Designers Books

Lots of pictures of different logos and the book is arranged in a very orderly manner. Excellent book!

Well printed, well edited and an excellent resource for designers and creative individuals.

I'm very impressed with the wide array and organization of this book (and the others in the series). Such great colors, and layout... everything just makes me want to study every last detail on every last page. I've bought the first two... and have added the third one to my wish list. If you want to be a good logo designer but experience "designer's block," this should get you over that hump. Thanks, Bill Gardner, and all the fabulous designers who were featured in the book!

Logo Lounge 1 is a must-have in my design library - I refer to it often. Unfortunately Logo Lounge 2 seems lackluster, uninspired, and disappointing. While it contains the same quantity of logos as the first book, the solutions are much less imaginative and the profile section at the beginning is too long and the designers profiled, and their work, are difficult to relate to.

Great for idea gathering and inspiration. It keeps you up to date with the newest logo designs.

This is the textbook for my portfolio development class. All I can say is this is one of the best investments I've ever made. It initially seemed costly, but it is completely worth it. It gently talks you through the process of setting up your portfolio, and gives a ton of ideas for a stunning presentation that will leave an impact.

I don't think that I can say anymore than whats alreasy been said about how ABSOLUTELY GREAT this book is.

It really is a great resource to own. It has everything from layout (which one is the best and which ones aren't), to resume, to interview information. It also encourages you to think out of the box a bit by showing you what everyone wlse os doing.

Once agian excellent resource for up-an-coming fashion designers/students and even those who have left and are returning to the fashion industry.

I purchased this book to help me with my portfolio layout for acceptance to the Fashion Institute of Technology. Although I needed to follow FITs guidelines, I feel that I gained a lot of great knowledge and excellent ideas and inspiration by referencing this book before submitting my portfolio to FIT. I am proud to say that I was accepted and will now be referencing the book to put together my portfolio for interviews in the industry.

For someone who loves to sew and is looking on how to bring their designs to the next level, then this is the book for you. It chocked full of great tidbits and even provides several portfolio options for the novice beginner. For great inspiration, it features sketches from up and coming designers and the established guard before they were on the map. Great reference book for hard core design fashionistas!!

A great book for more advanced Designers, show you different presentations of portfolio...Great but I wish that the pictures were in colors not in B&W.

I've been using QuickTime for nearly ten years, and have often been frustrated when trying to explain to people that it is not just for video and sound any more. The frustration stems from the lack of examples and explanations to use these powerful features for non-programmers. This book changes that. It explains clearly and wittily how to use QuickTime to enhance your website or CD-ROM, and take advantage of over 10 years of cutting-edge digital media technology for free.

[Full disclosure - I work for Apple on the QuickTime Engineering team, and know the author - believe me I wouldn't endorse this book if it wasn't great]

This book is a must have if you plan on working with QuickTime to make multimedia content available! I call this book 'a rare find', as it is great for beginner through master, leaving few questions unanswered or stones unturned. The text is a good mix of "how to" information combined with "tips and tricks" to get your implementations to work.

I purchased this book for its material regarding steaming content over the Internet, and learned a great deal in the process. The chapter on QuickTime VR answered my "how do they do that?" questions, and has led me to explore the use of this technique for my upcoming projects.

The QuickTime VR chapter is a good example of the depth of knowledge used to develop this text, as it gives in-depth information on photography techniques that only a mid- to experienced photographer would know.

My only criticism of the book is that it only begins to explore about half of the knowledge needed to set up your own streaming web server, but I can hardly fault the authors for that -- it says right on the cover "A Hands-On Guide for Webmasters, Site Designers, and HTML Authors." It says nothing about being aimed at System or Network Administrators. If your main interest in this book is the setup of streaming servers, you might want to consider another book (or better yet, purchase this book along with another to round out your knowledge).

With the ... QuickTime Pro included, I can say without reservation that this is one of the best computer book values I have ever purchased. The book paid for the rest of the cost by showing me how to trick Microsoft Internet Explorer / Windows Media Player in such a way that it will not try to open your .mov files (great in a Windows-dominated environment)!

