Business Drawing Books

First off, I have to say this book is absolutely perfect for all first-time freelance graphic designers. My business partner and I recently started our own design agency at [...] and didn't have a clue about where to get our hands on the legal forms needed. We were referred to this book from another source. And since my partner's father-in-law is a lawyer, we decided to let him take a look at it to see what he thought. He said everything was solid. He couldn't find any holes on any of the forms inside. So after making a few small changes to custom fit our business, we were set. I can honestly say this book should be on the shelf of every aspiring freelance graphic designer. I highly recommend it.

I have only serious clients who are willing to pay me because I take a contract to our first meeting and make them sign it. These contracts will protect you and your clients! They are worded with the legal stuff but easy to understand. He even explains what it all means. It even has a CD so you can pop it in your computer right before your meeting (as I have done) and print a contract.

This book has EVERYTHING you need ... and then some. When you think you're not going to need one of the forms in this book, you later realize that YOU DO! As a freelance artist, using these forms made me feel as though clients noticed that they were dealing with a real professional. Absolutely a great investment.

In starting out and gathering information it's hard to determine what books will be helpful. This is great. It is filled with tear out forms you can make copies of and use over and over. Great information. And the CD-ROM includes all the forms in pdf format, as well as Pagemaker and Quark XPress so that you can make changes to fonts and style, logo additions, and more, to suit your own home business. Files are compatible with Mac and IBMC platform, which is great for me being a designer working mostly on an IBM computer. Excellent book!

Our small graphic design firm had been relying on the legal forms and contracts from this book for about one year. Finally, we decided that perhaps we ought to visit with a lawyer to make sure we were doing it right...$560.00 later for an initial consultation, we realized that this $29.95 book was the best business investment we'd ever made! The lawyer confirmed that the contracts that we had been using were airtight and were great (he had a few other pointers...but, none worth $560.00).

We have had many comments from our clients that over all the creative teams they'd worked with over the years, our design firm had surpassed them all in business professionalism. If you are serious about running a firm, or just want to protect yourself, you really can't go wrong with this book! Such a small investment for such a large return!

Over the years I have bought two text books on this difficult subject, and never could get past more than two chapters. In contrast, this book is both readable and extremely well organized with a summary of the main points at the end of each chapter. For any formulas used in the text, he defines the symbols along with the formula. No looking back to early chapters.

Highly recommended.

Even after having collected and read quite a few of the modern textbooks on architectural acoustics, Egan's Architectural Acoustics (1988 hardback edition in my case) still stands as the most accessible first foray into the subject. I frequently use this book in my consulting practice when I need to illustrate a fundamental concept, such as sound isolation, auditorium shaping, or the basic acoustical conditions necessary to support various styles of music. Even though the binding has mechanically failed, I have not yet been able to bring myself to part with the book long enough to have it rebound. Perhaps the new softcover binding will actually hold up better to repeated reading, as this book will surely receive and deserve!

Since first encountering Egan's text a little more than 20 years ago, I've continued to return to it for solid information. Complex material is presented in a way that allows me to apply it to unique conditions at hand. Some of the world-class acoustics consultants with which we've had the privilege to work rely on Egan to help communicate complex ideas. Without compromising too much real technical nuance, the ideas are so clearly communicated that I was able to offer the book to members of a church in eastern Europe working to improve the condition of their worship space.

I'm a architecture student and I think this book is like a bible of acoustics in architecture. It brings detailed info for designing places with good acoustic performance whit various technics and for the most different type of places like a simple residential to auditoriums and concert rooms. I have other acoustics books (like William Cavanaugh's) and they always make mention to David Egan's book. If you're in search on books about architectural acoustics, I think that must be the first one to buy. It's a must have in any architect biblioteque.

I am an acoustical consultant... I have read a lot of books onarchitectural acoustics. I found this book unique of its kind. The concepts are introduced by plenty of figures and illustrations with informative text that make the discussed subject easy to read and comprehend especially by the architects. Writing on the figures and using checklists added a lot of understandibility. Also the text itself is informative and directly address the subject. In other words, the book is excellent and comprehensive.

Although I am not an Architect but I enjoyed reading this book. It tells you exactly what you want to know about running a design firm. I also liked the simple, clear language that was used. If you are planning to start up your own business then I really recommend you to read this book.

How Firms Succeed should be on every Design Firm's must read list. It is the closest thing to a how-to manual in running a design firm. Anyone who follows the principles of the text will reap the rewards as their business grows.

How Firms Succeed transforms the poetry of architecture into the prose of practical management advice. This book offers solutions to the questions and problems that distract firms from their quest to provide excellent design. It should rapidly become an indispensable part of every architect's working library.

