(Part 3) Best decorative art & design books according to redditors
We found 1,776 Reddit comments discussing the best decorative art & design books. We ranked the 539 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 41-60. You can also go back to the previous section.
When I was in college (before I went to Interior Design school and got my MIA degree) I splurged on a book called The Magic of Small Spaces. It includes photos and floor plans of a lot of small houses and apartments all over the world, furnished in many different styles. It pretty much inspired me to go to design school, and showed me that you don't have to have a lot of square footage or spend a lot to develop a high-impact design. Other resources: The Domino Book of Decorating and Remodelista. The first is a fun "how-to" for curating/furnishing your own home, the second is by the editors of Remodelista.com. They all definitely include some high-dollar stuff, but also include a lot of IKEA, 2nd hand, and DIY. Hope that helps!
I know you said no books but I had to jump in with this suggestion: Logo Modernism by Jens Muller. It's $53 and a massive heavy book--if he's a student he probably doesn't have it. I just got it this year and it felt like an ultimate luxury gift to buy myself. Friends love looking through it when they come over, too! (If by chance he already has it he could always exchange it, but if he doesn't have it, he'll cherish it.)
I've been fascinated by Celtic art since I saw photos of the Book of Kells, Book of Durrow and the Lindisfarne Gospels when I was a kid.
I found this book (Celtic Art: The Methods of Construction by George Bain) that explains how these kind of drawings were made. It's amazing how something so complex can be made with very simple methods.
china via communist-subsidized material. Fact. (well, fact that it's standard practice in China, not that the wire is made in China)
Looks pretty good!
Celtic knotwork is kind of an obsession of mine and what I say is more for education that criticism. The two important rules of Celtic knots are the lines always go under-over-under-over. You've done perfectly at that. The second is that the knot is one continuous line. This you've haven't quite got. Each of your knots is two intertwined lines. There are a lot of tricks to getting your knot to be continuous lines.
If you'd like to learn traditional methods I cannot recommend Celtic Art: The Methods of Construction, by George Bain enough. It's the bible on doing Celtic knot correctly.
haha, the link is already purple for me. Got really into the history of fonts after watching the Helvetica documentary. Also read a book called Just My Type which is perfect for anyone who enjoyed reading this.
Composition
Check out Dondis’s Primer on Visual Literacy. I think this composition is very “level”, but in a manner that’s not effective/in a manner that feels unintentional.
If you’re not familiar with level vs sharp compositions, think of a stop sign vs something from the Bauhaus. A stop sign is level - it’s huge text smack dab in the middle of the page. Your eye knows exactly what to do, and the information is so simple that it ends up being a very successful composition. Meanwhile, a Bauhaus poster is all over the place - it’s asymmetrical, and it’s managing lots of shapes/info, but they composition to guide your eye around the page. They are sharpened.
Your composition here is very level because everything is dead center. The problem is that my eye drops to the bottom of the page and stays there. I guess that works, because that’s where your info is... but then, what’s the point of having the illustration or the title?
Try playing with more complex compositions. How do you want people’s eyes to move across the page? How can you take advantage of size, orientation, and shape to guide your reader’s eye in an interesting way?
Typography
I think you’re trying to soften the angles of the composition by using the italic typeface, which is a pretty cool concept, but the effect feels like its clashing - in design terms, I would say that the underlying concept is ambiguous, which means it’s not successful.
I think you could lean into this, and choose a severe geometric sans typeface like Futura. It would be kinda badass, because your illustration style is already so angular here, so it could make the whole poster feel like it has a consistent visual language, especially if you found a typeface that really echoed the illustration - Futura is probably too rigid, and so you can look into Humanist Sans Serif fonts to try and get a better match.
All of this being said, cool poster, and great message/event. :D Cant wait to see how you improve it!
Edit: formatting. I typed this with my thumbs. :(
Logo Modernism by Jens Müller.
Logo by Michael Evamy (there are several versions of this one).
I haven't purchased these yet myself, so can't can't speak for their content, but they've been on my wishlist for a while.
First off, big props to you for putting yourself out there for a critique. Humility is a good trait. Too many designers post their work expecting a circle-jerk of praise.
Secondly your work has indeed come a long way. I suggest you dive deeper into Typography and Grid techniques. Also, I think you might be able to work on creating some small details in your work – for example, the soccer website – those portraits at the top are a bit distracting, maybe try making the photos B&W or a Duotone until they're rolled over.
I'm a big advocate of learning the history of Graphic Design but also on the idea of "never stop learning the fundamentals". I've been designing for 15 years and I still feel that my layout skills need work. With that being said, check out this book series...
Layout
Typography
Grid
There are many more books in the series but they're worth checking out.
Followed you on Behance – looking forward to seeing you post more work.
I can't give suggestions on hand-lettering books yet as the few I have read weren't good...so I'm trying to find better ones. But check out Louise Fili and Jessica Hische for inspiration and of course Paula Scher and Sagmeister.
There are many other books so I welcome others to chime in and add their suggestions.
WHAT?!
Is this for real?!
I haven't figured out yet how to tell who gave me these flattering awards. But when I do, I'm going to thank you shamelessly... extravagantly... to the point of embarrassment!
And thanks to everyone who gave me a uv! It's really gratifying to get a tangible response that tells you that you help flip on that mental lightswitch belonging to something that feels good to their brain. It is a pay-forward - someone else opened my eyes to the neuro side of art, design, and architecture. Now I dig it so much that it feels like a win to share it, and know that the share makes the recipient happy. I'll stop now before I gush.
Here are my best answers to the questions y'all asked.
u/dumpy_potato, asking for resources about this. YES! It's actually been kind of having a moment for a few years. You can find articles in all the places where neuroscientists, and neuropsychologists are likely to talk about designers; which are the same places where designer would never in a hundred years see them. Ain't science great like that?!
At the bottom of this comment, u/magneto_ms, I'm sharing some links to excellent books and articles on the fundamental principles of neuro-visual yada yada, and the way the brain instinctively responds to the sight of various lines, shapes, depictions of depty/height/mass, particular specific objects or things that resemble them, color combinations and contrasts, etc. (Spoiler alert: The instinctive brain really really responds to babies, faces, and genitalia including boobies. After that comes water, then food.)
Killer examples of designs that epitomize these principles - ones that make my eyes pop, and my brain feel good - is the work of Alexa Hamilton. For example, this cover on her book, The Language of Interior Design. Is that not an eye magnet?! Read her brilliant intro, about how good design makes they viewer's eye travel a particular path around the room. (I'm not a fan of her traditional, ornate style. But her composition is bomb.)
