2 comments about Information Design Workbook: Graphic approaches, solutions, and inspiration plus 20 case studies.

1. Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R19WB24ZB8YXSL Infographic artists or graphic designers who create designs to communicate ideas to people should like this book.
   
   The summary on the preface accurately describes this book and I'll quote it here.
   
   This book:
   - Leads you through the mindset and kind of thinking that support good information design.
   - Gives you an overview of the type of processes and tools you can use to create effective information design.
   - Shows real-world examples of successful products
   - Presents interviews with some of the premier practitioners working in the field today.
   
   
   
   This book talks about high level concepts to give an overview to information design. The first four chapters explains the need for effective design and provides lots of examples where they are used, and how helpful they are. Some examples include direct mail, litigation graphics, etc. Interviewees relates on what works and what doesn't through their own experience.
   
   There are several tools include to help designers. They include personas and scenario simulation, research and testing and even mundane stuff like using plain language. Of course not all might relate to everyone. I'm a newspaper artist and I don't do testing for every graphic that I produce. But they do give results for tests conducted, which can be applied to different fields.
   
   One chapter is devoted to design principles with examples from all medium.
   
   The last five chapters are the case studies. Each touches on a different medium and each comes with 6 real life success stories. That's 30 set of experience from the industry you can learn from.
   
   I'll like to conclude that this book practices what it preaches. The information on the pages is laid out nicely and easy to absorb.
   
   Here's the table of contents:
   Preface - Approaching information design from a user-centric point of view
   1. About information design. What is it? Who is doing it? Why is it important?
   2. Process: Discovery. A step-by-step look at the research and discovery process
   3. Process: Prototypes and Testing. How user research and testing help to ensure successful design
   4. Design Toolkit: Visual devices to help communicate information
   5. Printed Matter Case Studies. Magazines, packaging and corporate communications
   6. Information Graphics Case Studies. Maps, charts, and diagrams
   7. Interactive Case Studies. Websites and other screen-based projects
   8. Enviromental Case Studies. Wayfinding and exhibits
   9. Experimental Case Studies. Information design that pushes the envelope.



2. Kim Baer knows what she is talking about. Her vast and varied client list makes her the de facto expert in the ID field. I have had the pleasure of working directly with her co-author Jill Vacarra, and the two of them make a dynamic team - exceptionally well able to explain and illustrate the concepts they are chronicling - both for the professional and the student of graphic design. BRAVO!

3 comments about Maison--Christian Liaigre.

1. Everyone should have this on their coffee table. Superior design and broad range of ideas for all nationalities.



2. Christian Liagre is an artist beyond the usual confines of space filling. He always considers the architecture and site before anything else. And even though his work is immediately recognizable, he never repeats himself- there is nothing formulaic.
   
   Nothing ever screams money. The finishes, the light, the mix are always beautiful and comfortable.
   
   So while I got the book hoping to see a substansial review of his work, I was dissappointed in the chopiness and lack of ability to "see" the house and rooms shown. The designers work saves the book, because it is so complex and interesting. Poor choices in views and cutting off of vistas and lack of detail make the book fail.



3. Christian Liaigre. If the name is unfamiliar, the French designer's style-or at least a popularized version of it-is ubiquitous. His palette of warm browns, rich creams, and calmly varied neutrals is the color scheme of a thousand-and-one stylish hotel lobbies, and his sexy low-slung furnishings have been copied for mass consumption by furniture makers worldwide. Yet, if you think you know the man by the knock-offs, you've got another thought coming.
   
   Herbert Ypma's sumptuous MAISON: CHRISTIAN LIAIGRE is here to set the record straight. Weighing in at 256-pages, and featuring 550 color and black & white illustrations, the book quite eloquently makes a case for Liaigre as "possibly the most important-certainly the most copied-designer of our time."
   
   Author Ypma--he of Thames & Hudson's stylish Hip Hotel and World Design series--co-designed the lavish volume with frequent collaborator, Maggi Smith, and the book features the pair's now signature blend of breathtaking one- and two-page spreads of interiors and landscapes, punctuated by checkerboard layouts of myriad architectural details and textures.
   
   These design elements have never been employed more effectively as in this book, and they convey the quiet majestic sweep of a room or garden on one page, while focusing on the smallest of details on the next, all combining to present a vivid and comprehensive representation of each Liaigre's diverse residential projects.
   