I was very pleased to find this book. It is a clear, concise resource for people who need to better understand design firms. It provides an insight into the nature of the design business - and it unique culture - that is invaluable to both practitioners and managers who want to create a successful and healthy organization.

Too many design professionals think that design excellence and financial acumen are mutually exclusive. Thanks to the authors of How Firms Succeed for putting this myth to rest. This book addresses the issues that, if practiced, will allow for both. One can only imagine the impact of a firm that provides best-of-class design and its impact on our communities.

Milly R. Sonneman has really done it: written a book that demonstrates in easy, concrete steps that anyone can draw well enough to enhance their communication skills!

Sonneman takes you through initially simple and then progressively more advanced steps that can teach any person--in spite of self-doubts--how to make compelling drawings that will clarify ideas and make them more interesting. If you have any doubts that this book can help YOU, just have a look at the other reader reviews!

Doni Tamblyn is author of Laugh and Learn: 95 Ways to Use Humor for More Effective Teaching and Training and The Big Book of Humorous Training Games (Big Book of Business Games Series)

Excellent guide for communicating concepts, ideas, etc.

All my 50 years I was convinced i could not draw and I was not artistic. This book proved me wrong. Quickly my intuitive mind grasped the concepts and I started drawing. Folks comment all the time how long I have been drawing. Their jaws drop when I tell them for only a year. This book's style was instrumental in making it easy to enjoy drawing.

All these reviewers are right. I opened the book and within 30 seconds i drew the first picture which looked EXACTLY like the one in the book. I have spent hundreds of dollars on books on drawing - all wasted. The beauty of this book is that every concept is applied instantly and transferred to your brain subliminally.

If you are spending 2 hours to make the perfect PowerPoint, this book gives you the confidence to make your own drawings, pictorals, and basic diagrams on any whiteboard or paper easel. I was a statitican (so you know I can't draw) but often needed to work out ideas of my own and in groups. The simple pictures learned in this book helps everyone understand the discussion that's going on. Connect words, ideas, and your audience with esy to draw colorful pictograms of your ideas.

Not sure if you can draw, the publishers sample made me get the book.
http://www.handsongraphics.com/index.htm
click on animated guy.

An excellent study of world-wide corporate "Best Practices" and real life. This book starts out with a review of best practices in use today, and a critique of them. It is fascinating to see the variations in thought and practice throughout the world. We are all trying to solve the same problem of transparency, corporate direction, and management oversight, but there are many different solutions.

Carter and Lorsch have studied corporations worldwide, and have been on many boards. Their background and research make for good reading, while their recommendations are quite insightful.

Very feasible practices and real life suggestions for an increasingly complex and risky job.
Since 1989's "Pawns or Potentates", this is the best book about director's activities.
I recommend this book: very focused and structured contribution for actual corporate board members around the world.

Back To The Drawing Board: Designing Corporate Boards For A Complex World addresses what expert professional consultant Colin B. Carter and Harvard Business School professor Jay W. Lorsch see as the greatest challenge facing corporate boards today -- that many national and international corporate boards are composed of member with limited knowledge of the companies they must be responsible for, and too little time to make even the most crucial decisions. Recommending a major corporate board of directors redesign based on experience and a "what works" approach, Back To The Drawing Board offers methodologies that can be customized for each unique corporate board of directors to the benefit and bottom-line profitability of the corporation and all who serve it. Back To The Drawing Board is a strongly recommended revolutionary analysis with emphasis on practical needs and reasonable expectations.

Carter and Lorsch have noted that "around the world, scandals and company failures have provoked a storm of criticism and well-meaning reforms. In response, a variety of 'best practices' have emerged, but can such ad hoc adjustments fundamentally change the capacity of boards to provide good governance?"

I attended a Forum for Corporate Director's meeting featuring Professor Lorsch from Harvard Business School - it was an outstanding morning filled with additional insights, confirmations, and new ideas concerning corporate governance. This excellent book extended that rewarding experience and will likely be a constant reference in my corporate governance work. Carter and Lorsch have extensive research (included in appendices) behind their suggestions for change in corporate boards. In a refreshingly clear writing style, they expose the gap between theoretical board design and the practical results of board design. Further, they acknowledge that these gaps cannot be closed completely, nor can they be legislated out of existence. Instead, as always, we must rely on the women and men who sit on boards to have a deep understanding of their mission, the boards mission, a commitment to integrity, and knowledge of the workings of their executive suite.

Back to the Drawing Board is laid out in a logical manner, and approaches this complex issue of properly designing boards in an equally logical manner. The face, head on, the issue of increased time and energy that will be required of new board members. The clearly address the issue of independent directors and squarely address the advantages and disadvantages of independent directors versus executive directors. They also address the concerns of the executive director who, in many respects is required to sit in judgment of her boss. Perhaps most refreshing is the concern that we not throw the baby out with the bath water, that we not think that Sarbanes-Oxley is the complete answer, and that we not expect a "one size fits all" board structure. Rather, we must do the hard work of defining a particular board's role, redesign accordingly, and rethink the processes, practices and policies of our decision makers.