The Neuroscience of Design, Psychology Today
Design on the brain: Combining neuroscience and architecture
Evidence Based Design: When Neuroscience, Psychology, and Interior Design Meet
The Integration of Interior Design and Neuroscience: Towards a Methodology to Apply Neuroscience in Interior Spaces (pdf)
This one particularly rocks!
Picture This: How Pictures Work
Universal Principles of Design, Revised and Updated: 125 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach through Design
I hope some of these deliver on what you're looking for. HMU anytime if I can offer more.
My big advice to you is to take a step back and work on studies from life. It's much better looking than my first digital landscape, so props to that. But there's a lot of work that needs to be done here so I'll try to point stuff out as succinctly as possible (I wish I could do a live crit. It would be so much easier) but here goes.
That's all I got for now. If you have any questions I'll try to reply as soon as I see it. Otherwise, hope this helps and pushes you to improve. I do see potential here, if you commit your time and work hard. Cheers
Hanks is getting ready to make this book into a moviehttps://www.amazon.com/Factory-Man-Furniture-Offshoring-American/dp/031623141X
Great read by the way
Timothy Samara books are good for beginners - Making and Breaking the Grid was the book that finally helped me understand grid systems, while Design Elements: A Graphic Style Manual was my Freshman year design textbook. The Story of Graphic Design by Patrick Cramsie is also a great GD History book.
In terms of things that are less textbook and more actual books about graphic design, I enjoyed Just My Type a lot. Design Is A Job gives some great advice on the business side of being a designer - pitching to clients, dealing with contracts, etc. How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer has some really interesting interviews with some of the best designers in our field.
And I would be terribly remiss if I didn't mention two of my absolute favorite novels, which happen to be about graphic design. The Cheese Monkeys and its sequel The Learners are fantastic stories about a design student and his experiences both in school and in his first job. Plus, they're written by Chip Kidd, who is an absolutely amazing designer (imho).
But, in case that wasn't enough, I'll also leave you with this link to a previous thread on this subreddit about great GD books.
Good luck and happy reading!
Interaction Design
Interior Design
Landscape Architecture
Lighting Design
Product Design
Product Design
Sound Design
Urban Design
* Cities for People by Jan Gehl
Web Design
Thinking With Type by Ellen Lupton is a great resource on typography, especially for beginners.
Just My Type is another one, it's basically an incredibly entertaining history book on typography. Knowing the history of type and how it evolved is very helpful on how to use type in design work. Personally I feel like knowing type history, even just a bit, is necessary in becoming a good designer.
Coloring is actually quite relaxing, almost meditational. They offer highly detailed adult coloring books now, such as this one and this one, as well as comedy novelty books (NSFW). Definitely worth considering for people who need a new way to relax.
Keep doing it. Get inspired and mimic some layouts you find. Break some design rules. Use stock photos and latin text until you get it down. Keep practicing.
Also, this is a nice resource.
These are mostly directed at classical book design, so they probably tend more conservative than you should do for a magazine, but these books actual spell out rules for what you should do (I'm a big believer in handcuffing yourself to rules for the purpose of understanding them, and then breaking them later), which is I think what you're asking for.
My sorta summary/advice based heavily on what I read in the above books:
Don't decorate; be confident. There's definitely an urge to add little horizontal rules above things or boxes around page elements. Tischichold especially points out how young designers can't help but put a thin box around the inside title page of books. He says it shows a lack of confidence. The solution is to have a justification for where you put things.
Basically, if you have a baseline grid for the page, then you can place page elements on it and know that they will be harmonic with the overall page.
Page numbers can honestly go anywhere as long as it's not the inside edge. Putting them there means the publication has to be completely open in order to use the page numbers, which is annoying.
Don't put repeating information on pages. It's annoying to have the author's name or the book title at the top of every single page. Again, this is a demonstration of a lack of confidence. I believe the thinking is that if the pages are photocopied and distributed, then people will know where it came from. DRM annoys.
Usually the font size for notes will be smaller than the main text, so keep aware of the leading difference between the two, especially if you put notes along the side. The leading shouldn't necessarily be equal, but it should be a multiple of the main content, so that every three or four lines the text aligns again.
I hope none of that was totally irrelevant to your project :) Good luck!
For Boomziller
Spoon scale High Priority $14.65 from $10-$25 and a cheaper option from $10 under list Coloring Book $3.59
For Lemonsky
Twisted Stitches $13.92 a high priority item from Books & Movies or a cheaper add-on item Labeling $4.90 on the Craftiness list
The "per se"/"by itself" is meant to signify that it's a character that is also, by itself, a word, such as "A" and "I". So you can say and write "A" and "I" whether you're referring to the word or the character by itself.
But you couldn't do that with the ampersand. The word "and" could be spoken out loud, or written down as the three characters a, n, and d. The "&" is spoken as "and," but written as the single character "&."
Since the character "&" was considered part of the alphabet that was taught to children, to distinguish it from the three character word "and" they said, "and, per se, and," to mean "the word 'and' represented by a single character."
Source: from what I remember reading in Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols, and Other Typographical Marks
(I hope what I wrote is coherent.)
You're asking for quite a lot, but luckily screen printing isn't all that complicated once you understand the process and underlying concept.
Here is a nice guide with some helpful illustrations that should explain the process fairly well. It shows screen printing onto paper with a printing table rather than clothing, but the screens as well as the ideas are the same.
To print on shirts, you'll need a slightly more advanced/modified press, the most basic ones tend to look like this but they also get larger and more complex if you want to print more colours, like this, or as big and intimidating as this. The fundametals behind it all are the same.
To print on fabric you'll need special inks, most commonly an ink called Plastisol. It prints like normal ink, but it doesn't fully dry and resist washing until it's heated up ("cured"), so you need to pair the t-shirt press with a dryer that heats the garment up. The most basic ones look like this and cure the ink as the garment sits on the press. But there are also larger ones like this, with a conveyor belt that take the garment through an oven to cure the ink. There are also water-based inks available that air-dry and do not require curing.
There are a few places to buy equipment/supplies online, especially if you're in the US. The most popular is probably Ryonet.
That sort of runs you through the VERY basics. There is a lot more to learn however, but there is LOTS of information available online, and video tutorials on YouTube as well if you search for them.
Here are some good books for beginners on the subject as well:
Screen Printing Today: The Basics by Andy MacDougall
Screen Printing on the Cheap
And there's a ton of information and answers to common questions on various discussion boards online, two that I found most helpful when I was learning were T-Shirt Forums and the screen printing subforum on GigPosters.com. Most people on the latter forum print on paper, but a lot of the stuff is relevant to both media.