Highly recommended, even if you have only a passing interest in QuickTime.

This is an important resource for anyone who is serious about maximizing the potential of Quicktime. At Rayhawk.com we have been using this book to enhance our web productions and the results have been noticable, not only to us, but to our clients (KFC, Taco Bell, BMW, Porsche).

The book is full of useful info and the author is fun and helpful. He assumes we have little prior knowledge with either QuickTime or HTML and by the end of the book, he teaches us how to produce some amazing content.

Mastering QuickTime is essential to quickly and easily building exciting, dymamic and interactive web sites. This book (QuickTime for the Web) is essential to mastering QuickTime for the web. It has saved me more time and energy than any book I've bought in the last two years.

This book is a must have! From how to create VR with interactive sounds and sprites - to getting your video or photos streaming on the web - this book shows you how. As a web master of a site with over 100 different Virtual Reality and QT movies, I found this book (and the free tools and interactive sprites for my use) to be invaluable. I reccommend it without hestitation. Luke Wonderly, Web master - vrbakersfield.com

This collection of original ads and the subsequent exercise done by at least 4 different design firms is a very interesting approach to an art book. I enjoyed the accompanying "interview" with each designer so you could align the feeling you got from the rework with their explanation of the approach.

I work as a designer myself in an advertising agency and have only had this book for a short time, but really enjoy looking and reading through it. It has givien me inspiration and motivation in my own work. Also it has been a good way of seeing how other designers and artist percieve the same idea or concept. This book is great for anyone who wants to see or learn how other designers work, it's a good motivational tool.

Right when I opened this book I already knew that I would be hooked. The idea that certain design work would be redesigned by other designers helps me to see that there is never one way to solving a problem. If you want a new perspective on a project you are on, perhaps this book will help!

I highly recommend this book for your library. As a graphic design student, it helps me prepare myself for what my competition will be. I love how it shows the original piece and re:designs from other designers. The interviews are so captivating it is hard for me to look at just the piece alone without reading the interview. It will help you become a stronger designer, and as a student, it will help you become less intimidated. Great book!!!

Quizás lo que aprendí en este libro es que cuando estamos trancados en un diseño, es mejor empezar desde cero, como si nunca hubieramos trabajado alguna idea sobre el mismo desde el comienzo.

This was a quick and easy read. Janet Shelfer and Karen Bell have brought stories of real and inspiring individuals to life. These were stories that needed to be told about the amazing people that carved a life out of the Alaskan wilderness. I can't wait to go to Taku Lodge to experience first hand the accomplishments of these adventurers. I had the pleasure of meeting Janet Shelfer and hearing about her adventure with Karen Bell that lead to this book. A fine read. Go ahead buy it and be inspired.

TAKU - Four Amazing Individuals was an informative and well-crafted history of four individuals who found their destiny and, in one case, salvation in the Alaskan frontier during the first part of the last century. The pre-Alaska story segments were also quite interesting.

I recently read this book and couldn't wait to call the author (Janet Shelfer) to tell her how marvelous it was!!! This book has everything: a love story, chills and thrills, a woman's strength to make it on her own, beautiful animals, gorgeous Alaskan vistas....I couldn's put it down. It's a story that will stay with me for years and I will certainly read the book again. I highly recommend it to anyone. What a treat!!!!!

Reading this book was like a first hand adventure! And, adding the fact that a couple of friends and I actually visited Taku Lodge this summer, made it very, very special!It's guaranteed that this book cannot be put down until finished!

