Graphic Design as a Second Language: Bob Gill (Hands on Graphics S.) [Hardcover]

Bob Gill (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1920744398 | ISBN-13: 978-1920744397 | Publication Date: February 29, 2004

This publication is part of the Handson Graphics series - an exciting and unique collection exploring the work of respected and highly talented international designers. The books in this series are primarily aimed at students and teachers of design. However they also provide an invaluable resource for all those interested in grahic design. The content is international, collectable and accessible to all. Bob Gill's Graphic Design as a Second Language is a practical and palatable educational resource, aimed at students of graphic design. It provides a comprehensive package of the fundamentals of design, offering an important insight into how to develop original work.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bob Gill is a designer, an illustrator, a copywriter, a film-maker and a teacher. After freelancing in New York, he went to London on a whim in 1960 and stayed for fifteen years. He started Fletcher/Forbes/Gill, a design office with the two brightest designers in England. F/F/G began with two assistants and a secretary. Today, it's called Pentagram, with offices everywhere except Tibet. Gill returned to New York in 1975 to write and design Beatlemania. Gill still works independently and still teaches. He's had one-man shows in Europe, South America, the Far East and in the US. He was elected to the New York Art Directors Club Hall of Fame and the Designers and Art Directors Association of London recently presented him with their Lifetime Achievement Award. This is his sixth book about design and illustration.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Images Publishing Dist Ac (February 29, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1920744398
• ISBN-13: 978-1920744397
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,390,520 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bob Gill is Greatest, August 31, 2005

By 

Mara Kurtz "MK" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Graphic Design as a Second Language: Bob Gill (Hands on Graphics S.) (Hardcover)

Anyone can learn to use a computer and exotic software.
It's having and executing a great idea that separates the pros from the copy shop hacks.
Bob Gill, widely acknowledged as "the best of the best," is a brilliant designer who has written the only books I've ever read that actually teach you "how" to develop a successful graphic design concept.
Without usign any exotic software tricks Gill gets right to the heart of the matter and shares, in example after example, his personal solutions to a variety of design problems.
If you really want to learn how to be a graphic designer, this is the book you need to read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Details Gill's successful work process, May 9, 2006

By 

D. Rahmel "Dan Rahmel" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Graphic Design as a Second Language: Bob Gill (Hands on Graphics S.) (Hardcover)

This excellent book details the work process used by the famed graphic artist Bob Gill. The author defines graphic design as organizing a problem and then providing a superior solution. He says that a great designer must find a way of making the problem interesting. "Unless you can begin with an interesting problem, it is unlikely you will end up with an interesting solution."

The structure of the book follows this method through numerous real-world projects. For each example, the author describes the original problem (e.g. create a logo for a company that makes very small models). Then the problem is redefined (e.g. create a logo that, even when enlarged to cover the side of a truck, seems small). Then his solution to the problem is shown (e.g. the small logo is gingerly held between the thumb and index finger of a large hand). The various chapters (Connections, Found Objects, Clich?s, etc.) show a variety of ways that redefining the problem may be accomplished.

Many of the design examples from his portfolio are somewhat dated (the author even mentions this fact), but that's of little importance. The book provides a general work process to follow and he succeeds brilliantly - his method is fantastically useful.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bob Gill is a genius., May 26, 2005

By 

D. Huynh - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Graphic Design as a Second Language: Bob Gill (Hands on Graphics S.) (Hardcover)

This book is great. Aside from any typographical issue with the book the information is proven worth while. The book opens your mind to see relationships between concept and execution that will actually reach your target audience. You learn some of the "common sense" of what graphic design that requires a genius to point out in a simple and straight forward manner.