Best decorative art & design books according to redditors
We found 1,776 Reddit comments discussing the best decorative art & design books. We ranked the 539 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
6. Graphic Artist's Guild Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines
32 mentions
Graphic Artists Guild
Here's my list of the classics:
General Computing
Computer Science
Software Development
Case Studies
Employment
Language-Specific
C
Python
C#
C++
Java
Linux Shell Scripts
Web Development
Ruby and Rails
Assembly
Hey man nice work. You obviously spent a lot of time on this so you definitely, definitely needed a contract and should've been paid regardless if they used it or backed out. I'm in the design field and this happens all the time. I'm not sayin I'm an expert or anything cause I don't freelance much but people have taken advantage of me too and you learn the hard way sometimes. I understand when you're not known or just starting out you have to take what you can get but you also cannot sell yourself short. I highly recommend this book, Graphic Artist's Guild Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines. This talk by Mike Monteiro called Fuck you, Pay me also has some great insight. Like you said, this is your lively hood and how you pay the bills and feed the family so don't take shit from flakey assholes no matter how amateur you are. Best of luck, keep grindin.
Um, part of UI design involves considering how you expose functionality to your users. You provide affordances so that people can maintain their mental model of how the object works. In this case, there was nothing to indicate to the user that a significant portion of the functionality (all dragging and dropping) had been disabled, nor was there any affordance to indicate how to re-enable that functionality. Choosing to not indicate to your users what state the object is in is a textbook example of poor UI design.
UI design is not just about visual composition, as you seem to be implying. That's a very narrow view, mostly held by web designers who (in their defense) are limited to working within the user interface of a web browser.
If you're actually interested in UI/UX considerations, and not just trying to troll and insult people, you might want to read The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman.
EDIT: links
I'm not familiar with anything current but I'm sure it exists. When I was doing the bulk of my learning we were still carving holes in strips of cardboard to produce code. Someone younger would probably give better, more current advice.
In general, refining your problem solving skills involves a great deal of introspection. Everything you complete you should go back and analyze the stumbles you had along the way. What caused delays, what produced bugs, what just didn't work very well. Look at these things and try to determine what you could have done differently. No better teacher than failure.
Two very old books that got me started: Aha: Gotcha and Aha:Insight. They are amazing puzzle books written by the master of puzzles, Martin Gardner. They have a bit of a math slant, but not too much. Read the reviews to see if it floats your boat.
Math, imo, is the basis of solid problem solving. It's the reason we learn math from pre-K all through university. You're not doing it so you can do calculus at the grocery store, and I've never used a lick of it in my career, but it does teach you how to think in a logical manner, breaking big problems down into little ones.
Another book that had some impact on my career was Design of Everyday Things. Good read for usability.
This is an improvement. I'll give you that. I appreciate the effort that went into it. It's very pretty in some ways, and the mouseover effect on the tiles is kind of cool I guess.
It's still an incredibly space inefficient way to distribute information. Look at this. I've got a 1920x1080 monitor with Firefox full screen, and I can't even see 9 of your links at once. I can't read the preview text of any of them without mousing over. Is there some reason you can't display this information in a manner where I can just, y'know, read it?
A good start to being able to display a lot of useable links to articles at once is within the article archives, which with a slight bump in title size would be an excellent front page set of article links, but even that is a pain to deal with because this is the first thing you see upon loading the archives. Full screen on a 1080p monitor and I can see the entire preview text of exactly one article without scrolling down.
This site was designed by someone who thinks a lot about how to make things attractive and is good with graphical design software, but has no concept of User Interface Design. Please buy everyone on your design staff a copy of The Design of Everyday Things and make it mandatory reading. It's very possible to design for both visual aesthetic as well as functionality, that just hasn't happened here.
Aside from that I'll echo the disappointment that you can't middle click on the giant boxes, only the "read more" link, no idea why that functionality doesn't work.
Let me reiterate that I believe this is an improvement and I appreciate that effort is being made to make a better experience, but there's still a long way to go, and a company the size of WotC shouldn't need me to tell it that.
OK I found what this website is probably referencing. It's on page 38 of this book.
I have copied and pasted the text from that page below. The design book cites this 2007 paper by Joan Meyers Levy and Rui Zhu, titled "The Influence of Ceiling Height: The Effect of Priming on the Type of Processing That People Use." The Journal of Consumer Research is peer-reviewed.
Anyway, I'm not sure if it's legit because as you say there's a dearth of sources. But the author of the linked page isn't really talking out of their ass, either.
>Cathedral Effect: A relationship between the perceived height of a ceiling and cognition. High ceilings promote abstract thinking and creativity. Low ceilings promote concrete and detail-oriented thinking.
>It is widely accepted that people prefer high ceilings to low ceilings. Lesser known, however, is that ceiling height can influence how people approach problem solving. Depending on the nature of the problem, ceiling height can either undermine or enhance problem-solving performance.
>Conspicuous ceiling height — that is, noticeably low or noticeably high ceilings — promotes different types of cognition, with high ceilings promoting abstract thinking and creativity and low ceilings promoting concrete and detail-oriented thinking. No effect is observed if the ceiling height goes unnoticed. In self-report measures, people predictably rated their general affect as “freer” in high-ceilinged rooms versus “confined” in low-ceilinged rooms. In word tasks, subjects were able to solve anagram problems more efficiently when the anagram aligned with ceiling height. For example, subjects in a high-ceilinged room could solve freedom-related anagrams (e.g., “liberation”) faster than those in a low-ceilinged room, but were slower to solve confinement-related anagrams (e.g., “restrained”) than those in the low-ceilinged room. A more practical example is an experiment in which two groups were asked to conduct product evaluations, one group in a high-ceilinged room and one in a low-ceilinged room. The group in the highceilinged room tended to focus on general product characteristics, whereas the group in the low-ceilinged room tended to focus on specific features. One hypothesis is that this effect is due to priming — the stimulation of certain concepts in memory to promote and enhance cognition regarding related concepts.
>With the cathedral effect, high ceilings prime “freedom” and related concepts and low ceilings prime “confinement” and related concepts. Consider the cathedral effect in the design of work and retail environments. For tasks that require creativity and out-of-the-box thinking (e.g., research and development) favor large rooms with high ceilings. For tasks that require detail-oriented work (e.g., surgical operating room) favor smaller rooms with lower ceilings. In retail environments, favor spaces with high ceilings when consumer choice requires imagination (e.g., home remodeling store) and spaces with lower ceilings for more task-oriented shopping (e.g., convenience store). Favor high ceilings to extend the time in which visitors remain on site (e.g., casino) and low ceilings to minimize loitering (e.g., fast food restaurant). See also Defensible Space, Exposure Effect, Priming, and Prospect-Refuge.
Well, because of gin, I'm now going to recommend another book: "Design of Everyday Things". This is a longer, drier book, that goes more into the psychology and general patterns of good and bad design, which complements the more specific directions of "Don't Make Me Think".
The New Munsell Student Color Set
We used the 3rd edition when I was in school. Teaches you about the interactions between different colors and color and light, comes with color chips to help you understand the lessons hands-on.
I would buy it new so you know you're getting all the chips and none of the lessons have been completed yet (with glued-on chips sometimes)
There's also Joseph Albers' Interaction of Color. This was recommended to me for the purpose of having a better understand of color and color interactions, though tbh I haven't started reading it yet.
50% deposit up front and predetermined milestones, kill fee, signed contract. Get your shit together if you're taking it seriously, guys.
GAG handbook
Fuck you. Pay me.
Freelancing intelligently really should be a full class for every BA. Fine artists included.
Depends on what you want to do — UX is a pretty broad field. I'm a user interface designer with a UX background, which means I've designed sites, web apps and mobile apps, but there's plenty of UX positions that don't require any sort of visual design or front-end development experience.
For example, there are labs that conduct user research and interviews, run focus groups, or do user testing. Hell, you could even apply to be a user tester at a site like usertesting.com. Not sure how much money you can make from that, but it's something.
Also, there are UX positions that go from beginning research and discovery for projects up through the wireframing, which doesn't require any visual design experience. You'll usually hand off your UX work to a designer or a developer to implement.
Some good books to read about UX are:
There's also plenty of online resources about UX. Smashing Magazine has a ton of articles on it.
If you are good at puzzles, love solving complex problems, and contain any shred of empathy, user experience could be a good field for you.
It would be truly «Swiss Style» if you did the following things:
Don't get me wrong it looks really good and I like it as it is right now, that would simply make it more «Swiss Style» as the old Swiss Masters around that time used more or less the following principles:
I also just love the old Swiss Masters and geeked out a little, sorry. :)
> it's like they think i'm only on their site to earn rubies
They're nudging you for continuous interaction. The idea is to get you to make it a routine.
Relevant book recommendation:
https://www.amazon.com/Hooked-How-Build-Habit-Forming-Products/dp/1591847788
The best book to read as a developer is The Design of Everyday Things. If every developer read it, the software world would be a better place.
Do you have an understanding of what Game Design actually is?
Edit: So, about the things in promissed in the responsed below.
Design
Design Thinking
Universal Principles of Design book
"Design" comprehend a set of methodologies and "ways of thinking" specifically designed (lol) to identify opportunities and approach the creation of solutions in an objective manner. Being objective means that the process of design, its tools and concepts, allow for the effectiveness of the design to be measured and iterated upon. Every design is created to be enjoyed by people in a functional manner in their lives. Meaning that people will interact with said design, instead of just appreciated from a distance.
Every discipline of design (graphic design, industrial design, software design, game design and so on…) will share the same fundamentals that will guide the mindset of designing. Then obviously every discipline will have it’s own specific characteristics and differences that have been discovered and studied over the years, but the fundamentals are the same.
Once you internalize these design process, making a game on your own or inside a big company becomes the same thing, because it will follow the same procedures. The "fun" will be on the process, and not on the result.
Practical Creativity by Ralph Koster it's an example of using this mindset to game design. His website has a good amount of essays on the subject. Jesper Juul is another great reference on the field.
For the uninitiated - 'Hooked - how to make habit forming products' is on pretty much every start-up's bookshelf in Silicone Valley.
https://www.amazon.com/Hooked-How-Build-Habit-Forming-Products/dp/1591847788
Well there's also learnt skill and time. I have been at this for almost 10 years now. I can make something in an hour that would take a new person 5 hours.
If I charge the same price as the new person I would be doing a dis-service to myself because I was able to do what was $30 per hour to them and a net of $150 ($30 per hour x 5 hours) in only an hour making me only $30 when they made $150 for not being good.
Then of course like you outlined in your diagram that different clients can afford more. Now you're not just trying to gouge them, but they're respectable clients looking for respectable work so they're going to pay for it if you're worth it. A non-profit doesn't have that kind of budget so you might slice your prices for them. Also you may have a lower price for a new client in hopes they get bigger and you can charge them more. This last part is a common practice in all industries. Start a low price and once hooked move them up. Insurance carriers do it all the time. So there is no be all end all solution. You need to know the client and what you can afford.
This is the go to book on pricing. But it's not a be all end all bible either.
http://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Artists-Handbook-Pricing-Guidelines/dp/0932102166
If you really want to draw, I'd suggest picking up How To Draw by Scott Robertson.
It leans more towards technical drawing, but one could apply the techniques learned to many types of creative drawing. There's an app you can download that scans certain pages that will link to video tutorials as well.
It's a hefty tome, but don't let that scare you off. A beginner with a willingness to practice will find their skills improve significantly, but you gotta put the time into practicing, no two ways about it.
Once you find you can handle the basics, I'd suggest taking a figure drawing class, or drawing from life in general. Community colleges are great for this sort of thing, since it would be very inexpensive compared to art school or private lessons. Anyway, good luck!
How to Draw
The Design of Everyday Things can be useful to keep things in perspective, particularly if you're interested in working on things that people interact with.
Color Theory. Composition. Negative space
Master those three, in any order - but not at the same time - and you've got a decent base. Add drawing and you've got a starting point.
Color Theory
Books:
Study them, don't just read them. Study 1 chapter per day, then apply what you've leaned.
> or any exercises that might help?
YES, all those books have "exercises". Moreover, it's not about picking colors, it's about picking a palette.
Start. Start by learning and applying and exercising. yes it will be awkward, yes you'll make mistakes. You'll get better with time.
Plot twist: with time you'll develop your own "signature" palette.
Not actually new; even bit. This dates back further to the 1960s and 1970s. All these concepts are, for example, the basis of computer-human-interaction theory. If cognitive scientist don't know about this and haven't been integrating it into their ideas already, they've been missing the boat and missing a wide swath of historical work.
It's the theoretical basis that was used practically to developed the radical computer innovations of Xerox PARC in the 1970s: you know, stuff like: window-based GUIs, mouse-based screen pointers, ethernet network connections between computers, object-oriented languages, laser printers, etc.
See the work of Alan Kay and others. It was that work that inspired Steve Jobs to create the Lisa and Macintosh, which begat MS Windows. His concept of the "Dynabook" is basically what the new Apple iPad is, for example. And yes, Apple usability taps into all this and still does.
When you use a modern computer, you are using embodied cognition theory. A mouse/windows GUI is tapping into the embodied metaphors of your inner 2-year-old self (Piaget's 1st "Pre-operational, Affective Learning" phase). Basically at that age you are moving objects in the physical world and learning physical NOUN-VERB and NOUN-VERB-NOUN concepts of manipulation and control. Note that this is also what the Montessori method of teaching is tapping into and trying to develop/enhance.
And the computer GUI metaphor attempts to recreate those actions. A mouse and windows GUI is is just a MOUSE-MOVES, MOUSE-MOVES-FILE, MOUSE-SELECTS-FILE, MOUSE-MOVES-FOLDER, etc. which are implemented in software/graphics to visually to look just like physical object manipulations.
This is just "2 year old skills" being tapped unconsciously because they've been deeply subsumed as embodied metaphors - they are second nature so anything that uses them is "easy to learn and to do".
This is the entire basis of most usability design in engineering. See Don Norman. The rest is empirical and theoretical mathematical characterization and models of the details. Things like Fitt's Law, for example, which is central to GUI design.
Contrast this with a computer command-line interface like DOS or UNIX. This is symbol manipulation rather than object manipulation (did I mention Object-Oriented Programming). You are tapping into your inner 12year-old self (Piaget's Formal operation stage with these interfaces. You can't actually "see" how the computer is doing things for you but you have an abstract response in the form of text symbols. But this level of cognition is not such a deeply subsumed level of your cognition in terms of metaphors so not so transferrable as skill leverage. It takes more effort and focus.
Some people, due to genetic or environmental reasons, never develop their abstract symbolic cognition very well. These folks usually and eternally suck at using command line computers but can do just fine with mouse-window GUIs.
This is because unless you have some serious mental retardation, everyone has about the same level of 2-yo cognition buried in their heads but not everyone the later developing 12+yo cognition. In a lot of ways, the success of computers is "proof" of Piaget after a fashion.
Edit: typos
Here are some things I (and I know others) have struggled with. I think the web is exploding with resources and information, so I don’t necessarily think we need to explain what a prototype is. There’s better places elsewhere to learn things about UX, but I think we could provide some good resources for not just people new to UX but everyone else too. I’m coming at this from what I wished I would have access to when I was trying to get into the field. I know that /u/uirockstar has some good walls of text that probably should be included as well. Feel free to suggest any changes to what I have here.
I really want to begin a career in UX/UI. What do I do?
Well, first it’s important to know that UX and UI are not synonymous. While many job postings combine them, UI is a subset of UX, just as research and information architecture are. UI is still important and if you can do both, you do increase your value. While many see UX as a research field at its core, the UX/UI title implies that it’s only about creating pretty things.
The first step is learning more about the field, which brings us to…
What kind of education do I need?
If you are still in school, there are more places recently that are offering courses in human-computer interaction. You can even try to create your own internships. There are very few UX specific schools, though they are starting to pop up, like Center Centre and General Assembly.
Yeah, yeah, that’s great. But I already graduated, so where do I start?
Any focus on people or technology can act as a solid foundation for learning UX. Because there has never been a set entrance path into the field, UX roles are filled with people from many different backgrounds. The most common degrees for those in the field though are design, psychology, communications, English, and computer science. link
There are a number of people in the field who are self-taught. There are tons of books, blogs, and designers (here are some helpful resources) which provide enough UX stuff to keep us all busy. When I first started reading about it, I quickly got overwhelmed because there was so much information available and most of it was intended for those who already had a pretty good grasp on things. The Hipper Element’s crash courses in UX and user psychology are great places to get a fairly quick overview.
There are books like The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman, 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People by Susan Weinschenk and Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug that make for great first books.
UX Mastery has a great eBook for getting started, appropriately titled Getting Started in UX. Kevin Nichols’ UX for Dummies is both very readable, yet detailed. You can even buy the eBook if you don’t want people on the bus to think you’re a “dummy.”
Lastly, Fred Beecher has a very extensive Amazon list of recommended UX books, depending on what area you are looking to learn more about.
Great. I’ve read a whole bunch of stuff and have a pretty good idea how UX works. Now how do I get someone to hire me so I can gain experience?
Hey, easy there. While, yes, there are lots of UX jobs out there, very few are entry level and not many employers will hire someone who has only read about it and not actually done it. You can’t get a job without experience and you can’t get experience without a job. I know. Frustrating, right?
You have to prove that you can do it. One way to do this is site redesigns.
Go find a website that lacks in it’s user experience and figure out how to fix it. Maybe it’s a small business down the street from you or maybe it’s a feature on eBay you think could be better. Redesigning sites is a good way to practice a process and make mistakes on your own time. If you can involve the owner from that small business down the street, that’s even better because then you can get a sense of the customers (users) that you will be designing for.
Once you have done this, you have (some) experience! Start a portfolio and add to it!
But I have a resume. Why do I need a portfolio?
Resumes are great. But resumes won’t get you a job starting out. It’s a million times more effective to show potential employers what you have done, rather than showing them a resume showcasing that you are a team player and proficient in Microsoft Office. But you should still have a resume that outlines your UX skills.
But I’ve never worked in UX! What should I put on my resume?
You don’t need to put all of your old jobs on your resume if they are unrelated to the field. Most places still want to see some work history so they know you haven’t been living in a cave for the last four years, but they don’t care about how you sold vacuum cleaners or trained circus horses. Maybe you can relate some crossover UX skills to your previous work.
Back to portfolios. They are a lot like elementary math class in that you want to show your work. Potential employers are much more interested in how you made a design decision rather than the final result. If your portfolio just has a bunch of fancy wireframes, that doesn’t tell them how you took specific personas into account and you are simply showing them something that looks pretty. And just because it looks pretty doesn’t always mean it makes sense.
Okay. I have a portfolio with a few unsolicited site redesigns in it.
Congratulations! But I have some bad news. Are you sitting down?
No one wants to hire you yet. You haven’t worked on any “actual” projects that showed how your UX skillz helped a business. I know I suggested you do site redesigns to get practice and you should because that is work you can take to a nonprofit or another small business and say, “here are some trial runs that I’ve done that prove I know what I’m doing and now I can help you for free in exchange for adding it to my portfolio.”
They’ll probably be skeptical and say, “hmmm… I don’t think my website needs this newfangled user experience you speak of and—wait did you say free?”
You both get something out of it and you’re doing it pro bono, which relieves you the pressure of making one tiny mistake. (There is a great site called Catchafire that matches non-profits all over the country with people looking to donate their time and skills.)
Once you have a portfolio displaying your work and some experience, start applying! But there is one more aspect that goes into getting hired and that is the people who will hire you.
Ugh, but isn’t networking just using people for my own professional gain?
I had this same mindset and it probably delayed my entrance into the field. I wanted to rely only on the quality of my work and trusted the rest would follow. I avoided networking and meeting people in the field because I didn’t want it to seem like I was only mooching for a job.
But the fact is people are altruistic in nature and like helping others. Many people also enjoy talking about themselves, and those are the two main principles of an informational interview. You’ll also find that people are excited to help others get started since they remember how difficult it was (see: this blog post).
It wasn’t until I started getting those informational interviews and talking with people at UXPA and MeetUp groups that I learned another side of UX, but also got more familiar with more hiring managers or those that knew them. Whenever possible, people will hire those they know and like. Until you get out and start shaking hands and kissing babies, you will be just another faceless name in a stack of resumes.
Meeting with recruiters/staffing agencies is also a good route as they make money by finding you a job, so they have a vested interest in giving you constructive criticism.
I've heard that you have to live in a big city to get a job in UX.
Move. Just kidding. But while it’s true that larger cities like New York, San Francisco, and Seattle are full of opportunities, there are plenty of other places around the country that have jobs. Here are the top 20. If you live in a tiny city, expect a tougher time finding a position.
Okay, I got an interview. How do I not mess this up?
Some great advice is to go all UX on your preparation and treat the interviewer like a user.
.......to be continued.
Blogs:
Other:
The Non-Designer's Design Book is a pretty popular reference.
http://www.amazon.com/Non-Designers-Design-Book-Robin-Williams/dp/0321534042/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1300690608&sr=8-1
The idea everything should live within some kind of structure consisting of columns, padding and alignment, etc.
You can use the grid to help create those lines, most people will pull guides and custom measure our a grid. Some prefer to build a grid and design within, others will design organically and mold a grid as they go.
A good read on the practice.
Elements of Style
Stop Stealing Sheep
Grid Systems
You can make guides out of any outlined object in Illustrator with CMD+5 [Mac] and CTRL+5 [Win], otherwise accessible via View > Guides > Make Guides. These can be hidden, locked and manipulated just like the standard horizontal and vertical guides.
For a closer look at type design in general (a HUGE topic), most will point to Designing Type as a good starting point. Taking a peek at typophile and perusing the Critique forum would also be extremely helpful from a conceptual (less technical) point of view.
Edit: Taking another peek at the letters and your question, if I were to approach a similar typeface, I'd definitely start off by selecting and removing specific nodes from a circle object and extending lines from them.
For the lazy:
http://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Donald-Norman/dp/0465067107Most recent version:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Design-Everyday-Things-Expanded/dp/0465050654/
The Design of Everyday Things
learn to use 3d tools and stick to the fundamentals
https://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1540762345&sr=8-3
https://www.amazon.com/How-Render-fundamentals-shadow-reflectivity/dp/1933492961/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
don't bother learning art or how to draw. focus on technique and draftsmanship.
you're looking at 10 years though if your gonna do it solo. you need your drawing skills, then comic skills, plus writing comic scripts, plus plot skills, character design, and marketing/sales skill.
i gave up. now i just draw hentai and furry porn. life is good.
Anatomy and form both need a lot of practice.
You can get Andrew Loomis' book, Figure Drawing for All It's Worth for free on Goodreads -
https://www.goodreads.com/ebooks/download/147941.Figure_Drawing_for_All_It_s_Worth
Undoubtedly she will need to work on perspective as well, and I would highly recommend getting Scott Robertson's book, How to Draw: drawing and sketching objects and environments from your imagination. -
http://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732/ref=la_B0034O5O32_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452971897&sr=1-1
Two things that is very helpful is to know type and grids.
On typography my favorite is: The Elements of Typographic Style
Another good one is Stop Stealing Sheep
For grids, I like this one: Grid Systems in Graphic Design
Making and Breaking the Grid
is not too bad either.
Actually, read some books about interface and object design - it is really fun and enlightening. For start: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0465067107/
Art of Game Design is quite good. Written in a nice conversational way that makes it feel more like listening to a speaker than reading a book.
Game Feel is fantastic. Written in a similar conversational nature, from the same publisher as Art of Game Design.
A Theory of Fun is nice, but pretty short.
The Design of Everyday Things is not about game design, but many of the principles contained definitely apply. It's a fantastic read regardless.
First-timer here who's hoping to go without pain meds. Here's my plan, loosely based on things I've picked up from reading Ina May's guide to childbirth and some Bradley Method books.
If you can't tell, I've been thinking about this a lot, too! I hope there is some useful info for you in what I've rambled about here, and good luck for your upcoming birth!
these were probably programmed by the cheapest programmers around without too much put into design, or the design work focused on the color scheme and not the functionality.
don norman's design of everyday things is a great read on the topic, if you're interested.
Start with Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition
Then read GUI Bloopers 2.0, Second Edition: Common User Interface Design Don'ts and Dos
Then possibly The Design of Everyday Things
And follow up with The Non-Designer's Design Book
Try The Design of Everyday Things.
Every engineer should read this book.
FWIW, I discovered that good design always happens iteratively. The longer I spend in this career, the more convinced I am of this concept. The idea that an engineer sits down with a blank piece of paper (or screen) and creates an elegant, useful, efficient design is just a fantasy. As a consultant it is really hard to communicate this to clients. The cost of their one-off custom machine isn't going to be in the same ballpark as the standard model machine they bought a few years ago from a company that sales a few dozen of the exact same model every year. I say that to say, good designs don't come just from a good fundamental understanding of design principles, they come from actual experience in the relevant domain.
This one? https://www.amazon.com/Hooked-How-Build-Habit-Forming-Products/dp/1591847788
I'll order it now, thanks!
The problem is that it's the sort of unimaginative, lazy, addictive user retention bullshit someone would implement in a Facebook game after reading this and that's a bit worrying.
>This article (in it's entirety) was taken from my blog.
So you'll attribute your article back to your website, but will make no mention of the fact you are using the Hooked model from the book Hooked by Nir Eyal and Ryan Hoover? No, putting their book under "recommended reading" after liberally borrowing their ideas and even their iconography doesn't count. Later, in the comments here you say this article was "inspired" by Hooked. No, it wasn't inspired by it, you jacked their ideas and are trying to pitch them as your own.
Now, obviously Hooked isn't the first book about building products from a behavioral approach, but you've taken their phrases, their images, and even their examples and attempted to pass them off as your own.
At least produce something original. It's fine to write an article about Hooked, about habits, and about building habit-forming products, but it isn't alright to borrow other people's work without attribution.
I'd highly recommend people read [Hooked (non-affiliate link)] (http://www.amazon.com/Hooked-How-Build-Habit-Forming-Products/dp/1591847788/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419945470&sr=8-1&keywords=hooked) and read more of Nir's work. [This] (http://www.slideshare.net/nireyal/hooked-model) slideshow is a pretty good starting place, as his blog
Here's a few I like:
In The Design of Everyday Things, Donald Norman goes off on this, talking about how good design "affords" only the correct action needed to perform the intended operation. It's a good read if this kind of thing interests or infuriates you.
More here
I'm pretty certain that is the DDC Pretty Much Everything book.
Hey there, I'm a game designer working in AAA and I agree with /u/SuaveZombie that you'll probably be better off with a degree in CS. BUT... don't give up on wanting to be a designer!
 
You should realize that it's not giving up on your dream at all, in fact, it's great advice for how to reach that dream. A designer with an engineering background is going to have a lot more tools at their disposal than one who doesn't.
 
Design is way more than just coming up with a bunch of cool, big ideas. You need to be able to figure out all the details, communicate them clearly to your teammates, and evaluate how well they're working so you can figure out how to make something people will enjoy. In fact, working on a big game often feels like working on a bunch of small games that all connect.
Take your big game idea and start breaking it down into all the pieces that it will need to be complete. For example, GTA has systems for driving and shooting (among many other things). Look at each of those things as its own, smaller game. Even these "small" parts of GTA are actually pretty huge, so try to come up with something as small as possible. Like, super small. Smaller than you think it needs to be. Seriously! You'll eventually be able to make big stuff, but it's not the place to start. Oh, and don't worry if your first game(s) suck. They probably will, and that's fine! The good stuff you make later will be built on the corpses of the small, crappy games you made while you were learning.
 
If you're truly interested in design, you can learn a lot about usability, player psychology, and communication methods without having to shell out $17k for a degree. Same goes for coding (there are tons of free online resources), though a degree will help you get in the door at companies you might be interested in and help provide the structure to keep you going.