Near Juneau, there sits a remarkable place: the Taku Wilderness Lodge (formerly called the Alaska Wilderness Lodge). Located on the banks of the Taku River, which flows down from British Columbia, near Juneau, the lodge is in the midst of seven glaciers, the largest being the Taku.
This juxtaposition of mighty nature and man-made order is the subject of "Taku: Four Amazing Individuals, Four Incredible Life Stories and the Alaska Wilderness Lodge that Brought Them Together" by Karen Bell & Janet Shelfer, two Southern women who visited the lodge and became enamored of its story, and the stories of the people associated with it.
"Taku," according to the authors, is a Tlingit word that describes a unique and ferocious wind, which has been adopted by the National Weather Service to classify winds which, under certain atmospheric circumstances, can begin as a 20-mile-an-hour breeze in British Columbia but build up as it journeys down the Taku River and "crashes" into Juneau at 60-miles an hour or more.
"Taku also means "the place where the geese sit down," which the authors say describes the geographic history of the area, once a giant lake during the last glacial age.
Alaska Wilderness Lodge was built by Harry Carlos DeVighne, one of Alaska's earliest and foremost doctors, in 1923. Although quite successful at his practice, DeVighne was a bit of an entrepreneur, and lover of the outdoors; the lodge was his way of allowing others to enjoy his adopted land.
But the book isn't about the place so much as the people who came to it, beginning with its builder.
DeVighne was the son of son of Henri, a former Confederate soldier turned Cuban insurgent and Maria Solano, daughter of one of Cuba's finest and aristocratic families, born in 1875. His parents died of smallpox when he was 8, and after knocking around the country a bit, he landed in Juneau, Alaska, in 1904, hoping to take advantage of a town with no doctor, as well as a contract with the United States Bureau of Education to survey the Alaskan Natives.
DeVighne was instrumental in getting the diphtheria serum for the Nome epidemic, the event that is commemorated each year with the Iditarod Sled Dog Race. He and his wife Mary were important members of Juneau society and business. The lodge was DeVighne's way of offering Outsiders a chance to experience his adopted land.
Erie Caughell Smith, adopted daughter of wealthy Charles and Julia Hackely of Muskegon, Mich., first set eyes on the lodge in 1925, after the diphtheria epidemic. With her son Leigh "Hack" Hackley Jr., a World War I hero, she cruised to Alaska and visited the lodge.
It became her hope for Hack's salvation.
"There was no doubt that L.H. "Hack" Smith was drawn to Alaska," the authors write. He reveled in its natural beauty, the excitement of the hunt, and the freedom that life in the wilderness afforded him."
As Harry aged, he and his wife wanted to sell the lodge and give themselves a break. This state of affairs came at a perfect time for Erie, as she needed something for her son, who had survived horrendous injuries during World War I that had left him bitter and addicted to alcohol, as well as two failed marriages and the loss of a tremendous fortune in the Depression.
With a dedicated nurse, Mary Joyce, Hack became the owner of the lodge, purchased for him by Erie.
Hack and Mary put up permanent buildings, filled the barn with cows and the kennels with dogs, and welcomed any and all guests who came by. In the winter, they kept busy with hunting, dog sledding, reading and conversing together, and surviving the worst Alaska could throw at them.
But Hack couldn't shake his addictions, often sneaking into Juneau for benders, necessitating a boat trip into town to fetch him back. Eventually, heredity (his father died of heart failure) got the best of Hack; he died in his sleep while on a hunting trip, at the age of 38.
Erie and Mary were devastated, as both loved the man who had brought them to Alaska. Erie took her son back to Michigan for burial, but Mary stayed in Taku. Erie ensured that the lodge would remain in the loyal nurse's hands, and Mary began the second chapter of her Alaska life.
The second half of the book follows Mary's adventures and journeys, including a sled dog trip from Taku to Fairbanks in the winter of 1935 (she was 27), a tremendous undertaking for anyone, let alone a woman.
With Native guides throughout, hunting along the way to sustain herself and her dogs, close calls and brushes with starvation, dehydration, freezing to death and all the other potential problems attendant on a wilderness jaunt, Mary undertook her tremendous journey with no expectations other than to survive.
And while she maintained an aura of celebrity for the rest of her life, she admitted readily that her trip, a journey of 1,000 miles that took several months, so she could attend the Fairbanks Winter Carnival in March 1936, was "selfishness."
"She was the only one to gain from the experience. Alaska was not helped nor was humanity benefited. There was no need for it other than the deep need she felt within."
Mary died in Juneau in 1976, and her headstone, in Evergreen Cemetery, reads simply: "Came to Alaska in 1929. Died in Alaska in 1976."
And in her own words: "I never really lived until I came up here."
Shelfer and Bell have captured the spirit of Alaska with their portraits of Harry DeVighne, Erie and Hack Smith and Mary Joyce. The book keeps the reader's attention throughout. And it is presented well, with superb photos, set and framed beautifully on the pages. They are excellent visual reminders of Alaskan life before statehood, before modern conveniences, before planes shrunk the distances between places.
Taku Lodge still exists, offering visitors a unique Alaska experience. And for those visitors, the spirits of Harry, Erie, Hack and Mary still hover, watching over the guests, offering them a glimpse of pioneer spirit.

