Graphic Design, Referenced: A Visual Guide to the Language, Applications, and History of Graphic Design Paperback – December 1, 2011

I teach Graphic Design and Digital Media and am very impressed with this book. I often refer to it and use its examples in my classes. The book does a wonderful job with laying out the numerous elements of graphic design while providing great examples. Designer biographies and mini-portfolios are included, as well as categorical breakdowns - album covers, logos, posters, etc.The book is accessible to those who are just starting out in graphic design, as well as helpful to those who are masters in the field.The world of Graphic Design can be a bit overwhelming at times, as there is so much information out there. This book captures all of that information and organizes it into an enjoyable, easily understandable layout.

This is an awesome index of everything design related. This is not a text book in the traditional sense, and I wouldn't call this collection "timeless", design is contemporary after all; this is more of a stepping stone to dive deeper into the avenues of today's artistic functions. In some cases, it feels like a promotion for universities, design books, agencies, etc...which, don't misinterpret - is good in its own right. While some of the literature can be a little brief, the descriptions are to-the-point and easy to comprehend (the information doesn't seem invaluable or overwhelming). All in all, this book is one of the best compilations of graphic design around. Recommended!

Arrived in good condition

I have chosen this book for an undergraduate introductory course to graphic design and loved it. I would recommend it for several reasons:- a fresh approach and sometime unexpected take on the history and contemporary issues on Graphic Design- huge information on key facts on Design as well as unexpected, utterly interesting stories - i.e. I had no idea of what happened to the CBS cafeteria mural and that Paula Scher designed Jon Stewart book! :-)- huge amount of useful and beautiful illustrations- structure of the book perfect for class discussions (i.e. the gray links between pages makes for never ending journeys and digressions in design)I hope that this book get the success it deserves and that the authors will grace us with a second edition, to fix minor inconsistencies and gaps. In example I will take pag. 62, the anatomy of the type: the taxonomy should features more examples of commonly used terms: aperture, apex, shoulder, beak, ... And a cross bar is not a cross stroke, and so on.One note on the design of the book: the book is flooded with repeated titles and page spreads set in a rather questionable and totally unreadable stencil sans serif typeface. The outcomes (the book cover, pp 4-5, chapter spreads) are puzzling and create an unpleasant contrast with the rest of book, finely designed.In a nutshell: one of the best design reference book available. Strongly recommended.

I'm just going to quote Ellen Lupton (!): "Every graphic designer and design student should get a copy of this book."I recommend this to every design student I meet, and I'm still learning from it myself. So much more between the two covers than I thought I would find... Because I own the Meggs, and the Lupton books, and many more.. but this is just an excellent addition.

By far the best book I've found on the subject. It's meaty and full of information, both interesting and inspiring. However it is by no means a book of lessons, tutorials or how-tos. Otherwise this book is unparalleled in terms of its physical quality, depth and breadth of content. It is well-designed throughout.Highly recommended for either the advanced or very interested designer/student.

This book is amazing! It really take you to every aspects of graphic design. What amaze me is how they gathered and put everything together. As we know, Graphic design is a broad topic that has many things to cover. But this book almost had everything we need to know about this topic! Great book! Great Purchase!

The book is very pretty, but unfortunately not very informative. The writing is rather poor and the subject matter was not presented well.This book is mostly a picture book. There are a few, small informative pieces to it, but mostly it's for flipping through the pages. It employs many modern layout techniques but does almost nothing to explain construction at all. There is a brief section on the elements of typography. There is a small amount of effort spent on referencing historical developments in design, but it is bare reference: there is no exposition on the importance of the development or the interconnect between related developments.The middle of the book is essentially nothing more than lists of other books and magazines--many out of print--that you can also read, lists of art schools you could pay too much to attend, and lists of websites you could visit. You're expected to understand they are important merely because they are included in the book; the text does nothing to describe what makes them important. The last third of the book is lists of noted designers, but again, no exposition on their work, just pictures and the barest of bare text for stating date and place of creation.I was pretty disappointed in the book. I wanted to learn more about the history of graphic design, to gain context, and feel this book did almost nothing in that way. The pictures in it aren't even really big enough to be able to study the work. It reads more like someone writing a picture book for other design students to reminisce about how awesome it is they know this stuff already.