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Books : The Non-Designer's Design Book (Non Designer's Design Book)
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Rating: 
- Excellent - used everything here for my ppt presentations
I bought this book based on the stellar "Presentation Zen" by Garr Reynolds. (A must-read if you do presentations of any type).
What I was seeking to glean from this book was how to improve the look of my PowerPoint presentations. Though Robin doesn't cover this specifically, everything she writes about can be applied to the design of the slides.
The book is aimed at 'non-professional' designers. By this I mean those of us who design things in our work, but aren't trained to do so, e.g. flyers, event alerts, newsletters, reports, business cards, studies, articles, etc.
I found it funny how often she tells us not to be "wimps" in our design choices. I mean she REALLY tells us a lot. But her point is we need to be bold, not "wimps", in our design choices ... but only once we know the basics.
All in all an excellent read. Good examples, good overview at the end of each section, and good pop quizzes to make sure we were paying attention :-)
Rating:
- Not quite as awesome as you'd be led to believe.
I like the concept of this book - a design book that's written for those who aren't essentially designers, but need to use design in everyday life. Based on the idea that you've never studied design before, Williams covers the essential topics and points out the biggest mistakes that beginners make with clear examples, and plenty of "before and after" shots so you not only see why something looks terrible, you also see how simply it can be fixed. It's a short book and it's not difficult to understand. However, I just can't bring myself to give it anything higher than 3 stars because Williams' writing style verges on patronising, and I found it almost TOO basic in places - once you've read it, you'll pretty much never need to refer to it again. If you're a design student, then don't even bother with this. If you're someone who uses design on a casual or non-professional level then you'll benefit from borrowing this book from your local library and reading it cover to cover, but I wouldn't spend any money on it.
Rating: - The best...
This is probably the best book in design and typographic principles for a novice that I have read. It has lots of examples and ideas how to use type and design, and not to forget it has a list of the fonts used in the examples which I think is very helpfull.
If you have none or little experience in design or typography this is the book to get.
Rating: - Prevent design crimes
Coming from a fine art background rather than graphic design, and having done design work for many people over the years, I have always had nagging doubts that I might be committing design crimes without realising it. Was I choosing the right typefaces? Was I striking the right balance between design and readability?
The answer is, that what has taken me many years to learn by trial and error, the author has condensed into a clear, easily understood, step-by-step read. It has also taught me quite a few tricks I had never considered.
You are taken through a series of single designs, looking at different aspect each time: Contrast, repetition, structure etc. and by the end you have a professional looking layout that can hold it's head up high.
Highly recommended as an easily digestible read for beginners, or others who just needed to know some of the important design rules without going too deep. Wish I'd read it years ago.
Rating: - Super Guide
This book is easy to read and covers all the principles that can make great design. It doesn't matter if you want to put together a report, a flyer or the local nursery school jumble sale poster, this book will help you to design a more impressive result. I would go as far as to say this book should be required reading for any non-professional designer that is responsible for producing literature for group or public consumption.
A great starter for anyone interested in design.
- Excellent - used everything here for my ppt presentationsI bought this book based on the stellar "Presentation Zen" by Garr Reynolds. (A must-read if you do presentations of any type).
What I was seeking to glean from this book was how to improve the look of my PowerPoint presentations. Though Robin doesn't cover this specifically, everything she writes about can be applied to the design of the slides.
The book is aimed at 'non-professional' designers. By this I mean those of us who design things in our work, but aren't trained to do so, e.g. flyers, event alerts, newsletters, reports, business cards, studies, articles, etc.
I found it funny how often she tells us not to be "wimps" in our design choices. I mean she REALLY tells us a lot. But her point is we need to be bold, not "wimps", in our design choices ... but only once we know the basics.
All in all an excellent read. Good examples, good overview at the end of each section, and good pop quizzes to make sure we were paying attention :-)
Rating:
- Not quite as awesome as you'd be led to believe.I like the concept of this book - a design book that's written for those who aren't essentially designers, but need to use design in everyday life. Based on the idea that you've never studied design before, Williams covers the essential topics and points out the biggest mistakes that beginners make with clear examples, and plenty of "before and after" shots so you not only see why something looks terrible, you also see how simply it can be fixed. It's a short book and it's not difficult to understand. However, I just can't bring myself to give it anything higher than 3 stars because Williams' writing style verges on patronising, and I found it almost TOO basic in places - once you've read it, you'll pretty much never need to refer to it again. If you're a design student, then don't even bother with this. If you're someone who uses design on a casual or non-professional level then you'll benefit from borrowing this book from your local library and reading it cover to cover, but I wouldn't spend any money on it.
Rating:
- The best...This is probably the best book in design and typographic principles for a novice that I have read. It has lots of examples and ideas how to use type and design, and not to forget it has a list of the fonts used in the examples which I think is very helpfull.
If you have none or little experience in design or typography this is the book to get.
Rating:
- Prevent design crimesComing from a fine art background rather than graphic design, and having done design work for many people over the years, I have always had nagging doubts that I might be committing design crimes without realising it. Was I choosing the right typefaces? Was I striking the right balance between design and readability?
The answer is, that what has taken me many years to learn by trial and error, the author has condensed into a clear, easily understood, step-by-step read. It has also taught me quite a few tricks I had never considered.
You are taken through a series of single designs, looking at different aspect each time: Contrast, repetition, structure etc. and by the end you have a professional looking layout that can hold it's head up high.
Highly recommended as an easily digestible read for beginners, or others who just needed to know some of the important design rules without going too deep. Wish I'd read it years ago.
Rating:
- Super GuideThis book is easy to read and covers all the principles that can make great design. It doesn't matter if you want to put together a report, a flyer or the local nursery school jumble sale poster, this book will help you to design a more impressive result. I would go as far as to say this book should be required reading for any non-professional designer that is responsible for producing literature for group or public consumption.
A great starter for anyone interested in design.