If you have any specific questions, this subreddit is a good place to ask, and from what I've seen we are all happy to share our knowledge. But hopefully this helps you get your mind around how it works.
Start small, get a solid grasp on the fundamentals, and then build.
related: I read a book on the history of punctuation and it was rather interesting.
link: http://www.amazon.com/Shady-Characters-Punctuation-Symbols-Typographical/dp/0393064425
Domino: The Book of Decorating
This book is fairly basic and straightforward. It's intended for the non professional, and does a good introductory job of guiding you through different styles.
Understanding different styles is something you are able to do through time and experience. Read everything you can, browse other designers portfolios, check out design books from your library. The more visual information you take in, the more your eye will be able to distinguish between styles. Take note of the types of furniture used, the lines of the furniture, the types of fabrics (as well as the patterns and prints on the fabric), the architecture of the room, etc.
He's overrated on Reddit but that's because he's an accessible figure with accessible design work. There's far more exciting graphic design.
I think this article is a good insight on how I feel about him:
https://www.creativereview.co.uk/rise-memoir-ograph/
"Does anyone worry about the wider impact of their work, beyond making a beautiful logo or advertising campaign, and think about the (usually negative) impact that playing on people’s wants and desires has?"
These assumptions are rarely questioned on this subreddit, Draplin fits nicely in the bubble.
P.S.
'Logo Modernism' is pretty much the same thing as 'Trade Marks & Symbols' but much cheaper.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Logo-Modernism-Design-Jens-Muller/dp/3836545306
I personally started with this. Great info.
I have similar ethical concerns in regards to ID, I am a student in my junior year currently and I struggle daily against my less ecologically concerned classmates. I encourage you to pursue ID, the more tree huggers the better!
My outlook is this: If I give up and drop out of school because of my ethical concerns, my place in the corporate/design will be taken by an equally talented designer. However it is not guaranteed that said designer will have the same environmentally/socially responsible opinions as me. Even if I end up at a shit company right out of school, if I can do even the tiniest bit to make their practices more ethical then I will have succeeded.
That being said, if you're interested in the practice of design for social change, I highly recommend Design for the Real World by Victor Papanek. Very eye opening read.
I would truly start with classics of art and design:
https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201
https://www.amazon.com/Primer-Visual-Literacy-Donis-Dondis/dp/0262540290/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=a+primer+in+visual+literacy&qid=1550624258&s=books&sr=1-1-fkmrnull
​
https://www.amazon.com/Visual-Perception-Elementary-Two-dimensional-Perception/dp/3721202775/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=2d+visual+perception&qid=1550624302&s=books&sr=1-1-fkmrnull
​
https://www.amazon.com/Portfolio-Beginning-multidimensional-approach-learning/dp/1633221423/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=drawing+basics&qid=1550624463&s=books&sr=1-8
​
You basically want to dig deep into the absolute fundamentals presented in drawing and design and apply them. Think daily sketches, daily exercises in composition, life drawing, etc.
yup
https://www.amazon.com/Factory-Man-Furniture-Offshoring-American/dp/031623141X
chinese furniture manufacturers will literally work for no profit.
then the government pays them government crony cash so they can survive and profit
that's on top of the built in advantage of 10% for ALL products china manufactures because they pegged their currency
This is a great way to explain composition. I purchased a book awhile ago that gets into these topics in a really cool way, picturing little red riding hood with basic shapes. here
You should be more specific about what you're hoping to learn. There are thousands of resources out there in regards to entrepreneurship, marketing, website development & eCommerce. You could find pretty much anything you want if you phrase it correctly.
Example Searches
​
You can just keep going from there.
The basics of what you'll need, assuming you know nothing (which I doubt) would be this.
Everything else you just figure out along the way based on how you want to monetize your audience and quite honestly, no book is going to help you figure that out.
You'll learn a lot more just hanging out on Reddit and watching YouTube videos on the subject matter that's next on your checklist. Books are almost purely inspirational at this point and I think we can agree there are plenty of Podcasts that will help you find inspiration (and skill), such as The Top (Nathan Latka) or Mixergy
If you study hustlers you'll get all the information and inspiration you could ever hope for. Read or watch anything from Noah Kagan (AppSumo). No one does it better than him. Ryan Holiday (not an affiliate link) is another favorite of mine. There are also some older Tim Ferriss articles that really talk about how you approach certain businesses.
Like I said, man. It's all out there. You don't need to pay $1 for information, you just have to know what to look for and if you listen to a few podcasts or read a few beginner articles you'll figure out pretty quickly the steps you need to take next.
​
Some Books I Like (no affiliate links)
Check out The Form of the Book: Essays on the Morality of Good Design (Classic Typography Series) by Jan Tschichold. A curmudgeon from the old school, these are the rules you should know if you want to break them. I had no idea this book was so expensive though: $58.98 used!
What you need to understand is the underlying principles. Try starting here:
Design Basics will teach you about things like composition, color theory, motion, reptition, balance, etc :
http://www.amazon.com/Design-Basics-David-A-Lauer/dp/0155083775
Universal Principles of Design is not specific to web design. Some here have said, "Design is design" ... this is 100% true. Yes, there is nuance to every medium, but color theory is color theory, plain and simple. Get a little zen about design:
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Principles-Design-Revised-Updated/dp/1592535879/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343223951&sr=1-1&keywords=universal+principles+of+design
As a developer, you probably suck at typography. No offense. The typography workbook can help with that. The thing to realize about typography is that there are two parts to it. The first part is the aesthetic. The second part is that type is a mechanical component of your design. It performs a job. This book will teach you how to construct good typographical systems. Every web geek should have this book.
http://www.amazon.com/Typography-Workbook-Real-World-Graphic-Design/dp/1592533019/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343224016&sr=1-1&keywords=typography+workbook
There are a lot of books out there that will help you. At OSU we're using this book for reference (required) in our sketching class: http://www.amazon.com/Sketching-The-Basics-2nd-printing/dp/9063692536/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343289990&sr=8-1&keywords=sketching
There are a ton of other books specifically for ID type sketching if you want that I can recommend. There are also a lot of online resources and videos both that can be bought or are free. Here is one very good resource/reference.
http://www.sketch-a-day.com/
ID sketching is different from fine arts sketching. If you are not comfortable drawing/practicing using your own imagination, try imitating/copying ID sketches from professionals. You need to build a visual vocabulary before you can draw/make your own products/designs. Copying helps a lot to give you that foundation.
