The Non-Designer's Design Book: Design and Typographic Principles for the Visual Novice F First Edition

by Robin Williams (Author)

108 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-1566091596

ISBN-10: 1566091594

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Outlines the essentials of page layout, emphasizing the four concrete principles of design--proximity, alignment, repetition, and contrast--in an illustrated volume that features before and after examples of page design. Original. (All Users).

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Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

This book is for the secretary laying out an office newsletter, the entrepreneur designing her own advertising, the student wanting a better-looking term paper, or the professional creating a lasting impression with a new client. As a book of general design principles, it doesn't matter what computer one is using, or whether one is using a computer at all - the principles and terminology of good design remain the same.

Robin assumes that readers simply want to know how to make pages look better. She equips them with the four basic concepts used in virtually every well-designed job. Dozens of real-world examples enliven the text and demonstrate that Robin practices what she preaches: Good design does indeed capture the reader's attention.

In the second half, the focus is on type, specifically the problem of combining multiple typefaces. Robin demonstrates that in page design, as in life, a relationship is established that is either concordant, conflicting, or contrasting.

Each chapter is conveniently summarized, and there are practical design exercises, optional quizzes, and bibliography. Throughout the book, readers are encouraged to feel at ease in the often confusing world of graphic design.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Peachpit Press; F First Edition (January 1, 1995)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 144 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1566091594
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1566091596
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 10.74 x 7.03 x 0.31 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,121,586 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #72 in Design (Books)
- #237 in Desktop Publishing
- #719 in General Library & Information Sciences

Customer Reviews:
108 ratings

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Customer reviews

5 star		68%
4 star		9%
3 star		15%
2 star		3%
1 star		5%

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Top reviews from the United States

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John

Wonderful book for us novices - lacks color though.

Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2000

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I am a "non-designer" and purchased this book to learn more about basic design principles. I must admit that it was very helpful. The author covers many important aspect of good design such as repetition, placement, typography, and others. The writing style is light and the author tries to inject a lot of humor into her work. A good part of the book is devoted to typography and I found it to be especially helpful for me. This section provided me with some very good ideas. The only negative comment that I have about the book is that it has a section on the use of color. The problem: The book is entirely done in black and white. Although it would have added to the cost of producing the book , I think that they should have added a few color illustrations to illustrate the principles on color that they were trying to explain. Instead, I suppose that you are supposed to use your imagination. This book retails for $15 and is only 144 pages, some color could have been added, and the book could still have been profitable.
Overall, I think that it is a very good book. It's a little pricey (although most graphic design books tend to be) for what you get but I don't regret purchasing it. If you're a non-designer, and want to learn more about graphic design, then you will benefit from this book.

8 people found this helpful

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webapalooza

Solid little introduction to design concepts

Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2001

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Being a web designer and not having any formal training as a graphic designer, I was looking for a quick guide on the basic "rules" of design and layout. This book fit the bill nicely.
Definitely a quick read, it covers the foundations of good layout and typography. Each "rule" gets its own chapter, with plenty of examples. It would have been nice, however, if the chapter on "Color" had actually used color images! The entire book is in black & white, so this was a bit of a drawback. Not a fatal flaw, but rather a conscious effort to save printing costs that wound up detracting from one of the chapters.
What I did learn were some obvious techniques and concepts that I needed to understand. The book helps you "notice" good design, and better yet, understand WHY it's good design. You'll also become more conscious of your designs, how to create them, and how to fix them when they're wrong, rather than just playing around with it until it "looks right".
If you're new to designing - no matter what the medium - you'll be well-served by this book. For the price, it's certainly tough to beat.

28 people found this helpful

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R. Stephen Gracey

The first step in teaching yourself graphic design.

Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2001

Verified Purchase

This was my first purchase in Williams's "non-designer" series, and it absolutely transformed the way I understand visual communications. I've always had good verbal skills, but I needed help with the visual part, once I found myself in a job requiring lots of layout and web design.
Williams's approach to teaching is based in principles (like, "Pick an imaginary line running down the page and relate all your visual elements to it."), which she then supports with example after example. It matches my learning style precisely. Once I've grasped the principle, I can apply it again and again, as indeed I have in the past year and a half since I read this book. It serves as a solid foundation for the rest of the series, especially the "Non-Designer's Type Book," which should be the second of her books you read, in my opinion.
I couldn't have accomplished in my job what I have without this book's help. It's not a reference book, but an essential introduction to sound design principles, which, once grasped, stick with you forever.

18 people found this helpful

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Ricardo Consonni

She gets on your nerves!

Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2003

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The author managed to flaw a almost-perfect book by being so obnoxiously annoying, and sometimes outright rude. The book is excellent in all but one aspect: the author constantly tells you not to be a wimp and talking to you down from her (unreachable) pedestal. That cost her the 5th star.

On the other hand, she completely knocked my socks off by condensing most of graphic design's principles in a few, very clear and straight-forward concepts: the CRAP principle (even the acronym is memorable!).

If you're a newbie to graphic design, or even if you're a seasoned artist, this is a great book. I only recommend you don't forget your Prozac...

Albeit what was said above, I didn't hesitate to buy her other book, 'The Non-Designer's Type Book', which I now regret.

If you're confident in your learning skills, I recommend Roger C. Parker's 'One Minute Designer', although not as mnemonically-centered, much more thorough and brilliant.

2 people found this helpful

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Dixie Vogel

good info, but i would have liked more!

Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2000

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as an aspiring web page designer (who always believed she had a "good eye" but often needs hours of trial and error to find that acceptable look), i was looking for a practical, beginners' introduction to graphic design. i am not interested in the theory or schools of thought or even terms so much as practical, usable info that i can put to work right away.
i found this book to be straightforward, simple, quick to read, and very useful. the same day i got it, i was able to use the principles to improve the design of my web page immediately in significant ways! my only beef with the book is that it didn't take me far enough. i would have liked to get a lot more of the same! someone who has some background in graphic design would probably not get too much out of the book, but i would reccomend it to those without any formal training as a good starting point.

8 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Mr. RD Smith

Brilliant easy to follow manual

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 15, 2003

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This book is invaluable to the novice designer. It sets out the do's and dont's of design. Robin Williams gives clear illustrations throughout her book.
Excellent value.

4 people found this helpful

miguel

Eye-opening!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 22, 2003

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Now I can see why some publishings look better than others.
When you have read half-book you are able to recognize, why 'that publishing' is eye-catching or visually poor. When, you know this, you are ready to create your own eye-appealing publications.
Great Book.

5 people found this helpful

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The Non-Designer's Design Book: Design and Typographic Principles for the Visual Novice F First Edition

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