 
Here's some books I recommend. Some are specific to games and some aren't, but are relevant for anything where you're designing for someone besides yourself.
 
• Universal Principles of Design
• The Design of Everyday Things
• Rules of Play
• The Art of Game Design This and the one below are great books to start with.
• A Theory of Fun This is a great one to start with.
• Game Feel
• Depending on the type of game you're making, some info on level design would be useful too, but I don't have a specific book to recommend (I've found pieces of many books and articles to be useful). Go play through the developer commentary on Half-Life 2 or Portal for a fun way to get started.
 
Sounds like you're having a tough time, so do your best to keep a positive attitude and keep pushing yourself toward your goals. There's nothing to stop you from learning to make games and starting to make them on your own if that's what you really want to do.
Good luck, work hard!
Making and breaking the grid by Timothy Samara is pretty much the definitive practical reference imo.
And if you want to get a little more into the depth and history, Grid Systems by Brockmann of course.
It's not the advice you are looking for, but I can't stress it enough: design is about problem solving, rather than pure aesthetics.
Sure, making things look pretty is important. However, making your design understandable and easy to use is even more important. It's probably what you should focus on.
You are designing something for real human beings. Your design should solve a real problem in the most elegant way. How? That's something I can't explain in a single comment.
This video series explains it really well. It's not about web applications, but that doesn't matter. The message is the same. You prefer reading? This and this book do an extremely good job of explaining how to design things.
Also, this article explains the point I'm trying to make far better than I ever could. Good luck!
The Design of Everyday Things. Gave me a different insight into products/things that people use. It's not always the user's fault, somethings things are just badly designed.
Not OP and could be wrong but think it's this:
https://www.amazon.com/Calligraphers-Bible-Complete-Alphabets-Draw/dp/0764156152
It is The Calligrapher's Bible this book makes it easy to learn a lot of different scripts, I would definitely recommend this book
Learn to paint! Or play with this or this or this until you become one with the colour wheel.
If you want to get really serious though, you need a copy of Interaction of Color by Josef Albers.
 
Edit: Okay, reading back, this sounds kind of sarcastic ... but I was being serious; this is actually how I taught myself to match my clothes.
I recommend this book hands down. I've used it as a text book for introduction to design classes that I used to teach. Its not long, nor complex. It's not about web design, but it covers the basic design concepts that apply to everything. She has web design books to, but they assume you know the basic concepts.
GET THAT BOOK.
Tuts+ is great. I have a premium account there.
I keep an eye on smashingmagazine.com , noupe.com and speckyboy.com, as well as deriving a lot of inspiration from creattica.com, csselite.com, and cssdrive.com.
There's all my secrets! Learn to break down what you're looking at. The book will aide in that. When you know what you are looking at, and how different people can manipulate similar elements, you can then build in your own unique approaches. Good luck.
My advice, as a long time UI/UX designer is test early and often on people who have never seen your game. This has been the only way for me to ensure things are improving. Once someone has tested your UI once, they bring that knowledge with them into their next play session, negating any indications of weather or not this is easy to understand and use.
Also, don't try to reinvent the wheel. Billions of dollars have likely been spent trying to solve the very problem you are. Look at what is out there, find the good stuff, and use it as a starting point for your own problems. Shops in particular, have TONS of examples of successful and unsuccessful designs. My primary resource is the hundreds of games I own on steam, and my memories of the best systems I've encountered.
The Design of Everyday Things is about the only book I'd recommend, but it does not focus on UI/UX so much as design as a concept in itself.
I'll be graduating this June from U of T after having studied some "Human-Centric Design" processes and applications. So, I've ended up looking at a lot of things in this city as confusing and poorly made. A classic example are the many doors around the city that have handles that convey the meaning of "PULL" but instead only allow a person to physically "PUSH" them open.
These garbage cans were designed more for aesthetics than for actual use. It excluded a segment of our population (the physically disabled) and didn't take into consideration the reality of snow machines and assholes who will stomp on the metal bars - thus breaking them and rendering the entire object as useless.
Plus, their shape were odd in the relation to the sidewalks as they bulged out forcing people to kind of "dance" away from them. When people had to throw something during the rush hour foot traffic their needing to stop and press down on the metal bar created a momentary blockage, which disrupted the flow of people.
The big black metal bins you see now being put can be considered an upgrade simply because the simpler design is much more intuitive to use and simple to replace if damaged.
If you are interested in this kind of thing I highly recommend reading "The Design of Everyday Things" by Don Norman.
You get to see the World in a much different way and even see how some design choices are poorly made in everyday objects we use.
If UX and design piques your interests, Design of Everyday Things is a great book on the subject. Even if you don't ever planning on designin anything it gives you perspective to see things around you in new ways.
> Le Corbusier was a renowned smart ass but the poor people were not happy in the buildings he designed for them.
There's a great book The Design of Everyday Things that talks about good and bad design in buildings, software and other things we use every day. After reading it, I started noticing a lot more badly designed things around me. Also, increased my appreciation of instances of good design.
It's an engineering failure.
Yes. You should read the instructions and not do the wrong thing. But good engineering makes it easy to do the right thing.
Otherwise you end up accidentally hitting the ejection seat:
http://i.imgur.com/3UjM3Be.png
It's an engineering design failure. It's too late to fix it now - but it is still an awful, awful, design.
If you're interested in reading more about good design, I suggest the seminal book The Design of Everyday Things.
I would have used the code
jjjjtoo represent the four digit year that nobody (within the statistical margin of error) ever meant to use.Every company tries to psychologically manipulate you -- from any advertising you see, to how aisles are arranged in a store, to the product selection, to the pricing.
You probably saw Jim Sterling's video on The Addictive Cost of Predatory Videogame Monetization which goes through all the psychological tricks video game makers use -- what he didn't tell you is the vast majority of them are just applications of common sales techniques or techniquies from other industries.
Or maybe you saw the original Tribeflame CEO video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNjI03CGkb4
"Hook, Habit, Hobby" for example is just the Hooked framework applied to video games.
I think it's not bad, I would say the biggest things are around typography.
And Finally:
If you can - try to learn more about grid systems and typography, there are some great books out there that if you have cash or can ask your parents to buy you a couple books, here are some recommendations (even to just look at for inspiration):
Grid Systems in Graphic Design: A Visual Communication Manual
Thinking with Type - This one is one of my favorites
The Typography Idea book
I hope this helps :) And keep at it!! Definitely better than I was doing in high school!
An Essential Reading List For Designers
Source: www.tomfaulkner.co.uk
All books have been linked to Amazon for review and possible purchase. Remember to support the authors by purchasing their books. If there are any issues with this listing let me know via comments or pm.
Architecture
Communication Design
Fashion Design
Angela ButtolphEditors of Phaidon ?Furniture Design
Game Design
Graphic Design
Information Design
Industrial Design
(cont'd)
I have compiled a reading list to be read in order just for this question.
I strongly believe that these books will make you better than 90% of designers out there.
Level One
Start with Thinking with Type it is a really good introduction to all things graphic design. It focuses a lot on typography and it is really basic. I
Next is Grid Systems: Principles of Organizing Type This book takes what you learned in Thinking with Type and allows you to develope it further in a grid based system. Its good, basic, and has exercises for you to do to play with composition.
Third on the list is Graphic Design: The New Basics It will take what you learned in Thinking with Type and Grid Systems and open them up a little. You learn about design elements other than just type like scale, rhythm and contrast. It really good, and has some projects to do.
Level 2
Now You can get into more "advanced" stuff. There are a lot of books that can go here, but Ill recommend some of my favorites. Its not as important to do this section in order.
Grid Systems in Graphic Design is the bible when it comes to grids. Its german and dry as fuck, but it is basically awesome. Its expensive, but worth every single penny.
Elements of Typographic Style Not alot about grids in here, but it tells you every insane crazy thing that typographers do when they massage text.
You can look at other designers work too. Heres a list of designers I like a lot:
Stefan Sagmeister
Paul Rand
Massimo Vignelli
James Victore
Paul Sahre
Wolfgang Weinhart
Paula Scher
Tibor Kalman
Most of these designers also have books out about their life and work.
Get a sketchbook and play around in it. Draw, collage, glue bubblegum wrappers in there. Just make it a diary of your visual life.
You could also get into Visual Theory here:
Norman Bryson has a book on still lifes that awesome
JWT Mitchell's What do pictures want is great
After this, its just a matter of making a lot of really bad shit and eventually its just a little less worse and maybe one day it might be good.
Ive got more, but that should keep you busy for a year or two.
Here's a little list of best-sellers on Amazon and a few from this thread:
Amazon links:
I like these. Worded even more fundamentally, you get to an easy to remember acronym I learned a long time ago: CRAP.
Contrast - Maximize the difference between elements to reinforce hierarchy and make desired elements stand out (related to your #2 and #3).
Repetition - Reinforce the hierarchy by repeating elements: colors, fonts, spacing (2,3).
Alignment - Place elements deliberately to form a strong visual order (1).
Proximity - Arrange functionally similar elements close together to form intuitive groupings (1,5).
If you can follow those principles, then your #4 will be satisfied.
*Source: The Non-Designer's Design Book (which ironically looks like it was designed by a non-designer, but still a good resource for learning design).
This is a good start:
The design of everyday things by Don Norman
https://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Revised-Expanded/dp/0465050654
And depending on what you consider UX you could search for resources that discuss interior design, architecture, environmental design, product design, behavioral economics, nudging etc.
Edit: Link
If you haven't yet, then The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman.
What's true in physical design is true tenfold in UX.
https://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Revised-Expanded/dp/0465050654/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0465050654&pd_rd_r=D705Q3CWE6WPCVYA94P7&pd_rd_w=WBYHj&pd_rd_wg=xga3O&psc=1&refRID=D705Q3CWE6WPCVYA94P7
I'm just about to graduate with my undergrad in CS with a specialization in HCI, and have had multiple UX internships. Read these two books, they'll provide a really good baseline of knowledge about user-centric design.
The Design of Everyday Things - Don Norman
Don't Make Me Think - Steve Krug
While the second one typically focuses more on web, they're both amazing books that should be in the library of any UX/HCI specialist.
The best way to start building a portfolio is to, well, just do. Find anything (not just a program/app, even) that you don't like the design of, and start from there. Try and redesign it to make things easier to figure out. Show it to others to gauge reactions and get feedback. Iterate and improve.
There are a bajillion different programs for UI prototyping, but the first tool I'd suggest is good ol' pencil and paper. Get yourself a sketchbook and keep it in your backpack (or with you in some other capacity) at all times. When you have a design idea, drop everything, make a quick sketch, and go back to what you were doing. Ideas are fleeting and temporary, so it's best to get it on paper before you forget. Once you've got time, try and improve on those designs and think of what would work and what wouldn't. After you're happy (and have shown it to others for feedback), take it into some prototyping app like Balsamiq, Indigo Studio, or Sketch. Render it in high quality and start seeing how users would react to it in its natural setting (put it on a phone, or on a computer, etc. for testing). It's all about getting user feedback because one person on one computer may not have all the right ideas.
tl;dr: Read books. Redesign crappy things. GET A SKETCHBOOK. Feedback, feedback, feedback.
An artist. :P
No but seriously, here are some things I'd love to be gifted as an indie game dev (if I didn't have them already):
Now, a cleverly designed card reader would have been built in such a way that the user can't make a mistake.
There are four ways of putting the card through the machine, but most people have figured out, by now, that the magnetic strip bit actually has to go down into the machine.
So, in the spirit of mr Norman, who apparently is a bit of an authority at these things, I ask of Reddit: How much would it cost to add a magnetic reader on both sides of the card reader?
That way:
See how easy that was?
Carelman did it first. See his "masochists teapot", featured on the cover of "the design of everyday things": http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0465067107
I ate the whole thing.
And that's definitely not chocolate
If I win this coloring book and pencils would be awesome if I win! Thanks for the contest.
This book has more info on it. If you want to know more about your materials it’d suggest you give it a read.
This is a great book on the topic for people interested.
Really popular in the startup scene, guess it's good to know what your up against. Or use it for good :)
Nah, it'd be like seeing my first ex... I could, but I don't wanna... it wouldn't be good for me and I'd feel dirty all over again. I mean... I feel pretty dumb that it was just like a week and change ago that I realized I saw the same triggers, emotions, fear of missing out, variable rewards, and other stuff that I read about (https://www.amazon.com/Hooked-How-Build-Habit-Forming-Products/dp/1591847788/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1526088583&sr=8-1&keywords=hooked+book&dpID=41yYbULBScL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch) and sometimes use in my own education products... I use some of it because I want people to come learn more, and I don't want them to ever lack the skills it takes to get a job... CIG uses it to make money... a lootbox by any other name is still just as shit, and I don't want to put myself in a position to be vulnerable to that again.
The resumé as everyone has pointed out already. TL/DR is what the employers are going to think as soon as they put it in their hands. Yes, you stuck to one page which is key, but it really is too much.
You have hyphens on things that really can just soft-return to the next line. Hyphens look bad.
The typeface that you chose. The 't' at the end of "current" keeps looking looking like an 'r' to me and I am wearing my glasses. Just not a very flattering face for my personal aesthetic. Also for important, must read body copy details (not headlines), you should try a serif face.
Organizations and Recognitions does seem reversed (already said).
Numbers that are under 100 should be spelled out. "Two time candidate for the “Best in Show,” a faculty judged competition." Change the 2.
Just to reiterate, I want to punch that typeface in the face.
Colors are fine, just used improperly. Seem sporadic and not thought out.
Under "Experience", you don't really need to put graphic designer or freelance. You put under your name that you are a graphic designer. Experience should be X Band :: Dates; Detail • detail • detail. The details should be single to a few words like "Branding", "Album Design and Layout", etc. Fellow designers know what that entails. You don't need to write it out.
Seriously I hate that typeface.
----
Portfolio:
--Pearls of Wisdom--
Correct term is Brand Identity Manual, not systems manual.
The app icon doesn't have good contrast. Rework the background color behind the logo.
-- Dogtown Pizza Re-Branding --
Not doing yourself any favors, imho. There wasn't really any re-branding. Logo just doesn't have a gradient or drop-shadows.
Could take or leave the rest of the marketing stuff. Generic but designed alright.
-- Prelude --
I think this is well put together. Website gradient in the header is hit or miss. Outside of that, pretty strong. The vector of the violin however has extra anchor points and should be reworked. The last photo with the light up piano isn't doing you any favors though. Looks too hacked together.
-- Ramsey --
Good all around from a quick glance.
-- Milton --
Good.
-- Whiskers --
W(h)iskers is misspelled. Not really my style but it's good.
-- Beer --
Generic. Passable but nothing special.
-- Book Cover --
Decent. Pretty original.
-- Pawned --
Okay. Quick glance.
-- Theater Poster --
Good. Centering at the bottom of the poster is a little amateur.
----
Pick up the book Creative Workshop: 80 Exercises ... long title: http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Workshop-Challenges-Sharpen-Design/dp/1600617972/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372860486&sr=8-1&keywords=design+exercises to give you some more stuff to add to your portfolio.
Read Ellen Lupton's books on typography.
Edit(s): Spelling, grammar.
I'm not sure about a subreddit, but there are books that will help you with this. I bought this one and it's pretty cheap!
You can practice curves or arcs in the same way you practice straight lines. Make lots of them! You goal should be to make fluid, confident strokes from your shoulder. Lots of books go over this including this one from Scott Robertson or this one from Andrew Loomis. Also check out this From Foundation Patreon.
While your end goal might be cartoons, you will HAVE to learn to draw realistically to some extent. No way would you be able to animate anything in perspective otherwise, understand lighting, or know how to composite complex scenes. There are fundamentals that you must understand that are key to 2D animation, regardless of art style, which should be continuously worked on alongside your stylistic development.
Books:
Simple book on perspective
My favorite anatomy book
A pretty simple book on light (More pictures/examples than in-depth detail)
Overall beginners drawing book
This covers light/shadow and materials decently for beginners
I personally think you should focus on fundamentals alone until you have a decent grasp before looking at animation. But if you want to learn concurrently, this book is pretty well-known in the industry: LINK
There's tons more, but I already think this might be too much to take in all at once. Discover for yourself the rest, it's not good to have everything handed to you with fundamentals, gotta reign it in personally.
ok i got two for you! ive been using these books to teach myself in my free time when i have downtime from my classes! they work great as guides to teach you fundamentals of figure drawing and perspective/ environment drawing.
figure drawing:
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS514US514&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=figure%20drawing%20design%20and%20invention
environments:
http://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732/ref=pd_sim_b_7?ie=UTF8&refRID=0AZB9YYFC6AJ5WER0WQY
The addiction part is by design. Read Nirl Eyal "Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products" if you are interested how they and other Silicon Valley companies do it. Also lot of people who seem to have great life in fb/instagram/fad can be quite opposite in real life. Its not that hard to manufacture a certain look.
https://www.amazon.com/Hooked-How-Build-Habit-Forming-Products/dp/1591847788/
I recently bought this book I haven't gotten a chance to use it yet, but the point of it is to wire your brain to kick into creative mode much more quickly and efficiently. I mean, for $15.35 at the very least, it'll give you some fun projects.
Practice. Every. Fuckin. Day.
You won't necessarily draw the internal anatomy every time you draw a person, but you'll definitely have to learn it by drawing it a lot. Look at it like that: when you draw a figure, the only thing you can see is the skin (and later, the clothes). Well, it happens that said skin is wrapped around a complex structure of bones and muscles, and so are the clothes of a characters. Knowing how this structure is built will let you "drap" skin and clothes the proper way, and will give you all the indications you need when it comes to adding light and shadow. As a bonus, being able to "see" the internal structure of a body gives you the ability to manipulate it, exagerate poses, and even create new ones from imagination.
Now as for how to learn it? I see in one of your old comments that you seem to have the books everyone recommends already, but have you tried using them? Grab either Loomis's or Hampton's book, and read them cover to cover while reproducing the drawings, that should be a good start. Alternatively, check out Proko's channel on youtube, he's got some material on figure drawing, too.
As a side note and to answer an older question of yours regarding drawing cars, check out Scott Robertson's book on objects and environments in perspective, or his DVDs on Gnomon Workshop if you're like me and prefer this format (subscription does cost $50 a month though, but Gnomon also has some pretty good figure drawing / anatomy courses. Your call).
Sorry I was probably being unhelpful with that comment. Anyways, one critique I have is to keep in mind the 3D shape of objects. So right now the way you drew the pen, it's "flat" and doesnt have any dimensionality. You should aim to draw a cylinder rather than a rectangle. This is probably the #1 mistake I see beginners do in this sub. See pic. The end goal is to be able to draw a pen from any angle.
To reach that end goal, I recommend you get a beginner's book on perspective, any basic one you find on amazon should be fine. Perspective is like the addition and multiplication of drawing, because everything you will ever see in your life will be in perspective. Then once you finish that, delve into How to Draw by Scott Robertson. It's hard book but if you work through it, you'll be on your way in no time. Don't worry if you just end up drawing a bunch of boxes, because nearly everything can be mapped out into a box shape. Take for example this drawing by Scott Robertson, he uses boxes a lot.
I strongly recommend Scott Robertson's "How to Draw" book. It is almost entirely dedicated to perspective drawing. It teaches everything from the basics of two and three point perspectives all the way to more complex things such as mirroring curves and even correctly drawing things like staircases in perspective. It's also super cheap for what it offers:
http://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732/ref=la_B0034O5O32_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417522342&sr=1-1
Grab that and work your way through every exercise one-by-one and you'll come out with a firm grasp on perspective drawing. He also has an accompanying website for the book that you can log into that goes through some of the lessons in video format. As he is a teacher (and so is the co-author), they both do a great job of explaining things in the videos.
Your friend is sort of right about the pen. It can help do away with the "chicken scratch" method of drawing by forcing you to be more confident with your lines but you should stick with pencil for now.
I'm mostly self-taught as well (although I learned a bit from Watts Atelier until it got to be too expensive) and the sheer amount of information out there can be really overwhelming. I mean, there's so many things to learn: perspective, line weight, figure drawing, portraiture, landscape, etc.
What definitely helped me is realizing that I'm never going to stop improving as an artist. That means that I'm going to have my entire life to hone my skills. Even if you have to unlearn a lot of bad habits, you've still got plenty of time to practice slowly, deliberately and mindfully.
If you understand that you've got your whole life to get better, it's easier to formulate a strategy to get better. You've got to think about this in the long term. That means taking a month to work solely on anatomy, another month to work only on perspective, another month to work on tone and values, while always revisiting the skills that you've already cultivated.
For example, I've laid out my artistic goals 3 months in advance. That means that for the next 3 months, I'm only focusing on anatomy and gesture/figure drawing. My daily schedule this week looks like this:
warmup
1, 2, 5 and 10 minute gesture/figure drawings
study/copy hands from Bridgeman's Constructive Anatomy book
draw 50 hands
spend about 10-15 minutes drawing hands from memory and comparing them to the references I was using earlier
work on something fun
If I have extra time, I'll work on some more anatomy studies but it depends on how busy I am with work/life. After this week is up, I'll move on to arms, then the core, then legs, head, etc, following the same setup I've made. Maybe the next 3 months, I'll move on to perspective drawing but I haven't thought that far ahead yet.
If you're confused about where to start, just pick something that you're the weakest at and start drawing that. It's a grind and you're going to be producing hundreds, if not thousands of drawings but that's the way to get better.
Like I said, if you start thinking in the long term, it gets less overwhelming. I'm gonna link some resources that really helped me out.
Books
Perspective Made Easy
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
Fun With a Pencil Actually, anything by Loomis.
How to Draw Kind of a technical book but goes into really great detail about perspective
Youtube Channels
Watts Atelier Highly recommended. Watch his figure drawing videos. Also, if you can spare the cash, join his online school. It's fantastic and very structured course in drawing. Definitely look into this if you have trouble deciding what to learn next.
Proko This guy has great intro videos for figure drawing. I think he learned at Watts Atelier as well.
New Masters Academy They have a ton of great videos about everything. Definitely look into Glen Vilppu's figure drawing series. He's the god of figure drawing.
Alphonso Dunn Really great pen and ink tutorials
Sorry if I overwhelmed you (ironic, considering your original post) but I just wanted to share some stuff that's really helped me develop a schedule and get better. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll do my best to help you a fellow art student out.
TLDR: You have plenty of time in your life to get better, so make a schedule and stick to it.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Draw-Thomas-Bertling/dp/1781166862 && https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Render-TP-Scott-Robertson/dp/1933492961
Everyone on earth should read The Non Designer's Design Book
The more you can do, the more irreplaceable you become to your current employer and the more attractive you are to prospective new employers. Plus, graphic design is endlessly fascinating and worth learning for its own sake.
But, what kind of design work are they asking you to do? A good agency shouldn't be asking a complete novice to do even layout work unsupervised.
That aside, you might find these useful:
by Robin Williams
I just got done reading the Non-Designer's Design Book and it has helped a LOT to learn basic design principles. The author also has one about the web but I haven't checked it out yet. Good luck!
Recommended Reading:
(Those are just the ones I have sitting on my bookshelf... I have a dozen more on my Kindle that I can add to the list if you're interested.)
---------
Authors & Speakers (lots of TED Talks):
---------
Let's start a book club! :)
For UX design, I strongly recommend The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman
For UI/UX:
Game Feel by Steve Swink
Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman
The front pillars that connect the roof to the hood are going to create massive blind spots if a person is driving. It looks like a prop from a low budget sci-fi tv show from the 90's. There is more to design than visuals, it has to work too.
I wish I did, but any good design book (think The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman) should mix in elements of how the human psyche interacts with good and bad design, so even if we don't have any currently, we have some books that can help fill this gap.
I am also interested in specific psych/soc application books as well though.
Looks like that thing was designed by the same guy that does the UI.
Please, please, please, do us all a favor and read this book. It's not that long, and will be the most important book you've ever read:
https://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Donald-Norman/dp/0465067107
Ha, time to shine, Swiss guy over here. Try to think of grids merely as a help to keep your proportions in order – a good grid should provide a stable structure for your layout without constricting you too much (of course there's always a little constriction using a grid but thats part of the fun). I always use grids, mostly 9x9 or 12x12. You can easily set those up in Indesign under Layout > Create Guides > then just type in whatever proportions you desire. You can also add gutter if you want to but it's not always necessary. There's no right or wrong when it comes to grids – if you're a beginner though, you might consider classical grids like those Joseph Müller-Brockmann (here's a very good book) introduced before moving on to create your own ones. I really love grids, they can be a fantastic help – the whole layout just feels right because every element corresponds with the proportions of the page. I always like when you "feel" the grid but don't actually see it.
Absolutely. In fact, another book that was published a long time ago (1988) but is a must-have is "The Design of Everyday Things" by Donald A. Norman. Here's an Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Donald-Norman/dp/0465067107
The best thing about Don't Make Me Think is that it can easily be read in one day (or one plane ride, as the book itself touts).
https://www.amazon.com/Manufacturing-Processes-Design-Professionals-Thompson/dp/0500513759
I haven’t actually read this book but this sounds close to what your looking for.
Manufacturing Processes for Design Professionals
I think understanding edged-pen calligraphy is crucial to understanding type and lettering. I highly recommend picking up some calligraphy markers to start. They are cheap and durable. If you like doing it, then you can invest in some better pens. Get a lettering book and try the hands they show. Once you get comfortable with a couple standard styles, start improvising.
Markers:
Staedler Calligraphic Duo (two different width nibs)
Itoya Doubleheader (two different width nibs)
Marvy Calligraphy Marker (I suggest getting a 2mm and a 5mm)
Books:
The Calligrapher's Bible by David Harris
Speedball textbooks (you can pick up used ones fairly cheaply.)
Enjoy!
The boilerplate offered by the Graphic Aritsts Guild (union) should be fairly reliable. It can usually be found on their website in the tools and resources section, or in the appendices of their Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines (available at retail, and via Amazon...even as a non union member, it's a fantastic resource for quoting and estimating creative work), ready to be scanned or photocopied.
Current edition is 2013, I believe.
Get the latest edition of the Graphic Artist’s Guild Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines. It has excellent info on how to (and why you should) price your work appropriately. Specific section in there for just this issue.
I highly recommend Edward Tufte's book Envisioning Information. It's a bit older but still incredible prescient in formulating how to lay out graphical elements such as graphs and maps. A truly gorgeous book.
It's not out until tomorrow, but Pretty Much Everything by Aaron Draplin will be worth a purchase if you're into design.
I've posted this before but I'll repost it here:
Now in terms of the question that you ask in the title - this is what I recommend:
Job Interview Prep
Junior Software Engineer Reading List
Read This First
Fundementals
Understanding Professional Software Environments
Mentality
History
Mid Level Software Engineer Reading List
Read This First
Fundementals
Software Design
Software Engineering Skill Sets
Databases
User Experience
Mentality
History
Specialist Skills
In spite of the fact that many of these won't apply to your specific job I still recommend reading them for the insight, they'll give you into programming language and technology design.
I'd recommend you read The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman.
If everything is a wall of text, it's not quickly scanned. There are visual cues that aid scanning. Organization and hierarchy helps. Typographic choices in legibility and readability are also important.
As someone who just moved, I have to agree. I think boxed books out in the garage are more accessible than this. There are reasons certain furniture designs haven't been used. Its not because they haven't been thought of, but rather that someone realized it was functionally defiant.
Seriously, OP. Get this book for your friend. As a designer, It is honestly one of the best reads I have ever had. It is very conceptual, and really cuts to the chase one how to be artistic, creative, but never loose the basic necessity of function.