   Ypma, a worldly and witty writer, as well as a sensitive and skilled photographer, is responsible for all of the shots documenting eight of Liaigre's recent domestic design projects featured herein. This lends the book a pictorial consistency rare in design literature, and affords the author/photographer opportunity to focus on the formal integrity and quiet constancy of Liaigre's design ethos, as well as its diversity and adaptability. After reading this book, you'll never again think of Liaigre as a "minimalist."
   
   The photos, layout and text quietly conspire to transport the reader from a sunny beach house in Galicia, to a picturesque Bavarian retreat in Tegnersee, to an unconventional pied-a-terre in the quintessentially bohemian Montparnasse district of Paris, as well as to other intriguingly beautiful rooms in other intriguingly beautiful places.
   
   The book is unconventional in many ways: it doesn't attempt a career-long survey of its subject's oeuvre, and neither does it focus on his celebrated commercial projects. It lists no honors, awards, timeline or bio. Moreover, it contains not a single photo of Liaigre. Yet, the book and its richly evocative photos and amusing and insightful text offer as sophisticated and sensitive a portrait as its subject could ever hope for.
   
   In a neat twist on Matisse's aesthetic of "luxe, calme, volupte," Ypma expresses the "luxe, calme, moderne" quality of the work of this quietest and most authoritative of contemporary designers.

5 comments about Virtual Pose 3: The Ultimate Visual Reference Series for Drawing the Human Figure.

1. There are way too many light sources at the same intensity.
   The fill completely obfuscates the forms -- sure, nice
   picture, but for any student of anatomy or the body,
   fill in this case, is useless. Sure, if one just wants to make a
   'still life' from these pics, then ok, lighting is adequate.
   But if one desires to really study the figure via surface and
   anatomy, well, one is better off hiring a model, and referring
   to a good anatomy book.
   
   The quicktime angles help and offer better understanding,
   so the product by-design is helpful. The photography simply
   misses completely. Hint to producers: Pay attention to lighting,
   and decrement fill to key way more. The fill is counterproductive,
   as in a lot of cases, it obfuscates form -- for those who are in this to
   study the human form, rather than simply produce replicas of an image.
   
   My summary: The ability to rotate a pose makes this product
   incredibly valuable. It would have been more valuable if the photography
   had a bit more respect with regard to the communication of form,
   as we really have to rely on rotation rather than the communicative
   potential of lighting. That was an opportunity squandered -- to produce a
   stellar product, given the price point.



2. Chakkour offers a valuable resource. Many aspiring artists (maybe I'm not an artist, but I aspire) have limited contact with models, but understand how important it is to have ready access to simple and precise figure imagery. References like VP3 are a godsend for us. They inspire us with the many possibilities that inhere in the human form, and provide exact reference for our imperfect efforts.
   
   This collection works very well in one way. Each model poses on a turntable; while holding that pose, s/he is photographed from many angles. With just a little interpolation, one can interpolate any angle in between, laterally, even if it doesn't cover the up/down axis.
   
   But, as with any book, it contains the author's vision - not mine. Perhaps your vision can adapt to the pose, perhaps your pose can adapt to the vision. Some poses simply baffle. I expect a pose book to try to cover many of the moods a body can express, and p.41 worked well for a recent project, but not all that well. The pose on p.40 simply baffles me, though. This is a pose book. The authors imagined some situation in which that pose could make sense, so the student could take the body's physical facts and build a story around them. So, just what story did the pose on p.40 inspire? I'm lost.
   
   Also, I had trouble with the retouched photos. A few times, a model and angle would combine to expose something indelicate, like an excretory orifice. Fat-fingered blurring saved us from many of those troubling details. C'MON GUYS. I don't have any special fascination with naughty bits - but they're there. I find the Barbie doll plastering-over of normal anatomy jarring and disturbing. That little touch doesn't affect the pose or the general flow of a body. It does affect my ability to accept the image as real, though. It's not that I actually want all those little details of the human condition. Instead, it conjures horrible surgery when I see them missing.
   
   On the positive side, these 70 poses gain value from their multiple viewing angles. On the negative, the editors bowdlerize even nude figures. And, on top of it all, the pose that I really wanted never appeared. I tried to adapt one from the book - it came pretty close, actually. Just not close enough.
   
