Last updated 9/14/2006
Robin Williams Design Workshop Second Edition
Robin Williams Design Workshop Second Edition
Authors:Robin Williams and John Tollett
Publisher: Peachpit Press / Peachpit Press
28 pages ... $44.99
ISBN 0-321-44176-1
This book is an example of design
all the way through from the cover to the index.
There are lots of examples, stories of process and how designers develop their ideas develop, change, and produce a products.
The first edition, with its simplicity and visual impact, obviously sold enough so they decided to produce a second edition. Based upon the cover design alone, the second edition should sell many more copies.
The first chapter in the book contains a series of tests to determine how much you already know, and to refer you to their Non-DesignerŐs Design Book,
The Mac Is Not a Typewriter,
and other already published books if you fail. Based upon these tests, I should reread them.
Then there are four chapters on Taking Advantage of Clip Art, Working with Photographs, Understanding Design Challenges & Approaches, and Creating Visual Impact. As you would expect, there are a lot of illustrations, information about sources, and ways to use the materials.
This is followed by a series projects with advice and examples for handling each project: Logos - Business cards, letterhead, and envelopes - Invoices and Forms - Advertising - Billboards - Web Sites - Tables of Contents and Indices - Newsletters and Brochures - and Flyers.
Then six designers each write about their approaches to their work. Here John Tollett explains how he developed the cover of this book starting from adding a 2 to the first edition cover and a search through stock images for things with the keyword two.
The authors recommend looking around, collecting references and resources, and keeping scrap books of designs you like. If you can afford it, Robin Williams Design Workshop, Second Edition
would be a good resource, reference, and source of advice and ideas. However, if you have not already read the Non-designerŐs Design Boo
k and The Mac Is Not A Typewriter,
or obtained the basic design and type concepts in some other way, you probably should buy them first.
For more information or to buy Robin Williams Design Workshop, Second Edition
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