In this design primer, Lupton and Phillips represent graphic design basics for 2008 with profundity and clarity. The text reconsiders principles from the Bauhaus legacy, but in tune with current digital tools and culture. The approach is systematic, rigorous and brimming with postmodern inspirational examples from professionals and students. Finally! I’ve been waiting for the celebratory return of formal language to design dialogue. (more…)

Building Findable Websites
Web Standards, SEO, and Beyond by Aarron Walter

I just read the excellent book, Building Findable Websites, and it truly is the book I’ve been searching for over the last couple of years. I’ve been interested in search engines and how they work for a long time and I’ve been dismayed with the emphasis on Search Engine Optimization over other methods of building findability. This book serves as a great introduction to findability and is chock full of how-to’s and how-not-to’s. (more…)

Back in February, amidst the feline army, I curled up to finally finish reading Lucienne Roberts’ book GOOD: An Introduction to Ethics in Graphic Design.” This is possibly the only book I have found and read that directly discusses ethics in Contemporary Graphic Design. Gathering a selection of opinions, from the likes of Ken Garland, Thomas Matthews, Deborah Szebeko, Sheila Levrant de Bretteville and Daniel Eatock, the book starts at the beginning of ‘Early Civilisation’ (p.21), and later discusses aspects of History, Philosophy (p.34), Law (p.44) and Politics (p.58). In conclusion the book presents a series of discussions with a collection of credible designers (p.113-192) - ultimately asking what it means to be a “good” designer. (more…)

Figure drawing is as much a science as it is an art. In art schools, students spend hour upon hour sketching live models. Eventually, most develop an acute sense of the anatomical details that give the human body its shape. Students also learn how these features interact with light and shadow and affect contour and form.

In Complete Anatomy and Figure Drawing, author and fine artist John Raynes shares his thoughts on the “art class” method, but first, he spends a great deal of time on human anatomy itself.

The book begins with a detailed examination of the human skeleton. The scientific names of each part are provided. I think that’s extremely valuable. Gorgeous graphite, colored pencil, and watercolor drawings cover every page, and each topic is contextualized. For example, you will probably never need to draw a pelvic bone, but you must understand how its shape and structure balances the human body if you want to draw realistic figures. Some of the skeletal drawings even include an outline that shows where the skin would be. This gives you a sense of how the interior structures affect the overall form.

Though the drawings are both technical and lovely, I would have liked to see some photos as well. That way, I could have (more…)

A recent post on BoingBoing, (Everyone’s favorite blog other than this one.), introduced me to a new magazine called ILLO. I guess I’m a little late to the party, as issue #1 debuted months ago and issue #2 is already in the works. Still, I’m sure glad I discovered this new magazine.

ILLO is all about illustrators and modern illustration, but it’s unlike most of the other magazines that cover these topics. ILLO’s focus isn’t digital illustration or the latest software. Instead, it delves into the creative minds, and sometimes the strange worlds, of today’s illustrators. It seeks to understand what inspires their work, and looks at how these individuals turned a love of drawing into a career in commercial/creative illustration.

That said, ILLO won’t disappoint those with just a casual interest in illustration or contemporary art. Graphic designers, vinyl toy collectors, tattoo artists, and magazine publishers will all find something to enjoy as they flick through the magazine’s colorful pages. I definitely wouldn’t call ILLO a trend magazine because most of the artists it features are not easily categorized. They come from unique backgrounds and their work is often informed by very personal ideas. These folks don’t follow trends, they define them.

If you’re still not sure that all this is worth $10 an issue, I recommend you check out the ILLO’s website. ILLO is one of just a few periodicals that offer sneak previews online, and the thumbnails from issue #1 will give you a good sense of the magazine’s overall look and feel. (more…)

Art supply stores are both inspiring and intimidating. Within every brush and tube of paint lies great potential, and yet, unless you’re able to skillfully wield these tools, you may quickly be discouraged.

Margaret Krug’s An Artist’s Handbook: Materials and Techniques wants to make the art supply store an exciting and encouraging place to be. It’s a surprisingly comprehensive little volume, in which a wide range of dry (drawing) and wet (painting) media are explored. Readers new to the fine arts will quickly discover that there is more in the artist’s toolbox than just paint and paintbrushes; Have you ever heard of Bologna chalk, or used a crow-quill pen?

The book contains the elements you’d hope to find in a guide to art materials. The descriptions of paints, pencils, chalks and pastels, and surfaces are abundant, and even unusual supplies that you may have been afraid to try, like egg tempera, are covered. These descriptions, and the logical arrangement of the chapters, make the book a handy reference, but really, it’s the content associated with the various materials that makes An Artist’s Handbook unique.

Each section is replete with inspiring historical examples, and high-quality photographs, by Pamelia Markwood, show the materials in action. Techniques associated with many of the supplies are clearly explained. These tutorials will help beginners get started (more…)

I knew I was going to love this book when I read this line in the introduction: “Why does the world need another Photoshop book?” You don’t have to read the author’s answer to understand why the world needs this Photoshop book; a quick look at the imagery shows you that the title Creative Photoshop is no joke.