   -- wiredweird



3. The 360 degree rotating is great, some poses could be more interesting, some are too similar to each other. The women modeling are pretty much the same, same bone structure, similar weight, skin color, ethnicity and age. There is only one young male model, and one older male model. That part was really disappointing. And what it bother me the most was the background color. in all the pictures is the same, white!. A darker color, gray or black on any other color for that matter would be great! the fact that all the models are REALLY white becomes obnoxious. At certain points the background blends with their sking color, making it hard to differentiate one from the other. With a different background the model would "pop-out", and the artist's eyes would easily focus on his/her subject.



4. i really love using this book (and the CD). i want to mention that i have a Mac with an operating system that isn't updated (OS 10.2), and i purposely got Virtual Pose 3 because i assumed (rightly) that a more recent version of these books would come with a CD-ROM that's not compatible with my operating system. so thankfully i CAN use this CD, which is the best part of this book.
   
   in my opinion, the book itself would be improved by 3 things:
   
   1. more dramatic lighting (although i believe the author has addressed his reasoning for this)
   
   2. a spiral binding (easier use for drawing from the book itself)
   
   3. larger pictures (at least some)
   
   i do like the models in this book very much, and the poses are great. i'm a bit of a beginner, and i only get to go to a life drawing once a month or so, so this is a great resource for me to just do lots and lots of gesture drawing, along with some more detailed work.



5. I am going to be critical, but I'd like to open with saying that this was a really cool and thoughful project for someone to come up with and offer to the artist.
   
   I get quite a chuckle at all the people who are angry about there being airbrushed vulvas and anuses. In your usual life drawing class you are not going to have the model eyeballing you with their privates. Its not like there is a shortage of vulvas and anuses online if that's what you want to draw. And any artist who has developed true capability with the human form can use the suggested form shadow as a base from which to draw a glorious sphincter and beautiful floral labia to make any viewer blush. Until then get over yourselves. The models, used to having a choice of what they want to show the students; are entitled to keep four square inches of themselves private from the world.
   
   Virtual Pose 3 is a good step up form Virtual Pose 2. And I appreciate the creativity of the poses and opportunity to see a pose from all sides. However I am still disappointed that these poses aren't lit properly to describe the form. Generally they are top lit so in standing poses you get some minor indication of core shadow and somewhat overly bright reflections on the skin on they upper torso,and everything below is pure ambient light and this obliterates form. While some poses are better with lighting than others; on the whole, the lighting is uninteresting and lifeless Virtual pose could take some cues on how to light their models by checking out an artistic soft porn site like Met Art. But hey, I suppose you are going to often be faced with the difficult challenge of illustrating people in ambient light. So Virtual Pose 3 will give you a real work out as you figure out how to describe form with even lighting all over!
   
   I'd like to see a Virtual Pose V or VI, but with artistic form light. As with Muybridge what a cool thing to attempt.But it won't be the ultimate reference series for the artist until the lighting loses its sterility.

5 comments about Notan: The Dark-Light Principle of Design.

1. I bought this book on the recommendation of an artist I admire. Unless I am really missing something, this book is a major snooze. I got absolutely nothing out of it. It was a big disappointment.



2. Gives a very good idea of the relationships of dark & light in design.
   Took a class from Dorr many years ago. Glad to see her book back in print.
   I bought this book for my Grand Daughter.



3. This book teaches a basic principle that all artists/teachers should use when thinking/teaching composition whether you are working two-dimensionally or three-dimensionally. Notan is a simple design principle that focuses on positive and negative space. It uses six different exercises that could be used or adapted at any age level and should be a must for the art curriculum. It also offers great historical references. It is one of the best art books you could buy for under $10.



4. After reading this book and doing some of the suggested exercises, I became more sensitive to negative space and related design principles and better able to apply them to my art.



5. The Book Notan is a stimulating journey in to the World of design.Every aspiring designer should own this book. The excercises are sure to help in the devolopment of an understanding of the importance of "negative" space and it's relationship with good design. I would recommend this book to ages 12 and up, for those with an eye for art, or who would like to devolop their eye. I find myself returning to this book on a regular basis to refresh my Vision and kick start my creativity. An Exceptional Book!!

4 comments about Exploring Watercolor: Creative Exercises and Techniques for Watercolor and Mixed Media.