All Access is one of the most abundant, interesting design books I've had the pleasure to comb through. Most design publications are a pleasant visual trip, but All Access has not only engaged my eyes, but pulled me in to read every entertaining, inspiring word. I would recommend this book to everyone from the seasoned design professional to someone who is only remotely interested in graphic design. It could change the latter to the former....

This book is a series of summaries and stories of the 30 designers Bucher talked to. It's a great book to flip through and think about. My only regret is that most of the designers' works shown in the book is reproduced at miniscule size, simply because there is so much of it to show. I think I had the wrong expectation in wanting to see lots and lots of work, but the stories of each designer is an inspiration in itself.

I am a designer. I carry this book to my office everyday. This is my most important book to quickly review entire graphic design history, and also inspire ideas from other designers!!!

I love this book. There is a ton of info but writer/designer Stefan Bucher has layed it out in an eye-catching, extremely functional way and I appreciate that. The insight into the designers lives and working process is something you just won't find in another book. I find it inspiring for us wannabe designers! As an artist or designer, this is a must-read!

After much time reading books on what seems like my weakest attribute (business acumen), I decided to treat myself to a book that was focused on what I love: design. In September I stumbled upon a book by designer, Stefan Bucher, called "All Access, The Making of Thirty Extraordinary Graphic Designers."

This book was a rather fortuitous find, but it re-awakened my interest in the joy of making things. I read and reflected upon the content in it exclusively for a number of weeks. This is particularly rare for me, as I generally have about a dozen books on the go, all in varying stages of completion.

It feels as though the design community has recently experienced a deluge of monographs which take on either a hero-worshiping or somewhat self-indulgent nature. Although he's clearly excited by the people he chronicles in his book, Stefan manages to stem any kind of adulation, instead breaking his studies into small chapters. Each of these passages works to illustrate the challenges real practitioners of design have struggled with, and how they have come to find their voice through their work.

If anything was difficult for me in reading this book, it was in keeping names and bodies of work straight. The vast collection of gifted designers and their wide ranging oeuvres, felt a little like a crash course that I couldn't quite process in time. As a result, I've been re-reading the book in fits and spurts since the fall, and have referenced it extensively in discussions ever since.

To read more: http://www.ideasonideas.com/2006/01/reconsidering_design/

The story and illustrations are top-notch. This book is an excellent tool for children learning to appreciate art and artists. Every child should own a copy of this book!

It's beautiful and teaches kids (and parents) how to appreciate art in a simple way. Lifelong lesson that demystifies art. Love it. It engaged my son since he was 3 and he's 4 and still loves it.

Buyer beware -- these note cards fold to 3"x5".

My 4 year old granddaughter loves the book. I enjoyed seeing many famous works of art converted to elephant-views of the world -- a refreshing reframing of the familiar. All ages can benefit from this.

This is a review for the note cards. They are beautiful. The whimsical images lifted from the book are printed on decent/usable cardstock, and are definitely fine but the envelopes are much, much higher quality than you normally see in a product like this. The box itself is wonderful and will be something you keep long after the cards are all gone.