Coloring is actually quite relaxing, almost meditational. They offer highly detailed adult coloring books now, such as this one and this one, as well as comedy novelty books (NSFW). Definitely worth considering for people who need a new way to relax.
Maybe some cool, inspiring coffee table books? Something like:
Or maybe something closer to the style of work she does?
This is a great book to have. This guy is amazing
https://www.amazon.com/Draplin-Design-Co-Pretty-Everything/dp/1419720171/ref=asc_df_1419720171/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=266177571491&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4031921127291656262&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033339&hvtargid=pla-433760988170&psc=1
The guide to how to do it:
Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products https://www.amazon.com/dp/1591847788/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_10WrDbBQA46KY
The book about how it’s damaging us:
Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HNJIK70/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_v1WrDbAC84ESN
We are all Beagles. We train our animals, they train us back. Same as we are trained on a daily basis to use those products/apps/services that work for our needs. If you make a product for a solution to a user problem, users will train themselves to use it.
This is a fantastic book. I have no connection with author or get paid for the link.
Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1591847788/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_-5AQDbRDQKEBE
I recommend the following books:
Thinking With Type by Ellen Lupton.
This book is the essential introduction to typography and probably should be the first type book you get.
Lettering and Type by Bruce Willen and Nolan Strals.
This book provides an introduction to different types of lettering and typographic work, as well as a brief introduction to designing your own typeface.
Designing Type by Karen Cheng.
This book covers the intricacies and design considerations of each letter one by one. It's a great reference when designing your own type, or even if you just want a more in-depth look at letterforms.
I've been on a total typography book binge recently!
Finally, I strongly don't recommend Type Matters! If you see it in the store you may be tempted - it's a very attractive leather-bound book with sexy black and red illustrations - but I found it to be overly simplistic. It also looks like there's quite a lot of reading to be had, but the vast majority of the text in there is all repeated sample copypasta. (And if I wasn't disappointed enough in the book, the elastic came loose on my copy!)
According to most salary surveys I've seen, you'd be looking at a step down. Unless you really hate coding and feel you aren't suited for it, from a practical career perspective, you're better off focussing on programming rather than visual design. Java/PHP/Ruby/Python coders will fetch more than webmonkeys.
That said, if you're working in web development, of course you should have a solid understanding of how html and css work, and have a foundation in layout & design.
I cannot recommend Robin Williams' (no, not the comedian) Non-Designer's Design Book enough. Also take a look at her Non-Designer's Web Book, Non-Designer's Type Book and Web Design Workshop.
Also get Jakob Nielsen's Designing Web Usability.
A List Apart is fantastic for techniques & ideas. Add Smashing Magazine to your RSS for visual design ideas & trends. Jakob Nielsen's site is also worthwhile (don't let the ugly design fool you, the articles are great).
Please don't be offended by the title, but I think this book would help you out a lot. http://www.amazon.com/Non-Designers-Design-Book-Robin-Williams/dp/0321534042/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291060736&sr=8-1
It's a quick read and has a lot of good concepts. It's geared towards print, but is relevant to web too. This helped me out early in my design career.
Just some I like:
Dev
Design
(I am weak in the design side, so take these recommendation with a grain of salt. I recommend them off of overall industry cred they receive and my own personal taste for them.)
below are books I have not read but our generally recommended to people asking this question
You can see a lot of these are theory based. My 0.02 is that books are good for theory, blogs are good for up to date ways of doing things and tutorial type stuff.
Hope this helps!
Battery is about to die so no formatting for you! I'll add note later if I remember.EDIT: another real quick.
EDIT2: Eh, wound up on my computer. Added formatting and some context. Also added more links because I am procrastinating my actual work I have to do (picking icons for buttons is so hard, I never know what icon accurately represents whatever context I am trying to fill).
Get this book for your design team:
http://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Revised-Expanded/dp/0465050654/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409363606&sr=8-1&keywords=design+of+everyday+things
Ignore Carmack (on this one, very specific issue). His conceptual model of what a UI is, can be, and should be, are extremely one directional, vision-centric, and rooted in ancient PARC UIs made for a completely different medium under totally different constraints. VR is a spatial medium by nature, and it simulates the real physical world. In VR, the world IS the interface. You don't need to conceptualize the UI as a separate thing at all. There are only interaction mechanics. You are designing for a mind, not for a rectangle.
To really hammer this home, I recommend studying the following titles:
And reading the following books:
Be a bit critical of that last one - it's is all very old research. it's good for foundation but do not just copy what they've made, use it to synthesize new ideas.
Leap Motion's blog is also an invaluable source of 3d human computer interaction design wisdom. They recently did a series of interaction design sprints that explore 3d physical interactions
I've also gone through their blog and pulled out a bunch of articles that I found the most interesting and useful in my work:
General design:
http://blog.leapmotion.com/designing-intuitive-applications/
Fictional UI:
http://blog.leapmotion.com/fictional-uis-influence-todays-motion-controls/
Vlog FUI pt 1:https://vimeo.com/103174872
https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2013/03/sci-fi-interaction-designers-gestural-interfaces/
3d OS:
http://blog.leapmotion.com/truly-3d-operating-system-look-like/
Sound in VR: http://blog.leapmotion.com/4-ways-unleash-power-sound-vr/
http://blog.leapmotion.com/explorations-vr-design/
If you get the chance you should play their Blocks demo to see the kind of UX that can teach a completely un-initiated VR user how to interact with a virtual world in an exceptional way. If you really care about HCI, you owe it to yourself to grab one of their devices and go all in on it. It really is an incredible new area to explore and will eventually reveal 2D-only interaction models to be the ancient dinosaurs they are.
First, I want to say that you have a pretty nice finish on this drawing. Your line weights are good, your use of spot blacks could use a little work, but you've got the right idea. I like the fact that you're lines thin out as you go back in perspective, really sells the idea that there is some distance between cyclopse and that cactus in the background.
Also your anatomy is pretty good, though it seems to me more like copying from other comics rather than taking the time to actually learn the muscles/muscle groups.
That being said, there's a lot of construction issues in this piece. I could go through and list off all of them, but really what it comes down to is the understanding of perspective. This is integral to creating a piece that has objects in it that feel 3 dimensional.
Now when I say lack of understanding of perspective, I don't mean that you have no understanding. You seem like you could probably construct some cubes in space, or even a rudimentary street view with a horizon roughly in the middle of the page. But the way to push your work further towards what you see in a an issue of X-men.
To get you where you want to go, I would either suggest Scott Robertson's How to Draw: Drawing and Sketching Objects and Environments from your Imagination. Or if you'd rather you can search the internet for some tutorials like this Ctrlpaint Tutorial
I wish I had more examples, but it's been a little while since I was looking for this stuff. But it's something that I've practiced almost every day for many years and I've still got plenty of room to learn.
You're definitely headed in the right direction. It looks like you enjoy the work, so hang onto that. I'm not saying to bore yourself to death with technical practice, but take a little bit of your drawing time that you've set aside and practice some perspective and you'll see a huge improvement in your work. And once you feel comfortable, start checking out Proko for stuff about how to translate those perspective skills into bettering your figures (people) that you draw.
Good luck and keep up the good work
♥ Ethan
No, the best way you can learn anything about design principles is through study and hard work. You will never become a successful designer through copying and emulation. Some form of formal study would be ideal.
These are the basic principles of design. But if you want to be a successful designer you will have to build an understanding that goes far beyond those few handfuls of words on a page.
Learn something about the history of design. Be familiar with the work of great designers, and understand why they are successful visual communicators. Also, you will never regret buying this book or watching this movie .
Follow design blogs, design magazines, and design trends. Stay current.
Until you understand why, don't depart from using a core handful of reliable typefaces. Typography matters.
I'm sorry if my comments have seemed harsh, but I have worked hard, and spent many many hours and no small amount of money developing my skills as a designer, through books and formal study both. I'm a designer because I believe that good design matters. I know through personal experience the difference that good design can make to an enterprise or organization.
Consequently I get kind of annoyed at the streams of people who now seem to feel that anybody with a copy of photoshop and basic html knowledge makes for an instant designer.
To answer your question, if you like you can check out some of my work at bofo.com.au. If you're serious, I do wish you luck in professional development as a designer.
Well I still go to school for Industrial Design, well I should say Transportation Design. I can tell you some of my ups and downs. I went to the Academy of Art in San Francisco and basically hated it. I didn't think the teacher were qualified enough and the school was run like a for profit. Then I left and took Art Center College of Design night classes and I fell in love with design all over again. I kind of regret not knowing of this program earlier. After taking a couple classes their I recently got accepted to their school and I'm going to start next semester. This school is insanely good, it's also insanely expensive but it's a top notch education. I would recommend if your into product design to start looking into your favorite products, see who designed them, find their biography and see what schools seems to come up again and again. Go to that schools website and see what type of things they require to enter their program. After the Academy I started doing research and the two schools that kept coming up was Art Center in Pasadena and CCS in Detriot, but these are better known for their transportation programs. I'm not entirely to sure on product design. You should buy some books on product design, I love this book and this book. A lot of schools don't like portfolios that show you can draw, they want to see that their is a purpose to your design. Why did you do it, what was the market, why is it better, is it innovative, try to put a lot of thought behind your ideas. Ofcourse you need a certain level of drawing ability but they are looking for people that have great ideas, then they torture you for 2 years making you an artist, then they torture you for 2 more years making you a industrial designer. It's insanely hard at school but I honestly love every moment of it. I mean you get to draw all day, then do clay or foam models, then do 3d models, then make working prototypes. It's crazy to go into this room see all these awesome renderings on the walls, so much creativity and artistic ability. It's honestly the best career you can chose, that's not even a joke, it was like ranked 9th on best career choice. My only real advice is do a ton of research before you commit to a school and never give up.
Grid Systems by Josef Muller-Brockmann.
My bible.
I think you have a really good grasp of design for an amateur! A bit of advice I have for you is to give your work a little more space to breathe. On the first section of the first page, your vertical spacing is too tight. On the second page, your text gets a little too close to the photographs. Overall, I think you have a strong sense of color, and integrating photographs and type. Your logo needs a little work, and I would also recommend studying grid systems.
There are some great concepts here!
I feel like the typography could use some more work. For example the H in "The flawed game" isn't centered in the box and some of the font choices could be improved upon.
It should also be noted that I haven't read any of the books!
that being said here are some feedback (personal opinion):
Do some more thurough font-searching or try to incorporate the current fonts more into the design – many of these feels like the text has been just smacked on.
In "A model of horror" you could try and decrease the line-height between "A model" and "Of horror"
I would probably go with another font-pairing on that one aswell.
Perhaps something like Macabre by Dave Coleman could fit here (https://www.futurefonts.xyz/dave-coleman/macabre)
It also feels like the balance is a bit off. It feels like you are trying to utilize whitespace and a minimalist approach, but it feels a bit crowded still. Try and reduce the size of the secondary text (and perhaps chose a more legible font for small type). Maybe even try and make the illustration only the hair?
Again with whitespace and balance, in the "Terms of contention" it feels like the illustration is a bit too large and the cut line is a bit too distracting.
Perhaps try and shrink the illustration and make the line a bit faded. I'd also try and remove the dash closest to the scissor, it feels a bit cramped now.
I would also recommend reading a bit about grids and how to utilize them in your designs. There is a great book called "Grid systems in graphic design: A visual communication manual for graphic designers, typographers and three dimensional designers".
It has helped me probably more than any book I've read in making balanced and well thought out layouts, especially when it's typographic work.
Then again, this is nitpicking. Sounds like a fun project! Keep it up!
Disclaimer: I am a sucker for Swiss International style and my critique comes from a Swiss International mindset!
Edit: Corrected I'äve to I've
the bible IMO is grid systems by Josef Muller Brockton, https://www.amazon.com/Grid-Systems-Graphic-Design-Communication/dp/3721201450/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478318609&sr=8-1&keywords=grid+system+josef
Great editorial design lives in a well crafted grid, read all you can on typography, good type foundations mean a good eye for spacing, paragraphs. Learn composition, color and contrast. IMO editorial design combines almost all design basics into one form of design.
You can always go with the classic
I'd say the largest "mistake" I see is not knowing how to use a grid effectively before going without one. Here are a couple of books that helped me figure things out a bit regarding this:
Grid Systems In Graphic Design - Josef-Müller-Brockmann
Thinking With Type - Ellen Lupton
Both great resources for getting started.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Grid-Systems-Graphic-Design-Typographers/dp/3721201450
Grid system by Joseph Muller Brockman
Column width is covered very well in Grid Systems in graphic design, it's a very informative read packed with a ton of useful info.
"According to a well-known empirical rule there should be 7 words per line for a text of any length. If we want to have 7-10 words per line, the length of the line can be readily calculated. So as to keep the type area light and open in appearance, we have to determine the leading. "
"To choose a width of column which makes the text pleasant to read is one of the most important typographic problems. The width of the column must be proportioned to the size of the type. Overlong columns are wearying to the eye and also have an adverse psychological effect. Overshort columns can also be disturbing because they interrupt the flow of reading and put the reader off by obliging the eye to change lines too rapidly. Lines which are too short or too long reduce the memorability of what is read because too much energy has to be expended. There is a rule which states that a column is easy to read if it is wide enough to accommodate an average of 10 words per line. If the text is of any length, this rule is of practical help."
The book goes a lot more into it, but that's the gist.
In terms of hand sketching? If so, I've found this book to be super helpful:
https://www.amazon.com/Sketching-12th-printing-Techniques-Designers/dp/9063691718/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498808723&sr=8-1&keywords=product+sketch+for+product+designers
Whenever I'm stuck on a sketch or idea, and either need inspiration or need help visualizing a form, I'll flip through the pages of a book like this and find one of the sketching styles or one of the many products listed in books like this to keep things moving.
Here are just a few recently recommended to me. Thought I'd share and bring some pulse to this subreddit.
Cosmic Motors: Spaceships, Cars and Pilots of Another Galaxy
Lift Off: Air Vehicle Sketches & Renderings from the Drawthrough Collection
Syd Mead's Sentury II
DRIVE: vehicle sketches and renderings by Scott Robertson
Sketching (5th printing): Drawing Techniques for Product Designers
The Art of District 9
Grid Systems.
http://www.amazon.com/Systems-Graphic-Systeme-Visuele-Gestaltung/dp/3721201450
Once you'll fully understand the method, you'll be a level 4.
Josef Müller-Brockmann knows what's up with grids, his book is pretty dope.
You should read this book: Brockman's Grid Systems Book know it. learn it. and use it/practice it. Finally post your revisions. I know you have put a lot of work in this, but its hard to read and the design feels weak (ie not something that would make me proud to work there).
I would try to get that book (library, I think there is an online version) and try employing the principles he talks about.
The characters still need a lot of work. Overall, you're relying too much on perfect semicircles and monoweight strokes. It's a good starting point for a geometric sans, but now you need to go back and do a ton of optical tweaking to make things look right. I recommend picking up Karen Cheng's Book. I would also compare your characters to the ones in other geometric sans like Futura and Avenir. Take note of details like the way the shoulder of the 'n' and 'h' is handled and the thinning of strokes at joints.
Anyways, it's a cool start. Keep at it
Draw alot. And not just letters. I like figure drawing, and the movements and curves I learn from figure drawing inform the shapes I make with letters. So the more you draw, the more refined your line work becomes. and the more you draw outside of letterforms, the more versatility you can have when you do draw letterforms.
Also, saturate yourself in what you like. Find out who all is doing what you like, and who is doing it the best. Then break down how they are doing it, and apply that knowledge in your own practice. Designing Type by Karen Cheng is a great reference book on letterforms.
Get your hands on books, especially this one can help a lot.
Start from scratch, expect garbage. If it's not garbage, then awesome, but it will be. Keep going, do more. Try to start with typefaces which aren't artificially created by your mind (such as Helvetica), but which come out of the tool youre using. Get a wide marker and just write. Start with just uppercase or lowercase letters, don't get overwhelmed. Hang out in r/typedesign and stay humble, ask experienced type designers for help. Good luck.
edit: oh and don't use Illustrator etc. if you can. Programs made for fonts (Glyphs, Fontlab, Fontforge) may feel rigid and obsolete (except for Glyphs maybe), but they offer much more control over anchor points and their handles, and they take only 30 minutes to learn the basics.
I highly recommend the book Designing Type by Karen Cheng, it covers everything you could possibly need to know from a design standpoint.
http://www.amazon.com/Designing-Type-Karen-Cheng/dp/0300111509
On typography:
On grids:
On colour:
On usability:
On information design:
On inspiration:
On theory:
On history:
Monographs:
Joseph Albers' Interaction of Color is great: https://www.amazon.com/Interaction-Color-Anniversary-Josef-Albers/dp/0300179359
You have a lot going on with your typography and alignment overall. I'd highly recommend this book: http://www.amazon.com/The-Non-Designers-Design-Book-Edition/dp/0321534042
It covers a lot of basic design principles that are easy to follow and it's really good reference material. It covers everything from typography to alignment to colors and more. Really useful and could explain a lot better than I could.
"The Non-Designer's Design Book" by Robin Williams. (The author's name is just a coincidence.)
http://www.amazon.com/The-Non-Designers-Design-Book-Edition/dp/0321534042
This was never a required book in any of my design classes, but it was recommended in a couple of them and I liked it. So maybe use it as supplemental reading?
I'm currently in second year Graphic Design, and I still can't actually draw well - and I haven't really needed to. I spent my first year focusing on sketching everything, just really rough quality stuff.
I've definitely improved, but I still don't find its all that essential. I usually use flat art illustrations or other similar styles (like shag, brosmind. etc).
The only required drawing component is sketching thumbnails and roughs.etc. Not too hard to improve at if you practice.
Edit: The Non-Designer's Design Book (3rd Edition) https://www.amazon.ca/dp/0321534042/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_O4ZtybHNF50G4
This book kind of pushed me towards graphic design in high school. Its pretty basic stuff but will give you an edge when you're just starting out .
Hope this helps!!
The Non-Designers Design Book
Short, precise, easy read. Highly recommended.
Design of Everyday Things is a really good book. Understanding how someone uses the things you build is vital in creating good products.
Are you asking how to become a better designer, or how to recognize good design?
They are different, but not separate things.
This might help, if you're after the former.
If it's the latter you're after, there's a wealth of books out there: this one among them. But really, learning to recognize good design is a long process of ingestion, regurgitation, trial and error, and experience.
Good design can mean many things. Does it look good? Is it usable? Is it actionable (Does it make you want to do something)? Does it convey a certain mood? Does it reinforce the brand? Does it speak to the target audience? Is it fast? Does it get across a certain message as fast as possible? Is it memorable?
You really have to ask yourself what you're trying to accomplish when it comes to design. What are your goals?
You might not look at something like Amazon and say, "That's great design!", but having your design as understated as possible and maximizing usability is as good design (for their purposes) as much as something like this is meant to be the opposite.
It all really comes back to: What are you trying to accomplish?
A couple of lighter reads I was glad to come across:
DMMT
https://www.amazon.com/Think-Common-Sense-Approach-Usability/dp/0789723107
The Design of Everyday Things
https://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Revised-Expanded/dp/0465050654
Read these when you're feeling burned out. They are nice, real easy, feel good reads.
Regarding testing. Every function gets at least one test. Happy path always. The most common expected failures. Edge case testing when you find out you need it.
When you're really good at it, you'll be able to feed arrays of representative dummy data while your directories are being watched for changes. But first, a happy path test for every function. Start there.
Unit testing of the code.
Selenium webdriver is what I've used client side to simulate repeatable use & abuse of the final product.
Integration test are just unit tests passing when you jam everything together. A much bigger issue when you are doing a lot of Dependency Injection-- you need to check that the "handler" you are putting in actually works.
Continuous integration is helpful that your "builds" have all the unit tests and a ping to the selenium tests to run as part of the flow of a release. Just a tool to listen for you to make changes. Learn the three things separately, I've not found a good resource that chains them all together.
This probably isn't the most helpful answer, but any resources I might have used to learn the fundamentals myself are probably pretty outdated now. Honestly I'd just try to find highly rated books on Amazon that are reasonably priced. I haven't read this one for psych research methods, but looking through the table of contents, it covers a lot of what I'd expect (ethics, validity and reliability, study design and common methods) and according to the reviews it's clear, concise, and has good stats info in the appendix. I had a similar "handbook" style textbook in undergrad that I liked. For practicing stats, I'm personally more of a learn-by-doing kind of person, and there are some free courses out there like this one from Khan Academy that covers the basics fairly well.
But if you can, take courses in college as electives! Chances are you'll have a few to fill (or maybe audit some if you can't get credit), so go outside of HCDE's offerings to get some complementary skills in research or design. I usually find classrooms to be more engaging than trying to get through a textbook at home on my own, and especially for psych research methods, you'll probably have a project that gives you hands-on experience doing research with human subjects (most likely your peers). There are lots of free online courses out there as well if you aren't able to take them for credit.
You guys are making me miss school.
Getting specifically into UX self-study, in addition to a UX-specific research methods book (this is a newer version of one I read in school) I'd also go through the UX classics like Don Norman's The Design of Everyday Things and Emotional Design, Krug's Don't Make Me Think, and Casey's Set Phasers on Stun (this last one being more of a fun read than a practical one).
not tied directly to touch panels, but i found the following books help my touch panels look less like an engineer designed them.
Design of everyday things
100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People
this one provided insight sticky design, and what makes some apps stand out, it a world of apps it dose hurt to see what is driving some mobile platform/ product development.
Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products
infocomm published the dashboard for controls, but it is quiet dated, and as pointed out below its counter any kind of modern ui design principal.
Non-fiction:
Fiction:
A fantastic book. Another great one is http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0465050654/ (I have the older version).
I'm reading Don Norman's book currently. Highly, highly recommended for anyone who wants to punch those one button Nespresso machines, and break the pull handles off the doors you're apparently supposed to push. Human error and crappy design go hand in hand, and I'll blame crappy design before human error.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0465050654/ref=pd_aw_fbt_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1NTCS6NR88HTCDT29XBE
Here’s a fun exercise: find a simple game you like, but don’t go farther than the SNES/Genesis generation of gaming. Play the game and study it. What makes that game special? Focus on its mechanics, dynamics and aesthetics. Write it all down too. Then take a mechanic and completely change it while also adding a brand new mechanic to the mix as well. Add your own art style and just have fun with it.
Don’t worry about it sucking, this is an exercise for your design skills. If you understand modeling and you understand coding, it seems you are just missing design. Read books on design, I can’t recommend “The Design of Everyday Things” enough. This book covers design as a whole and gets you to think about why we build things the way we do.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0465050654/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1526568855&sr=8-1-spons&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=the+design+of+everyday+things&psc=1
Junior UX person here. Not much of a programmer myself, but it's sufficient for my needs, as I am only doing front-end design when I dabble with code. There is a multitude of ways to learn how to code, but generally speaking, I find that practicing in small repetition helps the best to retain and absorb information. When you are doing a small code example, try to rewrite differently and see how it works in each of those ways. I also recommend coming up with a small project that you can work on (design and putting a personal site live, for example), as opposed just doing the practices, that way you are presented with a real world environment that contains restrictions and possibilities.
Do you draw? It might help to learn how to draw well, which will help you illustrate designs and potentially become a fun hobby.
Some beginner level books I recommend:
Also, you might want to sign up for this course track offered by Stanford.
Lastly, learn how to meditate (or just ways to maintain inner peace in general). It will help once you enter the industry.
Nice rundown. Here are some other books I would recommend OP check out:
My Costco had these last time i was there. They were cheap. They are difficult to pour from without spilling.
There are better and worse ways to design containers
The Design of Everyday Things is definitely a classic. However, I think it's a victim of its own success - it's been so influential that I didn't find that much in it that I hadn't heard before.
You can definitely make good looking apps on your own! Keep in mind, though, that interfaces are about aesthetics AND usability. You don't need any artistic gifts or graphic design skills to create an efficient and usable interface.
I know you're looking for something Android-specific, but I'd recommend starting with The Design of Everyday Things to get a high-level idea of how you should approach design. You might also want to consider watching Sketching and Experience Design, which is a 2007 talk given by Bill Buxton that covers the process of design. He also has an excellent book on sketching UI.
I completely agree with Tootlips, design is tough for nondesigners. When making an application I often download as many apps as possible in that genre to see how other developers have built similar apps. If you are interested in learning design yourself I would recommend checking out Hack Design hack design and/or Udacity: udacity design. The Udacity course is based on a famous design book "Design for Everyday Things": Design-Everyday-Things
Also the inspiration for the cover image of a great intro book on UI design.
The Art of Game Design - Jesse Schell is very very good.
Game AI (Millington and Funge new edition iirc) is very very good.
Some non-game-design books that are very useful for those doing game design:
Scott McLoud: Making Comics (the other two in the series are good but the section on plot, characterization, and development in this one is great)
Donald Norman: The Design of Everyday Things. (How design works and how people interact with technology and...)
Christopher Alexander et al A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, and Construction (Thinking about scale and design elements and modularity and...)
Kevin Lynch: The Image of the City (How do urban spaces work - essential if your game is set in a city - how do people actually navigate)
Polti: The 36 Dramatic Situations (old, quirky, examines how there are really only a few human plots)
Matt Frederick: 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School (how to think about and execute simple art, improve your design sense, ...)
I recently graduated with my B.S. in psychology and will be heading to graduate school this fall to study Human Factors, also known as engineering psychology or ergonomics. Basically it's the application of psychology to the design of systems (hardware as well as software) and the environments they're deployed in. UX certainly falls under this umbrella, as the professor who will be my adviser is doing research in that area.
To answer your question, it's a yes as well as a no in my opinion. A background in psychology would be tremendously helpful in the field you're thinking of entering - knowledge about human behavior and mental processes is a pretty good thing to have when your goal is to design and improve the user experience.
As others have said, however, the minor itself won't necessarily be of any use. Employers generally won't care, and neither will any graduate schools you apply to. In other words, it's the knowledge you gained from studying the minor that will be attractive on your resume (or curriculum vitae), so be ready to explain exactly what you learned from studying psychology and how it makes you a better candidate for the position. Remember that the minor, if you choose to take it, will be little more than a footnote on your transcript in the long run.
To wrap this up, I'd like to wish you luck on this career path. UX is a really interesting subject that many people aren't even aware of. If you haven't already, check out the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. Their site has some great resources for anyone who wants to learn more about the field (I used it to find grad schools to apply to). Lastly, I recommend reading Donald A. Norman's The Design of Everyday Things. It's the book that got me interested in this field in the first place, and is a really fun read.
If you have any further questions, I'll be happy to try and answer them to the best of my ability. Otherwise, good luck once again!
Coloring books! So relaxing. This is my favorite one http://www.amazon.com/Mystical-Mandala-Coloring-Dover-Design/dp/0486456943
Stickers. I think everyone smiles when they get stickers. And they are easy to mail in a fun I'm thinking about you card.
Also, what about coloring book and some colored pencils?
Further reading/research: (Not all of which I've gotten to read yet. Some of which may be quite tangentially relevant to the discussion at hand along with the books and sites I mentioned above. Consider this more a list of books pertaining to the history of technology, machining, metrology, some general science and good engineering texts.)
