5 stars (Thorough and engaging) - This book is used as a course text in many design classes across the country. I can see why. Not so much a history as it is a survey of the current state of graphic design, it's quite possibly the best treatment I've ever read on the subject in a single volume. The 3rd edition is significantly expanded in content and reformatted versus the 2nd, and the illustrative examples are abundant and well-chosen. Many of the examples are accompanied by remarks from the designers themselves, which helps shed light on the concepts and thought processes behind the work. The text strikes a good balance between commentary and pedagogy, and as a result the book works for both instructional reference and casual reading. The end of each chapter contains related exercises designed to prod your right brain into action. This book will help you discover -- or rediscover -- what's fun and exciting about graphic design. 3 stars (Good compilation but too many typographical errors) - This book would be wonderful if the editor had done a great job of fixing all the typographical errors. I lost concentration and kept correcting typing mistakes ...very unprofessional...makes you wonder who is teaching me...otherwise a good help 5 stars (Great resource for begining Designer) - I am a design student, and this was our textbook for one of my design foundation classes. The projects that we did in class (and are now in my portfolio) were modified versions of some of the exercises in this book. This book starts with the basics of 2D design and then builds on what you have learned. It is a great overview of other areas of design as well. This is a hands on book that allows you to learn by doing. If you are interested in graphic design go get this book! ... Thomson Delmar Learning :: Business & Economics & Careers :: Publishing :: Language Arts & Disciplines :: Language :: Graphic arts :: Graphic Arts - General :: Commercial art :: Careers - Gen :: Graphic Design Solutions
2 stars (with poor pix, this is too much) - I was astonished with poor quality of BW pictures this book contains. And I paid $50 for this? The photos are poorly lit so the details are not clear, and not sharp enough for this kind of printing. Texts are rather sketchy too. Intrestingly, resources contain a section for books on presentation models. I found most of them are out of print. I can just imagine this book's innitial run was so low that gave this hefty price tag to this book. Unless you have a lot of money to waste, or you're advanced, you'll be surprised like me. 5 stars (Designing With Models Designing With Models) - From the standpoint of representation, and despite the advent of computer graphics and animation, the architectural model has persisted in being a privileged way of expressing architectural intentions. The irresistible iconic relation between the model and the building, and the intimacy witnessed through this association, has unquestionably contributed to this survival. Because in the model no extra interpretive energy is needed to grasp the intended, and because there is definitely a pleasure in seeing something big represented by something similar to it but smaller, the critical denigration of model-making has been minimum. This is unlike the case of the plan and other classical modes of projecting buildings where the conventional nature of representation has opened the gates for questioning their legitimacy. From the angle of making and performing, model-making has also remained a very powerful means of exploring ideas that have 3-d space as their support. The relative absence of a cognitive distance between intentions and their crystallization in the sensible realm, due essentially to the paramount role the hand directly plays in the shaping of a given design idea, has reinforced an interest in model-making as a means for expressing the immediate and the spontaneous. A closer relation the other visual arts has followed, ... Wiley :: Industrial & Commercial Art & Design :: Architecture & Design & Drafting :: Architectural structure & design :: Methods & Materials :: Interior Design :: Handbo :: Designing with Models - A Studio Guide to Making and Using Architectural Design Models
4 stars (HUMAN FACTORS) - I AM A BIG FAN OF THE AUTHOR, AND HAVE USED HIS WORKS IN THE PRACTICE OF MY WORK MANY TIMES, THE BOOK, IS GOOD WITH MANY PRACTICAL EXAMPLES, BUT SADLY DOES NOT SEEM TO TELL ME ANYMORE THAN I ALREADY KNEW. ....I WAS HOPING FOR MORE. THE BOOKLET NEEDS UPDATING. SUPERB THOUGH AS A REFERENCE BOOK. 3 stars (great reference - cd is pretty worthless) - this book is a great reference for those who deal in any way with the human form. i, for example, am a 3d character animator and this book is perfect for nailing correct human proportions and visualizing range of motion. however, the accompanying cd is basically an advertisement for ErgoForms, the autocad version of the drawings in the book. only the 1% man drawing (the smallest average male figure)is included on the cd, which is pretty useless for what i need. if the book weren't so expensive i'd give it a four star rating. i thought i was getting more on the cd to warrant the price. 4 stars (Very useful, but use with care) - This is the easiest to use and probably most comprehensive book of human measurement, in my opinion. The data provided in this book is of extreme value to anybody designing anything that physically interacts with human bodies. This is the only complete source of anthropometric data, that I know of, for children of virtually every age range. However, some of the extrapolated data in the book is impractical for real use. For example, children's furniture dimensions recommended by this book are generally too small as they appear to be based upon exact proportions of adult recommendations. This is inappropriate because children's bodies and minds are not exact scale models of adult bodies. Overall, though, I still recommend this book highly, but also recommend very careful use of it. ... Wiley :: Mechanical Engineering & Materials :: Industrial & Commercial Art & Design :: Ergonomics :: Architecture & Interior Design :: Interior Design - General :: Indus :: The Measure of Man and Woman- Human Factors in Design