The Art Book


Phaidon Press - 1997
    Each artist is represented by a full-page colour plate of a definitive work, accompanied by explanatory and illuminating information on the image and its creator. Glossaries of artistic movements and technical terms are included, making this a valuable work of reference as well as a feast for the eyes. By breaking with traditional classifications, The Art Book presents a fresh and original approach to art: an unparalleled visual sourcebook and a celebration of our rich and multi-faceted culture.

Chip Kidd


Veronique Vienne - 2003
    Chip Kidd is renowned and revered as a maverick graphic designer. Specifically, Kidd's book jacket designs for such major New York publishers as Alfred A. Knopf are among the most significant and innovative of our time. This richly illustrated book--the first critical selection of kid's design work--looks closely at this contemporary visual pioneer. Veronique Vienne presents a full and nuanced view of Kidd, discussing how he has developed celebrity status as a designer, design critic, lecturer, and editor. She also relates how Kidd is greatly influenced by popular culture, noting his vast collection of Batman memorabilia. Vienne concludes by examining Kidd's editorial involvement with books on cartoonists as well as his own first novel, The Cheese Monkeys, published in 2001 to critical acclaim. Chip Kidd reveals the fascinating life and career of a revolutionary graphic designer with a winning public persona, whose ambitions now also lean toward editing and writing. The book will appeal to anyone involved in design and popular culture as well as admirers of Kidd's extraordinary creative spirit.

The Greyskull LP


John Sheaffer - 2012
    Quite simply the most flexible, and user friendly system for anyone interested in building strength and muscle. This book explains in detail the principles of Johnny Pain's famed Greyskull LP method used in the construction of hundreds of beasts around the globe. Cut through the dogmatic B.S. that pollutes the internet, and produce the outcomes that you desire from your training efforts.A must have for anyone serious about getting strong.

The Creative License: Giving Yourself Permission to Be The Artist You Truly Are


Danny Gregory - 2005
    Handwritten and illustrated in color throughout.

Thinking with Type


Ellen Lupton - 2004
    What type of font to use? How big? How should those letters, words, and paragraphs be aligned, spaced, ordered, shaped, and otherwise manipulated? In this groundbreaking new primer, leading design educator and historian Ellen Lupton provides clear and concise guidance for anyone learning or brushing up on their typographic skills. Thinking with Type is divided into three sections: letter, text, and grid. Each section begins with an easy-to-grasp essay that reviews historical, technological, and theoretical concepts, and is then followed by a set of practical exercises that bring the material covered to life. Sections conclude with examples of work by leading practitioners that demonstrate creative possibilities (along with some classic no-no's to avoid).

The Non-Designer's Design Book


Robin P. Williams - 2003
    Not to worry: This book is the one place you can turn to find quick, non-intimidating, excellent design help. In The Non-Designer's Design Book, 2nd Edition, best-selling author Robin Williams turns her attention to the basic principles of good design and typography. All you have to do is follow her clearly explained concepts, and you'll begin producing more sophisticated, professional, and interesting pages immediately. Humor-infused, jargon-free prose interspersed with design exercises, quizzes, illustrations, and dozens of examples make learning a snap—which is just what audiences have come to expect from this best-selling author.

Typographic Systems of Design: Frameworks for Type Beyond the Grid (Graphic Design Book on Typography Layouts and Fundamentals)


Kimberly Elam - 2007
    In Typographic Systems, Kim Elam, author of our bestselling books, Geometry of Design and Grid Systems, explores eight major structural frameworks beyond the gridincluding random, radial, modular, and bilateralsystems. By taking the reader through exercises, student work, and professional examples, Elam offers a broad range of design solutions. Once essential visual organization systems are understood the designer can fluidly organize words or images within a structure, combination of structures, or a variation of a structure. With clarity and substance, each systemfrom the structured axis to the nonhierarchical radial arrayis explained and explored so that the reader comes away with a better understanding of these intricate complex arrangements. Typographic Systems is the seventh title in our bestselling Design Briefs series, which has sold more than 100,000 copies worldwide.

Earl Scruggs and the 5-String Banjo: Revised and Enhanced Edition


Earl Scruggs - 2003
    The best-selling banjo method in the world! Earl Scruggs's legendary method has helped thousands of banjo players get their start. The Revised and Enhanced Edition features more songs, updated lessons, and many other improvements. It includes everything you need to know to start playing banjo, including: a history of the 5-string banjo, getting acquainted with the banjo, Scruggs tuners, how to read music, chords, how to read tablature, right-hand rolls and left-hand techniques, banjo tunings, exercises in picking, over 40 songs, how to build a banjo, autobiographical notes, and much more! The book/audio version includes recordings of Earl Scruggs playing and explaining over 60 examples! Audio is accessed online using the unique code inside the book and can be streamed or downloaded. The audio files include PLAYBACK+, a multi-functional audio player that allows you to slow down audio without changing pitch, set loop points, change keys, and pan left or right.

How to


Michael Bierut - 2015
    Featuring more than thirty-five of his projects, it reveals his philosophy of graphic design—how to use it to sell things, explain things, make things look better, make people laugh, make people cry, and (every once in a while) change the world. Specially chosen to illustrate the breadth and reach of graphic design today, each entry demonstrates Bierut’s eclectic approach. In his entertaining voice, the artist walks us through each from start to finish, mixing historic images, preliminary drawings (including full-size reproductions of the notebooks he has maintained for more than thirty-five years), working models and rejected alternatives, as well as the finished work. Throughout, he provides insights into the creative process, his working life, his relationship with clients, and the struggles that any design professional faces in bringing innovative ideas to the world.Offering insight and inspiration for artists, designers, students, and anyone interested in how words, images, and ideas can be put together, How to provides insight to the design process of one of this century’s most renowned creative minds.