Dan Gelbart's Youtube Channel
Engineerguy's Youtube Channel
Nick Mueller's Youtube Channel
mrpete222/tubalcain's youtube channel
Tom Lipton (oxtools) Youtube Channel
Suburban Tool's Youtube Channel
NYCNC's Youtube Channel
Computer History Museum's Youtube Channel
History of Machine Tools, 1700-1910 by Steeds
Studies in the History of Machine Tools by Woodbury
A History of Machine Tools by Bradley
Tools for the Job: A History of Machine Tools to 1950 by The Science Museum
A History of Engineering Metrology by Hume
Tools and Machines by Barnard
The Testing of Machine Tools by Burley
Modern machine shop tools, their construction, operation and manipulation, including both hand and machine tools: a book of practical instruction by Humphrey & Dervoort
Machine-Shop Tools and Methods by Leonard
A Measure of All Things: The Story of Man and Measurement by Whitelaw
Handbook of Optical Metrology: Principles and Applications by Yoshizawa
Angle of Attack: Harrison Storms and the Race to the Moon by Gray
Machine Shop Training Course Vol 1 & 2 by Jones
A Century of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, 1882-1982
Numerical Control: Making a New Technology by Reintjes
History of Strength of Materials by Timoshenko
Rust: The Longest War by Waldman
The Companion Reference Book on Dial and Test Indicators: Based on our popular website www.longislandindicator.com by Meyer
Optical Shop Testing by Malacara
Lost Moon: The Preilous Voyage of Apollo 13 by Lovell and Kruger
Kelly: More Than My Share of It All by Johnson & Smith
Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed by Rich & Janos
Unwritten Laws of Engineering by King
Advanced Machine Work by Smith
Accurate Tool Work by Goodrich
Optical Tooling, for Precise Manufacture and Alignment by Kissam
The Martian: A Novel by Weir
Roark's Formulas for Stress and Strain by Young Budynas & Sadegh
Materials Selection in Mechanical Design by Ashby
Slide Rule: The Autobiography of an Engineer by Shute
Cosmos by Sagan
Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners and Plumbing Handbook by Smith Carol Smith wrote a number of other great books such as Engineer to Win.
Tool & Cutter Sharpening by Hall
Handbook of Machine Tool Analysis by Marinescu, Ispas & Boboc
The Intel Trinity by Malone
Manufacturing Processes for Design Professionals by Thompson
A Handbook on Tool Room Grinding
Tolerance Design: A Handbook for Developing Optimal Specifications by Creveling
Inspection and Gaging by Kennedy
Precision Engineering by Evans
Procedures in Experimental Physics by Strong
Dick's Encyclopedia of Practical Receipts and Processes or How They Did it in the 1870's by Dick
Flextures: Elements of Elastic Mechanisms by Smith
Precision Engineering by Venkatesh & Izman
Metal Cutting Theory and Practice by Stephenson & Agapiou
American Lathe Builders, 1810-1910 by Cope As mentioned in the above post, Kennth Cope did a series of books on early machine tool builders. This is one of them.
Shop Theory by Henry Ford Trade Shop
Learning the lost Art of Hand Scraping: From Eight Classic Machine Shop Textbooks A small collection of articles combined in one small book. Lindsay Publications was a smallish company that would collect, reprint or combine public domain source material related to machining and sell them at reasonable prices. They retired a few years ago and sold what rights and materials they had to another company.
How Round Is Your Circle?: Where Engineering and Mathematics Meet by Bryant & Sangwin
Machining & CNC Technology by Fitzpatrick
CNC Programming Handbook by Smid
Machine Shop Practice Vol 1 & 2 by Moltrecht
The Elements of Computing Systems: Building a Modern Computer from First Principles A fantastic book with tons of free online material, labs, and courses built around it. This book could take a 6th grader interested in learning, and teach them the fundamentals from scratch to design a basic computer processor and programming a simple OS etc.
Bosch Automotive Handbook by Bosch
Trajectory Planning for Automatic Machines and Robots by Biagiotti & Melchiorri
The Finite Element Method: Its Basis and Fundamentals by Zhu, Zienkiewicz and Taylor
Practical Treatise on Milling and Milling Machines by Brown & Sharpe
Grinding Technology by Krar & Oswold
Principles of Precision Engineering by Nakazawa & Takeguchi
Foundations of Ultra-Precision Mechanism Design by Smith
I.C.S. Reference Library, Volume 50: Working Chilled Iron, Planer Work, Shaper and Slotter Work, Drilling and Boring, Milling-Machine Work, Gear Calculations, Gear Cutting
I. C. S. Reference Library, Volume 51: Grinding, Bench, Vise, and Floor Work, Erecting, Shop Hints, Toolmaking, Gauges and Gauge Making, Dies and Die Making, Jigs and Jig Making
and many more ICS books on various engineering, technical and non-technical topics.
American Machinists' Handbook and Dictionary of Shop Terms: A Reference Book of Machine-Shop and Drawing-Room Data, Methods and Definitions, Seventh Edition by Colvin & Stanley
Modern Metal Cutting: A Practical Handbook by Sandvik
Mechanical Behavior of Materials by Dowling
Engineering Design by Dieter and Schmidt
[Creative Design of Products and Systems by Saeed]()
English and American Tool Builders by Roe
Machine Design by Norton
Control Systems by Nise
That doesn't include some random books I've found when traveling and visiting used book stores. :)
Manufacturing processes for design professionals gives a nice overview on just about every kind of manufacturing process there is, though it's a bit expensive and kind of a brick.
https://www.amazon.com/Manufacturing-Processes-Design-Professionals-Thompson/dp/0500513759
I kept seeing this post pop up all day, and I kept refraining from commenting because I figured someone would eventually come along and point you towards a specific book, and that was really what you were asking for. But since no one else has commented, here's my advice: The most important and useful thing you can do is practice. If you want some practical tips, go to the library and take out some books about techniques, but I've never actually found any of those helpful. The only book that I've ever found useful was this but it doesn't tell you how to do anything, it just tells you what every material is and basic information. Actually, I learned a lot from it. Aside from that, practice a lot, pay close attention to what artists that you like do, and experiment with the paint a lot. Hope that helps.
Welcome to the hobby! Some perspective:
…I cannot claim to know what comes next as I'm not sure I have much claim to anything beyond amateur. But here are some especially nice books on the subject I have found helpful:
Check this book out. It should answer all you need to know about this sort of thing. My Graphic design business professor required us all to purchase it.
Graphic Artist's Guild Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines by Graphic Artist's Guild
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0932102166/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_p8uaub1KDA6E7
As a professional scientific illustrator, I appreciate the challenge of finding paying work. However, you do not help the field out by offering work for free. If you want to build a portfolio of scientific illustration work, then I suggest working on some of your own, relevant projects, and then charge an appropriate fee. Undercutting and doing work for free does not teach clients to value illustration work which takes a lot of skill and time to develop.
For guidelines on pricing see: Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines
Some good design books... like this one by Aaron Draplin
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1419720171/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=14AP737M4H125&coliid=I14I8SNLKEXZBZ
Well I mentioned the idea of "inspiration books" a couple GD's ago. I ended up ordering Aaron Draplin's book and then this book too. I'm pretty excited.
Other than that I've got a bit of sewing to finish up, a counseling appointment, and then going to my dads for a day late Father's Day celebration.
What's everyone else up to?
i have no doubt that they do.
https://www.amazon.com/Hooked-How-Build-Habit-Forming-Products/dp/1591847788
Everything starts w/ making a good product
Marketing
Don't have a "leaky bucket"
In normal words: make sure ppl who install your game have a good experience right away and come back. Set up analytics so you can track this. If you are failing, work on the game and don't market yet. You should watch all of these free Y Combinator online startup classes, but #6 is most relevant here.
Design the game to be viral
This is where you've got it easier than normal apps, games can be designed to share and engage other users. I recommend reading Hooked for ideas on how to build a habit forming app that ppl will want to share. NOTE: annoying tricks don't work and no one wants that.
Crossing the Chasm is less relevant to a game but an insightful classic on the old "how do I develop a market for a technology product".
All of these strategy require focused and consistent effort to have a chance. I'm in the same boat you are so hopefully we can make something happen :)
BTW I'd be happy to share my notes on all these books if ppl are interested.
Had this list together from a blog post I wrote a few months ago. Not sure what exactly you're looking for, but these are my favorite books and I'd recommend everybody read them all. There are other great books out there, but this is a pretty well rounded list that touches everything a company needs.
The Lean Startup https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continuous-Innovation/dp/0307887898
Business Model Generation https://www.amazon.com/Business-Model-Generation-Visionaries-Challengers/dp/0470876417
Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products https://www.amazon.com/Hooked-How-Build-Habit-Forming-Products/dp/1591847788
Talking to Humans https://www.amazon.com/Talking-Humans-Success-understanding-customers-ebook/dp/B00NSUEUL4
Predictable Revenue https://www.amazon.com/Predictable-Revenue-Business-Practices-Salesforce-com/dp/0984380213
To Sell is Human https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Human-Surprising-Moving-Others/dp/1594631905
Rework https://www.amazon.com/Rework-Jason-Fried/dp/0307463745
Delivering Happiness https://www.amazon.com/Delivering-Happiness-Profits-Passion-Purpose/dp/0446576220
It is listed in one of the posts already, but I have this book and can honestly say it IS the book you are looking for. Its design, but not limited to one field of study.
Universal Principles of Design
Stellar book. Breaks down tons of design principles, which could aid graphic designers, product designers, architects, computer programers, etc. I would definitely call this a Design Encyclopedia. Great book. Worth every penny.
What you need to understand is the underlying principles. Try starting here:
Design Basics will teach you about things like composition, color theory, motion, reptition, balance, etc :
http://www.amazon.com/Design-Basics-David-A-Lauer/dp/0155083775
Universal Principles of Design is not specific to web design. Some here have said, "Design is design" ... this is 100% true. Yes, there is nuance to every medium, but color theory is color theory, plain and simple. Get a little zen about design:
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Principles-Design-Revised-Updated/dp/1592535879/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343223951&sr=1-1&keywords=universal+principles+of+design
As a developer, you probably suck at typography. No offense. The typography workbook can help with that. The thing to realize about typography is that there are two parts to it. The first part is the aesthetic. The second part is that type is a mechanical component of your design. It performs a job. This book will teach you how to construct good typographical systems. Every web geek should have this book.
http://www.amazon.com/Typography-Workbook-Real-World-Graphic-Design/dp/1592533019/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343224016&sr=1-1&keywords=typography+workbook
Universal Principles of Design, Revised and Updated: 125 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach through Design
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1592535879/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_rEsQCbG1JF27R
Not UI specific, but very insightful
Whatever kind of design you're looking at doing, get this book:
Universal Principles of Design - Lidwell.
It covers the core elements of design outside of trends.
Learn the content of this book well, and you'll be set up for the rest of your career.
It's not a replacement for the other recommendations in the thread, but get yourself a copy of Universal Principles of Design. It's a good introduction to the language & vocabulary of design.
If anything, I think it'll help you to identify & express what you like (or don't like) about designs you see in the wild. Critique, both of yourself and others, is important.
So what I'm gonna give you is something I pulled right out of this book. It's a pretty solid book to get the creative juices going, so I recommend that you buy it sometime if this works out for you.
Shoot a photograph of an item that you always carry with you, then design some print ads showing that item in a positive, negative, and metaphorical way.
I'm going to edit this with my actual post in a minute, but when you said 3 items, $20 or under, I'm assuming you mean in total, or did you mean 20 each?
EDIT:
Okay so here is my real entry! I'm creative in all sorts of areas! I was in school for music for a year but have more recently decided to pursue my passion for art/design! I love drawing, design, and music!
Here is me singing with my friends.
Here Is a skull I drew a while back!
Here Is a poster I recently designed for a local event!
and Here Is a flyer I did for my church!
I'm still never satisfied with anything I make because I know it's not how I want it to be, or as good as I'd like it to be. But I'm hopefully going to school again soon!
I forgot to mention I love calligraphy too! I've just started learning so this would be awesome!
I enjoy painting as well and have been meaning to do more, so this would be so handy!
Annnnnd I've wanted this book for a while to help get some projects going!
Welcome to RAOA and thank you for the contest :) I'd love to see some of YOUR work!
For a slightly different approach, allow yourself a few projects for the pure joy of your design process, without concern as to whether they'll be usable pieces in the end. If you need some prompts to get you started, the book Creative Workshop isn't amazing, but is varied in its projects that there's bound to be something there for you.
Goodluck!
The only advice you need right now is to improve your draftsmanship. You need to understand anatomy to be able to draw people, no matter what level of detail/realism you wish to achieve. Animators and cartoonists who who draw all varieties of cartoon characters are always masters of drawing the human form. Even drawing characters like Fred Flinstone requires you to understand anatomy, such as the way joints bend, or hands and fingers function. Having a grasp on anatomy will help your story telling, no matter how you choose to exercise (or disregard) the knowledge. The best place to start learning is a very well known book authored by Andrew Loomis: Figure Drawing for What its Worth (this is one of the most well known peices of instructional drawing literature) Buy this book and study. You already have ideas that you want to draw, and thats great, and improving your draftsmanship will help you be able to get your ideas out. In addition to anatomy, You will also need to learn some basics of perspective, to be able to convincingly draw your stage for example, or how to set up characters around the stage and make them appear to all be on the same plane. Scott Robertson has a great book that teaches fundamentals of perspective, worth looking in to How to Draw Good Luck!
There's different types of drawing, design drawing is the skill you need for inventing, engineering and it'll be good for planning other artistic media you want to get involved in (film, books, games).
Feng Zhu, Scott Robertson are awesome.
The best place to learn a skill is from (revered) expert professionals, and these two have worked for worked for Hollywood, and other expensive, high quality, stringent time scale projects, but have decided to teach due to poor teaching of design skills (usually drawing) in many schools.
Thank you, I appreciate it :)
Well, the only advice I can give you is to never stop drawing. I don't know how "good" your skill is or if you're just at the beginning but for most people that really want to draw the big let-down comes after a short period of time when they can't realize the progress they're making. Most of the people stop drawing when they can't see that they're getting better after some days or weeks. Drawing is a skill that needs alot of time and patience. Other than that it's just rinse and repeat. Draw what you like and just have fun. If you're over the first hill and start liking what you do, everythings going faster and faster. I don't know what art you're into but a good start would be to learn the fundamentals. For character it's anatomy, for environment it would be perspective. Learn to understand lighting, colour, shadow, perspective etc.
If you're not afraid and still really want to learn drawing I recommend How to Draw and How to Render, both from Scott Robertson. Both books are heavily influenced by product- and concept design but give a really nice overview about fundamentals - that's how I started.
I hope that helps :)
Perspective is critically important, and in my eyes, the number one area of focus, if you had to pick. However, I would tie learning perspective with a re-evaluation of basic shapes and start thinking about structure and form. Drawing basic shapes in space allows you to construct and build anything you can imagine, realistically and even a cartoon. It's the first thing that people notice is wrong about an image including non-artists, even when they can't place their finger on why it's wrong. Everyone with functioning eyes have great vision. You could say that we are all black belts at seeing things, because it is one of our senses since our birth, and the one that we are always using. So when you're drawing and painting, you are a visual magician. You're using these fundamental tools to fool these people into believing that an image on paper is as deceiving as reality. It's all an illusion. You cannot avoid the importance of perspective. If you aren't practicing it, no cheap tricks will be able to deceive a person into believing what you created.
You learn as early as elementary school about the 2D shapes. The square, the circle and the triangle. You know about their 3D counterparts, the cube, as well as a sphere, cone and a cylinder. In geometry everything is perfectly symmetrical and easy to solve. But when you step out into reality, everything is thrown into disarray, all of these shapes are merged together mechanically and organically, and on top of that, your vision is deceiving you. Very advanced forms of mathematics were created to solve those problems accurately, but we are not interested in that. You'll also realize this when you come across proportion diagrams, and why it does nothing when you are drawing from the model. You will also need to understand what circles look like in perspective[ellipses.] Do you know how to draw an ellipse properly? Do you see what happens to these shapes in space? Learn to draw these basic shapes correctly in space, it requires knowledge of perspective. Would it help you to think of a basic game like Snake? Imagine what it would be like to play that game in 3D. Although we aren't playing a game, we are just observing reality and interpreting it in 2D, that's where perspective falls in. You can use perspective construction thankfully. You can simplify areas into basic shapes. You can measure and draw pipes and cubes, aligning them to their current vanishing points. Until you're finally building whatever you need for your own worlds.
The other fundamentals are critically important as well. But drawing in space with perspective is what you need for your drawings to look structurally correct. Yes, it can be a complex hurdle. It's both easy to understand and difficult to wrap our eyes and brain around. Thankfully there are dozens of great free resources available, and no threat of them going away, any time soon. If you have great reading comprehension, there is a free resource that pretty much covers every single thing you would ever ask about perspective. Otherwise many instructors have done a great job simplifying what you need to understand for your own work. Here are links to two great resources that have emerged more recently.
Mow some lawns, shovel snow, baby sit, beg for money, sell a game, buy these.
And some nice free ones.
There's dozens of others, but that'll take all day. These will get you started. Good luck OP.
I don't like to give crits to fix what you have. It's a sketch, and you should think of sketches as disposable. Learn something here and move on. I would say my big crit is they're more organic looking than robotic.
That being said, I recommend you do some study before you try again. When learning to make robots there are two very essential things to learn; Human anatomy, and contemporary mechanical engineering.
Human anatomy: Really dive in to understand how joints actuate with muscles and ligaments. These will help you understand how your robots joints should work as well. It will also work to make your creations more believable.
Here some links:
- https://www.pinterest.com/achinzoo/anatomy/
- https://flabergastertron.tumblr.com/
- https://sketchfab.com/search?q=anatomy&sort_by=-pertinence&type=models
I also recommend this book on Analytical Anatomy: Figure Drawing: Design and Invention
​
Mechanical: don't just look at this stuff, you need to understand how things connect. Why did they engineer this or that a certain way. Is it supposed to move? How should it look. Is it supposed to be a conduit for wires? how does that look? Draw these things, build up the muscle memory. They will express themselves when your drawing creatively I promise, but you first have to do the studies.
Here's some links
- https://imgur.com/r/MachinePorn
- https://www.pbase.com/amoxtli/uss_midway
- https://sketchfab.com/search?q=robot&sort_by=-pertinence&type=models
​
And here's a fantastic book you should have: How to Draw: By Scott Robertson
I like where you're headed, but I think you can do better. Keep drawing and I hope that was helpful.
Perspective is something that will help you draw anything. People, buildings, interiors, animals, objects, vehicles etc. Check out Nsio's tutorials on deviantart for some examples and guides on how perspective helps you draw figures from imagination (and life).
As a beginner book, people always suggest Perspective Made Easy. It's cheap and well regarded. How to Draw is more advanced and focuses on vehicles / landscapes, which might not sound useful if you just want to draw figures but (personally) it helped me soooo much in placing complex 3D forms in perspective (which is all the human body is after all).
If you already know how to draw, then try Scott Robertsons books.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Render-fundamentals-shadow-reflectivity/dp/1933492961/ref=la_B0034O5O32_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1480449825&sr=1-2
https://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732/ref=la_B0034O5O32_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1480449825&sr=1-1
They are not about drawing gundam but about drawing hard objects in general. Which is much more important then learning to draw a single thing as you can transfer the skill to anything.
These, for a start.
Scott Robertson's How to Draw,
Scott Robertson's How to Render.
> For beginners learning to draw accurately, just focus on the Elements of Art.
I'd actually like to chime in here to give OP another option (not looking to argue about fundamentals haha. We all know how that goes).
Quick backstory:
I studied art for two years and went through pretty much the same training that you described above. I had a wonderful experience, but decided that it wasn't for me. I then decided to pursue Industrial Design, which meant I had to study the fundamentals all over again, only this time they were different.
Just like the elements of art, we still started out with the basics of line, shape and form, but with a much heavier emphasis on accurate perspective. In fact we were taught about the different kinds of perspective and how/why they work from the get go. The equivalent of "value" in Industrial Design was "rendering", only it was much more technical (how to construct shadows in perspective, how light decay and occlusion work, the Fresnel Effect etc.)
Of course this all just sounds like a bunch of technical mumbo-jumbo, so let me make a small change to what you said above to summarize what I am trying to say.
>For beginners learning to draw beautifully, just focus on the Elements of Art.
and likewise
>For beginners learning to draw accurately, learn perspective.
I am personally in favor of learning the rules before you break them. Want to paint a pretty cottage? Paint a convincing one first using perspective. Again, this is not the only way to learn. It is just what I would recommend based on my experience. This is, of course /r/learnart and not /r/learntodrawperfectly, so please take all of this with a grain of salt.
"Well gee, thanks a lot Mr. useless design person."
Wait! Don't go, OP! I have some actual, useful advice!
Remember that every time you put your pencil to paper you are creating something that has never existed. No one has ever seen the things that you will draw. You are a creator, and that is just about the coolest thing to be in the universe. Don't give up, and happy arting!
How to Draw: drawing and sketching objects and environments from your imagination https://www.amazon.com/dp/1933492732/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_de0evb12A1TQ6
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1933492732/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_de0evb12A1TQ6
Just picked this book up the other day. It's freaking amazingly helpful.
Definitely, not sure what your budget is but there's a book I have called "How to Draw" https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1933492732/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491345682&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=how+to+draw+scott
It goes from A-Z learning to draw and think in 3D. It's an awesome book. I'm currently in art school and I had the pleasure of hearing one of the authors talk about it. After this book there's a second one called "How to Render" which goes through all the dynamics of light.
The thing I really like about these books is that it approaches drawing from an analytical point of view and really gets at the science behind it.
This is an excellent response above, and I'd like to add to this. I'm a senior at Auburn University for ID and I second that you should become familiar with sketching and, if given the opportunity, CAD software.
I've read through Scott Robertsons How to Draw book and it's a good resource for learning how to sketch.
Autodesk will often have free downloads for AutoCAD, Fusion 360, and Inventor for students. I'd recommend getting AutoCAD of the three, but I feel like Fusion is a bit more beginner friendly.
Even if you choose to go into engineering for school, sketching and CAD will help out a lot when you start your classes.
Also, if your high school has any public speaking classes, it wouldn't hurt to look into taking one. At least in my program we have pretty regular presentations, and it really helps to be able to communicate your ideas fluently when presenting a final product/end of the semester project.
Feel free to DM me as well!
Color and Light by James Gurney.
How to Draw by Scott Robertson.
Figure Drawing by Michael Hampton.
And for perspectice specifically, this $12 video series by Marshall Vandruff.
Looks really good. Now I'm not much of a vehicle artist so I don't want to lead blindly.
Have you checked out Scott Robertson? Phenomenal technical traditional artist, his techniques translate to digital also.
One of his books (he has many); https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Render-TP-Scott-Robertson/dp/1933492961
His YouTube channel; https://youtu.be/dzhyKtavwMU
Sorry I couldn't offer much direct help, however I hope these resources help you out.
Keep going at it!
One of the most useful textbooks I've retained from a class I took was also the cheapest. $150 book about Java programming? Never opened it again after the class was over(and barely opened it during the class). $20 book about general design principles? Much more mileage out that puppy.
Universal Principles of Design. Lots of concepts in design explained a topic per page.
When I was starting out, I got a lot of use out of Universal Principles of Design. It breaks down a lot of terminology and best practices with clear diagrams and examples.
As for learning UX design, my best learning experiences came from practice, practice, practice
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1592535879/
Paul Rand: A Designer's Art https://www.amazon.com/dp/1616894865/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_neLpybYFN2K0B
"If Paul Rand was the most influential American graphic designer of the twentieth century, then Paul Rand: A Designer's Art is the most important on his work. A comprehensive collection of his most important and best-known designs, A Designer's Art gives unique insight into Rand's design process and theory. This new edition of Rand's classic monograph, long unavailable, meticulously re-creates the graphic quality of the original. It includes more than two hundred illustrations and twenty-seven essays, and a new afterword by Steven Heller. This book is required reading for anybody interested in modern design..."
Design, Form, and Chaos https://www.amazon.com/dp/0300055536/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_2gLpybNH8PCSK
"In this book, Paul Rand m, said to be one of the world's leading graphic designers, speaks about the contemporary practice of graphic design, explaining the processes and passion that foster good design and indicting fadism and trendiness.
Illustrating his ideas with examples of his own graphic work as well as with the work of artists he admires, Rand discusses such topics as: the values on which aesthetic judgements are based; the part played by intuition in good design; the proper relationship between management and designers; the place of market research; how and when to use computers in the production of a design; choosing a typeface; principles of book design; and the thought processes that lead to a final design.
The centrepiece of the book consists of seven design portfolios - with working drawings and ultimate choices - that Rand used to present his logos to clients such as Next, The Limited and IBM."
Universal Principles of Design, Revised and Updated: 125 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach through Design https://www.amazon.com/dp/1592535879/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_XiLpybS3YS160
""Universal Methods of Design is an immensely useful survey of research and design methods used by today's top practitioners, and will serve as a crucial reference for any designer grappling with really big problems. This book has a place on every designer's bookshelf, including yours!" —David Sherwin, Principal Designer at frog and author of Creative Workshop: 80 Challenges to Sharpen Your Design Skills
"Universal Methods of Design is a landmark method book for the field of design. This tidy text compiles and summarizes 100 of the most widely applicable and effective methods of design—research, analysis, and ideation—the methods that every graduate of a design program should know, and every professional designer should employ.
Methods are concisely presented, accompanied by information about the origin of the technique, key research supporting the method, and visual examples. Want to know about Card Sorting, or the Elito Method? What about Think-Aloud Protocols? This book has them all and more in readily digestible form."
I think that's beyond a list of common subjects clients ask for, and I'd recommend someone who is interested in "making it pop" to learn these:
You've already taken the first step (i.e., reading books about typography and teaching yourself) the only thing you have left to do is put what you've learnt into practice.
The best way, and probably the most fun way, is to just create stuff. I know how unhelpful and nebulous this sounds, but it's hard to put into words. Design posters, or books, or anything. Illustrate. The best bit of advice I can offer in this regard is to use your interests and hobbies. Anything you're into could be turned into design work. Music, TV shows, practically anything. Are you into Jazz? Jazz has a particular visual style associated with it, create a album cover for your favourite jazz band/musician. Like a particular show, or genre of show? Study the visual identity of it and create something that fits. Maybe a poster, or a promo image. The important thing is to just practice, on whatever.
The second way is easier, but I would also consider it less fun. There's plenty of free resources on the net for a budding graphic designer. Specifically, there's lots of free exercises, where they tell you what to do, and you create along those lines. A lot of them are really informal, though. I used to do this when I was studying Graphic Design, for practice. It felt like just more uni work to me, so I wasn't massively enthused. It might be different for you, who knows.
There's lots of free exercises available if you just google it. However, if you want something more in the form of a textbook, I can suggest this book: Creative Workshop: 80 Challenges to Sharpen Your Design Skills. It's not cheap, but I found it really useful, and I'm not ashamed to say that I definitely stole some ideas from that book for some of my work.
So yeah, do some designs with heavy emphasis on Typography, and get feedback. /r/design_critiques is a great little community, and people will be more than happy to help you refine your skills as you progress. Just go in there with a thickish skin, sometimes people can be a little bit raw with their criticism, but it's all a learning experience.
Uncategorized:
Thoughts On Design: Paul Rand
Saul Bass: A Life in Film and Design
How to Be a Graphic Designer without Losing Your Soul
100 Ideas that Changed Graphic Design
Paul Rand
Paul Rand: Conversations with Students
Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design
Bauhaus
The Vignelli Canon
Vignelli From A to Z
Dieter Rams: As Little Design as Possible
It's Not How Good You Are, Its How Good You Want to Be: The World's Best Selling Book
Damn Good Advice (For People with Talent!)
Josef Muller-Brockmann: Pioneer of Swiss Graphic Design
Popular Lies About Graphic Design
100 Ideas that Changed Art
100 Diagrams That Changed the World
Basics Design 08: Design Thinking
Swiss Graphic Design: The Origins and Growth of an International Style, 1920-1965
Lella and Massimo Vignelli (Design is One)
The Accidental Creative: How to Be Brilliant at a Moment's Notice
History of the Poster
How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer
The Design of Dissent: Socially and Politically Driven Graphics
George Lois: On His Creation of the Big Idea
Milton Glaser: Graphic Design
Sagmeister: Made You Look
Victore or, Who Died and Made You Boss?