This book is a must read for anyone involved in corporate governance whether they are on a board, aspire to be on a board, consult to those responsible for corporate governance or are a member of the "c" suite. Thank you Mr. Carter (of the Boston Consulting Group) and Professor Lorsch (Harvard Business School) for this excellent work.

Back to the Drawing Board will be of most value to those who have never sat on a Fortune 500 board or been present during the meetings of one. Much of the current concern about boards reflects a lack of understanding of how they operate. By reading this book, you will get a good sense of what the average and better boards are doing . . . and what their continuing problems are. A unique resource in the book is a survey of 150 CEOs around the world concerning their perceptions of how to improve boards. Although the total is too small to be statistically meaningful, the directional evidence will help many to see what the most glaring issues are.

A second audience for this book will be independent chairs of boards and chairpeople/CEOs who want to improve the effectiveness of the boards.

A third audience for the book will be neophyte directors getting ready for their first meeting.

A fourth audience for the book will be those who want to improve governance practices through legislation and regulation.

As a management consultant who is often asked to speak with public boards about shareholder perceptions of company management, strategy and performance, I found the material accurately reflected my experiences. Boards are overwhelmed, overscheduled, undereducated and often uncoordinated in addressing key concerns of the enterprise and its stakeholders. I had no disagreement with any of the descriptive materials that begin the book. They are valuable addition to the literature. If the book stopped there, it would have been an excellent book.

The prescriptions though that the book makes fall short of what is needed when you get past the idea of building a board and processes to fit the tasks appropriate for that board.

Here are some of the enormous issues relating to effective monitoring of a company's performance (the minimum standard for the board) that the book fails to adequate address:

Is the CFO capable of knowing whether the company is under control and operating honestly and ethically? Most CFOs are chosen for their legerdemain with accounting to make the EPS work out.

Is the CFO telling the board what is really going on in the company? Most CFOs would be fired by the CEO if they did.

Notice that until recently no director in the company needed to know anything about finance or accounting. With Sarbannes-Oxley, one person does. Big deal! Most companies could use several ex-CFOs on their board to deal with these issues.

What do the shareholders (and potential shareholders) think of the company's management, strategy, alternatives and performance? The authors suggest talking to security analysts. That's a waste of time. They just want to sell the company something. As a back-up the author suggest looking at the expensive economic analysis programs (such as sold by BCG, where Mr. Carter works). For a lot less money, you can just talk to shareholders and get regular reports on this. Many firms will do this for you at a very modest cost. In most organizations, the CEO knows less than anyone else about what is going on. Well, the board knows even less than the CEO. You have to get direct information from those you are supposed to serve, both institutional portfolio managers and individual investors.

How is the company actually performing versus competitors with customers, potential customers, desirable distributors, vendors, and in attracting top talent? There's no mention of that subject in the book (expect indirectly in suggesting that Balanced Scorecard companies share those measures with their board).

I could go on, but you can see that the prescriptions here are ones that reflect an incomplete understanding of how to inform a board and make it effective. You need someone who knows how companies work who can set up direct access to the cutting edge information that CEOs often do not go out and acquire themselves. They usually focus on meeting the budget. That's how they get their bonuses.

If a board follows what the authors suggestion, they will definitely make a lot of helpful progress. That's good. But will they be adequately fulfilling their responsibilities to monitor the company on behalf of the shareholders? Usually not. Only where they have a great CEO in place who wants to share information with them will they know what they need to know.

It's very disappointing to me that top experts like Mr. Carter and Mr. Lorsch cannot come up with better prescriptions than these after the round of awful collapses in corporate governance we have just experienced. Investors deserve better.

...but not for Software CM.
As the title says, this is an Industry CM book. If your need is for Software CM, this book can be used for general CM concepts and background (and to develop a strong understanding of CM principles), but no more (get a software-specific CM/release management book instead). Only a few brief mentions of application of these concepts to software CM. If your need is for doc. control/industry CM, then this is probably an ideal book.

Unlike the vast majority of books available on configuration management, this book, as the title suggests, focuses entirely on configuration management in industry. Throughout the book, the author focuses on a simplified, fast configuration management system that exceeds DoD standards. This book, in the chapters titled Change Control and Fast Change, has an exceptional explanation of how to handle configuration modifications. In these chapters the author gives a detailed description of how to set up a system that allows the fastest possible changes to take place. Also, many case studies are given in these sections which provide further insight as to how to implement the correct system for a given situation. Overall, the book is very easy to understand, and serves as an excellent introduction and handbook to a configuration management system for industry.