I absolutely loved reading this book! It provided me with an insight into the life of Chanel including all of her successes and struggles. It really made an impression on me and I would encourage anyone who is looking for a good read to pick up this book. Not only was it very informative, it also provided a great story full of saddness, love, and many other touching and motivating elements.

I haven't read the book but I really need a picture of Coco Chanel. Is there any about? I need it for my A Level French Course work!!!! Any Help Thanks xxxxxx

I have always been fascinated by whatever's written about her ever since I received a Chanel purse for an 18th birthday present. There have been a number of books written about Chanel, I'm sure but Janet Wallach's will not disappoint any reader. It is simple and elegantly written with beautiful black and white illustrations. Even if one is not a fan of Chanel's style, you will be intrigued by her notorious life as told here. Either for yourself or a friend, a nice book to keep and look through now and again.

This is a spectacularly beautiful and insightful view of a woman who was the major force in 20th century fashion. It is elegantly written and sumptuously illustrated and no doubt will become the definitive book on Coco Chanel. I learned a great deal that I did not know before and I had a long career in fashion. This book will delight men as well as women because it contains many revealing stories about Chanel's sexual escapades. Buy it by all means!

This book is very good. The text isn't hard to read, and in this book are allot of pictures, only in black and white. There should have been also a few colour pictures. This book is only looking at the period that Coco Chanel designed the collections and not the Karl Lagerfeld era.

Without a doubt this book is the most user friendly book on technology I've read. It is packed with essential information for everone using digital photography today. It provides help in setting up shots as well as streamling your workflow and a lot more. There is nothing extraneous out this, it's great from start to finish!

This book is a must-have for designers and photographers who are moving towards a fully digital production process. DPFGD is a well-organized linear treatment and full of extremely useful guidance relevant to both the broad creative issues and nitty gritty details that we face in our profession. Varis is precise, clear, experienced, and is well backed up by artfully selected examples on every page. This is one book that I expect to look back to again and again.

Just fininshed reading Lee Varis's new book. It's a great overall treatment of digital photography for any student of graphic design or even the seasoned art director that may be new to digital technology. The technology discussed is current, and in common use professionally. The discussions of critical concepts of resolution and color are presented in a user friendly, easy to grasp manner.

This book should well prepare the designer going into their first digital photoshoot. It can help in understanding how to achieve all the technology is capable of, and how to get the most from the shoot.

This is a must have book for designers and photographers, especially designers of the old school who have been more then a little afraid of going digital and there are many out there. For the beginer designer, this book puts on the page what they will be told about the digital work flow as it exists today.
Lee Varis takes the reader on a digital ride explaining more then enough to get the reader to appreciate the digital workflow.

Even though there are many books as there are about digital imaging, none discuss in detail the relationship of designers and art directors with the process (and people) involved with creating digital images.
This book covers a great many of the complexities of digital imaging with a clear, casual style that does a great deal towards clearing up many misconceptions people have about digital photography. Not only does it cover that, but the book goes further into aspects such as pre-press, proofing, editing and printing, and and does so with a very enjoyable, non-technical narrative. Anecdotal writing, along with supporting photography (beautifully printed) helps lend creedence to this book. A necessary text for anyone in graphic design and/or advertising.

I have had the pleasure of visiting the Eames House and the Eames Family (incldg Eames Demetrios--author and grand-son and Lucia --Charles's only child) on the occasion of the Charles's 100th birthday anniversary. What a delight! Before that wonderful trip, I had the benefit of reading this book which helped me fully understand the history and legacy of this important creative team and the family life that influenced them

It's a must have for any mid century devotee. Get it for your library and be inspired!

Before reading this book I would have found it difficult to believe that I would be able to use the word hyperbole and the Eames Office in the same sentence. The work of the Eames Office remains beyond reproach and this book does offer some genuine insight into its multifaceted work but tends to avoid difficult questions and for the most part gives simple answers.