1. The book features detailed instruction in three unique approaches to painting transparent watercolors. The spiral page format is convenient when following the exercises. All in all, it stimulates new creativity. I wouldn't say it is for the beginnner - more for one with some painting experience. I felt it was worth acquiring.



2. This is a great book , easy to read and follow...she does go into design,focal point,composition, etc., but does it in a very descriptive way that doesn't get bogged down and boring.
   She also introduces quite a lot of different textures, which a lot of people like, bubble wrap, stamps, modeling clay, sponges, but it is not my thing....but at least her explainations and pictures make it easy to understand.
   She has a few step by step demonstations, simple, easy to follow, but my favourite is her pages of colour combinations.
   A book worth buying even if you are a beginner like me, and of course the more advanced artists should love this book.



3. I was drawn to this book because of the colorful pictures. I couldn't believe it was possible for watercolor paintings to be this vibrant. I was really motivated to dust off my paintbrushes and paint along with the many demonstrations. This book goes into the usual detail about how to design your painting, playing with color, and of course techniques of wet-in-wet, dry brush, glazing, etc., but unlike a lot of watercolor books the finished demonstrations look like something I would want to frame and hang on my walls. The best part of the book, for me, was the chapter on color. I have a pretty good grasp already of the color wheel and mixing colors, but it never occurred to me that there were so many ways to mix different greens, for example, or grays. I consider myself an advanced-beginner at watercolor and would definitely recommend this to other beginners, but surely someone with more experience would find techniques/hints here that would inspire them.



4. I thoroughly enjoyed "exploring warercolor". I found that the book covered a lot of territory in the watercolor field and that the explanations given were very clear. I have been painting watercolors for many years now and still learnt quite a lot from this book. In conclusion I would reall recommend it to anybody who is interested in watercolors.

No comments about Graffiti Planet: The Best Graffiti from Around the World.

5 comments about Painting the Impressionist Landscape: Lessons in Interpreting Light and Color.

1. Good instuctional book on painting with light. Step by step illustrations as well as written instruction makes this book a great teaching tool. I will be trying out the new techniques with my next paintings.



2. I found this book a valuable addition to my library. As an Artist it proved to be a wonderful learning tool, with detailed explainations, examples, and a number of practical step by step learning project. It has added great depth to my paintings. I would recommend it to both experienced artist and beginners. Beautiful colour photos!!!



3. This is an excellent book for learning color theory. You can tell she loves teaching because she doesn't hold back. She is really trying to help you learn the concepts. She paints in an impressionist style, but her methods would work no matter what your style is.



4. It just didn't motivate me like I wanted it to.... so I sold it. But, it does have some good steps to getting that impressionistic look. I suggest trying out the book by Susan Sarback, Capturing Radiant Color in Oils (Paperback)
   ISBN: 1581800614. I've been on her website, and she has some remarkable paintings as well.



5. This discussed painting in a way I needed to hear. It was easy to work with and inspired ideas for me to try. Great book

5 comments about Color Works: The Crafter's Guide to Color.

1. the colors seem dull and dark. why use a black background for the samples and examples? those pictures look a little out of focus, shadowy, and dark. i really like everything else about this book, but expected much better photography. i want a visual feast when i sit down to explore color. this was uninspiring.



2. Really, this book covers all you'll need to experiment with color. I never knew that so much was involved when making color choices. It's not hard to understand, but it took me a bit to understand the chapter on value. Once I read it through twice, though, it all started to make sense.
   
   It also contains a color wheel with punch out overlays to help you choose colors. I did find them hard to punch out, as another reviewer stated, and ended up using scissors to cut the perforations.
   
   This book is just packed with information. If you are interested in exploring color, you'll find this book very helpful.



3. Deb Menz's Color Works is about color combination. There are numerous illustrations of theory and practice. The pages of samples showing several mediums makes the book for me. The same color on yarn, fabric, seed beads, or paper has a different resonance. The text illustrates how color/medium combinations "can be dramatic or theatrical." The examples push the reader to consider alternative color choices. Goethe's color theory of relative proportions is convincingly illustrated. Deb Menz offers practical methods to add more colors (hexad harmony) while avoiding a rainbow look. There's plenty to retrain the eye and mind.



