Non-Designer's Design Book, The (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A lot has happened in the world of digital design since the first edition of this title was published, but one thing remains true: There is an ever-growing number of people attempting to design pages with no formal training. This book is the one place they can turn to find quick, non-intimidating, excellent design help from trusted design instructor Robin Williams. This revised classic--now in full color--includes a new section on the hot topic of Color itself. In The Non-Designer's Design Book, 3rd Edition, Robin turns her attention to the basic principles that govern good design. Readers who follow her clearly explained concepts will produce more sophisticated and professional pages immediately. Humor-infused, jargon-free prose interspersed with design exercises, quizzes, and illustrations make learning a snap--which is just what audiences have come to expect from this best-selling author.

From the Back Cover

So you have a great concept and all the fancy digital tools you could possibly require-what's stopping you from creating beautiful pages? Namely the training to pull all of these elements together into a cohesive design that effectively communicates your message. Not to worry: This book is the one place you can turn to find quick, non-intimidating, excellent design help. In The Non-Designer's Design Book, 2nd Edition, best-selling author Robin Williams turns her attention to the basic principles of good design and typography. All you have to do is follow her clearly explained concepts, and you'll begin producing more sophisticated, professional, and interesting pages immediately. Humor-infused, jargon-free prose interspersed with design exercises, quizzes, illustrations, and dozens of examples make learning a snap-which is just what audiences have come to expect from this best-selling author. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Peachpit Press; 3 edition (February 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321534042
• ISBN-13: 978-0321534040
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (235 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,383 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Reference to Have, November 24, 2001

By	Jeffrey Leeper "kem2070" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Non-Designer's Design Book: Design and Typographic Principles for the Visual Novice (Paperback)

As mentioned in the introduction to the text, this book is not for professional designers. This book is intended for those of us who need to put together a flyer, presentation, or newsletter, but we don't have the background in design. The design the author refers to is the design of the printed page.

The author explains simple principles that help us see what makes for a good design like proximity, alignment, repetition, and contrast. There are plenty of before-and-after examples to show you exactly what she means. The explanations are also very understandable. Williams does not preach to you, but rather helps you see the different elements which can make the visual more effective.

There are also some quizzes with answers in the back. Included is a short bibliography so the reader can get more information if he or she chooses.

There are some problems with the book. One, it discusses the use of color, but there are no color pictures to illustrate the point. The author knew the illustrations would no be color so asks you to visualize this in your head. It wasn't the most helpful here.

Also, towards the end, she uses some editing/printing jargon that she never explains. If the reader does not have a design background, why mention leading if not explained?

Overall, I find this book to be very helpful. Knowing the elements I should be looking for ensures that my experimenting with flyers is more productive and effective. I would recommend this book to anyone needing to create newsletters, flyers, and the like.

75 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sensible and Practical Advice for Layout and Typography, October 28, 2001

By	Bob Carpenter (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Non-Designer's Design Book: Design and Typographic Principles for the Visual Novice (Paperback)

Robin Williams provides a practical introduction to the classical principles of design in this pamphlet-sized book. Her discussion of layout is organized around four basic design principles: Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and Proximity. Each is presented in its own chapter with plenty of you-can-do-it-at-home examples. The typography section explains the principles of Concord, Conflict and Contrast, based on Williams'classification of type faces by style (Oldstyle, Modern, Slab Serif, Sans Serif, Script and Decorative), weight (Light, Bold), Shape (Narrow, Wide), and spacing. A discussion of color is notably absent; the roots of this book in early grayscale Macintosh computing show through.

Williams's book should hit the mark for amateurs creating one-page designs such as simple web sites, brochures or business cards. Set aside an hour or two to read it and do the exercises, and your designs should improve immensely. Mine have.

48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book before you publish anything!, March 10, 2000

By	"nicinnc" (RTP, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Non-Designer's Design Book: Design and Typographic Principles for the Visual Novice (Paperback)

If you pick up this book looking for that on-the-edge-physical comedy that made Robin Williams one of the worlds most famous comedians, boy have you got the wrong Robin Williams! This author is one of the leading authorities on visual design and presents her information in a clear, concise, no-nonsense (well almost)kind of way. Her book is a valuable resource even for people who think they are familiar with aspects of design or have been told that they, "have a good eye," so don't be dissuaded by the title. As an experienced journalist, the book brought back a lot of my earlier newspaper layout training. It put into plain language the principles for which I had no name other than, "that just doesn't look right." The principles of proximity, alignment, repetition, and contrast are highlighted and expounded upon in each section. I found the section on typography to be extremely interesting and I find myself looking for examples of contrasting type all around me now.

Visual examples of weak design and what can be done to make the design better are on nearly every page, and make the subject matter very clear. The author maintains that most beginning mistakes in design are tied to mistakes in Contrast Repetition, Alignment, or Proximity (C.R.A.P). That sounds about right. If you are going to publish any document (print or electronic) this should be the first book you read before you do.