Things I have learned in my life so far
Covering the '60s: George Lois, the Esquire Era
Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite
Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative
[Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration]
(http://www.amazon.com/dp/0812993012/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=VEJ64Y4T0U6J&coliid=I1WMMNNLTRBQ9G)
Graphic Design Thinking (Design Briefs)
I Used to Be a Design Student: 50 Graphic Designers Then and Now
The Form of the Book: Essays on the Morality of Good Design
Creative Workshop: 80 Challenges to Sharpen Your Design Skills
Information Graphics: A Comprehensive Illustrated Reference
Semiology of Graphics: Diagrams, Networks, Maps
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
Envisioning Information
The elements of dynamic symmetry
The elements of content strategy
Corporate Diversity: Swiss graphic design and advertising
Book Design: a comprehensive guide
Meggs' History of Graphic Design
I seem to get asked this a lot, but here is my list, posted here:
http://www.reddit.com/r/graphic_design/comments/1uq58s/good_graphic_design_books_for_a_beginner/ceklj3y
> These are all books that I absolutly love, and bought for either personal use or to accompany different courses while I was getting my BFA in GD. I have seen some of them both are brick and mortar book stores, and college book stores. If you get a chance to see them in person before buying, leaf through them to get a feel.
>
> Megg's History of Graphic Design, absolutely essential to understanding where graphic design comes from historically. IMO the best GD history book on the market, at least the most encompassing. One of my favorites, was very helpful writing different papers and researching historical styles.
>
> Graphic Design School. Another great book, focuses more on design process and stuff like that. This one more walks you though being a designer. Gives tutorials on different things too, which is useful.
>
> Graphic Design Referenced is a really great book that is a bit of a hybrid. This book describes a lot of design terms, styles, and general knowledge while referring to historical and modern examples.
>
> Those three for me are really essential books for new graphic designers, I learned more from those three than I can express. Below are a few more books I really like, but might be a bit more advanced than someone just getting started might want.
>
> Another book I have used a lot, and almost included with those three is above. Thinking with Type. Really great intro into typography.
>
> More advanced even.
>
> How to be a Graphic Designer without Losing Your Soul
>
> A Graphic Design Student's Guide to Freelance
>
> Hope this helps!
>
Keep in mind this is just a starting point. There are tons upon tons of inspiration books out there for graphic design stuff, not to mention educational books on all sorts of specialties. I love graphic design books, the hard physical copy of them. When I'm stuck on a project I like to flip through them, read a bit, and then revisit my work again.
Here are the books currently in my amazon wishlist, so I can't vouch for them, but I do plan on eventually owning them.
Wish List:
Creative Workshop
Awesome! I'm not sure what your budget is, but here are a few ideas for various price points.
-Your brother will undoubtedly have to use the adobe creative cloud suite while he's in school. It'd be nice to pay for that expense for a year!
-Graphic design content takes up a lot of room fast, so he will definitely need this. It's small enough for him to carry around, and Seagate is a great brand.
-If he has a tablet, this digital stylus could be great for sketching, rendering, or taking notes.
-To give him some inspiration for design ideas and projects!
nice colored pencils, or really nice drawing pencils. I'm sure she'd also like cool books on graphic design to read herself and then share with her students, like this or this. Lastly- I'm going to go against the grain and advise you to not get her 'teacher-y' things like mugs, as a teacher, I can assure you we get plenty of those.
That reminds me. If you are looking at some work to practice what you learn I highly recommend this book:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1600617972/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I bought it about a year ago and its been great to give me something to do in my down time and really makes me rethink how I work.
As far as I know, rotating objects in space involves drawing an ellipse at foundation of your initial object, then setting another vanishing point according to the desired angle, and draw a new grid around the ellipse for your object, but from your new vanishing point, so that the lines of the grid would be tangent to the ellipse.
Sorry I can't go into detail, it is really hard for me to explain this, my English is rather bad at explaining such intricate topics. I would recommend reading "How to draw" by Scott Robertson, where he provides a more indepth look into perspective.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732
I can definitely help you with this.
How to Draw: drawing and sketching objects and environments from your imagination
This is the best book on perspective you can buy. Perspective is the number one thing you need to have a grasp on if you want to draw, especially from imagination. Practice this until it clicks for you.
For setting up scenes I recommend Andrew Loomis books, Creative Illustration in particular. Loomis has several books out and they're all amazing. Many artists have learned to draw from Loomis.
Burne Hogarth is another master of the craft and you can learn a lot about musculature and anatomy from his books. These are generally a step up from Loomis so you could move on to these once you have a solid grasp of the fundamentals to take your work to the next level. Dynamic Anatomy, Dynamic Figure Drawing, Drawing the Human Head.
For people and anatomy, Proko (http://www.proko.com/library/) has good free youtube videos. He uses a lot of Loomis and Hogarth methods (which are pretty much the standard) and presents them in a way that is easy to digest. He's constantly updating his channel and adding new videos.
If you can only get a few books, I would get the How to Draw perspective book first, then go through the Proko material, then move onto the Loomis and Hogarth stuff. These learning materials will take you pretty much as far as you want to go.
Also I highly recommend sticking to traditional materials (pencil and paper) while you're learning. Once you have the fundamentals down then you can move on to digital. You're going to make things much easier on yourself if you stick with traditional while you nail these fundamentals down.
I'd recommend this book for learning perspective of things like this to OP
Practice practice practice.
Start from the beginning and just keep doing it. The more time you put in the better you get. Success doesn't happen over night. Check out the book "How To Draw" to learn perspective drawing which will teach you form and shapes correctly. Also check out https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtFundamentals
(1) Lots and lots of practice
(2) Concept Design Academy in Pasadena (http://conceptdesignacad.com/)
(3) If you can't make it out to LA, check out http://drawabox.com/ and https://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732 and https://www.amazon.com/Weatherly-Guide-Drawing-Animals/dp/097103141X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1539325214&sr=1-1&keywords=weatherly+guide+to+drawing+animals
(4) PRACTICE
I believe in you; you can do it!!
I don't really have the time to do a fully fledged critique right now, but the most prominent issue to me is your line work. It's very chicken-scratchy and not confident. The quality of line is what separates okay artists from great artists, and you will be able to sketch a LOT quicker once you get better at it.
This reddit has some great resources and lessons
It's by a guy who did lessons with a well known artist at CDA (Concept Design Academy), this guy is a freaking genius and I can only hope to even scratch the surface of his ability!
The owner of this sub also recommends this book - Which I'm sure you can get in a more illegitimate manner, but it's fantastic and a must-have for any budding artist.
I want to recommend this to /u/Anagram-Daine, too, if he's here at all.
As a final note, this video on line weights is great, too.
Line weight can really help establish forms in your work without needing to add value, and being able to think in 3D forms can help a lot. The idea behind this is that you simplify everything you see into primitive shapes, such as boxes, spheres, cylinders and cones. All of these shapes can be warped, distorted and bent to form anything you can possibly think of, so being able to know these shapes and how light would pass over them will give you the ability to draw ANYTHING, should you know what it looks like.
Have fun!
if she is into digital art i wold recommend that one or
"How to Draw: drawing and sketching objects and environments from your imagination"
How to Render
I think it's a bit difficult and unfair for me to comment based on one painting alone. Do you have any sketches (line drawing, preferably) of this painting, or anything that showcase what you can do so far? Almost everyone will suggest we start designing anything in line sketches, especially if learning, so I'm interested to see what you got :D
Edit: Since you're looking for advice on how to start, I'll just say a few things that might be able to help you start.
(1) Drawing, imo, is the very foundation of all art. I think before you start painting, you should start drawing first! Here are a few links that may help you start with drawing:
(2) I suggest you follow an art school's course outline so you can progress pretty well. Feng Zhu Design School has an outline that they use for their students to learn how to do concept art in 1 year (16 hours per day). You can also download a detailed version of what they offer in their course, then you can have an idea on what each component means.
(3) There are also a few books that would be really useful to you when learning how to draw and render. These are supposedly the best on the internet (I only have two, the first two books in the list) Here they are:
I think those are all I have for you now. I'm not in any way a professional artist (I'm currently studying Industrial Design), but I think the above things I've mentioned should prove useful to you. If you have any questions, you can send me a PM :D Work hard and practise every day!
You need to pick up an anatomy book because right now you're inventing muscles and applying too many shadows until the whole drawing becomes visual noise and it doesn't read clearly.
First off, I'd recommend you study Figure drawing for all it's worth by Andrew Loomis. You can probably find a PDF of it online for free and it's not overly complicated for a kid to understand. Then, if you feel you want to stick with drawing in the long run convince your parents to invest in these books:
Atlas of human anatomy for the artist
Human anatomy for artists : The elements of form
Classic human anatomy: The artist's guide to form, function, and movement
Figure drawing: Design and invention
How to draw: Drawing and sketching objects and environments from your imagination
How to render: The fundamentals of light, shadow and reflectivity
Color and light: A guide for the realist painter
Amazon Book
It really doesn't do it justice...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933492732/ref=s9_psimh_gw_p14_d14_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=12CSS5FJ279C82EAFY8J&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1630083502&pf_rd_i=507846
https://www.amazon.com/How-Render-fundamentals-shadow-reflectivity/dp/1933492961
I have Scott Robertson's How To Render, but I haven't started working with it yet, as I'm still focusing on some other fundamentals. It's a very exhaustive book that's very information dense. Not for the faint of heart. It's essentially the follow-up to How To Draw, which is one of the most recommended art books on the internet. This one builds on that.
Framed Perspective Vol. 2 by Marcus Mateu-Mestre is similar, but is more basic (and also a bit more accessible) and focuses more on how to shade characters. There's a section in chapter 3 that's devoted to the major plane changes of the human body and how that affects shading.
Both books assume you know the basic principles of linear perspective, which they teach in their respective predecessors.
Someone more knowledgeable about teaching art as a subject may have recommendations that are more appropriate. I'm still a learner myself, but the teacher in my weekly art classes often pulls exercises from these books (usually in a more simplified format for us novices :P).
That's great to hear -- I'm really glad it's helping out.
I also find his "How to Draw" and "How to Render" books hugely valuable, as well.
Haha, it's cool. I understand the distinction, but for whatever reason have difficulty forcing myself to not call it type. I think it's because there's no good word for a piece of lettering other than lettering. "The lettering..." just sounds awkward to me.
Historical sources? Hell yes, haha. I have a pretty deep inspiration folder for typography/lettering that's mostly pulled from the internet. Another great resource (specifically for scripts) is this book. I've had some (very small) level of formal instruction in type design, but most of what I know about lettering I learned by just looking at examples. This blog is another great resource for historical typography.
If you're into type design by the way, this book is an invaluable resource (especially when you're getting started). She examines/compares successful typefaces at an incredibly close level of detail. I always keep my copy close by when I'm drawing letterforms.
Designing Type is a good start. Also Briem has good notes.
I'd suggest a couple other books. Proponents of these two books would probably say they're incompatible, but I think that's usually where the most useful creative learning comes from: comparing two seemingly incompatible ideas and finding your own path.
The first is called "The Stroke" by Gerrit Noordzij (Hair-it Nord-zai), and the second is "Designing Type" by Karen Cheng.
The first focuses on type design as being rooted in calligraphic writing, a tool like a broad nib pen being dragged across a surface. The second is closer to what you're getting at with the Logo, Font & Lettering Bible, this idea of looking at each letter and studying its nuances.
A list of some of my favorites so far..
Interactions of Color by Josef Albers
[The Elements of Typographic Style] (https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Typographic-Style-Version-Anniversary/dp/0881792128/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1485894924&sr=1-3&keywords=typography+book) by Robert Bringhurst
[Don't Make Me Think] (https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Think-Revisited-Usability-ebook/dp/B00HJUBRPG/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1485895055&sr=1-1&keywords=dont+make+me+think) by Steve Krug (More of web design, but I loved the book. It can apply to all design.)
Logo Design Love by David Airey
Designing Brand Identity by Alina Wheeler
The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman
These are just a few that I have really enjoyed.
I think it might be helpful to start from the beginning and learn the principles and hierarchies behind the bells and whistles of Adobe CC.
Each of these I was instructed to read cover to cover when I first began designing and here I am three years later with an extremely successful design career, large in part due to these readings.
Take the time to do it the right way, and the rest will follow naturally.
Getting somebody a gift in this sort of area is VERY tricky. He probably already knows exactly what he wants or has it already or its out of price range. Trick is to get something, somewhat related but not in his direct field, so tripod is a no-no.
Maybe a camera slider, or cineskates type product? On cheaper end those run sub 100 bucks. I disagree with video editing book suggestions as he probably already has material he's reading related to video editing. If he doesn't have a graphics background maybe something like this? http://www.amazon.com/Non-Designers-Design-Book-3rd/dp/0321534042/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396895058&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Non-Designer%27s+Design+Book good book about general design rules/practices which assist when making titles and the like. Maybe just a nice coffee table book to gain inspiration from or something along those lines.
Design and style are highly subjective. There are elements and rules that make things "look good" (contrast, alignment, proximity, repetition, etc.), but people can come up with many different things that are all good.
Usability is the same way. There are elements and rules that make things "usable" (Flow, Fitts' Law, Kinesthesia, affordance, etc.), but people can create radically different interactions that allow for the same goals.
Our role, is to act as a mediator. As Bill Buxton said, "design is compromise." You take all these grey areas and moving parts, and create a solution that gives the end user the best experience. You'll know its the best, because you can observe and measure it through usability testing.
If you want to make things look prettier, start by reading The Non-Designers Design Book by Robin Williams.
If you want to make things that work better, start by reading The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman.
Edit: Grammar
As a non-designer myself, I found this book to be worth its weight in gold:
The Non-Designer's Design Book by Robin Williams
It gives plenty of examples to back up its principles and its short!
A good starting point would be "The Non-Designer's Design Book" by Robin Williams.
Being an art director is not "making the ads look pretty." That's being a graphic designer. "Type, sizing logos, fonts, etc" are all designer's skills. For learning design in the shortest amount of time, get these two books: The Mac Is Not a Typewriter and The Non-Designer's Design Book. The Typewriter book in particular is, page-for-page, the most efficient primer on typography I've ever read.
If you're going to work in advertising, it's important you that know what your art director partner actually does. Yes, an AD has to know all the designer stuff as well, but an AD's job goes far beyond fonts and layouts.
On a conceptual level, an art director is the same as a copywriter, the difference is that he tends to communicate ideas without words.
On an executional level, an art director has a solid grasp of what it means to visually be "on brand," which is analogous to a copywriter writing with a brand "voice."
An art director also doubles as a film director. He has to know how to tell a story. Is there a 30-second spot with no copy? Guess who writes that part of the script. That's right, the AD.
The visual storytelling skill carries over into photography. A good shot isn't simply a posed composition. A good shot tells an entire story — a story that propels the conceptual idea. This goes beyond good lighting and knowing how cameras work, this is why the AD works with a photographer to get a shot, as the photographer is executional, akin to a graphic designer.
Also, The Non-Designer's Design Book, and if design is not your thing, but you're stuck doing it as a developer, keep it simple.
I wouldn't necessarily call myself a designer and none of my sites have that Web 2.0 flair, but I don't think I'm terrible at design. Unfortunately, like most things, you'll just have to practice. One way I learned was just taking some sites that I like the looks of and re-implement them.
Of course it depends what you're going after. Like I said, my sites aren't very Web 2.0. One site that I personally think looks pretty nice (in a forum/blog kind of way) is pouet.net. A site that I worked on (but never actually finished) mimicked their style. I like how everything is compact. If/when I implement a forum/comment feature to my CMS, I'll probably use pouet as an example.
If you're going for something like this, either get ready for a lot of work or just hire a designer. Although gradients and some curves go a long way to making a web site "Web 2.0" compliant. :)
I was directed to this book: Non-Designer's Design Book. Although I haven't gotten it yet or read it so I can't say whether it's a good book or not.
Hey there!
UX Designer/Researcher here. I came from a background in Psychology and Neuroscience research before UX Design. Personally I used the UCSD Extension for a certificate in UX Design. I really appreciated the course work and in conjunction with the Coursera Interaction Design felt like I was given plenty of exposure while also having flexibility to work.
From my experience in the industry, I would look into what area you are interested in. UX careers can involve programming and development, but I use absolutely no coding at my current position (at others I have though). The biggest selling point to an employer is showing an understanding of the process: wireframes, flow charts, user studies, iteration (agile/scrum/waterfall), and design understanding. I have worked on multiple billion dollar webpages and can say the process is nearly identical when scaled down.
If you are interested in some resources to start on your own I would recommend Simon Sinek's Start with Why for understanding how to look at design solutions.
Don Norman has many great books, including The Design of Everyday Things.
Some actual books to look at and learn on your own are A Project Guide to UX Design, Lean UX, and The UX Book. I highly recommend the last one I find it very thorough and digestible and for ~60 bucks is a reasonable textbook.
Lastly, once you have a grasp of UX as a concept I would get familiar with the Adobe Suite, Axure or InVision, and any others from career sites that you might not know about (I really like [Sketch]() as a cheap option ~$99).
Best of luck, feel free to ping me with questions
My day job is WebGL + UI; for UI I'd recommend:
Also take a look at what industrial design courses are available.
The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman
It won't make you an expert on good design but it's a good start.
Puede ser The design of everyday things
No lo he leído personalmente, pero eso lo recomiendan mucho para UX y cosas de diseño.
I just chose some books that looked good from this list and this one.
The one's I got:
Clean Code
(already read)
Cracking the Coding Interview
Code Complete
Peopleware
Don't Make Me Think
Code (currently reading)
Regular Expressions Cookbook
Head First Design Patterns
C++ Primer
Working Effectively with Legacy Code
Elements of Programming Interviews in Java
The Mythical Man-Month
The Design of Everyday Things
JavaScript and JQuery
I figure that's enough reading material to last me until I graduate.
There are a few engineering folks in there from time to time. It will be very heavy on research and behavioral methodology. Not much math at all (though you could vary that individually depending on your project). I think it would be valuable to an engineer and would certainly broaden your skillset in a meaningful way.
Here is a classic by Don Norman, The Design of Everyday Things. It's not strictly human factors, but gives a palatable insight into how HF researchers approach problems.
Focus on UI design.
A lot of people tend to think of programming as very math-heavy (it's not, unless the domain you're writing software for is weather simulations or something that itself requires math). So we end up thinking the technical side is important and the "soft skills" are unimportant (or at least, not worth including in our study time).
I'm old enough now where I still like programming, but I've realized I don't care about code; I care about making software that people actually use and find useful. Building a tesla coil in your garage is cool, but so what tons of geeks have done that. I want to make something useful, and it doesn't matter how elegant your algorithms are if your program is confusing, unusable, or solves the wrong problem.
I'd recommend these books, in roughly this order:
But to answer your question: personally, I'd do math. I'm so busy that I don't have time to just sit and study math for fun very often, so it'd have been nice if I did that more when I was younger. (But maybe if I did, I'd be saying programming right now.)
Sorry, ran out of time. Here's the rest of my answer:
If you are more of an engineer and not that interested in design, but in Front-End Development, start with Bulletproof Web Design, following up with Transcending CSS.
For JavaScript, read You Don't Know JS and Eloquent Javascript. (The second edition of Eloquent is going to be released on 17th of november, if you can't wait until then, there's a first edition aswell)
A very important design book I forgot aswell: The Design of Everyday Things.
Good luck on your way to mastering Web Design!
This is a great starting point and the industry references this book quite a bit.
Another is The Design of Everyday Thing, by Don Norman
I think in some respects you might be better off with By Hand & Eye
Also for a different view about the design of things: The Design of Everyday Things
You don't really need to know that tables are XX height in truth, but if you DO want to know that ... Human Dimension and Interior Space
Tricky business.
The Design Of Everyday Things
The Design of Everyday Things is incredibly helpful. It's not about game design at all, but I find some of the best advice comes from other design disciplines.
The design of everyday things: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0465050654/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1395735493&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40
It changed the way I look at the world and it altered the way I write programs, scripts and APIs.
In no particular order but all of the following are great.
Another "not really programming" suggestion:
Design of Everyday Things
I really like The Design of Everyday Things.
Does this count?
Donald Norman, The Design of Everyday Things
Apply this to the real world as well. Everything is designed like shit. I go on rants constantly. Any time anyone wants to make anything at work, they always hand it to me first to rip it apart.
Someone gave me this book back in college. You may find it interesting.
https://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Donald-Norman/dp/0465067107/
Sweeeeeet, thanks! It's a moderately famous (for a teapot, I suppose) example of self-defeating design. It's featured on the cover of The Design of Everyday Things and is a prized part of the author's personal teapot collection. I have a friend who really wants one. If you can CAD it, I can get it 3D printed in ceramic, fired and glazed. If I can do all that before some undetermined time in September, I'll have a lovely gift for when said friend (hopefully) passes an important milestone.
Again, thank you so much for even attempting this. PLEASE let me do something nice for you in return!
This is a good one: https://www.amazon.com/Grid-systems-graphic-design-communication/dp/3721201450
Grid Systems in Graphic Design by Josef Muller-Brockmann
You could start with this classic read: http://www.amazon.ca/Systems-Graphic-Systeme-Visuele-Gestaltung/dp/3721201450/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382193099&sr=1-1&keywords=grid+systems+in+graphic+design
Than there is http://www.amazon.ca/Primer-Visual-Literacy-Donis-Dondis/dp/0262540290
Experienced designer here. The best way to learn to sketch by yourself is to watch tutorials and to practice a lot. The Gnomon Workshiop is an amazing ressource for basic sketching in industrial design. I strongly suggest that you check out the "Basic Perspective Form Drawing" DVD. A lot of student try to make awesome photoshop rendering before they know the basics of perspective, dont fall in this trap.
There is also ID Sketching which is a cool website with tutorials
A good book on the subject
Drawing Techniques for Product Designers
As for design theory, one of the most common reads in university is the The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman
The Design of Everyday Things
I remember a teacher saying that to be an expert at something you have to put 10 000 hours in it, so you better sharpen those pencils ! Tell me if you need more information.
Surface Book 2 has changed the way I work the most.
😗 😂
...but more seriously, the book that I found most helpful was probably Grid Systems:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/3721201450/
These are all really great books:
Grid Systems in Graphic Design
Grid Systems: Principles of Organizing Type
Thinking With Type
Meggs' History of Graphic Design
Brand Thinking and Other Noble Pursuits
Don't Make Me Think
The Design of Everyday Things
How To Be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul
There are a lot of people recommending certain books and videos, but personally those suggestions never worked out for me and arent the best start since they concentrate on being too flashy or don't teach the basics. The 2 books you want to buy are
Sketching: The Basics - Koos Eissen, Roselien Steur
Sketching: Drawing Techniques for Product Designers
Both are hard cover at a price of $29 and are by far the best sketching tutorial and reference books I ever purchased.
And as a starting point to sketching, buy a batch of fine point ball point pens (I recommend the Bic Ultra Round Stic Grip Black Ink Fine purchased at Staples), a ream of paper, and just start drawing straight lines across the pages.
Draw with the pen to build confidence, draw straight lines because it's the basis of product design sketching.
Then take those 2 books I recommend, and start copying page by page while practicing straight lines every day (2-3 pages a day)
Scott Robertson - How to draw is starting from the scratch. How to render is about putting color on.
http://www.thedesignsketchbook.com/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sketching-Drawing-Techniques-Product-Designers/dp/9063691718/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462128277&sr=8-1&keywords=sketching+product+designer
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Drawing-Product-Designers-Portfolio-Skills/dp/1856697436/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1462128277&sr=8-2&keywords=sketching+product+designer
Anyhow. You also need to learn somethings about aesthetics, form and function.
3rd year product design student here, so I'm offering what knowledge I have.
>What sketching exercises are helpful?
I'd say getting into the habit of drawing on a daily basis is probably the best. There is no way you won't get better. Watch some youtube videos or get a good textbook (I use this one)
>What things should I start noticing around me every day to build a designer's mentality?
Literally everything.
>What habits should I work on cementing into my daily routine?
This book is great at developing your basic sketching skills. Mastering the basics is the secret to becoming a master designer. like /u/Methylene_Chloride said, some of you perspective is off, which throws some of the pictures.
There are plenty of books and resources out there to help! So sketch until your fingers bleed. Learn some drawing techniques like 3 point perspective drawing.
http://www.portfoliohandbook.com/
This website will help with structuring and presenting your work in a professional manner. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. You could be the greatest car designer ever, but if your portfolio is shit you wont get the job. Learn how to present your work, employers won't read any text you put with sketches or work, you need to present it in a logical order so it tells a story they can follow as they flick through your portfolio.
You could also take a year out, try and get an internship somewhere to see how the actual industry works. I wish i did this before i went to uni, as it would have given me more drive to succeed. If you do, do this you will definitely see a difference in how people work ina professional setting and at uni. Uni will be a lot more laid back than a job.
Good luck
/u/LeadGenDairy:
> GO TO SCHOOL
This is good advice. Before I did some career counseling to figure out what to do with my life, I didn't know industrial design was even a thing. (I figured you needed a degree in engineering to do that sort of thing, but learned that it's common for a company to employ engineers who figure out how to make the thing work as well as designers to determine how it should work and, moreover, how it should look.) Once I realized that ID was definitely what I wanted to do, I looked up programs in my city, and found a good one. It was at an art school. I decided to apply.
"Apply with a short statement and a portfolio of 10-15 images of your recent work."
Welp.
I had never even taken an art class. I had no recent work. I had no "work" at all. So I made some. It took a few months, and I had some late nights, but by the application deadline, I had 12 pieces, including a few pretty solid drawings and some screenprints that started out in Illustrator. Got in, and got my degree.
If you're looking to learn drawing skills good enough to get into school, get a good book - I recommend Sketching: drawing techniques for product designers and Rapid Viz - and practice the techniques therein. You can also find a lot of tutorials online for programs like Illustrator, Photoshop, SketchUp, and Rhino if you're interested in building those skills too (and can get your hands on the software).
If your background is in CS, you probably have a good bit of experience coming up with weird creative workarounds for tough problems. This kind of problem-solving comes in very handy in ID. I wish you the best of luck!
This is a personal favourite of mine on sketching, and the two you mentioned on thinking about design by Don Norman are also great.
Start by doing lots of sketches in black and white with a pencil or bic biro. Don't be afraid to make mistakes, overlap sketches, make notes and show your construction lines. Sketch in 2D and 3D, sketch details and forms.
Sketch faster. Sketching is exploration and your hand should be working fast to keep up with your brain! Here's a good example of black and white sketches with a little colour, note how they're not clean and perfect and you can see how they've been built
Only use colour where necessary - you're sketching not rendering. Use it to make the best ideas stand out, or to add detail such as material selection and exploration of colour choices.
Save up and get some decent marker pens. Magic markers or Letraset pro markers are good. 3 shades of neutral grey should do to start say N1, N3, N5. These are buildable and can be layered to create darker shades and the shades (C2, C4) in between. Use these to add simple shading and a group shadow, shading should be used to help communicate form. Sharpies are ok for outlining or adding a line of colour, not for colouring in areas.
Get an A3 marker or layout pad, the paper is semi transparent so you can trace over other sketches or use an underlay to speed up the sketching process. They also don't soak up the ink or bleed so your images will look crisper and marker pens will last longer. I say A3, because generally this is the paper size ID's use, so get used to filling that page! The brand doesn't matter but I usually use Goldline layout pads as the paper is whiter.
