Ask any graphic designer the world over about their preferred approach to setting type, choosing a color, or beginning a new layout, and you will rarely get exactly the same answer twice. All designers have their own way of working and their own combinations of the thousands of techniques one can apply when planning a new design project. But there are some dos and don'ts that always figure in any heated debate about what one should or should not accept as the right way to create the best graphic design.
This book looks at key dos and don'ts, bringing them together in the form of a classically structured almanac. Packed with practical advice, but presented in a light-hearted fashion, the advisory rather than dictative approach means designers can take or leave the advice presented in each rule as is typical of most creatives with their own strong views on what does and does not constitute good design practice. Individual entries will either bring forth knowing nods of agreement or hoots of derision, depending on whether or not the reader loves or hates hyphenation, has a pathological fear of beige, or thinks that baseline grids are boring.
Thou Shall Not Use Comic Sans is the must-have collection of the best advice that any graphic designer should have at his fingertips, with each entry combining a specific rule with a commentary from a variety of experienced designers from all fields of the graphic design industry. Grouped into six, color-coded categories–typography, color, layout, imagery, production, and the practice of design–but presented numerically and in mixed groups, the reader can either dip in at random or use the book as the source of a daily lesson in how to produce great graphic design.
Thou Shall Not Use Comic Sans
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Sean Adams (adamsmorioka.com) is the national president and past national board member of the AIGA. He is a Fellow of the Aspen Design Conference, and AIGA Fellow. He teaches at Art Center College of Design. Sean is a frequent lecturer and competition judge internationally, and is the co-author of Logo Design Workbook, Color Design Workbook, and Masters of Design.
John Foster (badpeoplegoodthings.com) is a designer, author, and speaker on design whose work is included in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian. His books include For Sale: Over 200 Innovative Solutions in Packaging Design, New Masters of Poster Design, and Maximum Page Design, and he writes a weekly column on music packaging for brightestyoungthings.com.
Tony Seddon has worked for a design consultancy, as a senior art editor for an illustrated book publisher, and as art director for two visual arts publishers in a career spanning over 20 years. He is the author of Image: A Creative Digital Workflow for Graphic Designers, Graphic Design for Nondesigners, and Art Directing Projects for Print.
Peter Dawson (gradedesign.com) has a degree in graphic design from Kingston University, UK, and over 18 years experience in the design arena. Among the awards for his work are the Gold Federal Tait Award, D&AD, Donside, McNaughtons Review, ISTD Certificate of Excellence, and, most recently, Best Jacket/Cover Design at the 2010 British Book Design and Production Awards. He is a Fellow, and former Chair, of the International Society of Typographic Designers.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Thou Shall Make Sure To Proofread Your Text Before You Go To Print
November 8, 2012
Format:Hardcover
There is a lot of useful information in this book, good checklist-type stuff.
However, the effectiveness of the book is occasionally undermined by sloppy proofreading:
* "Thou shall not hyphenate text that is ragged right", says one of the entries. Yet they do exactly that on the very next page
* "Thou shall hang quotation marks outside the paragraph margins", says another entry. Yet they ignore this advice on the very same page.
As I read through the book, I also found instances of an extra space at the very beginning of a line in the middle of a paragraph, two sentences missing the space that should have separated them, a hyphenated word appearing in the middle of a line, and ellipses that looked like evenly spaced periods instead of proper ellipses.
In short, a good general reference in need of a little tidying.
However, the effectiveness of the book is occasionally undermined by sloppy proofreading:
* "Thou shall not hyphenate text that is ragged right", says one of the entries. Yet they do exactly that on the very next page
* "Thou shall hang quotation marks outside the paragraph margins", says another entry. Yet they ignore this advice on the very same page.
As I read through the book, I also found instances of an extra space at the very beginning of a line in the middle of a paragraph, two sentences missing the space that should have separated them, a hyphenated word appearing in the middle of a line, and ellipses that looked like evenly spaced periods instead of proper ellipses.
In short, a good general reference in need of a little tidying.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Thou Shall Not Use Comic Sans: 365 Graphic Design Sins and Virtues: A Designer's Almanac of Dos and Don'ts [Hardcover]
Tony Seddon (Author), Sean Adams (Author), John Foster (Author), Peter Dawson (Author)
I love, love, love this book. I am a graphic design teacher and these are just the right length messages for attention span of high school and middle school students. Small digestible bites of information that cuts right to the point. The book is a nice size to haul back and forth between my classroom and home and the paper and cover are excellent quality. I know there is lots of information on line but I still like books and I like to show the kids that books are still relevant. This book is easy to read and well organized by subject. There are many rules to remember in the world of graphic design and this books helps remind, even a seasoned professional, about using elements effectively and properly. This book is like a condensed college course. . . or things that should be iincluded in college courses.
Tony Seddon (Author), Sean Adams (Author), John Foster (Author), Peter Dawson (Author)
I love, love, love this book. I am a graphic design teacher and these are just the right length messages for attention span of high school and middle school students. Small digestible bites of information that cuts right to the point. The book is a nice size to haul back and forth between my classroom and home and the paper and cover are excellent quality. I know there is lots of information on line but I still like books and I like to show the kids that books are still relevant. This book is easy to read and well organized by subject. There are many rules to remember in the world of graphic design and this books helps remind, even a seasoned professional, about using elements effectively and properly. This book is like a condensed college course. . . or things that should be iincluded in college courses.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By D. Steffen
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Very refreshing and useful book. Great selection of subjects. Humorous on top of it all. While not all of the topics discuss new rules, it often refreshes ones memories and is helpful to see intrinsic beliefs brought to the surface.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Thou Shall Not Use Comic Sans
Interesting format for the several authors to express their views on many aspects of publishing, the use of fonts (other than Comic Sans) being a part of it.
Published 2 months ago by L. Cullen
4.0 out of 5 stars
Helpful
Nothing earthshaking here, but still quite useful. (I never realized the level of controversy surrounding Comic Sans, but now I understand my instructor's reaction to a sample of... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Ulrich Ernst
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good tips and enjoyable writing
I bought the Kindle edition and am reading it on my iPad which is a bit different than working with a paper book. Read more
Published 9 months ago by fancy stitcher
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not that great
One of the "tips" is not to use your cell phone camera to shoot professional work. Lame. Advice is often trite and very low-level. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Linda A
4.0 out of 5 stars
Helpful but not for beginners
I did consider myself somewhere between a beginner and ...whatever is after that, but more on the beginner side. I know what kerning is and have a grasp on the rule of thirds. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Huyosumi