The book glosses over the realities and complexities of the Eamesian approach to design and the creative atmosphere of the Office. However, I think the title itself makes the authors intent clear. As a "primer" this book fits the bill in terms of the information included. My main criticism is that the author should have followed through and been more concise and direct. This book is verbose and practically glows with the repetitive and nearly-universal fond memories of the individuals interviewed. Worst of all, the prose has the faint sent of re-contextualization and hero worship (hard to avoid for a grandson).

Secondary to the above but still significant is the books poor quality of design and production. I found the book extremely difficult to read. The font and point size selected, compounded by the overly-wide text line length, made for uncomfortable reading. To top it off the paper selected displayed a surface glare that made reading the book all but impossible except in the best light conditions. The design renders it more a pretty-object rather than a functional book. On the other hand it looks good on the shelf... if you want to impress your friends.

If it weren't for the fact that this book is really about as good as any other design book, it would fair far worse. If you couldn't tell, I would recommend getting the book as there is not much out there on the subject thats any better.

This is a great insight into the lives of the Eames'. I think many designers (myself included) think we know something of their lives and importance. This book is a true eye opener into their influence around the world. There is so much to learn not just from their work, but HOW they lived their lives. Very well written. A must read for any designer.

In 1988, filmmaker Eames Demetrios made the film, 901: After 45 Years of Working, a family record of the closing of the Eames Office shortly after the death of Ray. It was an objective attempt to capture the essence of the studio and design work created by Charles and Ray Eames and their multi-talented staff. Now more than ten years later, Demetrios has again recorded the studio and work in the book, An Eames Primer. The modest title implies an introduction and starting point to all the work of his grandparents but it is much more informative. What makes this book essential reading is the personal nature of the writing, connections, and the concept of "design addressing itself to the need."

Much of this personal nature is expressed in the chapter on the life of Charles Eames and Ray Kaiser before their meeting at Cranbrook, including extensive writing on each family history. This early period of their lives is illustrated by several drawings and paintings by Charles and Ray with each piece exhibiting a pleasing combination of color and form that would later become the hallmark of their work.

Demetrios devotes two pages on the issue of the Eameses signing with either Knoll or Herman Miller for the plywood group. This analysis, which isn't really dealt with in other books, is a rational and logical explanation of Charles and Ray's principles and their main concern about simply marketing a "good chair". For anyone interested in this crucial choice the author has formulated an essential case for the decision to go with Herman Miller.

One of the many highlights of the book is a wonderful collection of color photographs of different objects hanging from the ceiling of the Eames House that is pure aesthetic delight. Also, the bottom right corner of each page serves as a flipbook tour of the expansive 901 Studio.

What must have been an amazing event in film exhibition is Glimpses of the USA at the American Pavilion in Moscow in 1959. The seven-screen presentation of life in the United States shows a cultural identity of amazing diversity and Demetrios explains the process behind the production of this film. In an unbelievable set of circumstances, the American government had given Charles and Ray complete freedom to produce this film at the height of the Cold War with no "final cut" approval from Washington. Several pages also describe the production of the two versions of Powers of Ten. These films required experiments in film technology and camera work and Demetrios fully describes the process. The many contributions of staff members and outside consultants are thoroughly explained.

Throughout the book, many former Eames Office members and consultants describe their experience of working in the studio on the amazing variety of projects. Issues of design attribution are commented upon and examined for several projects.

Two days after finishing the book I retrieved Eames Design and several other excellent books and realized that everything now seemed much clearer after reading Primer. Perhaps Demetrios is correct in giving his work that modest title. The clean and clear connection has been analyzed and described so that it all seems so perfectly obvious. This is an informative educational book written in a casual but serious style and a worthy addition to a personal library.

As you might imagine and the title implies this is a wonderful introduction to the work of the Eames' design office. More importantly it is a warm fun filled story of two wonderful and creative human beings who truly sought to make a difference in the world by living with integrity. I feel they succeeded and I think that anyone who reads this little gem will begin to see the connections that weave all life's little mysteries into a comprehensive story .