This book explains the theory but includes plenty of examples of how to set up an Engineering Document Control, or Configuration Management (CM) system. The examples in the text focus on an imaginary manufacturing company. The text does include some mention of tailoring a CM system for software developers.

The text is crisp and the books organization clear and logical. One of the last chapters includes what is essentially a checklist of how to put together a CM system.

This is not a one size fits all system. The user must use the material in the book as a guide to tailor a CM system to their company's requirements.

Overall an indispensable book for someone trying to set up or overhaul a CM system. I highly recommend it.

I am a British Chartered Engineer working mainly in Blue Chip energy-related companies. I have just started using this book in my work and find it strongly re-enforces my passion for excellent documentation and design management. It is clearly the current 'bible' for Engineering Documentation Control and is extremely valuable in showing how to climb the 'Configuration Management Ladder' (page 8). It cuts away the dross and complexity that is plentiful nearly everywhere else. So many of us technologists and managers are struggling with hugely powerful new computer packages that integrate most processes in our companies. This is one of the very few books to chart our course and give us a chance of a reliable way through to simplicity, speed and profitability that are so often promissed but so rarely fully attained.

This book is very well organized and uses excellent examples, many by the hand of the author himself. The writing style is clear, straightforward, and quite informative. The author guides you step by step through the drawing process. The exercises at the end of the chapters are great, especially in the way they help you to develop your own individual style. This new approach to life drawing is very useful and long overdue. A must for any serious student of art!

This book was written with careful attention to detail. It includes illustrations that demystifies the drawing experience. It is for the artist who is interested in learning and sharpening his or her skills. It gives step-by-step techniques for rendering a variety of figures in numerous positions in both loose and sketcky style to tight and detailed. I recommend this book highly to both the beginning artist and the experienced artist. Paula Hannah-Mauri

If you are striving to develop a personal figure drawing style this book offers:

1. Clear, specific instructions for assignments and each assignment has a section on assessing the drawings produced in it.
2. Exploration of various kinds of life drawings: traditional and modern, without taking a stance on which one is better.
3. Many great visuals by a variety of figurative artists.

From my first life drawing course in college (30 years ago) until now, I have continually combed commercial and collegiate booksellers for an effective and definitive "teaching-and-learning style" life drawing textbook. Finally, there is one: Harold Stone's new "Exploring Life Drawing." Through easy-to-read text, classic and contemporary drawings, a wide range of styles and techniques, and a useful chapter by chapter review process, this book has it all. Best of all, it encourages the development of one's own distinctive drawing style.

This book covers so much concerning the business of creativity. I've been searching and searching and haven't seen a book more thorough. I absolutely love the price estimation section where the author does all sorts of ways to estimate price and he explains the advantages and disadvantages. So yes, it covers pretty much EVERYTHING.

Though plenty of info still applies today, I still wish there were an updated version to this book.

The best part of this book is that more than half of it is interviews with successful designers, and examples of their work. They are quite candid, and talk about how they became a designer or started a studio, and how they run their business and deal with customers. Highly recommended.

For many people in the Graphic Arts profession, the business side is often missed in their schooling. For those who forgot to take Business courses while they were in Art school this book is for you.

Great reference book. I have been in the foodservice business for years and I learned a few things from reading this book.

As a professional health facilities planner, I was in need of a definative reference on planning institutional kitchens and cafeterias. This book is particularly informative and exceeded my expectations.

I like the fact that this book discusses how to make the design and layout of a facility function in its favor. As I read it, it continues to remind me that a lot of thought has to be put into the environment of the facility and people within various specialties must be integrated to make everything work smoothly.

This book is not only very well written but gradually introduces the novice reader to the idea behind Sliding Mode Control. All credits are given to the individuals behind this great idea. As a graduate student specializing in Control and Automation with a particular interest in Sliding Mode Control, this was the a very good resource and probably the best $140 CAD I have spent. Furthermore, the practical problems are always an extra bonus.

I highly recommended this book for the the graduate student interested in nonlinear control theories, specifically sliding mode control and also thank Amazon.ca for having it on the shelf. Good service and good book!

Five Stars.

Klaus N
M.A.Sc, Control and Automation

this book helped me to do my project which is inverted pendulum. the m-file programs was really excellent to me. all chapters are understandable for technical people

The originator of sliding mode control (SMC), who has introduced a physical phenomenon, 'sliding mode' into control theory and has developped SMC over 50 years, presents the various most up-to-date SMC methods.

"Sliding Mode Control in Electromechanical Systems" emphasize on practical aspect of SMC, while the previous SMC book "Sliding Mode in Control and Optimization" has its focus on the theory. The practical examples involve pendulums, antennas, robotics manipulators, among others. Highly recommended for serious control engineers.