into one book. Simply marvelous. Buy this, if nothing else, you will be dazzled by the artwork.

An amazing journey into a flight of digital art and design. Very compelling and provacative quotes that look and feel like Mcluhan's The Medium is the Massage of the 90's. An astounding eight color masterpiece.

"Where does the dancer end and the dance begin?"

Great Line for late coffee house discussions and also a fundamental question for new - possibly undiscovered - disciplines. If you are an animator, illustrator, dancer, game designer, film maker, video dude, or an all around artist - then the book's content and attractions are pretty obvious. But there is a LOT MORE...

This book is just a STARTING place for new MoCap related technology waves. If you are an engineer, an athlete, a medical researcher, a medical product developer, or are someone concerned about quality of life issues for an aging population, then you NEED to understand current MoCap technologies and how to use them.

If there are negative aspects - then its a "turn off" that the MoCap process is presented using (very) expensive tools and software. But that is how technology works: something revolutionary starts out expensive and is the province of a "chosen few" - like IT was in the '60s/70s. MoCap software and tools are going to get more affordable: FAST. (It will add some difficulty in absorbing the material if you are not familiar with these tools.)

In the 60s/70s, I wanted to play on the university computing system but the (then) High Gods of University Computing did not let "peon students" have unfettered access to the systems... Well... these days my 9 and 10 year old children do systems and IT maintenance. My last computer purchase was a $599, 4g DDR, Quad (2.1G) core PC that - I believe - would out perform the total of ALL COMPUTERS WORLDWIDE THAT EXISTED in 1970. Point is that MoCap systems cost will drop. The APPLICATIONS will explode - and you MUST start somewhere.....

You should buy this book... Get a sense of where things are headed.... In technology, you come in early - and then start to apply the concepts to an exploding sea of applications - far beyond the immediate artistic implementation. If you are going to techno surf - then this is a good place to start....

You may know all about the Wii... Motion Capture was also used, for example, in the last Olympics to analyze Olympian's bicycle motion - and then provide the DETAIL to make SUBSTANTIAL training improvements... You may be able to use those same MoCap systems as a consumer in the very near future.. the list of applications goes on and on...

As as systems designer, I get to see very early on how some technologies just diffuse everywhere.. MoCap is one of those core technologies that apply to robotics, medical/fitness systems, motion analysis, communications, or even the book's initial target application of entertainment.

This is a great book on motion capture process and is a must read for producers wanting to use motion capture and tech artists and animators that want to understand how to get usable data from a shoot and on to their final characters. Any project that plans on useing or is currently useing mocap should have a copy of this book and make it required reading for all project leads.

The parts of the book that deal with MotionBuilder and the tutorials that take readers through re-targeting and editing of skeleton data are unfortunately out of date and in some places give the reader a workflow that is not practical in production; most of what is show has been replaced completely with tool updates or better editing techniques over last few years.

That said, The ideas for how to pick a blend point and the hows and whys of doing the editing and re-targeting are very valuable. Also the optical cleaning chapter is good with regards to the tools and issues both in and out of MotionBuilder and the rest of the book is well written.

A very informative and descriptive book with lots of beautiful pictures. I highly recommend this book to anyone int interested in mocha pottery.

The only authorative book on this subject. Author presents info in interesting manner. Beautiful plates. Highly recommend to anyone interested in mochaware.

This is a beatiful addition to the library of anyone interested in art, interior design or the history of both. Together, Sarah Schleuning and Jeremy Aynsley present an interesting history of the pochoir technique - a method of creating coloured illustrations of an interior designers intent. Full of charming full colour pochoir illustrations of the work of France's finest designers, its as fascinating as it is inspirational.

This is a fabulous book not intended for the lay person. The illustrations of French deco rooms is a very welcome change from super-staged photography that's all the rage these days in interior design books and mags. This reminds me of the wonderful fashion illustrations that have bitten the dust over the years (since the 60's) to be replaced by styled-to-death prepubescents in haute couture. It's wonderful to see something so beautifully done by hand get a chance. Buy it immediately if not sooner!!
Stylemaven