Edit: Learning how to draw in perspective is a key foundational skill in ID sketching. Also, rendering using things like marker, etc ... they come later and can take awhile to learn. Prioritize basic sketching using a medium you are comfortable with (honestly though, I think the majority of professionals use a simple/cheap pen [not pencil although you're welcome to use it if you're better at it]).
At the end of this book
I think they also have them in the premium forums on gigposters.com
When you set up a scene you are really crafting the emotions you want your viewer to feel. Knowing how to trigger those emotions with various aspects of the image is speaking a visual language. Thats the meaning of the term. A great book to get you head around it is A Primer of Visual Literacy [referral link] its more on the art/ design perspective but there is lots of important information in there for filmmakers.
I have a train sticker book for $1.79 and some bookmarks for $1.50. Both are prime and equal to $3.29.
Holy crap, you're old! :)
There are a lot of people recommending certain books and videos, but personally those suggestions never worked out for me and arent the best start since they concentrate on being too flashy or don't teach the basics. The 2 books you want to buy are
Sketching: The Basics - Koos Eissen, Roselien Steur
Sketching: Drawing Techniques for Product Designers
Both are hard cover at a price of $29 and are by far the best sketching tutorial and reference books I ever purchased.
And as a starting point to sketching, buy a batch of fine point ball point pens (I recommend the Bic Ultra Round Stic Grip Black Ink Fine purchased at Staples), a ream of paper, and just start drawing straight lines across the pages.
Draw with the pen to build confidence, draw straight lines because it's the basis of product design sketching.
Then take those 2 books I recommend, and start copying page by page while practicing straight lines every day (2-3 pages a day)
This seems like nothing more than a summarized version of what Victor Papanek preached for many years. Much of Papanek's book "Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change" is a more in depth commentary of the same issue with more examples.
I was really hoping for something more before reading this article/site.
http://www.amazon.com/Design-Real-World-Ecology-Social/dp/0897331532/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398635742&sr=1-1&keywords=victor+papanek
If your interest is graphic design, start with indesign. Getting into fancy Photoshop tutorials will only derail you and give false hope that you can make a living out of making cool looking images that the internet adores. Learn indesign, and pair it with reading. If you haven't done much reading on graphic design, (this read)[http://www.amazon.com/Layout-Workbook-Real-World-Building-Graphic/dp/1592533523/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323732190&sr=8-1] is a great start, imo.
The best tutorial is the help file that comes with the software. Don't get trapped in the Photoshoppin' culture. Think of them as mere tools for your creativity, not sources of it.
Gotcha, very cool, thanks for elaborating.
Based on what you said, you might be interested in Just My Type.
To that list I'd add Primer of Visual Literacy.
https://www.amazon.com/Typography-Workbook-Real-World-Graphic-Design/dp/1592533019/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469950238&sr=8-1&keywords=typography+workbook++samara
https://www.amazon.com/Making-Breaking-Grid-Graphic-Workshop/dp/1592531253/ref=pd_sim_14_4?ie=UTF8&dpID=41s-rwL0vqL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR133%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=70C7ZVY3AN5STQ6KD21T
I read that for some coloring is a de-stress activity and I thought about picking a few books up, this one is on my list and I really like the art.
Pretty coloring book
You should be able to print this, even with your limitations. Oil based inks are safe to clean up by
I know people that print relief by hand on fabric, you will need to put the block face down on top of the shirt and press from the back. Look up srmprints on Instagram, she posts lots of process shots.
I would pull a nice one or two, the repost the Etsy listing with new photos and describing the product as handmade with natural variations to cover your bum, then as long as it looks cool you are fine.
If you want to screenprint, get a copy of Screenprintig Today, he talks about how to set up “shop” on the cheap and DIY. screenprinting today by Andy MacDougall
I got Shady Characters for Christmas and they have a lovely section about the octothorpe. I don't know if this is the full version from the book, but there's some info about it on their blog.
Octothorpe Part 1
Octothorpe Part 2
Books I own and still use as reference:
https://www.amazon.com/Industrial-Design-Materials-Manufacturing-Guide/dp/0470055383/ref=sr_1_35?ie=UTF8&qid=1497367939&sr=8-35&keywords=industrial+design
-----
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1856697436/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
-----
https://www.amazon.com/Sketching-Basics-printing-Roselien-Steur/dp/9063692536/ref=sr_1_32?ie=UTF8&qid=1497367910&sr=8-32&keywords=industrial+design
This is good advice. Especially the bold bit. A key part of design is finding out what your client wants/expects, and in this case your client is the UofC admissions committee.
I would add that I found Designing a Digital Portfolio and Layout Workbook: A Real-World Guide to Creating Powerful Pieces to be very helpful in putting together my own portfolio.
This or this would be cool. Thank you for the contest! :D
My sister was a Silent Hill nurse for halloween once.
I'd be glad to. To start, here are some terms to look for:
"The Crystal Goblet" explains the aim of print design, which is a good precurser to reading about interactive design media.
As far as books go, I strongly recommend About Face 3: The Essentials of Interaction Design. It's a fairly long book, but it's worth reading to build a strong foundation of understanding in IxD.
A lot of IxD is about effectively using visual design to achieve goals. If you want to understand the visual tools of IxD after finding the theory interesting, you might read the mistitled Layout Workbook (or any other overview book; it's not actually a book about layouts — nor a workbook), followed by Bringhurst for advanced traditional typography.
Rocket Surgery Made Easy and other Steve Krug books are commonly suggested for more IxD topics, but I haven't gotten around to reading them. It's likely they're lighter reading than About Face 3.
Love the Layout Book. Also your namesake's Form of the Book is excellent and beautiful.
Screen Printing Today is the best book I have read on the subject.
You could start with this classic read: http://www.amazon.ca/Systems-Graphic-Systeme-Visuele-Gestaltung/dp/3721201450/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382193099&sr=1-1&keywords=grid+systems+in+graphic+design
Than there is http://www.amazon.ca/Primer-Visual-Literacy-Donis-Dondis/dp/0262540290
This PDF will give you a pretty basic understanding of print design, and creating a portfolio, and it's free!
http://www.portfoliohandbook.com/PortfolioHandbook_UCID12.pdf
i've grabbed a stack off my shelf, i'll list a few here
[Thinking with type] (http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Type-2nd-revised-expanded/dp/1568989695) (Typography)
[Layout Workbook] (http://www.amazon.com/Layout-Workbook-Real-World-Building-Graphic/dp/1592533523/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374116370&sr=1-1&keywords=layout+workbook+a+real-world+guide+to+building+pages+in+graphic+design) (Typography & Page Layouts)
[Production for Graphic Designers] (http://www.amazon.com/Layout-Workbook-Real-World-Building-Graphic/dp/1592533523/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374116370&sr=1-1&keywords=layout+workbook+a+real-world+guide+to+building+pages+in+graphic+design)
(This one is more technical, Printing, Final Art Production, Etc.)