Practice, practice, practice. Copy other peoples sketches, a good book I always advocate when people are looking for sketching feedback is one called Sketching for Designers by Koos Eissen. If you can get a copy then try to recreate the sketches and emulate some of the techniques, your own style will come after. Otherwise look on Behance and try to recreate any ID sketches you like for practice.
Good luck :)
Source: I'm an ID. Edit: Spelling/grammar
You need to draw through. That means drawing every side of the cube, even if you don't see that corner.
None of your lines are straight. Practice one movement of your arm that results in a perfectly straight line. it's hard to make yourself learn this but practice is important. once you have that one perfectly straight stroke just rotate your paper around and do the same motion every time.
You also need to work on your perspective.
these are some great books to start with: 1-2-3.
To be good at design in general, there's a few things you need to know.
Basically, there is no shortcut. You need to study the history and understand why things work or don't. A bit of psychology never hurt anyone either, even just a 101 class should be enough to get you started. Lastly, just remember this one thing, it will be the most important part in your career...CONCEPT IS KING. I cannot stress this enough, make sure everything you do has a big idea behind it. Something that lets you organize everything under it. I don't care how much UX/UI thought you have, how many ad units and SEO whatevers you did, without a great idea, its total shit and just fluff.
https://www.amazon.com/Grid-Systems-Graphic-Design-Communication/dp/3721201450/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1469838003&sr=8-2&keywords=grid+book+graphic+design
Good questions. Let me take them one by one.
I'll first say that the portfolio is the only truly important thing. When I first came out to NYC to work, I interviewed at 17 different companies/startups/studios. Not a single one even looked at or asked about the school I went to. We just talked at length about my projects. That being said, I think design school is important. Design is complicated. There's a lot to learn. I know people who swear by just going it your own way and not going to school. Those people don't see what they don't do well. They struggle with the fine details. They think their work is fine, but they haven't figured out why it could be better.
Design school taught me a lot. It taught me how to think differently. How to get thick skin and take critique. How to work with grids. How to manage type. All of these skills don't come from hard and fast rules. They come from ethereal concepts that you have to learn. They're much easily learned through someone who can mentor you. You can figure it out on your own, but it will take longer. The cap on your ability to grow in the industry will fall short. I've even interviewed people who had some nice work, but when I discussed with them their process or their theory, they didn't know what they were talking about. They learned how to copy good work, but not how to generate their own creative output.
If you want practice here's what I would do.
Regarding whether I practice, I do. Side projects are a big part of what we do. Client work is always constrained by their needs. Side projects are a good way to push your creativity. Working with constraints is good and important, but balance it with side projects. Design an app. Make a children's book. Do whatever it is that seems interesting to you.
I still struggle with whether my work is good or not. You'll never get over expecting more than you can deliver. If you like the challenge of that and can live with yourself, you'll be a good designer. A good part of knowing what's good is learning to see. Study masters. Find out what makes good work tick. This is a hard question for sure. This is part of why I tell people to go do design school.
Design books I recommend... this is hard. A few to get started...
Steal Like an Artist is good for a newly creative
The Creative Habit is amazing for people who think creativity is magic... it demystifies that notion and explains how Creativity is about practice and routine. Very smart book.
DeBono's Thinking Course is heavy reading but very good in learning how to think creatively. It's a must, in my opinion.
Grid Systems is bland but essential. Learn it. By one of the great masters.
Art & Visual Perception is also mega heavy, but will teach you how to understand how good creative work is composed and why it works. Very interesting if you can take it.
A Smile in the Mind is a great book that shows how wit and messaging in design makes for powerful and memorable work. It's a good primer on how designers work concept into their visuals. It's about discovery and the bliss that comes from that (that's why our honey bottles were so successful... discovery is everything).
Also check out www.designersandbooks.com. It's a long running list of great books that are recommended by designers much more skilled than I am. These are the greats.
Hope this all helps.
You don't have to copy or mimic. Learn basic graphic design structure taught in schools. The most basic system imho, is the Swiss Grid System.
https://nicolamurphy17.wordpress.com/visual-literacy-2/research/the-swiss-grid-system/
It is based on readability and graphic structure. It shares a lot of it's core to current CSS grid libraries today. Looking back at graphic design as a base is very valuable as it is visible and pretty explicit in it's representation.
I originally came from graphic design in 1989. I taught myself HTML and CSS in 1995 after doing manual layout, poster art, etc. That led to flash and actionscript (won awards, featured in taschen books, k10k, etc.) This then led to more multimedia and interactive work, Stewart Little screensaver in flash, Time Warner road runner broadband experiences for their "new high speed internet" launch using SMIL, actionscript, and some early J's work... Flash begins to die and JQuery starts up...and then the dot com crash.
I leave the web world to return to school for architecture. I end up with a master's degree from a top school doing theoretical architecture and using lots of computation, python, to analyze environments and the placement of large scale media and interactivity (a ton of work for large scale LED in Time Square, sports arenas, etc). At the same time I teach myself Django, sql alchemy, flask, and all of the other python dev tools. I use this for data aggregation and presentation. And now, I have tackled Dart, Vuejs, Angular Dart, Flutter, and finding new ways to use the as tools to keep pushing forward.
With all of that, my initial education in pre digital graphic design principles has been as important as anything else; to quickly visualize a design and it's technical structure is an incredibly valuable asset across creative fields. So...learn some basic graphic design layout principles and use that to attempt to understand design from a structural standpoint...how would you construct what you see. The Swiss Grid System is a nice basic foundation that almost all grid systems today are inspired from, if they know it or not.
A good book on the topic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grid_(page_layout)
A grid is setting up a layout on the page that creates hierarchy and order to the content in a consistent way.
Good books:
http://www.amazon.com/Making-Breaking-Grid-Graphic-Workshop/dp/1592531253/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1300584269&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Grid-Systems-Principles-Organizing-Design/dp/1568984650/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1300584269&sr=1-2
http://www.amazon.com/Systems-Graphic-Systeme-Visuele-Gestaltung/dp/3721201450/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1300584269&sr=1-6
Random people on Reddit will be the most transparent.XD
I have asked the designers, they seemed okay but who knows what's inside?
I do consider to take a short course or at least a proper online course. Right now, I'm learning digital print production using EFI products.
If you can suggest some good online courses?
Some books that I have studied properly:
If anyone can recommend books specifically for print design, that would be great.:)
https://www.amazon.com/Typographie-Manual-Design-Emil-Ruder/dp/3721200438/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491666411&sr=8-1&keywords=emil+ruder+typographie
https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Typographic-Style-Version-Anniversary/dp/0881792128/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1491666331&sr=8-5&keywords=typography+book
https://www.amazon.com/Grid-Systems-Graphic-Design-Communication/dp/3721201450/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&qid=1491666365&sr=8-27&keywords=typography+book
https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Type-2nd-revised-expanded/dp/1568989695/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491666463&sr=8-1&keywords=typography+book
Check out Grid Systems in Graphic Design by Josef Mülller-Brockmann
Well, the most important books that I read when learning design were:
All of those would be a good start.
The Design of Everyday Things is a great starting point and mandatory reading, in my opinion, for any designer (especially UI/UX).
I have not used NAS products but I used to teach ergonomics and would assign the students to design instructions as a class project.
Not sure what your approach is but if you are only testing or getting feedback from experienced users you may be missing out on some important opportunities that will help all users. Try testing things out with people that have varying experience levels. [Obviously getting feedback from experienced users as you are doing is also very important.]
A very easy read if you have not read it is:
The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman
You may know of this already, not sure what the training is for technical writing.
The psychology of design is something that's always interested me. I studied it for about a year and it killed. The work was intense but I got a good understanding for the user/designer thought process. If you are in the mood for some light reading then I'd reccomend The Design Of Everyday things by Don Norman
I'd also recommend looking into The seven stages of action concerning user centred design
Good luck with the thesis and keep us updated :)
Read "The Design of Everyday Things", it's old, but still relevant.
http://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Donald-Norman/dp/0465067107/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346334935&sr=1-1&keywords=design+of+everyday+things
Looks like you've got a great list already!
From an architecture point of view I really like The Design of Everyday Things.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0465067107
I use it now as a reference to remind me to keep things simple.
Wow, that's a pretty broad question. I've attempted to answer this question in a number of specific ways and it always turns into a novel.
I'm not sure if you're referring to a single player experience or more of an MMORPG or even a pen and paper game. A lot of what I want is simply "good design" - things like systems that are deep enough that they offer variety, but are simple enough that I won't have to play more than an hour of tutorials (or explicit tutorials) before I can start playing the game, logical feedback (if I do something and it doesn't work I need to know why it didn't work - Final Fantasy is one of the most egregious offenders of this, using the "immune" excuse with no explanation), that sort of thing. If you haven't read [The Design of Everyday Things] (http://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Donald-Norman/dp/0465067107/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261164209&sr=8-1) it's worth a look.
This has gone on long enough. There's more, but I'm just getting preachy. Hope it's provided you with something to think about.
Oh, I forgot depth of character interaction. Take a page from the BioWare book on that and take it further, if you can.
Thanks for the fun contest!
I can't believe no one's suggested the phenomenal and foundational Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman. He essentially created the idea of user-centered design, and his book is still the best overall explanations of what makes good design good.
I'm one of the founders of /r/designforpeople where we cover material like this. We're focused on the intersection between people and design, with a focus on how good and bad design affects the people that have to use it every day. We've just started up but I think you and your interest would be a great addition to it. If that sounds interesting — come check us out!
I can only choose one?!
User-experience design. I'm a web developer/designer, so much my work is to make websites intuitive and easy to use. As it turns out, doing this is quite difficult; UX design is almost a science in itself.
If you'd like to read a superb book on the subject, check out a book titled The Design of Everyday Things.
If you're still thinking "how complicated could it be?", check out this new edition to my bookshelf: The Elements of Typographic Style: a ~400 page treatment on typography alone. Very few notice the good/bad about the typography of a website or publication, if it looks nice, and less do anything more than just notice. Yet if it doesn't look so great, everyone will notice.
The mark of a good UX designer is that the user barely notices his design at all.
Or maybe number theory. If you let me, I'll lecture you about things like information theory, Euler's works, or my favorite math problems all day. :)
Was it The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman?
ps: Thanks for the contest. Don't forget to buy a mattress protector, keep that crib mattress nice.
How about crayons and a coloring book?
Surprise me! I love surprises!
Edit: How about deck of cards, no popping bubbles, or a puzzle book.
Reading is awesome!
I'm not quite sure if this counts, but as a kid, I was a HUGE fan of the stained-glass style coloring books.
This coloring book!
I like to color with my mom when she visits. :D
Welcome back! =)
These past few weeks I enjoyed my spring break, have been planning a bunch of stuff out to celebrate my graduation (oh jeez!), and have just been working on cleaning my room and doing my hw and whatnot. I have also contracted a STRONG case of senioritis. GUH I can't wait to just graduate, enjoy my summer, mayyyybe get an internship, and then start grad school! What have YOU been up to?? =)
Thanks so much for hosting this contest! Here's a link if you really want it, but feel free to surprise me!
Mike Mike Mike Mike Mike Mike. I work at a theatre camp, and we have before and after care- the older kids LOVE coloring pictures like these,and gives me a way to talk to them while doing a mutual activity, instead of trying to talk to them while they're on their ipods texting. It's under my "fun" list.
The cheapest I have is this sweet coloring book: [Mystical Mandala Coloring Book]
(http://www.amazon.com/dp/0486456943/ref=cm_sw_r_an_am_ap_am_us?ie=UTF8) if it is a no go because over 3 slightly, a gift card would be sweet so I could rationalize purchasing the coloring book for myself lol! Haven't been at RAoA long, so never been gifted
Bloody Handprint decal for $1.54 with free shipping
Syringe pens $3.50 with free shipping
Awesome "grown up" coloring book for $3.59 with free shipping If you enjoy coloring but don't want to color "kiddie" coloring books search for "Dover Design Coloring Books" They have tons of all different kinds of coloring books that are more for older people. Some stuff that are just cool designs, some stuff actually different subjects. I find coloring soothing, and theses books are really awesome to color in. Especially if you get some nice gel pens.
25 tiny monkeys for $4.10 and free shipping Because who doesn't like tiny monkeys? ;)
I have odd and varied stuff because I like a bit of everything.
On this note, I found this book to be much more effective than Making It:
http://www.amazon.com/Manufacturing-Processes-Design-Professionals-Thompson/dp/0500513759
Manufacturing Processes for Design Professionals, by Rob Thompson.
Very in depth, and covers more topics of manufacturing than Making It. Excellent examples and pictures too!
Manufacturing Processes for Design Professionals is another great reference, but somewhat less specific than what you asked for. It lists a lot of forming-, cutting-, joining- ánd finishing technologies, each of them explained (and compared) in quite some detail and accompanied by a real-world example. Those examples are presented as series of step-by-step photos, taken at quality production locations. This is one of my favourite references as an Industrial Design student!
Manufacturing Processes for Design Professionals https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0500513759/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_oddCCb7DXE0BV
This is my bible.
This
is my textbook for Manufacturing Materials and Processes class. Seems pretty good.
Manufacturing Processes for Design Professionals
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0500513759?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
I just bought this as someone in a similar boat and would highly recommend
Ok, there is a lot going on here and let me try to break down the sort of issues I foresee. I don't know what kind of knowledge and materials you already have, so I'm not going to assume anything.
The rabbit skin glue always makes a more matte finish. Sealing the gesso with the RSG will keep that quality. Fortunately! The exact thing you need to combat that will give you the fine lines for things like the background in that portrait.
Mediums are really important in oil painting. Controlling the viscosity is how you get refined lines. And nice brushes. If you don't have nice brushes... well.... that breaks my heart thinking about the amount of frustration you can prevent.
Here is what I used to use:
Panel: I assume you are purchasing a panel from an art store. It should be sufficiently sanded. I suggest you avoid making your own panel because it is a pain in the ass sanding and reinforcing. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like there are many artboards available larger than 24" any more :( So if you need to go larger then that be sure to reinforce it with cross grained laminating, stretcher bars and cross bars.
The only reason to use linen on this panel is if you want the texture of linen. Otherwise skip it.
Gesso: Classic RSG with marble dust! This makes such a beautiful springy surface it's hard not to just lick it. The opening comment has a description of how to make that gesso.
Underpainting: Same as the first comment. Dilute your sketching color to watercolor consistency with turp.
Painting:To make my next layers I would use 1:1 turp with oil. This is smooth and covers large flat areas. It also works well for blending. When I was ready to start putting in details I'd use Gamblin's Neo Megalip. It's a less brutal recreation of some Dutch Old Masters medium (I've made some of those from scratch and frankly it sucks). It is heaven.
Varnish aka Making it all shinyGive everything a few weeks to dry and varnish it with Damar or Gamvar.
If you don't have The Artists Handbook you should really get a copy. Also, lock it up. Three of mine have been permanently borrowed.
Let me know if you have questions. (Yes, Damar goes over gold, I don't know about Gamvar. Sable brushes are the best for detail.) Hope this helps!
Ive been painting for about ten years and have tried just about every type of paint i could get my hands on. First thing is you should stretch your own canvas, the painting is an art object and store bought pre-stretched canvas are the devil. You get so much more control when you do it yourself and save a ton of money. Good stretcher bars make all the difference as well. In terms of cloth heavy cotton duck canvas is pretty much standard. But theres also linen, panel, tyvek, canvas drop cloth, a towel a bed sheet or whatever else you want. Again the standards are there to make things archival and last forever, practice on whatever you want. Canvas generally hads a heavier tooth, so using hog hair bristle brushes on gently primed canvas will give you more resistance opposed to heavily gessoed canvas or linen with a horse hair sable brush or a synthetic squirrel hair which will give you much more fluidity. Priming with rabbit skin glue or pva glue will seal and tighten canvas like no other. Rabbit skin glue on linen can snap stretcher bars in half. When using oil my favorite was cotton duck primed with rabbit skin glue and then an oil primer titanium white. It gives a really slick surface to work on without much give. But its also a finicky process. The main thing you want is the cloth to be completely sealed so the oil wont eat away at it. Then you get people like Helen Frankenthaler who used oil on raw canvas and that was what she was about and now museums are dealing with how to preserve them. In the long run it comes down to what you want to achieve and the look you're after for a piece. You should look in to picking up a copy of this http://www.amazon.com/The-Artists-Handbook-Materials-Techniques/dp/0670837016 if you really want to dig deep in to materials. Every painter I know knows about that book and its a hundred times more useful than any learn to paint book.
This book is good, I am actually gonna pick it up myself.
Calligraphers Bible Complete Alphabets
Once you finish that you should be able to understand letter structure and develop your own typography.
Minuscule and Majuscule letters. You need to choose a hand, eg the Foundation hand, and then find a text that illustrates the ductus (drawing path, dimensions etc) for that hand on the page. Like the page on that link. There are many, many books, like The Calligrapher's Bible and there are resources online. You can also download and print guidelines (lined pages) to get your spacing and even your slant for italics. Someone in this subreddit posted a link to these in the last few days I think.
Perhaps search for 'calligraphy hands' and decide which hand you want to do. You seem to be looking at broad pen calligraphy, which is a good place to start, as pointed pen calligraphy can be a bit discouraging for a beginner.
I think it’s just called the Calligrapher’s Bible
One more thing. I noticed you are starting at a very low rate for your paintings, which is common when starting out and feeling unsure of your artistic value.
I recommend checking out the Freelancer's Bible and this book on pricing and ethical guidelines. I struggled a lot with figuring out my professional rates, but thanks to these books and fellow professional acquaintances, I managed to sort out rates that were livable and helped me carry my business forward. I hope you can find these useful!
You could also look into value based pricing where it's also looking at the value a piece of work can bring. For example if you do an illustration for a large campaign that is going to make the company a lot of money then your illustrations value is much more in terms of money so you in theory can charge more compared to a local small business wanting an illustration for a flyer. There is also this, not sure if they have a more recent version https://www.amazon.co.uk/Graphic-Artists-Handbook-Pricing-Guidelines/dp/0932102166
The Graphic Artist's Guild publishes a book called 'Pricing and Ethical Guidelines'. They are a really good reference point, here's the most recent edition
http://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Artists-Handbook-Pricing-Guidelines/dp/0932102166/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449933448&sr=8-1&keywords=Graphics+artists+guild+handbook
Is this what you're talking about?
www.amazon.com/Graphic-Artists-Handbook-Pricing-Guidelines/dp/0932102166
Sounds like you really want to help the guy develop professionally; and you also really want to use his work because you think it would sell. Great.
Numbers are hard to put out there without seeing his chops or the style you are asking for. Perhaps a base of, say, $500-$2000 per illustration with rights included so you own them, but with him cut in on the calendar (and other calendar year products) profits; so there is real potential and investment on his side. Then you have this great art to monetize in perpetuity and your friend has seen the light of using his talents — and, if you use the opportunity to teach him, become more comfortable with the process of doing so.
Those are opinions, this is advice:
Tell him you are interested and want him to write a quote. Tell him to base it on the Graphic Artist's Guild Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines and Business and Legal Forms for Graphic Designers. It's okay to mention you expect consideration for your part in this opportunity for him, but let him know you want the ownership at the end of project. If he gets the books and builds a good quote in a few weeks, good sign — have him Xerox the pages he used to make the quote and you will learn as much as he.
Have a schedule carefully set up in case he flakes. First few concepts in two weeks to develop rapport and trust — then full concepts in four, line work completed and the first few finals for approval at six-eight, finals for approval weeks eight-twelve, revised finals in sixteen. Add your slide time in secretly and only give it away harshly. Expect 12 new paid works after a life of casual attention to be a bit overwhelming for him; and if you really want to be a hero put him in contention for the next year ... but you have no responsibility to.
Because this is one of those amazing chances to really make someone's life better.
(edit: fixed studio-artist level deadline times)
Information Architecture 2 is a good inspirational book. It's about the old way of paying attention to the content and presenting it in a digestible way. There's no magic technology in this I'm afraid.
I haven't read this but it might be interesting: Information Architecture - Saul Wurman
Edward Tufte is good and more academic.
+1 for the first person to realize it's not about drinking. :)
If you're serious about infographics there's loads of good resources available. The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 2nd edition is a very good read - rock solid theory and an essential for every designer. Once you've read that check out the follow up Envisioning Information for some excellent inspiration.
Fair enough. You can improve your design sensibilities and make your outsourcing more effective, without doing any hands on design work, if your wrists can't take it. If you're interested in improving your design sense, getting copies of these books would be a good investment:
Then just look at stuff - everything you see around you in the human built environment is an example of design - de-construct the designs you see in your head - is that good design? Why? Why not? Look at other people's websites - are they well designed? Why? Why not? Print, posters, ad's, flyers, books, signage, buildings, cars - everything. Learn to look at everything you see with a critical design eye. After a while, it will start to become natural and you'll just 'know' if something is a 'good design' - because this kind of mental practice will have turned it into a subconscious skill.
Envisioning Information by Edward R. Tufte is great. It is more about visualization than mathematichs though.
Yes, very much this. I have his recent book as well, which features a lot of awesome quotes and samples of his work.
It's because the devs read this and implemented it and are convinced that it is making a portion of their users engage more.
You know the old people who click the virus popups that say "UPDATE NOW"? Yeah, they're "engaged" with the website now and it's translating to revenue for the website.
Silicone Valley has a mental cancer.
I've never seen the movie objectified, but I love this book:
Robin Williams, The Non-Designer's Design Book
edit: After a quick look at IMDB, you may want to try a Donald Norman book like:
edit2: WTF, I suck at formatting.
lets see...
I've been interested in the development of the english language, and I like Bryson's writing style. I met someone from Korea, and as per my usual habit, when I meet someone out of country I try to learn some of their native history, thus the history book. I like urban fantasy, so Sandman slim looked interesting. I'm a CompE major, so code and The design of everyday things is relevant to me. The others are just things that have been recommended to me.
I think I might get get through half of them at most, especially since I also have a Steam library calling me like the whore it is. This is the first year I have access to a large university library during break, so I'm going to take advantage of it.l
Found it! The Timeless Way Of Building was what I was looking for. Other interesting suggestions were A Pattern Language and The Design Of Everyday Things
SOLVED
Friends,
You should read a Don Norman book. The Design of Everyday Things. It is a must read for any engineer, and should be an eye opener for the general public.
http://www.amazon.ca/The-Design-Of-Everyday-Things/dp/0465067107/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334170562&sr=8-1
Sacha Grief has a good $6 ebook
I also recommend reading the classics
The Design of Everyday Things
and
The Inmates are Running the Asylum
I would suggest asking /r/design and /r/graphic_design for advice as well, along with reading some design books if you have the time to do so. I would recommend The Design of Everyday Things and Universal Principles of Design.
The Design of Everyday Things, by Don Norman
> a 2013 Ducati Monster the other day, where you are required to toggle through the menus with a rocker switch and then hold it down when you get to the right one
Wow. The "press for A, hold for B" was literally a case study of what not to do from The Design of Everyday Things, over 10 years ago. It's bad at usability, and terrible at discoverability.
While usually prescribed to UX designers, I think Don Norman's Design of Everyday Things is an incredible must-read for anyone who designs anything.
While it doesn't include layouts per se, one of my favorite books about design is http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0465067107/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Sigma =)
$2.52 color!
thank you for the contest!
Yaay! Congratulations on graduating!!!! =D
I would like this coloring book. CAWCAW!!!!!!
Coloring book for me!
Go Stingrays!
I would do the hokey pokey and turn myself about. Then I would drink diet Pepsi while [coloring] (http://www.amazon.com/Paisley-Designs-Coloring-Dover-Design/dp/0486456420/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=3LIEP7H67GHEC&coliid=IPMW1SM4BCWLQ)!
It's Monday! Is it? For some reason I keep feeling like it is Tuesday today. That must mean it is Monday, for sure.
Coloring book would be cool to have.
I want to try something new.
I wanted to start coloring books again. I was never able to color inside the lines thanks to my sight problems, and sadly the books from when I was a child were all thrown away. I might disappoint myself again, I know, but the end results just look so pretty usually.
http://www.amazon.com/Paisley-Designs-Coloring-Dover-Design/dp/0486456420/ref=reg_hu-rd_add_1_dp
From my default list:
Kochia Scoparia seeds
Camera necklace
Paisley coloring book
Color your own movie posters
From my art list:
Sharpie calligraphy pen
From my playing cards list:
Blue dragon Bicycle cards
Zombies cards
Green blue cards
Distressed cards
Celestial mini cards
Star Wars 30th Anniversary cards
Dancing Lobsters [this] (http://www.amazon.com/Paisley-Designs-Coloring-Dover-Design/dp/0486456420/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=36V58PM2YWEKL&coliid=I2UGQSZAT1SDMS) is only $2.54!!!!!
Hero of time:
A coloring book!.
I'm lucky enough to work somewhere that lets me color while 'customers' are bitching (phones) and I love these coloring books. I think /u/Claralou might enjoy it too, she guessed my fav 311 songs :)
Life is about using the whole box of crayons.
The dog ate my homework! Good thing the semester is over ;)
This would make my day!!!
I just finished my last exam today, and this semester was harder than I was expecting, but I did well in all my classes! Coloring would be an awesome way to de-stress and give my poor fried brain a well-deserved break before I hit the books again for spring semester!
Thanks for the contest!
Edit: I can't typing.
Aww...thanks for thinking of me!
So yesterday I got a postcard from someone on RAOC that was a coloring postcard. I spent all evening working on it and had an absolute blast. I had put several coloring books on my WL for Christmas...but got the more needed (and wanted!) socks and PJs.
I'd love to get one of them. Under 5.00 on the list is (in no order) the Cats, Owls, Mandala and Faries. These are all Prime items.
For books....I have a large selection of crochet books under 5.00 on my Digital Items Wishlist
I'm super-excited to be a part of this new sub!
There are a number of questions you need to ask yourself when building a physical product. Here a few to start with
3D printing can be good to in making prototypes and validate if people it in the first place.
Here are some good books basic books to learn about product design.
An option is also to hire a design firm to help make the design possible for you to manufacture. However, you will still have to pay all the other costs.
Sure! Industrial Design is quite hard (imo) to learn from purely free resources online etc. I would suggest learning some form of CAD software through tutorials online. SolidWorks is a big one however if you'd like to learn the basics for free then Google SketchUp isn't too bad. As for the other aspects, learn about manufacturing processes (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Manufacturing-Processes-Design-Professionals-Thompson/dp/0500513759 is a great book), sketch sketch sketch and develop an understanding of the breakdown of products. Also check out websites like Core77.
I know I've waffled on and probably missed the point. But hopefully that helps! I'd certainly recommend doing some sort of course at a local college if possible!
My top 3:
Just came across this one, but haven't read it yet:
I'm in a similar position. I'm working on a PhD in Electrical Engineering, so that boat has pretty much sailed for me. I LOVE manufacturing processes and design. I hear these two books are good:
Making It: Manufacturing Techniques for Product Design
and
Manufacturing Processes for Design Professionals
I might want to do a post of my own to see if I can get some advice for myself. Does anyone have ideas of how I can get into product design? I'm interested in things such as those that are posted on Yanko Design.
My personal favorite is Manufacturing Processes for Design Professionals, which is sort of an overview and simultaneous deep dive into pretty much ever manufacturing process out there and how to design for it.
