Strangling economies with their austerity policies, they assure us that they have no choice. In a world where “there is no alternative”, how do you dissent? Once upon a time, graphic designers would have made political posters and typeset manifestos. Today, protest has new strategies. Enter the internet meme. With its Darwinian survival skills and its viral potential, the meme is a way of scaling up protest. Hackers and activists have learned to unleash the destructive force of a Rick Astley video. They have let slip the Lolcats of war. Pranks have become a resistance strategy. As the rise of Beppe Grillo in Italy testifies, this may be the hour to fight nonsense with nonsense. Jokes are an open-source weapon of politics, and it is time to tap their power.

    We want them to buy something, read more, or take action of some kind. Designing without understanding what makes people act the way they do is like exploring a new city without a map: results will be haphazard, confusing, and inefficient. This book combines real science and research with practical examples to deliver a guide every designer needs. With it you'll be able to design more intuitive and engaging work for print, websites, applications, and products that matches the way people think, work, and play.Learn to increase the effectiveness, conversion rates, and usability of your own design projects by finding the answers to questions such as: What grabs and holds attention on a page or screen?What makes memories stick?What is more important, peripheral or central vision?How can you predict the types of errors that people will make?What is the limit to someone's social circle?How do you motivate people to continue on to (the next step?What line length for text is best?Are some fonts better than others? These are just a few of the questions that the book answers in its deep-dive exploration of what makes people tick.

    Coupling in-depth analysis of designers - from Jan Tschichold to Romek Marber - with a broad survey of the range of series and titles published - from early Penguins and Pelicans, to wartime and 1960s Specials, Classics, fiction and reference - this is a distinctive picture of how Penguin has consistently established its identity through its covers, influenced by - and influencing - the wider development of graphic design and the changing fashions in typography, photography, illustration and printing techniques.

    Whether you're a professional artist interested in improving your drawing skills, or an aspiring designer fresh out of high school looking to add to your portfolio, The Silver Way will help you build your confidence and strengthen your work in order to successfully design characters for any project, in any style. Chockfull of helpful--and entertaining!--drawing techniques and easy-to-follow tutorials developed through his decades of experience as an artist on popular animated shows (Kim Possible, Danny Phantom, The Fairly OddParents) and as the owner of Silver Drawing Academy, The Silver Way is the kind of educational art book you'll revisit again and again for guidance, encouragement, and inspiration.

    Being ambidextrous with Eastern and Western cultures, he can see things most of us overlook. The result is a humor and expression that brings out the best in computers and art."--Nicholas Negroponte John Maeda is one of the world's leading experimental graphic designers and is quickly becoming a digital culture icon. His early preoccupation with the intersection of computer programming and digital art has resulted in a fascinating, interactive, and stunningly beautiful collection of work. Maeda has pioneered many of the key expressive elements that are prevalent on the web today. Among his most well-known works are "The Reactive Square," which features a simple black square on a computer screen that changes shape if one yells at it, and "Time Paint," in which paint flies across the screen. He has created innovative, interactive calendars, digital services, and advertisements for companies such as Sony, Shiseido, and Absolut Vodka. This is the first publication to present a complete overview of Maeda's work and philosophy. A glorious visual exploration of ideas and graphic form, "Maeda @ Media" takes you through Maeda's beginnings in early computerized printouts, to his reactive graphics on CD-ROM, to his dynamic experiments on the web, to his pedagogical approach to digital visual art, and finally to his overarching quest to understand the very nature of the relationship between technology and creativity. Six thematic chapters provide an overview of his entire career and research. But this is not just a catalog of older work: interspersedbetween each chapter is a new visual essay that has been created exclusively for this publication to underline each of the major themes. Coming together in a massive 480 pages, printed in a dazzling array of color combinations on three different kinds of paper, the result is a manifesto, a finely crafted manual and inspiration sourcebook all in one. With over 1000 illustrations.

    The ultimate tool for designers and creatives looking to tap into the trend of hand-drawn lettering, this workbook features step-by-step lessons on a range of styles plus more than 120 practice pages, making it the ideal place to learn and perfect this in-demand design skill.

    Richard Nixon used it for his presidential campaign, as did Hillary Clinton. Indeed, Futura is one of the most used fonts in the world today—the typeface of modern design—more so even than Helvetica. This fascinating book explores the cultural history and uses of a face that's so common you might not notice, until you start looking, and then you can't escape it. Douglas Thomas traces Futura from its Bauhaus-inspired origin in Paul Renner's 1924 design, to its current role as the go-to choice for corporate work, logos, motion pictures, and advertisements. Never Use Futura is illuminating, sometimes playful, reading, not just for type nerds, but for anyone interested in how typefaces are used, take on meaning, and become a language of their own.