[Designing with Type] (http://www.amazon.com/Designing-Type-5th-Essential-Typography/dp/0823014134/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374116474&sr=1-1&keywords=designing+with+type) (Typography)
[Type & Image] (http://www.amazon.com/Type-Image-Language-Graphic-Design/dp/0471284920/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374116510&sr=1-1&keywords=type+and+image) (Combining Typography & Imagery)
[Color & Type for the Screen] (http://www.amazon.com/Color-Type-Screen-CD-ROM-Digital/dp/2880463297/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374116649&sr=1-1&keywords=color+and+type+for+the+screen) (Web Typography)
[The Element of User Experience] (http://www.amazon.com/Elements-User-Experience-User-Centered-Design/dp/0321683684/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374116686&sr=1-1&keywords=elements+of+user+experience+by+jesse+garrett) (User Experience/Web Design)
[Don't Make Me Think] (http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Me-Think-Usability/dp/0321344758/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374116719&sr=1-1&keywords=dont+make+me+think) (User Experience/Web Design)
There are also a ton of threads here on Reddit about Design books alone, and there is still the rest of the internet!
These are most of the books I got from my first two years at well respected design program, some are more helpful than others. But it doesn't hurt to read!
Also if you really want to give this a shot, work your ass off! Know that there is someone out there that is willing to (and probably is) working harder at it than you! Design is just like any other field of business, you gotta put in the work to get what you want.
Okay, I'm taking a stab at it. Let's see how close I can get. :3
$1.33 + Free shipping: Owl Necklace
$1.50 + Prime eligible: Van Gogh Bookmarks!
$4.46 + Free shipping: 17th Century World Map!
$5.00 used + Prime eligible: Bossypants by Tina Fey!
$3.99 + Free shipping: Replacement stylus for my 3DS!
[$2.80 + Free shipping: Totoro sticker! :3]
(http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B007DCDJYC/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&colid=GNGAD5SS2LFG&coliid=I36Y3POSAYT7IW&condition=new)
$19.08! Can't get much closer than that. All items are on my Under $10 list, but I'm currently making a new one.
:3 Thank you for this contest! Gifting is fun :D
EDIT Here's the list! Also my middle name is Corinne. So.. fun fact that I thought you should know. I love meeting people with the same name!
You need to draw through. That means drawing every side of the cube, even if you don't see that corner.
None of your lines are straight. Practice one movement of your arm that results in a perfectly straight line. it's hard to make yourself learn this but practice is important. once you have that one perfectly straight stroke just rotate your paper around and do the same motion every time.
You also need to work on your perspective.
these are some great books to start with: 1-2-3.
/u/Yokuo, so we meet again today. You already know I adore your adorable wit, but I also think you're a pretty swell guy for everything you do for everyone in this sub. <3
$1.50 set of bookmarks for my bookclub. Thanks for the contest.
Your best work is easily by and far those board designs on your page. With that said they're still not quite up to par with where your skills would be very in-demand in the design field.
The rest of your work, (I'm very sorry to say but everyone needs some tough love at the beginning) is amateurish and you cannot charge people for work of that level.
Work on your typography and your layouts, look at examples of successful editorial design and use a grid. Practice, practice, practice, and I highly recommend reading this book:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/2940373353/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1426783928&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=basic+design+typography&amp;pi=AC_SY200_QL40&amp;dpPl=1&amp;dpID=41XO42nU-NL&amp;ref=plSrch
I can admire your excitement to get a business off the ground, but much in the same way I can't just start hammering at a piano with no practice and sell it as fine classical music, you need to dial it back and realize you're currently in the learning stage, you're not producing work at a sellable level.
You'll get there I'm sure, you just have to put the time and passion in. Good luck.
I always feel better when I color
Somewhere Amazon is Going Nutty, this is prime for $3.78 the used price is "$2,380.90"
Seemed a little dated for design strategy. I would check out Hooked if you are into design theory. May or may not be out of scope.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LMGLXTS/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&amp;btkr=1#productDescription_secondary_view_div_1518392631650
Buy this dudes book:
http://www.amazon.com/Screen-Printing-Today-The-Basics/dp/0944094619
The book not only has multiple process descriptions (with photos) but it also does a brief overview on the industry. It will explain all the details you need, including what an exposure unit is. Its a good start.
Andy is a screenprinting saint...or prophet..or...he is just the bomb, is what im trying to say.
Or random internets is always a good source.
Logo Modernism is a great reference book of basic logos. Great for jogging the creative juices. Massive, heavy hardcover book for $39.99.
I'm also somewhere in the middle. I can never see myself working abstractly, but I don't want to be just another cog in the machine of disney's latest meatgrinder project.
The reason I brought up Piet Mondrian is because he went from very realistic down to the simplest shapes and primary colors. Perhaps shape design is something worth looking into for you.
There's a book.. Well.. I say book, it's more like a leaflet. By Molly Bang on composition and imagery.
https://www.amazon.com/Picture-This-How-Pictures-Work/dp/1452151997
And it's quite interesting in terms of shape design and "shape language". It's a great introduction to the many uses of shapes and perhaps you already know about it, in which case I'm sorry I can't help more. But if you don't want to get into too much on light and form, shapes are a good place to start.
Generally, most pattern drafting books tell you how to draft a sloper (or template of your body,) and then tells you how to manipulate the sloper to get finished designs. You can start with any sloper (from any book or website) that fits you well and jump right to the sloper manipulation part from any book you like.
For womenswear I recommend “Pattern Drafting and Dressmaking” by Dorothy Moore . It’s much, much cheaper than other books, and offers a really good, simplified set of slopers despite the book being so old. When I started drafting, four years ago, I used this book to create a dress shirt with princess seams, as well as trousers, for my wife and her co-workers assumed that they were from Banana Republic. Don’t worry though, the book also has sections on dresses, coats, jackets and even a bonus formula for a contemporary man’s dress shirt.
On a side note, you can draft anything you want, but you have to know how to put it together and most of these books do not give you construction advice. I like Kwik Sew’s instructions because they use simple construction techniques, ¼” seams and teach good habits. If you don’t know how to assemble something you’ve drafted, borrow the instruction booklet from a KwikSew pattern that is similar to what you are trying to make and write down the construction steps. In addition, you’ll see it mentioned here a lot, but "Shirtmaking" by David Coffin offered invaluable tips on how to get the collar, cuffs and yoke assembled in a non-conventional way.
