Typography Books

There's much more to the type of Frederic Goudy than Goudy Oldstyle, and you'd be suprised at some of the familiar typefaces that came from his hand. He created over 100 types, including what is now known as Berkely and Copperplate. Most designers are lucky if ONE of their types finds its way into common use. Goudy has at least ten. This is a facsimile of a volume that appeared in Goudy's lifetime. My only complaint is that I wish it had been reproduced on letterpress -- printed pages produced by modern means do not carry the same authority, or produce the characteristic relief of the old printing methods. Nonetheless, we are fortunate to have it available.

This is an amazing book. It is around 475 pages and around 97% of it is all large images with the best poster from this era, where you can see the biggest graphic design movements that happened in the 20th century. It also includes images all of all important fonts created with information about them.
I never write reviews but this is an amazing source of inspiration that makes you think why aren't more things being done like in the old days, simple, direct, and understandable.
Over all great book.

I've been singing the virtues of Jan White's Graphic Idea Notebook since 1980. I recommended this to all my workshop and seminar attendees, until it became out of print. Since then Jan has written many other books -- but never updated this one. Then, just last week this new edition arrived in the Design Bookshelf mail box and we all rejoiced.

What the publisher says really doesn't do the book justice. Here is page after page of doodles, sketches and ideas all penned by Jan himself. It's pure visual brainstorming that's been organized into a form that is both inspiring and entertaining. It's a joy just to thumb through the pages. Many of the ideas are classics... others are quirkish twists on visual and word plays.

Jan says:
Some of the captions identify or describe the images themselves, some are possible interpretations of an abstract concept or metaphor. All are just stabs at meaning. None claims to be the right one or the only one, because there's no such thing. Interpret them -- or twist them -- to fit your story. Their only purpose is to trigger a thought and spark an idea, which is the purpose of this book as a whole."

First there are ideas in cliches. Then ideas in mime -- gestures, body language or expressions. From there through time, then facts and figures and ending with my favorite; type and typography. He even provides you with an extensive list of printing terms in six languages.

There's no index. Who needs an index? Besides, since when could you index ideas? Yet the book is ultimately 'flippable' -- any page you land on has a good idea. His notations are delightfully informal yet engaging.

If you need ideas. If you need creative sparks. This is the place to look. The best part is how much you'll enjoy looking. And don't be surprised if you find many more creative ideas than you thought you needed.

A unique book covering pre-press techniques and design. Very informative spcially for novice readers. I highly recomend it.

This is design before the Mac. Wozencraft has collected some of Brody's best work and presented them in a concise and inviting manner. From a designer's perspective it is astounding to see how Brody handles type and image in the pre-Mac design environment.

The Graphics Master 7 is the complete source for all levels of graphic designers. It contains valuable information on many aspects of graphic design that you need in the field no matter where you work. Here are a few examples of what you can find in this excellent book:
~printing processes
~digital prepress info and instruction
~typography and typesetting
~type face selector guide
~type size and weight comparison guide
~proofreaders marks
~movable proportion scale
~fraction to decimal conversion table
~digital imaging info
~many pages of color swatches on several paper types
~color management info
~binding and finishing info
~envelope sizes
~an all inclusive glossery to look up unfamiliar terms

Plus, this book comes with a line gauge and ruler that comes out for easy measuring.

Not only does this book provide info on everything listed above and then some, it also provides illustrations in each section to help give you a better understanding of what is being talked about.

So, if you are a graphic designer still in school or a professional who has been in the business for many years, I urge you to buy this excellent book. If nothing else, it is a great reference for all of the tasks that are performed in the industry. It is a great investment.

This is a fabulous book for anyone who is required to design all or most of their publications in black and white.

If you are involved in page layout - using type and/or graphics -you will probably benefit from a thorough reading of this short book. I have several books by this author but "Great Pages" was the one that gave me the confidence, as an amateur, to explore page layout on my own and to believe in my design decisions. The book itself is a good example of the principles it teaches. It is engagingly written, deftly designed, and has plenty of enlightening, often humorous, illustrations.

The chapter titled "Considerate typography" was especially helpful. Some other standout chapters were "Words and Pictures," "The 'so-what,' 'wowee,' and 's'posed-to' syndromes," and "How to use color functionally." A few examples of the checklists sprinkled throughout the book are "How to decide whether the designer is right for you," " Five reasons for redesigning," "You already know the fundamentals," "Here are ten ways to intrigue and attract your readers," "Here are nine ways to edit for the reader," and "Here are eight ways to design for the viewer."

"Greek Letters: From Tablets to Pixels" is a great book. Some day it will be recognized as a classic, not only by Greek Scholars, students and publishers, but also by designers of typefaces for both Latin-based and non-Latin writing forms. Louis Rosenblum, Belmont, Massachusett

When a graphic designer organizes information into a visual communication he/she must organize the information so that the audience can easily navigate throughout the communication. Visual hierarcies are established and grids are created as an aid to the communication. READ THIS FIRST!