    Glaser’s work ranges from the psychedelic Bob Dylan poster to book and record covers; from store and restaurant design to toy creations; and magazine formats including New York magazine and logotypes, all of which define the look of our time. Here Glaser undertakes not only a remarkably wide-ranging representation of his oeuvre from the incredibly fertile early years, but, in a new preface, speaks of the influences on his work, the responsibilities of the artist, the hierarchies of the traditional art world, and the role of graphic design in the area of his creative growth. First published in 1973, Milton Glaser: Graphic Design is an extraordinary achievement and indisputably a classic in the field.

    With a legion of over a million followers, Kerby has been a source of inspiration to artists, designers, and art-lovers all over the world with his stunning art and inspirational messages like "Never Quit Drawing" and "Be Awesome Today." Now fans can glimpse the personal sketchbook of Kerby Rosanes with Sketchy Stories, a beautiful facsimile reproduction of his original sketchbook, loaded with secret doodles, elaborate sketches, and whimsical lines and detailed patterns. Interspersed with his artwork, Kerby also includes techniques, tips, inspirations, influences, and more. The ideal gift for fans of Kerby Rosanes or anyone who is ready to be creatively inspired.

    Build a career doing what you love. In this practical guide, professional artist Lisa Congdon reveals the many ways you can earn a living by making art—through illustration, licensing, fine art sales, print sales, teaching, and beyond. Including industry advice from such successful art-world pros as Nikki McClure, Mark Hearld, Paula Scher, and more, Art, Inc. will equip you with the tools—and the confidence—to turn your passion into a profitable business.LEARN HOW TO: • Set actionable goals • Diversify your income • Manage your bookkeeping • Copyright your work • Promote with social media • Build a standout website • Exhibit with galleries • Sell and price your work • License your art • Acquire an agent • And much more

    The design briefs in The Graphic Design Exercise Book act as sparks to fire your creativity and exercises to broaden your skill set. As prompts for developing your own personal projects they can lead to unexpected developments and revitalized portfolios, helping you break into new and lucrative areas of the design industry.Each brief is illustrated with inspiring reference material providing a visual resource that can be utilized well beyond this book. Sample roughs and visuals show work in progress to give you an insight into the thought processes and creative bent of other designers. Industry insiders share their specialist knowledge, offering professional advice on a selection of fully realized projects.As an additional research tool, The Graphic Design Exercise Book gives you a full glossary and reading list for every genre covered, including:packagingvisual identity and brandingpage layoutmusic graphicsscreen-based design

    Whether you’re a writer, a scrapbooker, a political activist, or a postcard collector, let book artist Esther K. Smith be your guide as you discover your inner bookbinder. Using foolproof illustrations and step-by-step instructions, Smith reveals her time-tested techniques in a fun, easy-to-understand way.

    The book reads in a conversational style and is more like having a chat with a bloke that knows his stuff than any kind of "how-to" manual. This is the sequel to Know Your Onions: Graphic Design by the same author.

    Burn Your Portfolio teaches the real-world practices, professional do's and don'ts, and unwritten rules of business that most designers, photographers, web designers, copy writers, programmers, and architects only learn after putting in years of experience on the job.Michael Janda, owner of the Utah-based design firm Riser, uses humor to dispense nugget after nugget of hard-won advice collected over the last decade from the personal successes and failures he has faced running his own agency. In this surprisingly funny, but incredibly practical advice guide, Janda's advice on teamwork and collaboration, relationship building, managing clients, bidding work, production processes, and more will resonate with creative professionals of all stripes.

    Everywhere you look, from group photos, to school graduation or sports portraits, to magazines, movie posters, and DVD covers, chances are, you ve seen compositing. In "Photoshop Compositing Secrets," Matt Kloskowski takes you through the entire process behind creating convincing, well-executed, and captivating composites. You ll see how to create images that run the gamut from real-world portraits for corporate, graduation, or group photos to sports portraits, templates, and collages, and even the surreal, dramatic composites that clients clamor for. You'll learn: One of the most important secrets to compositing: how to master selections in Photoshop (yes, even wispy hair), What background color, and camera and lighting setups work best for compositing, How to move a subject from one background to another, and the Photoshop lighting and shadowing techniques to make it look real, And all the Photoshop tips, tricks, and special effects you need to pull off a convincing, professional composite. No matter if you're a professional, an aspiring professional, or a hobbyist, "Photoshop Compositing Secrets "will sharpen your skills and open up a whole new avenue of photographic expression in an easy-to-understand way that will have you creating your own composites in no time.