Visual Grammar (Design Briefs) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Point. You cannot see or feel a point; it is a place without area..." (more)
Key Phrases: structural skeleton, structure lines, New York, Primer of Visual Literacy

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Life in the image world has made us all voracious, if not always deliberate, consumers of visual messages. Easy access to computer graphic tools has turned many of us into either amateur or professional image producers. But without a basic understanding of visual language, a productive dialogue between producers and consumers of visual communication is impossible. Visual Grammar can help you speak and write about visual objects and their creative potential, and better understand the graphics that bombard you 24/7. It is both a primer on visual language and a visual dictionary of the fundamental aspects of graphic design.

Dealing with every imaginable visual concept from abstractions such as dimension, format, and volume; to concrete objects such as form, size, color, and saturation; to activities such as repetition, mirroring, movement, and displacement; to relations such as symmetry, balance, diffusion, direction, and variation this book is an indispensable reference for beginners and seasoned visual thinkers alike. Whether you simply want to familiarize yourself with visual concepts or whether you're an experienced designer looking for new ways to convey your ideas to a client, Visual Grammar is the clear and concise manual that you've been looking for.

About the Author

Christian Leborg is a designer and design educator. He is founding partner of K, a knowledge and communications consultancy in Oslo, Norway.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press; 1 edition (May 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568985819
• ISBN-13: 978-1568985817
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #20,290 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Focussing the visual mind, August 17, 2006

By	Willem Hart "Designer/typographer/educator" (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The standard for visual literacy was set by Dondis A. Dondis in 1973 with "A Primer of Visual Literacy". However, it was (is) a heavy read. Christian Leborg's "Visual Grammar" gives us a more visual approach to the subject. His thesis is that we cannot understand the visual images that assault our eyes unless we share a common understanding of the symbols involved. Leborg enlightens us with a symplified but nonetheless complex view of symbols that are abstract, concrete, active, and relative. It's an interesting exploration using only basic geometric shapes. This is a "must have" book for those who teach design and a desirable book for students. All you need to know is that it is published by Princeton Architectural Press. Princeton publishes some of the most important books on design. Their positive discrimination is evident in all of their publications.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A book with few words, December 2, 2006

By	C. Dworsky (Pointe-Claire, QC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book certainly takes the simplicity route. It is ruthlessly straightforward in regards to expressing it's information, in a layout that is without a doubt concise and efficient. The nadir? It also unfortunately reads like stereo instructions and the knowledge it tries to impart is thoroughly basic at best. Simple shapes and the like may be the building blocks of structure, but without any really tangible information to be gleaned we are left with an attractive skeleton. Yes there are some bits of wisdom in this book as well as some fetching Adobe Illustrator rendered graphics, but by and large we're just left with more white space than a snowstorm. I really do think people should form their own opinions about reference materials however, maybe you could learn a great deal from this work. Buy it, try it, but I honestly can't envision the need for this volume in light of so many other exemplary works on the subject.

4.0 out of 5 stars I Found It Facinating, August 1, 2007

By	Mark T. Plattner (St. Louis, MO United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I stumbled on this book at the local library and found it a very fascinating read. I've been involved in graphic production for years and can push the objects around on the comp, but never really knew the basics and foundation of visual language.

This is a great primer to learn the basic concepts that lead one to want to learn the syntax and the structure of the visual nouns learned.

This is something I will purchase and pore over until I learn the concepts.