This book has everything you'll ever need to know about any sort of technical problem. The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques by Ralph Mayer.
another greeat book to get would be The artist's handbook by ralph mayer. reviews everything one could want to know. also a color wheel is another great thing you could get her.
link to the book: https://www.amazon.com/Artists-Handbook-Materials-Techniques-Reference/dp/0670837016
link to color wheel: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002J4OPEM/ref=asc_df_B002J4OPEM5271826/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=395033&creativeASIN=B002J4OPEM&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167148482147&hvpos=1o4&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8189816881818029176&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9009892&hvtargid=pla-310385990598
Here are some links for the product in the above comment for different countries:
Link: The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques
|Country|Link|
|:-----------|:------------|
|UK|amazon.co.uk|
|Spain|amazon.es|
|France|amazon.fr|
|Germany|amazon.de|
|Japan|amazon.co.jp|
|Canada|amazon.ca|
|Italy|amazon.it|
|China|amazon.cn|
This bot is currently in testing so let me know what you think by voting (or commenting).
I mean light as in value
With oil you want to go fat over lean, and oil paint straight from the tube is -supah fat- (its carrier is oil after all)
You don’t need damar, if you use just a wash and don’t apply your under painting thickly you won’t need a curing agent (oil paint doesn’t dry it cures)The odorless mineral spirits is fine (gamsol). Less is better in an under painting. So… yes don’t work straight from the tube. Let the ground be your white. You’re just going to paint over this anyway so don’t overwork it. Footnote: saw the discussion about whether to use white or not. That’s a personal preference totally. It’s not mine because of how I work but it’s ok if you want to. Part of learning to paint is to figure out how you want to do it. There are limitations and rules of the medium, which you will figure out as you go, but there’s no right or wrong way to do it beyond that. Oil painters love to discuss/argue about the technical shit :)
3 hints.
If you’re buying prestretched canvas, after you take the plastic off wipe it down with a wet washcloth. They can get covered in surfactant at the factory (basically soap). Wiping that off helps it take paint.
With oil, before painting the first time coat the whole surface with linseed oil, then wipe it all off. You shouldn’t be able to feel the oil when you touch the canvas the benefit of this is while you can paint on acrylic (which is what most gessoes are today) oils sticks to itself better. You can also add a little pigment to tint your ground if you want. If you drew your under painting down spray fix it before doing this because it’ll wash your drawing off otherwise. I suggest a casein based fixative like spectrafix for this. It’s friendlier to the process and is nontoxic.
Get this book and read the shit out of it. It’s technical but it’ll tell you all about different paint materials.
Hey asshole, look what you're doing here. You're arguing about how cheaply you can buy canvas, in a thread about an amateur artist who is making shitty Bob Ross-inspired paintings on boards. So before I mute you, I'll just remind you that I said you win, you can make your crap paintings on any crap canvas you like. Just don't argue with the world that crap canvas is going to hold up over time, every standard artist's reference book has extensive details on the archival qualities of canvas, and any art restorer will inform you of the details of which you remain willfully ignorant. Judging by the peek of your real paintings in the corner of your trophy picture, I am relieved that the world will not have to endure your horrid paintings for long before they will decompose.
The best one I've ever seen is in Ralph Mayer's The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques.
Sorry I can't find a link to the content, or even my own coy of it to transcribe it for you. Apparently, it's been lost during one of my 30 million moves over the years...
The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques "Since 1940, when it was originally published, The Artist's Handbook has become indispensable for thousands of practicing artists and art students. The book has remained continually in print through many editions and has sold more than a quarter of a million copies. A detailed index makes a wealth of information readily available. Charts and line drawings throughout."
So, after weeks of just drilling strokes and what not, I decided to form some actual words. I'm a super beginner, but please don't have mercy on me, tell me what I need to work on.
My exemplar for this texture quadrata comes from a book The Calligrapher's Bible.
I think I'm pretty bad at my spatial awareness, so all the letters just kind of all look different and nothing is uniform. My "o" is also terrible. But I am sure you guys can give me much more specific details on what I need to work on.
Edit here's another one I just made, using the traditional "a" form
The Calligrapher's Bible might work for you.
Wow, thank you so much for the super informative response.
The book I am currently using is The Calligrapher's Bible by David Harris (and this is where that script came from), would you advise against using this?
How about a coffee table book that combines martial arts and photography:
http://www.amazon.com/Way-Warrior-Martial-Fighting-Styles/dp/0756639751/ref=la_B001NWTJSI_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418652802&sr=1-1
and some supplies for his calligraphy hobby like a book of different techniques: http://www.amazon.com/Calligraphers-Bible-Complete-Alphabets-Draw/dp/0764156152/ref=la_B000APU7TO_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418652881&sr=1-1
and some pens: http://www.amazon.com/Zig-Memory-Calligraphy-Markers-Multicolor/dp/B0050JKNFI/ref=sr_1_1?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1418652914&sr=1-1&pebp=1418652916253
For calligraphy, I recommend you this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Calligraphers-Bible-Complete-Alphabets-Draw/dp/0764156152
it have 100 scripts and they are very easy to follow. For cursive every-day handwriting, look for the Palmer Method:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmer_Method
Here's some links of books I put on my wish list. Its a lot of stuff about grids, which is something you should learn.
Grid Systems in Graphic Design
Universal Principles of Design
The Grid: A Modular System for the Design and Production of Newpapers, Magazines, and Books
The Elements of Typographic Style (A dry read, but very valuable knowledge)
Thinking with Type
I learned most of my composition skills from Drawing and Painting classes. I've heard photography is a great way to learn composition too.
Aside from that use Lynda.com and learn your color theory. You should also learn stuff like using CMYK vs RGB. Common sizes for print material in your country.
If you go Freelance, use this book: Graphic Artist's Guild Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines
If you haven't discovered this site and you're feeling frustrated, just remember it could be worse: Clients From Hell
And just for fun: How a Web Design Goes Straight To Hell, Why You Don't Like Changes to Your Design
I started writing some comments, but then decided to just post it all here. Hope this helps:
Yes. My first freelance gigs were basically from people that I had history with. Coworkers and friends knew what I did and what I was capable of. They would ask me if I could help with 'X project' or whatever, and it would lead from there. Small projects would lead to other small projects. Thats how the work could trickle in.
Primarily my leads have been through people I know. Coworkers, friends, family. Everybody. I highly recommend just literally emailing everyone you know simple explaining what you are doing or what you are trying to do. Offer your services, send a link to a website, and ask for any referrals. It's easier via email because you will either get someone to reply w/ something helpful, or they can just ignore you. Either way, it can't hurt to let people know.
Another way I'd get design work was from random inquiries either off my website or from online portfolio sites like Behance.net or Dribbble.com. I also had a small group of design friends that I'm in contact with. I feel that they were getting better work than I was, and they were more 'ahead' than me, so often if they didn't have time for client work, or didn't think the client was worth their time, they'd tell me about the work, so I could pick up the work.
At first I didn't register as an LLC or anything. I just worked as a sole proprietorship and used my Social Security number as my ID. Years later, after I had a chance to team up with a small team of designers, I was an independent contractor and after discussing it with another designer friend, and a CPA, I decided to become an S-corp. I did it primarily to help juggle and save some money during tax time. I'm able to save $ at the end of the year because of it, but I didn't handle any of it personally. I paid my CPA to do my taxes and figure it all out.
If you choose to register for a biz license, it's very easy and you can do it online. When I did it, i used mycorporation.com, but I hear legalzoom .com is good too. When I registered, I believe it cost me about $250.
In terms of billing client, it really depends on the situation. Generally speaking, I suggest trying to get partial payment upfront. To be fair flexible I offer multiple payment options to make it easier for the client to say yes. Sometimes its half upfront/ half when complete. Sometimes its 1/3 for initial concepting, 1/3 for further development of chosen concept, and 1/3 for final files. I also over monthly payments if the scope of work ends with a really high price. I don't have any special payment gateway or anything. I just offer to payment in check to me, or through paypal. No one has ever taken me up on the monthly installment plan, but I feel that the more willing you are to work with payment options with a client, the more willing they are to say 'yes' to a proposed quote.
Having said all this, there are plenty of times where I don't set up a contract and things work out just fine. Through the years of doing this, you start to get a 'gut feeling' for who the hell clients will be. There are real personality traits or certain things said that will trigger you to know to stay away. Until you know those things, I'd suggest keeping a contract in the process.
There have been times where I was burned by not having a onctract. I have had delayed payments etc, where I ended up trying not to make waves, and waiting months and months before I got paid. One instance, I figured out what forms I needed to file a small claims court locally, and threatened with that. I got paid 2 weeks later. From all the work I've done, I've never flat out never been paid. Typically its just really late late payments. Heh.
Today, I charge for the total project, but in the beginning of my freelance career I used to charge by the hour, but sometimes it'd be unfair because If I could complete a 10-hr job in 5 hrs, I'd get screwed. Or if I needed to figure something out and it took me 12 hours to figure out something that should've taken 3 hours, that's not fair to the client.
After doing this for a while, I've come to realize that generally, a lot of clients want a final price. They don't care about hourly rate, or how long it should take you. Generally, if you can deliver 'project X' in 3 weeks for '$XXX' they'll be happy. A final number is easier to react to. There's less guessing for the client.
You get an idea of how long certain things could take, and how much you'd like to make hourly. You basically estimate that, and quote your price accordingly. At first you may screw up the estimate, and lose money, but after a while you'll know what you're doing and you'll do well for yourself.
Also remember, for your best interest, and so the client can't make endless revisions, be specific on your deliverables, as well as your number of revisions per project. Anything outside of the agreed upon requirement will result in extra charges to the client.
-With the above in mind, did you consult a lawyer before getting started?
Have them write up some kind of contract ot use when taking clients?
No I haven't consulted a lawyer at all with my contracts. Generally I've found random contracts or contract templates online and picked and chose parts and pieces of what I thought sounded good to use.
I highly recommend buying this book - The Graphic Artists Handbook to Pricing and Ethical Guidelines. It guides you in pricing as well as showing sample contracts for your projects.
http://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Artists-Handbook-Pricing-Guidelines/dp/0932102166/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1464717064&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=desiners+guide+to+ethical+guidelines
The questions you ask really depend on what the project is. Here are a few to get you started.
-Tell me about your company
I hope these answers help you. If you need more answers, feel free to reach out. I'll try to help if I can.
In college my professors recommended this book quite often. I haven't read into it yet, but thought I'd pass on the recommendation :)
https://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Artists-Handbook-Pricing-Guidelines/dp/0932102166/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483383742&sr=8-1&keywords=graphic+artist%27s+guild+handbook+of+pricing+and+ethical+guidelines
Buy the Graphic artist's guild to pricing and ethical guidelines
http://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Artists-Handbook-Pricing-Guidelines/dp/0932102166
Unlike the other poster, there is no project too small for a contract. If a client doesn't want to sign one, they are shady and simply end all contact. Normal people, with normal budgets, with intent to be reasonable will never, ever have a problem with a contract.
Please please spend a few weeks sorting out what you need to run a proper, professional business. Do it NOW when you have more time. Don't minimize this step in running a design business. Being a professional is way more than designing pretty stuff.
EDIT: Also remember that just because you have a contract, it doesn't mean you'll get paid. Or not get sued. Or not have a client disappear. It happens. All a contract does is try to help you out in case of a lawsuit. Sometimes, if the job is very small and the client doesn't pay, it is financially beneficial to just let it go than pursue in court. That's why you get some portion of the money up front.
You should get yourself a copy of The Graphic Artist's Guidelines to Pricing & Ethical Guidelines to familiarize yourself with selling all rights to your work, when it will be distributed on an international level. http://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Artists-Handbook-Pricing-Guidelines/dp/0932102166/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1457753528&sr=1-1&keywords=graphic+artist%27s+guild+handbook+of+pricing+and+ethical+guidelines
https://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Artists-Handbook-Pricing-Guidelines/dp/0932102166/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1444139029&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Guild+Handbook+of+pricing+and+ethical
Get this book graphic design pricing and ethical guidelines
Its a great resource to at least give you a foundation on pricing practices and from there you can have a better idea of what (and why) your pricing should be.
That sounds like a huge project, which hopefully they're aware of. That said, it sounds like it could be quite lucrative, given the amount of work there is to do. My best suggestion would be to invest in the Graphic Artists Guild Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines; it'll give you the best idea as to what to charge, more so than anyone else on this subreddit will be able to.
Other posters have touched on the PSD file issue, so I'll address your other two questions.
I don't think it would be awkward to offer your services for branding, if you think you're up to the task of dealing with this client. You're definitely going to cost less than a branding agency (your client might be in for a rude awakening when she sees a price estimate), but when it comes to setting your own price, don't short change yourself. Consider how much time you've spent addressing questions and concerns about simple letterhead; for a logo that'll need to be multiplied by at least 10. Not even considering the actual work of designing a logo, you need to make sure you're compensated for the work it takes to educate your client and make sure she's happy. I regularly charge more to clients who I know will require a lot of communication and who need extra support through the design process.
For a good place to start, purchase a copy of the Graphic Artist's Guild Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines. It tells you the going rate for many different types of design projects (you'll likely be surprised to see how much a seasoned pro can charge), and features templates for all types of contracts. It's been an invaluable resource for me.
http://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Artists-Handbook-Pricing-Guidelines/dp/0932102166
Buy this. Read this. You're Welcome.
The Graphic Artists Guild comes out with a publication every year on pricing and ethical guidelines: http://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Artists-Handbook-Pricing-Guidelines/dp/0932102166/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377278383&sr=1-1&keywords=Graphic+Artists+guild or https://www.graphicartistsguild.org/handbook
Since you are in Denmark I don't know how much you will get out of it but I think it could be a place to start.
I'm a big fan of peripheral accessories to hobbies - anyone who is seriously vested in a hobby will already know the best brands and products, and likely have opinions on them. It's dangerous territory to buy for the hobby if you aren't equally vested in it.
But what you can succeed at are items to make their life easier -- maybe an awesome carrying case for her art supplies or a set of frames to hang up her work or maybe a copy of The Graphic Artist Guild's Ethical Pricing Handbook for the aspiring freelance artist. (I own a copy of that book and it's really good, I recommend it to all creative freelancers.)
This is way too low. Id suggest instead that you pick up a copy of this: https://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Artists-Handbook-Pricing-Guidelines/dp/0932102166. These are standard rates for illustration. Since you’re new, pick the low end (which is still way higher than £50 per artwork).
At the least, he needs to provide you with parameters (how many illustrations, timeline, etc) and GET IT IN A. CONTRACT. There are free template contracts online. If he bails you have legal recourse.
HOWEVER, unless he’s self publishing, you should know that most publishers pick the illustrators after the book has been pitched to them by the author (yep, even kids books). It can still be attempted but I wouldn’t go for it unless he’s paying you regardless of whether it gets published and paying you a FAIR rate.
Use the free trial.
Or you know, buy a month-to-month membership.
You should invest in knowledge, especially if it will make you earn more.
Also AIGA's [Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines] (http://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Artists-Handbook-Pricing-Guidelines/dp/0932102166/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426094930&sr=8-1&keywords=Graphic+Artist%27s+Guild+Handbook) is pretty useful for these kind of questions.
Here's a few resources on the subject.
This is a guide to the average pay rates of certain design jobs. They also give the average freelance rates based on company (you might want to go a little bit below average, considering you're just starting out)
If you want to charge a lump sum instead, I suggest either just estimating your hours worked, or really just ask yourself what your time was worth. Don't sell yourself short, web design is a big job. This person hired you because you know what you're doing, and they don't.
If you're going to be doing this more often, I suggest this book by the Graphic Artist's Guild. It has tons of design jobs in it, and gives you a reasonable range of what to charge for each.
Good luck.
Design is really an emotional process. A lot of what makes good design good is because it feels right, without logic. Sometimes it's instant, sometimes it takes ages. I would recommend collaborating with a designer and work through design problems together. If you can't do that, then you gotta start with the basics.
Imitate what you like. Most things you interact with in the form of media, such as websites, books, films, all have a designed element to them. Someone, at some point, though of everything that you're seeing with such excruciating detail that most of the time (just like good special effects/compositing in film) it's invisible.
Some excellent books:
The Elements of Typographic Style by Bringhurst
Envisioning Information by Tufte
Made You Look by Sagmeister
Grid Systems by Josef Muller-Brockmann (might hard to find for cheap unless it's used)
From those, branch out and find sources that YOU like, and keep adding to your library. And copy it mercilessly until you hone your craft. Be inspired! Good luck.
Envisioning Information by Tufte
Find out who she admires/inspires her and see if they've published a book: here's a solid example
when I was in college, my girlfriend at the time got me a graphic design book as a gift (something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Draplin-Design-Co-Pretty-Everything/dp/1419720171) I think it helped give me ideas when I was working on projects for classes
Sorry I should have been more specific. I am looking more for inspiration in form of beautiful designs and pictures.
Something like this for example:
Draplin Design Co.: Pretty Much Everything
https://www.amazon.com/Draplin-Design-Co-Pretty-Everything/dp/1419720171/
But your book looks interesting nonetheless!
https://www.amazon.com/Little-Know-All-Designers-Expanded/dp/3899555430
This one is fun and handy to keep at your desk. Ofcourse, you could just google questions, but it feels nice to fan through it sometimes.
https://www.amazon.com/Draplin-Design-Co-Pretty-Everything/dp/1419720171
There's a lot of mixed opinions about this one. Some people don't like how he makes logos, others love his 80's inspired, fun branding. Nevertheless, it's great for inspiration.
Edit: The graphic guidelines for NASA and the New York Subway are great and fun for inspiration, grid systems and structure.
Edit 2: I love Pentagram, and luckily there's a book with all their marks. It's called Pentagram: Marks, and It's a great book to keep in your bookshelf.
https://www.amazon.com/Pentagram-Marks-Partners/dp/1856696685
You are thinking of Aaron James Draplin! I'm not sure what Ted Talk video you are referring to but here is a video where he talks about his inspiration. The book you are referring to is Draplin Design Co.: Pretty Much Everything.
Aaron Draplin's Pretty Much Everything is pretty awesome. It's funny, insightful, and also contains a lot of high quality, inspiring work.
This would be a good book, as would this one.
> Isn't it weird that so many of its users seems to dislike the app - and yet, we're all still there? I kept wondering that.
https://www.amazon.com/Hooked-How-Build-Habit-Forming-Products/dp/1591847788
Read this book
https://www.amazon.com/Hooked-How-Build-Habit-Forming-Products/dp/1591847788#productDescription_secondary_view_div_1523328197191
It's actually "essential" that I eliminate my smartphone & social media. The more I learn about the brain science of app developers stimulating the reward centers of the brain over and over (dopamine), making us chemically addicted to likes, tweets, invites, etc -- that is NOT essential.
An iphone for minimalists is a flip phone that only has SMS.
Being chemically addicted to a cute, slightly radioactive screen is not essential - it's getting your brain hijacked. (sources here and here and especially here if you're interested.)
My tech EDC right now is an iphone SE and a macbook air. I use an internet blocker as much as possible and I'm still tweaking RescueTime to optimize how much time I'm wasting on the net. I killed twitter last month, the detox was a bitch and I'm giving myself until the end of this weekend to kill reddit.
In that case get yourself a copy of [Designing Type] (http://www.amazon.com/Designing-Type-Karen-Cheng/dp/0300111509/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1453594661&sr=1-1&keywords=designing+type+karen+cheng), a pen and a piece of paper.
And then go for Glyphs Mini. The book will easily get you up to speed with the basics, and Glyphs Mini really is very accessible.
I'm still learning myself so some of these books I'm recommending depend on your skillset and interest I guess. For typedesign and understanding fundamentals: Designing type is a good read, same with Stroke. Free stuff like briem superhandy. As a primer I'd read this before I buy a type design book. For lettering I don't really have books of preference. I generally go googling for info on whatever I may have a doubt in or if I just need inspiration. Like if I were looking at script, I'd look at works by Tony di spigna, tommy thompson, david quay and the like. When I once had a doubt about negative space within letters, I googled and stumbled upon this which helped. so for lettering it's a bit all over the place where I mostly just got info from googling. However if you want a book in lettering for a beginner-intermediate then logo,font & lettering gets you upto speed on a lot of things though he can be a lil old in his methods. Also books by Mortimer Leach and Doyald Young. For calligraphy I think I mostly learnt it from speedball manuals and then just googled but more importantly I did a lot of writing which is why I picked up on it. I think to understand type properly you need to do some calligraphy, once you get a grasp on calligraphy, typedesign makes sense so you go buy type design books, eventually lettering becomes super easy.
Found it! It is certainly hard to come by, by way of expense! Certainly a valuable resource I am sure.
"Interaction of Color" by Josef Albers is sort of how I'm approaching this topic, visually. Through some quick Googles, you can find color studies that illustrate several visual phenomena.
Simulating Transparency, Value Contrasts (Both green squares are the same color), and Simultaneous Contrast. Illustrated here in a circular pattern.
Just from my immediate peekings through on Amazon, I learned quickly that many prominent artists assisted various governments in developing camouflage for their nations.
For instance, the Dazzle campaigns specifically focusing on concealing battleships. I'd like to read more about their theories of how they were manipulating specific colors and patterns to arrive at the final resulting pattern.
Hope this helps clarify.
Well then it sounds like you're in a great place to do whatever the fuck you want! Congrats! My advice right off the bat, and apologies if you've heard this all before, would be to use the designs with color, 3,4, & 5 as a jumping off point and make maybe up to at least 50 more versions of each one. Play around a lot with the font size, letter spacing, and colors of the type. Test them out on some free mock ups of shirts, hoodies, etc, so you can get a general idea of how different design options will pair well with your clothes.
​
Also, after reading some of the comments above, just my two cents but don't worry about trying to be original. Doesn't matter as long as you put in the work to make your best work. Just keep knocking out ideas and you got this.
​
Some recommended reads:
​
typewolf blog by jermiah shoaf . All font stuff this guy really knows his shit.
Interaction of color by Joseph Albers. Color Color and more Color! Good for thinking about color pairings
​
That's a totally valid opinion to have, art is subjective.
But let me present you with an alternative mindset to examine.
Here is a random Josef Albers painting. Blocks of color. It's a good example of a type of art that people often don't like. Josef Albers spent his whole career doing art very similar to this (not always in squares). People would say that was a waste and not really art, but his absolute dedication to colors and how they play with each other led to the publication of Interaction of Color near the end of his life. This book had an immense impact on art education, to this day. It is a book that wouldn't have been possible without a lifetime of basic paintings of chunks of color.
A lot of "modern" art is random bullshittery (Albers himself said "Art is swindle"), but there are definitely jewels to be found.
At the end of the day, the best thing about art is that it is subjective. Art is whatever you want it to be, even if that means it's an examination of bullshit, or just an appreciation of a Bob Ross painting. As long as it brings you happiness it's a good thing.
PS If you use a thin blue wash adjacent to the orange of the Fox? DO consider that the yellowish patches in foreground and to left will turn greenish with blue wash (probably not good as “unintended consequence”) so consider leave the golden yellow patches-great warm contrast with cooler background colors. ( you could do practice study of similar colors in your painting with applied wash on separate paper before?)
You may be interested in color theory of “Simultaneous Contrast”https://www.liveabout.com/how-to-use-simultaneous-contrast-in-painting-4019832 and more “mind blowing” academic Josef Albers (100 years ago Bauhaus color interaction teacher/artist) changed my life as a painter! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0300179359/ref=dbs_a_def_awm_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i0 (or iPad app)
However, better to paint with joy without thinking, get in the out of body zone!
I would recommend this for learning the specifics and this for designing sites in general
The first book I was told to get in college was the "Non-Designer's Design Book" by Robin Williams.
The book actually isn't that great as far as design resources go, but it does a good job of outlining the basics and, as the title suggests, it's relatively easy for non-designers to understand.
[Amazon Link] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Non-Designers-Design-Book-Edition/dp/0321534042/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394255105&sr=8-1&keywords=non+designers+design+book)
I feel like there are too many different fonts at first glance. The site seems more cohesive as you scroll down.
Try to keep the font styles down to three.
Right now I see:
I like the Coustard + color, keep the open sans for content readability. Maybe experiment with bringing the buttons closer to your main design while still having them pop.
Also the images.... what's the boat all about? Why are there abstract figures next to 'Easy'? You should be able to find stock photos of happy actual people, and beautiful clean rooms.
The pyramid structure for news also applies to websites. I like that you introduce your three core features in the first paragraph, but then I would bring up the expansions you have buried at the bottom.
Next I would do [booking is] Easy, then Safe, then Guaranteed.
*disclaimer - I'm more of a programmer than a designer, but I have to do a lot of design. The Non-Designer's Design Book has helped me immensely.
Theres a book called Non-Designers Design Book which simplifies a lot of the basic rules of design and even gets pretty deep into typography. I used my first year of college and I enjoyed how the information is presented.
I am pretty sure there is no "perfect font." There are fonts that work well in many situations, like Helvetica, but would not work well in other situations. However, if you do a certain style of design, there may very well be a couple typefaces that works well for most of what you do.
There is a whole other issue of do you want to use fonts that you have to pay for or not.
I recommend "The Non-Designer's Design Book" by Robin Williams, which I recently read. This is a graphics design book, but it is not focused on web design. Still, she has some good design ideas. I would like to read a more up to date book on typography.
Needs something that shows that its a comedy. Put a banana peel on there. Something.
Helpful:
https://www.amazon.com/Non-Designers-Design-Book-3rd/dp/0321534042
I wouldn't pay to get certified, at least not a first. There's plenty of high quality intro stuff available for free or cheap, and most places hiring designers only care about your portfolio, not whether you have a certification.
The steps I would take:
-------------------------------
http://designforhackers.com/
http://www.sensible.com/dmmt.html (summary)
http://htmlandcssbook.com/
http://www.shapeofdesignbook.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Non-Designers-Design-Book-Robin-Williams/dp/0321534042
http://retinart.net/book-reviews/9-mini-reviews/
http://www.abookapart.com/
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1768358
http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/parallax-website-design/
http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/illustration-vector-landscapes/
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3559918
http://sixrevisions.com/web_design/elements-clean-web-design/
etc, that's a few of many good ones I've bookmarked.
I've spent a year in graphic design school so far.
Short of taking formal classes, start with this book: http://www.amazon.com/The-Non-Designers-Design-Book-Edition/dp/0321534042/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375397837&sr=8-1&keywords=non-designer%27s+design+book
I know the cover is ugly, but it's actually full of really valuable basic information. Start there.
Also, this chick is awesome, if you can ignore her awkward hand gestures: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHvMm4HgRCg
Edit: Not OP.
It's old but covers the fundamentals
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0321534042?pc_redir=1414561183&robot_redir=1
> Wow, was not expecting a book first published in 1990! It looks interesting, but do you think it contains enough relevance today?
Tufte is one of the seminal leaders of visual design.
Old books are often the best books.
Here's one for you from the woman that defined the industry Lucy Suchman's Plan's and situation actions
Donald Norman's Design of Everyday things
Alan Cooper's don't make me think
Alan Cooper's The Inmates are running the asylum
This one isn't specifically interior design, but it is stellar reading material for any subsect of design as an industry.
The Design of Everyday Things - Don Norman
Woah! That’s a terrible experience, you should definitely get a refund!
Some online resources which may help you:
Coursera has a very good Introductory course on UI and UX design, with topics ranging from prototyping, wireframing & user studies. Attended the course a couple years ago, and it’s been incredibly useful!
https://www.coursera.org/specializations/interaction-design
Butterick’s practical typography website is a great resource for Typography studies
https://practicaltypography.com/
Nielsen Norman Group’s articles often have great insights on interface design:
https://www.nngroup.com/
If you’re designing for a specific platform, you could read their human interface guidelines, which provide a lot of practical help.
https://developer.apple.com/design/
(Make sure to watch their WWDC sessions, which often talk about basic principles in UI Designs)
If you haven’t already, check out the Design of everyday things by Don Norman. It’s definitely worth reading to get a hang of basic design principles.
https://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Revised-Expanded/dp/0465050654/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1540074486&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=design+of+everyday+things&dpPl=1&dpID=410RTQezHYL&ref=plSrch
The Design of Everyday Things: Revised and Expanded Edition
Design as Art
Universal Principles of Design, Revised and Updated: 125 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach through Design
Meggs' History of Graphic Design 6th Edition
Visual Literacy: A Conceptual Approach to Graphic Problem Solving
It's not specific to software, but I feel like anyone working with UX should read this first: http://www.amazon.com/The-Design-Everyday-Things-Expanded/dp/0465050654
How is it not apparent to you that only 3 out of 8 colours mean the same? That is such little overlap, it is literally worse than randomly guessing.
