July 15th, 2010
I was referred to this new book by a friend, and I just HAD to have it! I finally received it in the mail and haven’t put it down yet. The author’s, Jeanette Abbink and Emily CM Anderson, compiled this book with contributions from all sorts of designers. The experimental type photos in this book are unreal! Having worked on a project with two other graduate students about experimental 3D Typography, I know first-hand how hard it is to create good letter forms that are legible. It’s fun to undertake, and after reading through this book I think everyone will want to delve into their soul and create their own experimental type. Check out there book 3D Typography, or become a subscriber of their blog!
February 23rd, 2010
I am currently reading Graphic Design: A User’s Manual by Adrian Shaughnessy with a Foreward by Michael Bierut. It’s a book that offers insight to the complexities of current graphic design practice and thinking. I’m about 70 pages into the book, and it is nicely designed and organized alphabetically. I’ve already read topics about art direction, art v. design, book cover design, branding, broadcast design, clichés, creative block, and found each little section very helpful and informative. It’s books like this that make learning about graphic design fun! I would recommend this book to anyone wanting insight into the field of graphic design or simply wants to brush up on design knowledge.
September 1st, 2009
Graphic Design Referenced is a wonderful graphic design book by Bryony Gomez-Palacio and Armin Vit. Their book builds on what Philip B. Megg and Richard Hollis have already created with their design history books. It is important for designers to know where our profession started and so we can take it in new directions. Gomez-Palacio and Vit wrote and compiled this book with that in mind including content that they feel is important, relevant, and influential to the world of Graphic Design.
July 16th, 2009
“We were taught that the most important thing a young photographer can do is learn how to see. It wasn’t about the equipment, a camera was only a box that recorded an image. We learned to compose, to frame, to fill the negative, to fit everything we saw into the camera’s rectangle.” – Annie Leibovitz
I received this book for Christmas last year from my girlfriend’s Aunt who lives in San Francisco and had it autographed by the author, none other than the magnificent Annie Leibovitz. Needless to say I read it in two days over the break, and decided that I should read it again. The book is mostly short stories about her experiences starting out in photography at the San Francisco Art Institute followed by experiences while shooting for Rolling Stone when it was still a small magazine. As an aspiring photographer, this is a great read about someone who has worked in the industry for over 25 years, and has documented some of the most memorable moments. Though seen as a photographer for ‘celebrities’, reading about the thought process behind her photos is intriguing, exciting and helpful to anyone interested in photography.