Customer Reviews

Basics Design: Layout

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I found this book extraordinarily helpful. A great resource of information presented in a way that anyone can understand and grasp. Every page is full of text and pictorial descriptions. Great for the visual learners. I also think this book would be helpful for an educated graphic designer looking to expand their library. The other four books in this basic design series are similar in the quality and delivery of the goods. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in graphic design.

I read this title alongside Basics Design Colour and I can safely say these are books which no designer should be without. The instructional element of the book is equalled by its encouragement and provocation of thought. This encouragement and the easy flow of the text meant areas I had previously found difficult to understand, such as proportion, were no longer an issue. The written discussion and the illustrated examples are great building blocks for further research.

A very good overview of the topic of layout. The book explains many terms that are used within layout and the examples of layouts throughout the entire book help you to realise how the particular layouts are used professionally. It guides you around the principles of layout, reinforces that the layout is best changed to its purpose and shouldn't be stuck to stringently if this stifles the piece fo work, layouts can be expressive and show off the work to its highest potential.

'Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.' Antoine de Saint-Exupery - A quote from the book that I found really interesting. There are quotes throughout that add to the ideas of layout.

The book is also printed on a few different stocks of paper, it explains how this affects the way the book has to be laid out so that it is printed correctly. The imposition plan- the arrangement of pages.

A useful book for questions on layout.

Explores the various elements of design, including not just the what, but the why and how. Provides examples and explains why they work. Grids, layouts, alignment, it's all here! One of the best design/layout books I've come across.

Why do people purchase books? Honestly, in this day and age, when so much is available digitally and so many people are saving trees and cutting down on paper purchases, and print, and even print design, people buy books because they want to take them home, read them, reference them, enjoy them. This book is A HORRIBLE READ. If it was possible to give it zero stars, I would have. The content and theory are fine, but it's execution is disastrous. It is designed in such a way that I get a headache even thinking about it. There are entire pages of copy set in white type knocking out of a black solid background, or of black type on a bright yellow background that in three sections vibrates right into your skull and out the other side due to the gloss stock (about which is noted "it's shine can interfere with the readability of text", yet the book designer used it anyway). The most important body copy is nearly 18pt bold on this vibrating yellow background, hardly a combination that helps a brain absorb and retain information. The examples of printed layout in the book are partially obscured by a transparent white box containing the layout caption information. In a book about layout design would it not be better to put aside the giddy overuse of transparent boxes and place the caption info somewhere off the image so that the reader might absorb the full effect of the sampled layout? I could nit pick more, but I won't bother. I'm struggling to get through this book for the content, but I'm tempted to return it. This book design would be better suited to a web page with hidden layers or some kind of other animation. It's impossible to know where my eye is supposed to look next. I think it's a failure of layout design, and considering it's all about layout design, that's pretty pathetic. What's the use of a wonderfully written book - and this one is alright - if you don't want to read it?Basics Design Layout (Basics Design)