Derek Lea’s instructional book eschews the usual “this is a layer, this is the toolbox” talk and instead focuses on artistry, and by artistry, I don’t mean tips on gradient fills and drop shadows. We’re talking rich, complex illustrations that rival those found in the Communication Arts Illustration Annual. Check out the author’s portfolio to see what I mean.

My fear when it comes to books touting the creative or artistic aspects of a digital application is that you’ll learn just one style that doesn’t translate well to most of your design or illustration needs. There’s no fear here, though. Each chapter tackles a different illustration style, including some that you wouldn’t expect to fit perfectly with Photoshop - retro art, “urban lowbrow,” antique effects, to name a few.

Though Creative Photoshop is meant for more experienced users, it doesn’t leave beginners high and dry. Thare a few early chapters that introduce new users to the basics of drawing and painting with Photoshop tools. More advanced users can learn a lot about using a graphics tablet with Photoshop and will get some tips on shape layers and tracing techniques in this section as well. Even in the early chapters, the focus is extremely high-quality artwork with special attention given (more…)

Just about everyone can remember painting with watercolors as a child. Little tin trays with a small rainbow of colors. Just add water, and brush the mixture onto the paper. The simple materials made watercolor a sensible choice for children’s paintings—no dangerous turpentine, no expensive canvases.

The simplicity of watercolor appeals to experienced artists as well. Elizabeth Groves, author of Exploring Watercolor, puts it this way, “What if instead of waiting for the ‘big idea,’ you begin painting by dropping beautiful color onto your paper and seeing where it takes you?” Watercolor is a medium that encourages exploration and experimentation.

Exploring Watercolor is meant to rekindle your interest in watercolor, no matter how many years it’s been since you last picked up a brush. I found the beginning of the book to be somewhat intimidating, because the author works only with traditional and experimental paintings that are well beyond the capabilities of a new painter. In fact, I started to worry that the book was too advanced for me, but my fears were quickly put to rest, when subsequent chapters got back to basics. (I must say, the vivid cover and the nice spiral binding that let me lay the book flat while I followed along, convinced me to keep going.)

Unlike many art books, the initial focus of Exploring Watercolor is design and composition, rather than technique. The early discussions of fundamental concepts, like flow and the focal point, will make even your first few paintings relatively pleasing to the eye.

In later chapters, specific methods are explained. As a beginner, I would have liked a little more information on materials up front. Do I want paint in pans or tubes? What are the colors I should have on hand? Are expensive brushes a worthwhile investment? Art supplies can be quite costly, so I hate to make a purchase only to find out later that I need something else. That said, (more…)

Some time ago, I wrote about Communication Arts—an ultra-professional graphic design magazine that’s a great source of inspiration. Computer Arts, the topic of today’s post, is often confused with Communication Arts, probably because the two magazines have very similar names. Computer Arts is however something very different, though no less inspiring.

UK-based Computer Arts produces several monthly magazines: Computer Arts, Computer Arts Projects, 3D World, and MacFormat. The last two are highly specialized, but the first two are incredibly useful to digital artists and designers of all sorts.

Computer Arts Projects covers a different theme in-depth every month.

Computer Arts is geared towards digital artists and illustrators. It always includes great tutorials, product reviews, artist profiles, and a CD-ROM full of software and other goodies. Computer Arts Projects is quite similar, but as the name suggests, it’s slightly more instructional in nature. Also, each issue of Computer Arts Projects is built around a specific theme.

I just picked up the “Create Perfect Characters” issue of Computer Arts Projects. It explores many areas of character artistry, everything from development to animating in Flash and After Effects, designing in 3D software, even sewing a plush character. To be honest, (more…)

Although we are well beyond the web’s infancy, developing an effective online business is still not an easy thing to do. A strong brand identity is often what’s missing. Without it, even the best business concepts will struggle and fail. Branding, specifically in an online environment, can be difficult, and there are very few resources out there for businesspeople looking to learn more about the topic.

If you search for books on web business, you’ll find lots that promise eBay riches and many that explain the basics of working from home, but few tackle the serious and challenging topic that is branding. Thankfully, Ian Corcoran does so in his book “The Art of Digital Branding”, and it just might be the only book you need on the subject.

Corcoran’s writing is engaging, even when the topic - IP addresses, domain names, search engine optimization – is unavoidably dry. Some of this content may not be new to the seasoned web designer, but for marketers and business folk, understanding the tech behind website naming is a crucial first step in understanding online branding. And if you’re so confident as to skim, this and all other sections have very handy key point wrap-ups at the end.

As the book delves further into branding, using very current site studies (Ferrari, Puma, and Manchester United to name a few), you’ll learn not only design tips but also a great deal about the psychology of branding. For example, you’ll learn how the brain takes in and makes sense of a company’s brand. (more…)