Some of the other books I recommend:
“Patternmaking for Fashion Design” by Helen Armstrong, is an odd book. As a pattern drafting book, I feel that it fails, as it is too big and tries to cover too many bases. But as a reference book, those qualities make it exceptional. This is not something you’ll ever read straight through… you’ll start at the index and jump to the morsel of information that you need, e.g. dart manipulation, or collar variations. Really expensive though.
“The Practical Guide to Patternmaking” by Lori Knowles and “The Practical Guide to Patternmaking for Meanswear” by Lori Knowles are both great. Where Moore’s book looked a little dated, this one has contemporary designs.
You might be interested in this: http://www.amazon.com/Just-My-Type-About-Fonts/dp/1592407463
I got this book for my dad for Christmas, and now that he is done reading it, I am starting it. It's quite remarkable to read about the history and effects of typeface. Typeface is one of those subtle things that many people don't realize can have a huge effect.
It's so fun that your sister is College Bound :D I know what really helped me when I was bored or needed to get my mind off of things was coloring with colored pencils or crayons. It's super fun, you can do it with friends, and you don't have to think too hard about it!
If I win, surprise me! Thanks for the contest :)
May I suggest ... ?
http://www.amazon.com/Typography-Workbook-Real-World-Graphic-Design/dp/1592533019
The Ten Commandments of Typography/Type Heresy is a great book to have by your side as you're learning.
The Typography workbook is also a great didactic source for starters. It really elaborates on the basics in practical, exemplified ways so no abstract knowledge is lost on the reader.
If you like this kind of knotwork, this is an awesome book about it.
I have it in this version: logo modernism
Cradle to Cradle
Design for the Real World
http://www.amazon.com/Practical-Guide-Patternmaking-Fashion-Designers/dp/1563673290
I think everyone who does anything on the web should have a copy of Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug.
The Principles of Beautiful Web Design is a nice overview of how to make useful and aesthetically pleasing websites for those without a design background (like myself).
Design for the Real World by Victor Papanek gets really deep into the subject of design and how it impacts society.
There are a lot more out there, but these are the ones off the top of my head that I found especially helpful.
This might seem a little old school, but check out the Domino Book of Decorating. It is filled with inspiration and advice on how to approach decorating.
>You seem to be entirely ignoring that he didn't just like the golden ratio or think about it a lot, he blatantly incorporated it into his designs. This is the only bit that matters... he very clearly and obviously used it in many of his designs, which are considered to be of great beauty.
I know that he used the golden ratio. I never tried to deny that. But I completely disagree when you say that it matters. And especially if you think that it's the most important thing.
I ignored it because it has nothing to do with merit in my mind. Use of something by a famous person doesn't give it merit.
As an example, da Vinci experimented with materials. He wanted to use a different kind of paint that was oil-based instead of using fresco, painting on wet plaster. He wanted a medium that would let him layer on paint when it was dry. He flatly refused to paint frescoes. His experiments were extremely unsuccessful.
He never bothered to test his paints out before using them in large scale works of art. He abandoned works because they began to deteriorate while he was still painting them. Worse than that, he continued to use his experimental materials even after repeated failures. Look at how badly his The Last Supper has deteriorated. It probably looked even worse than that when he was still alive. That is after multiple restorations (but before the most recent restoration). It's a complete mess of cracks and missing pieces.
His Mona Lisa suffers as well from his experiments. He used wax in his paint and experimental varnish. It began to crack, fade, yellow, and darken almost immediately. As mentioned elsewhere in this thread, look at the difference in damage and color between his Mona Lisa, and the one supposedly done by a student sitting next to him: Mona Lisa vs Museo del Prado Mona Lisa. I'm not trying to say they should have looked exactly the same, because the original has been exposed to more of the elements. But the damage is far more extensive than if he had just used normal materials.
So should we admire da Vinci's experimental mind? His wanting to try something new to bring the art he had in his head into reality? Of course. Without experimenting, we'd have have no progress.
But should we admire his methods, or his refusal to use proper tools? Should we say that his paints and varnishes had merit? No! He made a mistake. Many mistakes. He was stubborn and foolish, and his great works of art suffered.
Le Corbusier using the golden ratio is not nearly as bad as that. His buildings haven't toppled because of the golden ratio. But just because a famous artist does something does NOT give it merit. Just because they do something doesn't make it significant. It could be that they're just doing things because they're set in their ways and stubborn as a donkey.
I'm not even trying to say that Le Corbusier's designs are bad. But if what you said were true. If picking a number and "blatantly incorporating it into your design" were all that mattered, then an artist could pick ANY number and do that. If so then everything has merit. So what's the point of saying that? Everything is the same then.
>Oh come on, that's written by some editor trying to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. Nearly all blurbs on the back of a book are stupid, and don't always give a reasonable insight into what the actual text is like.
The editor will also tailor the blurb towards the target audience. It's pretty clear that one is aimed at the nutjob crowd. So my pointing it out has more to do with why you would even link it to me in the first place. You complained before that I used that guy's blog as a source when talking about it, but then you suggest that I'm going to find scholarly notes in that book? Read through the "look inside". It's a practical guide on how to wave your hands and create art with the golden ratio.
>As far as proof, I don't know what you expect. In fact I'm sure you know that there isn't any "proof" because, what exactly am I trying to prove here?
You said that the Modernists cared where Modulor came from, and you said they cared about the golden ratio. Where are you getting that from? Where's your proof?
I want proof that any artist ever said that they used the golden ratio for a reason. Anything to show that the golden ratio has more merit than any random number.
You called that blogger a nutjob so I think you agree with me that some people take it too far. So when we get somebody like Le Corbusier it should be worth reading. Instead he talks about it in relation to music and then states in his words that his "scale" is based on "harmony" and using an arbitrary height as the basis for human beauty, and by extension the beauty in his architecture.
We have all these fake blog examples and then we get to a real example from a respected artist and his explanation is so incredibly stupid. Doesn't that bother you?
He could have picked a random number (well actually he did) and it would have been just as good, as long as he planned out his system with as much care. That's why I'm saying it's not the golden ratio that matters at all, it's what he did with his system that matters. Why the golden ratio? Why not pi, or tau, or e, or 5.2987, or 40?
If you take any graphic design class they will probably teach you about using a grid system. But there are so many different grid systems, it becomes completely silly. Proponents point to this example or that to show what makes it look beautiful. But it really doesn't matter which grid you use. What matters is that after you create a draft, you look at your work and fix things that look wrong to you, and that you make things consistent. Anyone who spends their time looking at art or design will be able to tell instantly if a page layout looks good or not. You don't need a ratio telling you where to place your gutters. Just as a photographer or art director doesn't use the rule of thirds to tell if a photo looks right or if it should be cropped.