4. If you are a craftsperson, this is a terrific reference tool! The examples of spinning, beading, weaving, quilting, and embroidery really show you how color works in each realm. Best of all are the tear out color wheel and color harmony overlays that get you thinking about your palette.



5. Colorworks is a great introduction to color theory for people who
   work in fiber arts, packed with lots of examples of color schemes
   worked out in knitting, weaving, beads, quilting, paper, machine and surface embroidery. While it is not nearly as in-depth as the now out-of-print Color and Fiber, it is also more accessible. It is also not as specific as Mary Fry's Color for Needlework, but it provides a good, solid ground for a stitcher's exploration of color.
   
   Almost half the book is made up of color tools, including palettes of each of twelve hue, ranging from fully saturated hues to extremely muted tones and shades. A Color Wheel and Value Scale are also provide. A series of templates has holes cut out to be used in conjunction with the color wheel to find color combinations.
   
   The seven chapters of the book cover all the major topics in color
   studies. There are chapters on color relationships, value,
   contrasts, and harmonies. Each sub-topic within the chapters is
   given s page of text. Next to it are nine samples in various media
   showing the principle discussed. These examples use the same design from page to page, varying only in the color used. As much as anything, this gives graphic demonstration of the topics and will fuel stitchers' imaginations.
   
   The last two chapters apply color to specific media. The sixth
   chapter discusses the characteristics of media in relation to color. Most folks know that shiny surfaces look lighter than matte surfaces, but how does this apply to knitting yarn or beads. Knowing something of the characteristics of yarns before you shop will help you in making choices. The final chapter, shows how a color scheme is developed in each of the nine crafts used in the book. Paper scraps show the basic colors involved while the text outlines the color harmony used as well as the specific colors. A value scale on paper is included and samples of the media used are also included in the illustration.
   
   This book provides just enough information on color to get a
   craftsperson started with this exciting topic. Unlike many books on color, this book doesn't talk about mixing colors, since these
   materials are all discreet. But it should be considered a starting point for color exploration, not a complete book.

No comments about An Illustrated Life: Drawing Inspiration From The Private Sketchbooks Of Artists, Illustrators And Designers.

5 comments about Creative Cloth Doll Faces: Using Paints, Pastels, Fibers, Beading, Collage, and Sculpting Techniques.

1. Another wonderful cloth doll book by my favorite author in this area. Great illustrations. Thank you!



2. Excellent book! Great instructions on how to draw a face on cloth and how to paint and highlight facial features. I haven't made my first doll yet, but I have it on my "to do" list. I really like Patti Medaris Culea and Anne Hesse's dolls as they seem so realistic with the beautiful colors and embellishments. I make handsewn beaded jewelry and I look forward to making my first cloth doll creation. One of the things I really like about Patti's books is she also includes other dollmakers work so you can visually see all the different styles of the designers and it makes your own creative juices start to flow.



3. Creative Cloth Doll Faces: Using Paints, Pastels, Fibers, Beading, Collage, and Sculpting Techniques
   Using many photos and easy to follow directions and diagrams, Patti has reduced the terrifying and difficult task many feel unable to acheive to its basics and allows the artist in you to come alive!
   
   The book has dolls from a number of different artists and demonstrates each of their approach to making the face come alive! The tips are portable and not limited to just Patti's own dolls, but ones you can save in your head for future use on a new project.
   
   I highly recommend this book for both beginning dollmakers as well as for advanced artisans who want to improve their work or techniques.



4. That's what this book is good at. Easy to follow directions, great patterns, that can be changed to fit - your doll. But most of all, a easy way to get that face looking, like a face. Not a blob of colors, where the eyes are not in the right place, or are too big on one side, and smaller on the other. This book also has great tips for those who are more experianced. The face intimadates most begainers, and some who have expriance too. And this makes it fun to come up with your own doll face. Where you'll know it will look like a face. Enjoy - this books is tons of fun. You'll find yourself going back to it, again and again.



5. Creative Cloth Doll Faces is delightful, inspirational and visually stimulating. It takes the idea of an art doll to a new level of elegance. The directions are easy to understand, even for a beginner. It is amazing how much diversity can be made from one basic face. Each artist gives the face his/her own creative identity. I highly recommend this book to folks who wish to get into the making of elegant art dolls. Bravo for Patti Medaris Culea for a fine tutorial that includes paints, pastels, fibers, beading, collage and sculpting techniques.