The Dramatic Portrait: The Art of Crafting Light and Shadow


Chris Knight - 2017
    As almost every photographer knows, the word -photograph- has its roots in two Greek words that, together, mean -drawing with light.- But what is less commonly acknowledged and understood is the role that shadow plays in creating striking, expressive imagery, especially in portraiture. It is through deft, nuanced use of both light and shadow that you can move beyond shooting simply ordinary, competent headshots into the realm of creating dramatic portraiture that can so powerfully convey a subject's inner essence, communicate a personal narrative, and express your photographic vision. In The Dramatic Portrait: The Art of Crafting Light and Shadow, Chris Knight addresses portraiture with a unique approach to both light and shadow that allows you to improve and elevate your own portraiture. He begins with the history of portraiture, from the early work of Egyptians and Greeks to the sublime treatment of light and subject by artists such as Caravaggio, Rembrandt, and Vermeer. Chris then dives into a deep, hands-on exploration of light, shadow, and portraiture, offering numerous lessons and takeaways. He covers: - The qualities of light: hard, soft, and the spectrum in between- The relationships between light, subject, and background, and how to control them- Lighting patterns such as Paramount, Rembrandt, loop, and split- Lighting ratios and how they affect contrast in your image- Equipment: from big and small modifiers to grids, snoots, barn doors, flags, and gels- Multiple setups for portrait shoots, including those that utilize one, two, and three lights- How color contributes to drama and mood, eliciting an emotional response from the viewer- How to approach styling your portrait, from wardrobe to background- The post-processing workflow, including developing the RAW file, maximizing contrast, color grading, retouching, and dodging and burning for heightened drama and effect- How all of these elements culminate to help you define your personal style and create your own narrative

The Complete Engravings, Etchings & Drypoints of Albrecht Dürer


Albrecht Dürer - 1972
    Among them are his most famous works, Knight, Death and Devil; Melencolia I; and St. Jerome in His Study. Also included are portraits of his contemporaries, including Erasmus of Rotterdam and Frederick the Wise, as well as six engravings formerly attributed to Dürer.

20 Ways to Draw a Cat and 44 Other Awesome Animals: A Sketchbook for Artists, Designers, and Doodlers


Julia Kuo - 2013
    This is not a step-by-step technique book--rather, the stylized animals are simplified, modernized, and reduced to the most basic elements, showing you how simple abstract shapes and forms meld to create the building blocks of any item that you want to draw. Each of the 20 interpretations provides a different, interesting approach to drawing a single item, providing loads of inspiration for your own drawing. Presented in the author’s uniquely creative style, this engaging and motivational practice book provides a new take on the world of sketching, doodling, and designing.

Gardenista: The Definitive Guide to Stylish Outdoor Spaces


Michelle Slatalla - 2016
    The team behind the inspirational design sites Gardenista.com and Remodelista.com presents an all-in-one manual for making your outdoor space as welcoming as your living room. Tour personality-filled gardens around the world and re-create the looks with no-fail planting palettes. Find hundreds of design tips and easy DIYs, editors’ picks of 100 classic (and stylish) objects, a landscaping primer with tips from pros, over 200 resources, and so much more.

Design Is How It Works: How the Smartest Companies Turn Products into Icons


Jay Greene - 2010
    Design is how it works."-Steve Jobs There's a new race in business to embrace "design thinking." Yet most executives have no clue what to make of the recent buzz about design. It's rarely the subject of business retreats. It's not easily measurable. To many, design is simply a crapshoot. Drawing on interviews with top executives such as Virgin's Richard Branson and Nike's Mark Parker, Jay Greene illuminates the methods of companies that rely on design to stand out in their industries. From the experiences of those at companies from Porsche to REI to Lego, we learn that design isn't merely about style and form. The heart of design is rethinking the way products and services work for customers in real life. Greene explains how: -Porsche pit its designers against each other to create its bestselling Cayenne SUV -Clif listened intently to customers, resulting in the industry-changing Luna energy bar -OXO paid meticulous attention to the details, turned its LiquiSeal mug from an abysmal failure into one of its greatest successes -LEGO started saying no to its designers-saving its brick business in the process Greene shows how important it is to build a culture in which design is more than an after-the-fact concern-it's part of your company's DNA. Design matters at every stage of the process. It isn't easy, and it increases costs, but it also boosts profits, sometimes to a massive extent. In an increasingly competitive marketplace, design represents the best chance you have of transcending your competitors.

The Calligrapher's Bible: 100 Complete Alphabets and How to Draw Them


David Harris - 2003
    Each of its 100 sections shows a complete A-to-Z calligraphy alphabet, with lessons on correct pen strokes and advice on avoiding errors. Beginners will find sound basic instruction, while experienced calligraphers can extend their repertoire with letter styles that range from classic Roman to clean and elegant contemporary styles. In addition to analysis of each alphabet's features, the book's detailed instruction provides information on -- Tools and materials * Layout basics * Numerals and punctuation * Illumination and ornamentation * Tips for the left-handed calligrapher . . . and more. Readers will also find examples by master calligraphers from past eras. This book's spiral binding ensures that pages lay flat when opened, allowing calligraphers to study and copy each pen stroke with ease. The Calligrapher's Bible is printed in color and features more than 350 illustrations.