Jan Tschichold came up with one such grid system in which he favored "natural" and "intentional" numbers like the golden ratio. He said that if a designer accidentally used one of those special numbers, that it was "unintentional" and therefor bad design. Even if the intentional design was exactly the same as the unintentional one. I find that line of reasoning idiotic.
>That the golden section is a geometric ratio which people tend to find innately pleasing? This is plainly unprovable. How could I possibly begin to prove such a thing?
How can you say that something is innately pleasing as a fact if you don't have anything at all to back it up? Did you read that on a blog or something? You say it as if it's common knowledge.
This is talked about in the book I link further down.
>I'm pretty sure you know that absence of evidence isn't the same thing as evidence.
The book tries to be a summary of all that is important in art history. You're right that absence of mentioning the golden doesn't prove that it has no merit at all. But the implications are that it's not important. It's in it's 14th (?) edition now, they've had plenty of chances to fill any holes in their coverage. And that's a hell of a lot more telling than your book link, so I wouldn't throw stones about this one if I were you.
>I was asking you for a scholarly work which argues against it, not one which ignores it.
You said my arguments were not "solid", but I never saw you ask for anything scholarly, even when I asked you for that exact thing. Considering you didn't even read the book you linked to me, I didn't even think about linking you any books. But I have some:
Mario Livio wrote a book about the history of the golden ratio. It's the only one I know of that talks at any length about the history of reasoning. He talks a lot about the history of math. He talks about where the golden ratio was and wasn't used. He makes several attempts to debunk various theories about artists who did or didn't use the golden ratio. Not all his arguments are perfect, but he's basically talking about pattern recognition and forms of apophenia. Then he talks about scientific and psychological studies about the golden ratio, their findings, flaws, and merits. And then he takes a strange turn and talks about God, evolution, mathematics, and philosophy. Here is a short article by the author: http://plus.maths.org/content/golden-ratio-and-aesthetics
If you want to learn about grid systems in graphic design and proofs of why Jan Tschichold is an idiot, read The Form of the Book by Jan Tschichold.
Prove me wrong, but you'll never link me anything worth reading because there's a problem for both of us. There are very few scholarly papers or books written about the golden ratio, whether for or against it. You said you don't think it's a fringe theory, but that's exactly how it's seen in the art history / art theory world. That doesn't prove that it has no merit, that's just my understanding of the situation. So there's little reason for any contemporary art historian to talk about it. There's not much incentive for anyone to argue against it, and it would take a very convincing paper or book to break through all the bullshit on blogs to get any art historian to change their mind in favor of it.
Hi there, looked a bit through amazon and came up with some options with good reviews:
one
two
three
four
five
six
seven
Hooked is an excellent book describing all the tactics behind making addicting technology. It doesn't talk about games specifically but all of these concepts can be applied to any app from social media to gaming.
Personally I find that using what you know is best. Consumers don't care what you're using for your stack as long as your app/product solves their problem. Focus more on the features and UX of the product as a technical founder because this is what you'll be able to push and what your customers will care about more.
One book that helped me consider consumer psychology more was Hooked.
Also I've been assuming that your venture is B2C. If you're business is B2B you may want to talk to potential customers first through interviews and see what they might expect for your stack (depending on your venture of course).
Hope this helped some :)
I just got my hands on this: Practical Guide to Patternmaking for Fashion Designers: Menswear
Looks good and detailed, but easy to read.
Edit: Got it used. Cheaper.
I really like this book http://www.amazon.ca/Domino-Decorating-room---room-creating/dp/1416575464/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1413311164&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=domino+book.
And then yes, I would pick up any decorating magazines at the store as they always have tips and rules, etc. (Once you've been buying them long enough, you see that they repeat themselves.)
Then beyond that, I just love looking through a professional decorator's book (ie: http://www.amazon.ca/Mary-McDonald-Interiors-Allure-Style/dp/0847833933/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1413311318&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=mary+mcdonald) There's usually not a lot of info, but if you study the rooms, you can sort of learn what to do and what not to do.
Good book on fonts
“Just My Type”
By Simon Garfield
Just My Type
Got it at MCA Sydney book store
Here's 2 books you can read about china fucking everyone over on trade. both on the macro level here
https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Samaritans-Secret-History-Capitalism/dp/1596915986
and the micro level here
https://www.amazon.com/Factory-Man-Furniture-Offshoring-American/dp/031623141X
is it my fault you're a naive fuck who thinks china will abide by these SELF REPORTING bullshit metrics?
Layout + Color
Picture This by Molly Bang
Typography
Second vote for Elements of Typographic Style, excellent book.
Drawing, honestly at the start the biggest key to growth is going to be drawing as much as you can. You're going to suck for a while so start getting those bad drawings out of you. There's a ton of great people to watch on YouTube (Sycra Yasin, Glenn Vilppu, Stan Prokopenko, Steve Huston). I've seen Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain recommended by many. I'm not crazy about it myself but I didn't read as a beginner artist so I probably didn't get as much out of it as I could have.
I like the big booties and I cannot lie!
I would love this colouring book
or these stars
or this necklace, you can choose whatever :) Thanks for the contest!
I would suggest starting with the basics.
Those are the basics. After that draw whatever you want. You will still need practice but a strong understanding of perspective and light help a lot.
This is probably not how most fine artists learn to draw, it's closer to how I learned to draw as an Industrial Designer. That being said both methods are valid but for different purposes.
Artists for the most part want to create something very lifelike or emotional. This tends to involve a lot of looking at things and sketching slowly and carefully. Example
Designers on the other hand tend to focus on drawing things quickly, efficiently and with just enough shading to convey an idea. This tends to be most useful when you can only see what you want to draw in your head (usually because it doesn't exist yet).
Edit: Also this book is an amazing resource. You might find it at some libraries.
Hi! I would love these because I love van Gogh and I think these are beautiful bookmarks!
I rea it in this book http://www.amazon.com/Primer-Visual-Literacy-Donis-Dondis/dp/0262540290/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1 you should also check outnPrinciples of form and design by Wucius Wong
[this] (http://www.amazon.com/Twelve-Van-Gogh-Bookmarks-Dover/dp/0486424111/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1376770247&amp;sr=8-3&amp;keywords=bookmarks)
Beautiful Van Gogh book marks
And the bestselling book about it: https://www.amazon.com/Hooked-How-Build-Habit-Forming-Products-ebook/dp/B00LMGLXTS
Also another useful book on Typography:
Typography (Basics Design)
contrast mainly. I'd pick the three most imporant info (words) and position them top, middle-ish and bottom. That way there are three eye-catching objects that will also guide your viewer from top to bottom.
