Customer Reviews

Forms, Folds, and Sizes: All the Details Graphic Designers Need to Know but Can Never Find

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I read so many positive reviews that I thought I just couldn't go wrong buying this book. Boy, was I mistaken. I have yet to find one truly useful bit of information in this book, and I'm no life-long veteran in the trade.

But lest you, fellow buyer, dismiss me as some silly impulsive reviewer, let's have some random facts.

1. Fully 90 of the 250 pages of actual content are devoted to process colour tables.

2. Twenty-two pages are devoted to "samples" of "text typefaces". The "samples" are 12-point alphabets and lining figures (no accented characters or punctuation). Among the 60 or so "text typefaces" included are such staples of book/magazine typography as Friz Quadrata, Eras and American Typewriter.

3. Chapter 9, "Packaging Styles", brings 18 pages filled with line drawings of boxes, cartons and such. Not a single illustration is accompanied by actual dimensions or even proportions. Knock yourself out trying to replicate a "six-sided carton with push-in closure". (Hey, isn't this the book that claims to contain "details on all the things you can never find"?)

4. Several pages are filled with such valuable, useful and current information as the proper abbreviation for Soviet Union.

5. You want to learn a little more about imposition so you can have an intelligent conversation with your local printer? Sorry: "imposition" is not even in this book's index.

But maybe I really am just an old crank. So many other people swear by the usefulness of this book! I'm sure they're not friends of the author.

Any graphic designer working with forms and folds or the written word will find Poppy Evans' Forms Fold Sizes a 'must' for properly designing everything from brochures and envelopes to laying out the written word. Here are informed and informative discussions of type measures, postal standards, typography - virtually everything needed to graphically translate the written word properly, whether it be to page, envelope, or folder. Forms Folds Sizes is an essential guide and strongly recommended for professional and academic Graphic Arts collections, as well as the publisher reference resource shelf.

In a nutshell, I love it. Forms, Folds and Sizes provides all the basics facts and figures that designers and production staff need for developing and sending materials off to print. Don't remember exactly what a standard size is for an item....just look it up. Need a quick template for a pocket folder - flip to page 84. Want to know what type of paper will emboss the best...it's in here.
With an extensive glossary of terms...you'll never be at a loss for words with your print vendor.
If there's a designer, production person or recent art school grad in your life.....make this their next gift.
There I said it and I'm glad.

A great little resource book for any designer...especially if you are moving into the freelance world. If you don't get this book, be sure and get yourself something like it! I found the section on folds and packaging sizes invaluable. The only thing I personally would have done without are the many, many pages of cymk color breakdowns. There are plenty of more detailed guides addressing color. Besides, you never REALLY know what your printed color will look like until you get a proof. Paper colors can vary slightly.

I was so surprised by the content of this book. It contains so much information that you can and will use in your career. If I had to pick one book to take with me on a freelance gig, this would be it. Plus, the cover is spill-proof. Perfect for travel.

After reading the mixed reviews from ambiguous raves to detail specific criticisms, I checked out the book myself in a store.

The book isn't awful, but if you have a production department, it's probably better to ask them a question. The book doesn't outline anything that a production artist wouldn't know and that any competent graphic designer should know by heart.

Without any specific mechanicals or keylines, it'll give you an idea or suggestions for package design, but like a typographer doesn't need to get a book that just lists type samples of what they own (you can print samples out yourself with Fontbook or ask a freshman at any university to kidnap one from their Viscom dept.), a package designer should need such basic package design suggestions.

I was hoping for this to be a cheat-sheet kind of book much like the O'Reilly cookbook series might be, but it's the opposite.

An entire chapter devoted to how color prints! Great for a college freshman without access to a prepress class, but entirely asinine for someone who's done press checks. Your better off referencing Pantone's website or ordering yourself one of their color books since it'll be more accurate than a cheaply printed book like this.

It's actually really baffling that any creative person would rather reference an off the rack book that might suffer light or acid deterioration for CMYK swatches rather than Pantone Formula Guide Coated, unCoated, matte.

Yeah, this is a cheap concise reference, but you get what you pay for and this isn't an exception.

The book should be renamed to:
A Cheap Concise Production Reference for Short-cut Takers

As a freelance graphic and layout designer, I find myself asking why I didn't buy this book sooner (like while I was in college). The book covers many areas in depth that may not have sunk in while in school.

What I really loved about the book, is there are a couple of sections on business reply mail standards, along with printed media barcode standards and measurements. Having this information in hand, certainly saves me from making any additional trips to the post office to double check that my work is within specs for BRM's.

I certainly recommend this book for any graphics student, or as a quick reference source for active professionals library. Although I prefer "Pantone Guide to Communicating with Color" the CMYK processed color finder is a pretty decent color source/index for student projects.

Where was this book when I needed it for my first design job? This book is packed full of all of the practical information that any designer needs.

The extensive amount of topics covered in here is truely impressive:
-copywriter marks
-all kinds of dielines from folders to boxes
-common styles of plastic containers
-typography reference
-U.S. postal standards
-printing and finishing options
-cmyk swatches
-barcode standards and much much more...

For all of this information, the book is not a huge brick. It's a managable little reference book that I can carry with me to any freelance gig. And thanks to the vinyl cover of this book, I know I won't have to worry about it wearing out from all of the heavy use this book will be put through.

From its unique plastic-encased cover to the excellent illustrations, this is a priceless resource. It's an entire bookshelf of reference books condensed into one book. I've been in printing for a long time, and I still picked up new information from this book. I'm going to add it to the list of "can't-do-without" resources that I recommend to training clients.

i'm a big design book junky. i have shelves of them. so once you have all that.. you really don't need this one. it has little tidbits of design how-to's.