Graphic Design Fundamentals An Introduction Amp; Workbook For Beginners Pdf

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Staci Mauger

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Aug 5, 2024, 4:29:18 AM8/5/24

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This book as a great overview of graphic design history in the first half of the book. The other topics are well explained but don't give clarity on the platforms in which the topics build up from. This is a beginner book but the color management, prepress and imaging are not explained in a way that makes sense for a new designer with little experience with the software. Also the information is dated.

Information is dated, the info on pre-press and color management still hold true but new software and updates have changed the work flow. Again thinking about the intended audience for this book. Brand new designers need a little more software training ion the front end for these sections to make sense.

Chapters 1-3 are great. There is a jump from the history of graphic design and design fundamentals to production of the work in a printing house environment. Missing a lot of fundamental graphic design theory and work flows before the production and packaging phase.

This book as some good information, I would use the first three sections in a class along with supplemental handouts. Then I would find other texts that are current and do a better job teaching the design process.

Overall, the text is straightforward, following a pattern in each chapter of introducing a concept before diving a little deeper in the next section. This is especially true for the first half of the book. While the language of this book uses British/Canadian spelling, it does not hinder comprehension and does a great job of acknowledging differences between both North American terminology and standard practice vs. that of the rest of the world (especially in Chapter 6 when discussing Imaging and detailed paperweight terminology). In some sections, the terminology is used without first defining/introducing them. For instance, in section 1.5 Constructivism and avant-garde are mentioned as a part of giving context to Dada, without having previously defined or fleshed out those concepts first.

The only other minor peeve of mine was that processes and steps are written in paragraph form. If these were broken down into listed or numbered steps, that would be ideal, although I understand there may be reasons for keeping the layout of those processes as they are.

Students do not have to first read one chapter in order to understand the next. I would say this text is very versatile in that some chapters and sections could be easily utilized in a more technical-focused course while others can be used in a course focusing on theory and study.

I have no problems with the organization of the content. On the PDF version, the glossary is referenced but is blank with no terms. I am not sure if this is true for all PDF versions or simply an issue with my viewing experience.

I realize this is really meant to be a more technical text and not a Graphic Design history book. The movements and individuals have mere paragraphs or a sentence of coverage, with no visual imagery associated with them. If Chapter 1 could better tie the movements in with individuals with examples it would be a stronger section. I do wish there were more contemporary references as well, such as Paula Scher, Alex Trochut, etc.

As someone who works in the print design industry, I feel that there is a superfluous amount of information on color-matching technologies but a lack of information on industry-standard software and its importance in sections 2.6 and chapter 4.

I might have reversed the order of Chapters 5 and 6 so that "Imaging" preceded "Pre-press," though this comes from my natural inclination to see Pre-press as the natural end of the production process and "Imaging" better-suited alongside chapters on "Design Elements, Design Principles, and Compositional Organization" and "Colour Management in Graphic Technologies."

The language, photographs, and examples used are not culturally insensitive or offensive. In terms of inclusivity, this task would take far more research than I have time to conduct, including determining whether the chosen design pieces herein represent a wide range of designers from various backgrounds--nothing stood out to me while exploring and navigating the text.

This is a nice overview of how both traditional and unconventional print design is created, from ideation to file preparation. The real strength of the text is the inclusion of historical, theoretical, and technological considerations needed aimed at those who are relatively new to the design process.

I reviewed this book as a potential textbook for my sophomore Graphic Design courses. This book provides comprehensive introductory to the practice of graphic design, especially in the print production sector of the profession.read more

I have not found any factual error in this book. However, some of the links might be directing to the wrong pages. For instance, on page 34, the link to the Manchester Dog Street Life example only directs to the agency's main page, not the project itself. Because websites are changing constantly, it might be better to include some of these images in the book. I understand due to copyright concerns, this might not be possible in all cases. But including more details regarding each examples will at least help readers find them on their own if need be.

Most of the book's content will stay relevant for a long time because it covers many fundamental principles of design. The later chapters (5 through 7) can be updated when new printing and web publishing technologies become available.

This book can serve as a textbook for the undergraduate students because it is written in very clear and straightforward language. I found it easy to read and comprehend. Chapter 5 & 6 contain a lot more jargons and technical terms but they are explained well.

It is clear to me that the book was written with students in mind. Its language is consistently clear, though it was written by different people with different specialty. Chapter 5 through 7 could use more examples though, such as screen captures of certain concepts such as kerning.

The chapters and subtitles are clear and logically arranged. However, some parts of chapter 3 should be put in front of chapter 2, as they discuss basic visual elements. There should also be some discussion of different collaterals that need to be printed as solutions to design problems, before jumping into the technical details of print production.

As some other reviewers said, this book has not touched upon any design history outside of the western sphere. It does use some design examples from other culture, but provides no explanation to them. However, as a technically oriented book, I don't find this to be a deal breaker.

I approached this text as a possible option for my introduction to print production class in an undergraduate BA program focused on creative advertising. I found that the content varies widely in technical level - from very introductory topics like design principles and elements to incredibly complex print production concepts like how to calculate the difference between lab colors using Delta E. Some of the later chapters cover content far beyond what I would expect my undergraduate students to know.

Chapter 1: Design History presents a very Euro-centric version of history. As the design industry is grappling with its overly colonized/Western-focused approach to design history, there is a lot of room to grow in this area. If this textbook is chosen, it should ideally be paired with readings that supply additional historical context from non-privileged perspectives.

Most of the content in this book is still up to date. Overall, the content could be greatly improved with the addition of supporting imagery. I know that obtaining rights for images is a challenge for open textbooks, but even some commissioned/author-generated graphics would have greatly enhanced understanding of many of the concepts in this book. When this book shines, it is in areas where the text is supported by graphics.

Overall the text was clearly written, though there was a clear difference between the tone used by various authors. The addition of a glossary helps clear up the definitions of technical terminology.

Topics that really stood out to me as well-done were the description of the design process (chapter 2), basic type classification that focused on the capacities of the printing technology at the time (chapter 3) a good overview of gestalt principles (chapter 3), and the overview of how to choose paper (chapter 6). There are many other discrete topics that could be of use in the classroom in this book, and since the book was written by multiple authors each chapter mostly stands on its own, and could be assigned individually.

As mentioned above, the history in chapter one could use some additional cultural perspectives to round out the Euro-centric narrative. I agree with another reviewer that the quote starting out Chapter 1.5 (the section on Dada) should probably be removed/updated.

To represent graphic design comprehensively would require countless books, but for an entry-level book or as a book to review design concepts while really focusing on print production fundamentals, this book provides an adequate introduction. It...read more