As for books: I like the Basic Design Books. Or other books that you don't buy because of what is written in them but because of inspiration, which can be said for any design book really ;)
Celtic Art: The Methods of Construction by George Bain is the original and still the best book on knotwork.
This gorgeous coloring book
Fav song would probably be White Christmas
$3.59 coloring book :D
i type in caps because i'm mad
>lyric poetry 30% (mainly symbolism)
art history 25% (mainly Renaissance and symbolism)
Russian literature 15%
epic poetry 10%
philosophy 10% (mainly Greeks, Spinoza, Camus, etc.)
linguistics 5%
religions 5% (mainly Christianity)
I know you didn't express any interest in it in your post, but I'm going to give my case for Irish Gaelic.
It has a solid quantity of lyric poetry, epic poetry, symbolic art history, and historical Christian documents. I believe it would engage a full 75% of your interests.
How the Irish Saved Civilisation by Thomas Cahill is a book about the Christian monks of 5th-11th century Ireland. These monks are hailed as having maintained a beacon of literacy in Dark Age Europe with their religious and historical writings.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Irish-Saved-Civilization-Irelands/dp/0385418493
Gaelic is also super interesting linguistically. Mordern Irish is nearly mutually intelligable with Old Irish. Far from being archaic or traditional, Gaelic is a punk rocker on the linguistics scene. It doesn't fit into your language's rat race of 'patterns', and 'rules'. Gaelic is simultaneously a graffiti language and an instrument of poetry. Ireland's poetic tradition is long and in both English and Irish.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_poetry
Celtic art has quite a rich and ancient tradition. It's not the Mona Lisa or the Sistine Chapel, but prehistoric through dark age Irish/Pictish art has many subtle secrets to appreciate. We didn't really understand the knotwork until the 20th century. The symbolic meaning of carvings in pre-historic Scotland are still shrouded in mystery today.
https://www.amazon.com/Celtic-Art-Methods-Construction-Instruction/dp/0486229238/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=2NIOFHDXK0R0P&amp;keywords=george+bain+celtic+art&amp;qid=1554692813&amp;s=gateway&amp;sprefix=george+bain&amp;sr=8-1
Irish is in a revival, Ireland is beautiful, and most importantly, Irish is on Duolingo.
I've never read this book, but something like that is probably what you're looking for
Link for the lazy
Non-mobile: http://www.amazon.com/dp/2940373353/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1426783928&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=basic+design+typography&amp;pi=AC_SY200_QL40&amp;dpPl=1&amp;dpID=41XO42nU-NL&amp;ref=plSrch
^That's ^why ^I'm ^here, ^I ^don't ^judge ^you. ^PM ^/u/xl0 ^if ^I'm ^causing ^any ^trouble. ^WUT?
So this is probably overkill, but in college I took a class on garment design and construction/pattern making and we used these two books as our textbooks. Again probably way more information than if you just want to learn how to take in some shirts or something, but knowing the fundamentals is of course immensely useful if you wanted to explore this topic further. Also a lot of fun, so I highly recommend learning how to sew for everybody.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321062841/
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1563673290/
For typography:
http://www.amazon.com/Typography-Workbook-Real-World-Graphic-Design/dp/1592533019
This is the current book I'm reading for class. Unfortunately, the format of the book is kind of annoying.
>More cons, dude. More cons.
Hilarious. The guy above you is absolutely right.
You? You literally just wrote platitudes about a theoretical world that has never existed, does not exist, will never exist, and can not exist.
I'll walk ya through a trip out here in the world that actually exists, lil fella........
>America hasn't gotten to be the best in the world because we refuse to work with other countries.
No, america was "the best" basically since WW2 because of that war. All the other industrial economies on earth were bombed to shit and we were basically the only economy in town with the advantages of very little to no industrial competition. We were "the best" specifically because we did NOT "share" with the world, but did all the manufacturing ourselves and had huge advantages both from that and the bretton woods agreement denominating in our dollar. Oh, and we had a massive lead in the oil industry, the largest industry in human history.
>the rust belt got hit by a down turn is certainly unfortunate and I want to help you guys fix it
No, it was forced to compete with essentially slave labor in china since 2001 when china entered the wto, and also NAFTA did harm us by essentially allowing outsourcing cheap/slave labor. Now certainly you dont know history, but this slave labor has been a problem for millenia. Lincoln talked about it in the lincoln douglas debates, de toqueville talked about it while touring america also, and shit, you can go back 2,000 years to the Roman senate when they were talking about the adverse effects of slave labor on the stability of THEIR republic as the working roman yeoman was thrown off his land and replaced with slaves.
Now here's the other part about china that you guys never talk about. China outright pays money losing businesses to stay in business and employ their citizens. For example a furniture producer in china can run a massive operation at break even and get paid a percent BY THEIR GOVERNMENT in lieu of actual profit. So how long can an american company compete against a chinese state monopoly business that is SPECIFICALLY MONOPOPOSTICALLY TARGETING american industries to put them out of business. With china's labor so cheap, americans literally cant even match chinese costs at ZERO PROFIT. Our COST of manufacturing is more than they SELL in stores for. Here's one of many books written about this
https://www.amazon.com/Factory-Man-Furniture-Offshoring-American/dp/031623141X
so now we see america's political leadership outright allowing shipping tens of MILLIONS of jobs straight to china, who specifically operates like a monopolistic predator to put american
businesses under.
>What about implementing smart controls for the inevitable impacted areas?
Yeah, but when trump suggests tariffs to prevent countries WITHOUT WAGE RESTRICTIONS, WITHOUT REGULATIONS, WITHOUT ENVIRONMENTAL RESTRICTIONS, you act like this vague "globalism is good" mantra will save you in spite of the reality of the situation.
You cannot win a rigged labor game against 1,400,000,000 chinese, 1,300,000,000 indians, 1,000,000,000 africans. American workers lives will be shit if they are forced to compete against essentially slave labor.
as lincoln said in the debates, the very high cost of non slave labor IS THE IMPETUS TO ADD EFFICIENCY AND IMPROVE OPERATIONS.
so instead of american companies being forced by our higher labor costs to innovate, the chinese are advancing in that technology because THEY are the ones with the labor cost issue now, while we revert to consumer state and just stagnate
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-36376966
so their manufacturing gets better and better as they build on the tech they implement while jerkos like you primly give away our economy and reduce us to a client economy