Holy shit, you're identifying way too much with this bad argument.
I'm saying that arbitrary colours instead of numbers is a bad thing, because it's arbitrary. Is it arbitrary? How about we look at your table. Yes. Arbitrary. Two games by the same company use a completely different and conflicting system. Apparently "Orange" is better than "Yellow", and "Purple" is between the two, and "Green" is sometimes top dog and sometimes basically trash. No reason as to why that should be the case. Clearly completely arbitrary.
Is arbitrary bad? I don't know. How about we ask some designers. Like this book here, which is considered a must-read: https://www.amazon.de/Design-Everyday-Things-Revised-Expanded/dp/0465050654
What does he say? Well golly I don't know, maybe someone quoted him? Oh wait, yes, I did, because I read the fucking book: Good design is not arbitrary. You don't need a manual to operate an emergency exit door bar, because those are well designed.
So stop frothing at the mouth like a lunatic, because you're wrong about a dumb thing on the internet.
Colors are a bad design to designate 2500 levels.
Right here.
I have a few recommendations, but it really depends on what kind of design you're interested in. UX is an umbrella. If you want visual design skills it'll take some practice and not just reading. There's a bunch of stuff out there on graphic design basics.
Here's a few book recommendations that can change how you think about design:
Design of everyday things.
Universal principles of design.
hmm. Where to get started. Learn the gestalt principles of visual design. If you're designing interfaces - these little tips will help you associate, and differentiate well enough to be able to direct attention like a conductor.
Learn to do everything deliberately. If you don't have a reason for something, you're not designing, you're arting. Know the difference and when each is appropriate. For example - want a big splash screen with a fancy colorful image? Is it so you can attract the user to a particular part of the screen? Or is it because you have some extra space and feel like filling it with something. If it's the former, go for it. If it's the latter - you're just making an art project.
Learn about design methodologies, from a university if possible. Industrial design technique is very good for digital problem solving as well. Defining a problem, exploring solutions, and determining a valuable path are things that will help you in every project.
Understand why you are doing what you are doing. And who are you doing it for. Never go past page one without establishing those facts.
Stats will help you in that do everything intentionally part. If you can say 80 of people do this, 20 percent of people do that, you can from this say, that this gets center position, bright colors, dark shadow and lots of negative space. That thing that 20 percent of people do, gets bottom right, lowER contrast, and is there for people that expect it.
Good luck, conferences will help. Podcasts will help. Reading interviews from design teams at larger companies will help.
Asking reddit will help. What you should ask for is paid time off to study lol. Good luck.
edit:
Also get this book universal principles of design I think there's a pocket version. This teaches you what works and why and when to use it.
Get the design of every day things. This book teaches you what good design is. It asks the questions - what is design. When is design good. What is an affordance? How do we signal what things do what? How does all that work? Is a coffee cup good design? What about a scissors? How about google.com vs yahoo.com...
Check out don't make me think... or just think about the title for an hour and pretend you read the book.
a popular one now is hooked. Pavlov's dog experiments except with people, basically operant conditioning for designers.
And learn about grid systems and bootstrap for prototyping. Get a prototyping account. For something, proto.io, invision, framerjs.... Invest in omingraffle and sketch, get a creative cloud license if need be. You will need to show people things a lot. You will need to convince people of your ideas and your paths. You will need to constantly throw together quick and dirty visualizations of what you want to say. Invest in tools that make it simple.
Learn how to sell your ideas. You will be asked a ton of questions as people poke holes in your design. You need to figure out how to soothe their worries. They will your decisions, and you will have to show them that you have the answer. Learn how to present. Learn public speaking. Learn how to communicate with superiors. Learn how to talk with programmers. Learn how to give the programmers what they want from you. Learn how to negotiate, learn how to deliver on time. Learn how to handle stress.
Good luck.
Book recommendation:
The Design of Everyday Things.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0465050654/ref=dp_ob_neva_mobile
You guys should appreciate "The Design of Everyday Things" by Donald Norman. He points out the obvious that so many people overlook, like handles imply you are to pull.
http://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Donald-Norman/dp/0465067107
It's this. Well, for starters.
First, check out Don't Make Me Think! by Steve Krug. It's an easy read and invaluable.
If you really like that approach then you should think about going into Interaction Design (aka usability, user-centered design, UX design, information architecture, etc.). I've been doing it for about 11 years and have only recently gotten into coding. Usually I produce wireframes and specs for the coders, do user research, and conduct usability tests. There nothing quite like watching someone trying to use your design and doing something completely different from what you expected.
I haven't kept up with some of the latest books out there, but some of my formative ones are:
Here's a more compact summary:
I suggest that the problem with SQL joins is a design issue. That is evidenced by the repeated post and blogs trying to explain joins. It is natural to try to compensate for bad design with more and more (and more) documentation. Usually followed by RTFM.
The core issue is along the same lines as Bad Design 4: Seat Movement Controls from The Design of Everyday Things. The current solution (syntax) does not map well to what we have in mind.
Now that we've defined the problem, here's a possible solution. Redesigned SQL.
SELECT FROM TableA A XXO JOIN TableB B ON A.Key = B.Key;
SELECT FROM TableA A XOO JOIN TableB B ON A.Key = B.Key;
SELECT * FROM TableA A OXX JOIN TableB B ON A.Key = B.Key;
etc.
Any complaints?
For UX:
'Don't Make Me Think' by Steve Krug. --> This is a great book for UX and design fundamentals
Link to purchase
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0321344758/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=33857011795&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5285549020583777492&hvpone=22.79&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_9tu6h5g71k_b
For Graphic Design Fundamentals:
'Creative Workshop - 80 Challenges to Sharpen Your Design Skills'
Link to purchase
http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Workshop-Challenges-Sharpen-Design/dp/1600617972
For Design as a whole!
'The Design of Everyday Things'
Link to purchase:
http://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Donald-Norman/dp/0465067107
The UX book and Design as a whole books are shorter and will be quick to complete. However, the graphic design book will be quite challenging, especially if you aren't familiar with Adobe CS. But I assure you that you will be a much stronger designer afterwards. (When I first started off doing graphic design, I wish I had this book to give me projects to work on)
Overall, expect to spend ~$40 on all this, but these would be a great place to start I think. 1 month time to finish reading the books, and 3 months to finish all the graphic projects.
Hope this helps, good luck!
Most of this convo is TL;DR but form skimming, I think I get the idea.
Two ideas:
Do you not agree that there are a whole load of really immature books about game design that are sold more on the fact that "its a book about games" than its inherent content ?
Even within the space of magazines I think it would be fair to call Nintendo power immature and something like EDGE , Games TM or Develop magazine Mature.
for someone starting from scratch you would get allot more by reading these books than by watching EC ( obviously can do both and EC is a nice starting pion for someone totally new to games)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0465067107?ie=UTF8&tag=alwaysblack01-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=0465067107
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0273693646?ie=UTF8&tag=alwaysblack01-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=0273693646
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Game-Design-book-lenses/dp/0123694965
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Theory-Game-Design-Raph-Koster/dp/1932111972
allso over view books on Game theory , the history of the microchip and computing , evolution and basic biology can be incredibly good in helping think about games as an art and the limitations in the development of software.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fun-Games-Text-Game-Theory/dp/0669246034/ref=cm_lmf_tit_12
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0321193679/zx81orguk00
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0932633439/zx81orguk00
http://www.amazon.com/Computer-History-Information-Machine-Technology/dp/0465029906
I realise EC is just easily consumable general information and that's fine just wish they did it without the pretence , like I said in other comments I'm glad they make it even though it personally annoys the hell out of me its beneficial for games as a whole as there is a general lack of even moderately intelligent talk about games.
Thanks, just ordering the book now... sounds interesting. I fully agree that things should look like what they are because "people don't read".
yes, behaviorist ideas are heavily used in advertizing and videogame design. Here is a good read on that: https://www.amazon.com/Hooked-How-Build-Habit-Forming-Products/dp/1591847788
part 2/2
Some resources:
There was a book that really changed my approach to creativity called "The Talent Code" by Daniel Coyle. He basically breaks down the science of how talent is made. Yes, you do need the aptitude to become talented at something (which is really just a combination of having the ability to do it & being interested in it enough to actually work on it), but most people can do most things & get pretty decently good at them. There's an audiobook version of the book available on Amazon, if you're interested in it:
https://www.amazon.com/Talent-Code-Unlocking-Secret-Anything-dp-1598878735/dp/1598878735/
I'd highly recommend that book (or audiobook, I have both & revisit it annually!), especially if you want to combine that pragmatic adult approach with fostering creativity...they can actually work hand in hand! Talent is really about breaking things down into little pieces & making consistent progress on it over time, even when it gets boring & hard, which is where the pragmatic approach has to kick in, because the creative part of yourself hates that crap & will want to quit, lol. Check out this amazing video on the concept of "grit" as a predictor of success & as the engine that drives progress & creativity:
https://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_grit_the_power_of_passion_and_perseverance?language=en
Also, you don't need to spend ten thousand hours to get good at something...you need like, 20 hours - for real! Check this video out for more on that concept:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtJy69cEOtQ
I enjoy exploring my creativity in a variety of ways:
It's incredibly easy to be nothing more than a content consumer these days, and that's a deathtrap for creative people, because we go into ga-ga mode instead of actually creating real output ourselves. Websites & apps are literally setup as addiction machines (I mean literally). So it's important to decide within what fields you'd like to be creative in...whether it's Martial arts, or a sport, or gymnastics, or fashion design, or residential architecture or landscaping or anything really...and then decide what you want to make, learn the mechanics of how to do it, and start creating!
I like to set things up within routines, as my blocks of time are generally fixed during the day due to job commitments, family commitments, and so on. My time for practicing the guitar, trying new recipes, etc., is limited each day, because I gotta go to bed at some point & wake up for the next day lol, so I have had to really get specific about what I want to accomplish & when. I have a huge list of recipes to try & generally try at least one or two new ones each week, which means that every year, I've gotten exposed to 50 new recipes that I've personally made with my own two hands..vs. years prior of simply pinning stuff on Pinterest & never actually bothering to pick a date to make something, go shopping for the ingredients, and then trying it out!
Creativity? Pssh, creativity is easy. Getting serious about picking something (or multiple things) to work on & then getting to work is the real ticket to creativity. Everyone out there is creative in some way, but you have to setup your daily routine to foster that creativity by carving out blocks of time to work on stuff & picking out stuff to work on! And then creating some kindling for that fire, whether it's a big list of recipes or 30 squares of sketches or whatever it may be. Define your creative process, which at first can & absolutely should include copycatting everything out there (be sure to listen to the Bronte sisters section in the Talent Code book about this!!). And remember, everything is a remix!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJPERZDfyWc
Universal Principals of Design
sorry for late reply. try this book. I guess it kinda summarize the whole thing.
https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Principles-Design-Revised-Updated/dp/1592535879
check it out first. maybe it might not suit you
I'm not a professional designer - so take this with a grain of salt. However, I do work with a good number of designers in my profession and have learned a thing or two
Here's my suggestions:
Here's what I'd do:
See how that turns out.
Additionally, if design is your thing I'd check out Universal Principles of Design, Fantastic book.
For color palettes, I'd recommend Adobe Color CC/Adobe Kuler
Also, read anything by Dieter Rams.
Get him this book, it’ll teach him more about design in general than most courses:
https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Principles-Design-Revised-Updated/dp/1592535879/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2CTGV687A3XUK&keywords=universal+principles+of+design&qid=1563873263&s=gateway&sprefix=Universal+pr%2Caps%2C231&sr=8-1
First, I would study some basic design principles. Look at a few books on typography, grid, etc. Learn about some of the major design movements.
Check out these book:
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Principles-Design-Revised-Updated/dp/1592535879/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299115160&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.com/Grid-Systems-Principles-Organizing-Design/dp/1568984650/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1299115186&sr=1-7-spell
What tends to happen is most people dive into these tutorials knowing how to use the programs, but not knowing anything about design in general. Knowing how to use Photoshop doesn't necessarily mean you are a designer, like knowing how to play a few chords on a guitar doesn't necessarily make you a musician.
Web design is big now, but if you want to hop on the next gravy train, I'd suggest getting into Mobile / Tablet visual design. The demand is hot and theres not enough people who know how to do proper visual design for touch screen devices.
Oh yeah, and Lynda.com and tutsplus is good too. Learn the programs, but don't expend too much energy learning fancy lighting tricks until you've learnt the basics of design. It'll help build a foundation on which you can go from there.
Another awesome book
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Principles-Design-Revised-Updated/dp/1592535879/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416173395&sr=8-1&keywords=Universal+principles+of+design
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1592535879/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For general design
and for games
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1539103188/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
also to your question, advanced game design is knowing more than 1 discipline. This is very common with Level Deisgners because they need to be able to touch everything a little bit. Generally speaking, if you can open most programs and work around a little, you will make peoples lives easier when you get to your job (if you're a LD). Other jobs can be different, if you write code, chances are that's all you will be doing, but still - a coder who can also animate - well you got yourself a tech animator and you are now worth way more to the team.
Another book recommendation: Creative Workshop: 80 Challenges to Sharpen Your Design Skills.
Sorry for the late reply.
Here is a short list of books I keep around for reference (some better than others).
http://www.amazon.com/Forms-Folds-Sizes-Details-Designers/dp/1592530540
http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Type-2nd-revised-expanded/dp/1568989695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418263515&sr=1-1&keywords=ellen+lupton+thinking+with+type
http://www.amazon.com/Making-Breaking-Grid-Graphic-Workshop/dp/1592531253/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418263563&sr=1-1&keywords=breaking+the+grid
http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Workshop-Challenges-Sharpen-Design/dp/1600617972/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418263563&sr=1-2&keywords=breaking+the+grid
http://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Creative-Design-Second/dp/2940411611/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418263761&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Fundamentals+of+Creative+Design
For HTML, CSS, and Javascript, the O'Reilly series of books is a good teacher / skill sharpener.
See if your boss will spring for a subscription to Lynda.com. There are just bazillions of things in there that can not only teach you, but provide exercises and practical lessons. I can't commend this highly enough.
I am in almost the same situation.
I have also been looking for books for motivation, inspiration and so on.
Here are some stuff that keep getting recommended as well as other books that I think are interesting judging by their description and reviews (note: I haven't read anything yet I am just sharing my searching results from the past 2 or 3 days):
For creative problems
For Inspiration
And this one seems to go into depth of the business itself:
Like I said, I haven't read any of those but maybe this will save some time for you or for other people searching for books.
There is also Thinking with Type, The Elements of Typographic Style, Universal Principles of Design, Deign for how people learn, How to be a Graphics Designer without losing your soul.
Edit: I was actually going to make a thread similar to this but I am gonna post my similar question here anyway,
Does anybody know of more books for people who are already involved in the medium ?
A lot of recommendations I see around the internet seem to be for someone just starting graphics design or still in school but rarely is it something for a higher level.
I got a job through a friend who worked for a company that was looking for an illustrator... they hired me on a contractual basis, and when I was finished with the work they wanted, they hired me on as a junior graphic designer. So I think unfortunately it's often about who know know.
What have you been designing in the last year? Have you tried to work on your portfolio at all, or do unpaid work for friends (to avoid gaps in your resume)? I just recently bought this book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1600617972/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i02 and I find it's really helping me improve my portfolio.
If you want to actually learn perspective well I recommend this book - it's the most technical treatment of the subject that I've found.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732
It is written as though you are going to be drawing complex objects like sports cars in 3 dimensions so it's very precise. Most of the explanations of perspective I've found on the internet are very 'dumbed down' and just cover the basics of vanishing points.
this is a great book!!! XD
Well drawing for me started out as a coping mechanism when I was a kid and still is for me today (especially these days). I had a lot of problems with depression and anxiety as a child coupled with a fairly ignorant father that didn't recognize these things as mental problems. I was forced to try to find a way to deal with hordes of feelings and emotions that as a mere child I was incapable of understanding and drawing helped me do that. Around the time I was about 13 or so some close friends of mine started drawing and where WAAAAY better than I was, so that pushed me to start working on things like technique and different styles. I really liked Dragonball Z at that age so I started drawing pictures I printed out from the internet regularly and started drawing in an anime style and eventually began coming up with my own characters, my friends were really good at drawing in anime styles so they taught me a lot about it.
When high school rolled around (I'll say sophomore year or so) I took basic art 1&2 but I never really did too much because the course material was SO rigid that it didn't interest me. Ms. Huelett (the art teacher) felt like I had a lot of talent and took me under her wing in a big way. She knew A LOT about art and helped me learn and meld multiple styles together in order for me to create my own. She taught me a lot about anatomy and how to draw people/characters in different poses, how to properly shadow characters and apply light sources to my pieces, creating expressions and applying drama through a characters poses, she poured as much knowledge into me as she could and I couldn't be more grateful for all she taught me.
I know it isn't much (you've also been given some great advice already I see, which is fantastic) but I'll give you a few links to some books that really helped me learn more about various styles and techniques (I still have most of these books and refer to them fairly often, even now)
http://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1404954561&sr=8-9&keywords=how+to+draw
http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Urban-Sketching-Location/dp/1592537251/ref=sr_1_19?ie=UTF8&qid=1404954800&sr=8-19&keywords=how+to+draw+graffiti
http://www.amazon.com/Street-Art-Doodle-Book-Outside/dp/1856696820/ref=sr_1_28?ie=UTF8&qid=1404954800&sr=8-28&keywords=how+to+draw+graffiti
http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Head-Figure-Perigee-Jack/dp/0399507914/ref=sr_1_28?ie=UTF8&qid=1404954902&sr=8-28&keywords=how+to+draw+books
http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Manga-Mark-Crilley-drawing-ebook/dp/B006WUD10S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404954990&sr=8-1&keywords=how+to+draw+manga
http://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-Manga-Bodies-Anatomy/dp/4766112385/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1404954990&sr=8-6&keywords=how+to+draw+manga
http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Cutting-Edge-Anatomy-Reference-ebook/dp/B00G8ELT2K/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1404955084&sr=8-10&keywords=how+to+draw+comics
http://www.amazon.com/Draw-Comic-Book-Action-Garbett/dp/1440308136/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1404955084&sr=8-14&keywords=how+to+draw+comics
I think that's most of the books I've got, at the very least it'll give you some ideas to practice with and all of those books together isn't too bad of a price and it's a good way to get experience in the things you want to learn (I think) if you're not able to afford the classes you were suggested.
Good god this post is long as hell and I apologize for that, I'm just trying to be as helpful as I possibly can with what I know (call it a flaw)
I'll leave you with a few pieces of advice that help me out regularly and that I feel have gotten me to the level I'm at now (though I think I'm just ok at best truthfully)
Sorry again for the book, I just hope I was at least a little bit helpful with the advice I was able to give and didn't come off as arrogant sounding or anything
Best of luck and I can't wait to see what you do in the future :)
Scott Robertson in one of his videos talks about building muscle memory for drawing straight lines and ellipsis. Once you do this, you simply 'turn the pad' to position the paper so it's wherever you want to draw.
Technical Pen and Paper does two things for you. The way it feels when you drag a pencil tip across the paper is called 'tooth.' This is feedback that your hand can feel as it will feel different as you speed up or slow down. Or different types of paper. But you can feel the pencil move across the paper.
Tablets generally don't have any tooth - or very very little. So it's difficult to build that 'muscle memory' for drawing a straight line.
The first few lessons on drawabox you could work on those at your desk without any issues. It's really about getting confidence with basics and line quality.
How to draw - By Scott Robertson is pretty good. It's really based on perspective and drawing things in perspective, though, and isn't as much designed in lessons but as in sections for different types of perspective tasks.
Definitely classes. If you're not doing classes for whatever reason. I suggest making these three books your bible.
How to draw - Scott Robertson
Color and light
And finally
Bridgman's Drawing from life
No need to get them all at once. But these three books are chock full of lessons that you will revisit over and over as you progress in your art. Strongly recommended.
Glad I could be of help!
Watts Atelier is really amazing. It is beginner friendly - anatomy knowledge helps, but you wont be drawing the figure immediately. It will still be a good idea to learn anatomy while you continue through the program - I'll link you to some great anatomy resources.
To give you a rough breakdown of how the course works, you start by drawing simple shapes (spheres, cylinders, boxes, cones) focusing on form and value. Then you will start drawing other simple geometric forms applying the same principles. Then drawing fundamentals is finished with still life drawing. Next you move into portrait drawing fundamentals, then figure. If you are interested in painting, you can continue the course to portrait and figure painting, along with other specialized classes (landscape, drapery, composition, etc.)
On the issue of sizing, that is a problem that will solve itself naturally over time. It has to do with proportions and measuring, which is a skill that takes time and practice to get a handle on. Eventually you can visualize where everything goes and place it on the page in the right spot. But yeah, Watts Atelier will definitely help.
The difference between Watts and other free tutorials online is 1.) professionalism and structure: The course is taught by the founder of the atelier Jeff Watts, and it is structured like a true academic art class. Learning online gives you random bits of information which are helpful, but you can't contextualize them. The course is designed to take you from beginner to master. The tutorials online are fun, but don't have that structure.
2.) The teachers are world class artists. To give context, here is some of Jeff Watts work. You may not want to be a painter, but you can be confident that you are learning from a master. You can also google his drawings, they will blow you away. Also, the guy Stan Prokopenko who I recommended - and is often mentioned in this sub - was trained at the Watts Atelier by Jeff Watts.
You probably get the picture, its a great program. My experience with it has been an absolute joy. I wish I could go back in time two years when I started pursuing a career in art and taken these classes immediately. It would have saved me so much time and effort wasted trying to figure out how to grow as an artist on my own. What I do is pay for a month and watch all the videos and print out the handouts for the module (currently on portrait II), and then spend however long I need to get a good handle on it before I spend the 100$ for the next month. Also, if you have the cash to blow, you can spend extra money to get 1 on 1 coaching with teachers at the atelier.
I will note that it can get boring drawing spheres and still life all the time, so make sure you schedule time to draw stuff you love. Once you get into portrait and figure things get way more fun, but just be ready for that in the early stages.
Anyway, glad I could help at all! Feel free to PM me at any time, I have tons of resources I've hoarded over the years that can be helpful. Here are some links that might be helpful:
Here is a video of Jeff Watts drawing and answering questions, it will give you an idea of what his teaching style is like and who he is. Also the drawing is really good.
New Masters Academy is another great tool that has been huge for me. The anatomy and figure drawing courses are amazing. They aren't as structured as Watts, but can be very useful for when you have specific areas you want help for.
This book is superb for figure drawing. Also, this book is the equally amazing book on perspective. Also, a lot of books don't talk about drawing the clothed figure (which is pretty dumb considering most of the time, commercial art has to do with clothed people), which is why I also love this book. You are probably familiar with Bridgman's book, but if you don't have it - get it.
A lot of professional artists in many different industries (concept art, comics, film, animation, 3D, etc.) make gumroad tutorials for a decent price, here is a massive list of tons of these great tutorials.
If you want some inspiration while you work, I love listening to Creative Trek and Chris Oatley's Artcast. They both are mostly interviews with other professional artists and contain all sorts of wisdom and inspiration to help you out.
I have more, but I'll leave it there. I hope the best for you man! Keep up the hard work! Feel free to PM me for whatever reason.
I'm late to the party, but I made a cheat sheet for my boss niece last week: here's all the ressources I can think of to kick butts at matte painting.
The sites where we pay per month
Gnomon Online School
Super school of vfx in California. They have on their site a lot of tutorials from 8 to 20 hours to learn to make your own camera projections. You can either pay (expensive but worth it) for a private class with a teacher via Skype. Or you pay (cheaper) for a bank of tutorials.
private lessons
https://www.gnomon.edu/courses/online
the bank of tutorials
https://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/tutorials?tags[]=matte-painting
I recommend: All the tutorials of Dylan Cole (vol 1, 2,3), Camera Projection Techniques in Maya, Matte Painting Production techniques, etc.
Plural Sight (formerly Digital Tutors)
a site that has courses on a little everything. This site is very good when you want to learn new programs. Excellent serie on the 3D which becomes more and more present in the matte painting, and some tutorials
https://app.pluralsight.com/library/
related to 3D
Quick start to modeling in Maya (volume 1,2,3)
Professional Tips for Modeling Complex Shapes
related to matte painting
Photo manipulation and Clean Plating Fundamentals
Matte Painting Basic and the Static Camera Shot
Sites where we pay per tutorial (Gumroad, etc.)
The tutorials of Anthony Eftekhari
Good DMP tutorials that show you the latest techniques and how to do it step by step.
https://gumroad.com/anthonye
The tutorials of Eytan Zana
More concept art, but the main lines apply just as well to the DMP.
https://gumroad.com/eytanzana
Free sites and tutorials
Garrett Fry's blog
He also has a Facebook group that helps each other in DMP, it is THE technical reference for matte painting. His blog is full of technical stuff for camera projections (aka moving your matte painting). A treasure of information.
https://www.gfryart.com/blog
Other
TEXTURES! (Or can we find good textures to make DMP)
CGtexture
http://www.textures.com
Flickr (Matte Painting References)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tjframe/sets/72157605581901392/
Flickr (Matte Painting Resources)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dman3d2000/sets/72157629164518650/
Photobash.org (paying a card)
https://www.photobash.org/
Pictures of Jacek Pilarski
https://gumroad.com/jacekpilarski
Books (yes yes, it's a thing)
Digital Matte Painter Handbook
it's old, the drawings are ugly, the photoshop stuff in it is pure candy though. Full of stuff in DMP that I have never seen elsewhere but that is the basis of the trade. Still actual today. The matte painting of the castle in is also an excellent starting point if you start from scratch.
https://www.amazon.ca/Digital-Matte-Painting-Handbook/dp/0470922427/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1523975893&sr=1-1&keywords=Digital+Matte+Painting+Handbook
How to draw and How to Render
Scott Robertson, a big shot of concept art, shows the basics of traditional drawings, perspective, etc. An essential.
https://www.amazon.ca/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732/ref=pd_sim_14_4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=GWB27RDDYF5E0JG7TTY0
https://www.amazon.ca/How-Render-fundamentals-shadow-reflectivity/dp/1933492961/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=K9W1RK5K9KVWMPY14EAE
Imaginative Realism and Color and Light
James Gurney is an illustrator who specializes in realistic fantasy artwork with traditional mediums, excellent cues on light and color
https://www.amazon.ca/Imaginative-Realism-Paint-Doesnt-Exist/dp/0740785508?th=1&psc=1&source=googleshopping&locale=en-CA&tag=googcana-20&ref=pd_sl_2y2j9az9y9_e
https://www.amazon.ca/Color-Light-Guide-Realist-Painter/dp/0740797719/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=YCNYYJCTNJ4405KD1S6B
Nuke 101
We can make the projection of matte painting in Nuke or Maya. An excellent book for Nuke.
https://www.amazon.ca/Nuke-101-Professional-Compositing-Effects/dp/0321984129/ref=pd_sim_14_8?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=FNST5YS1F7464SZY3QZV
This: https://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732/
This: https://www.amazon.com/Drawn-Life-Classes-Stanchfield-Lectures/dp/0240811070/
This: https://www.amazon.com/FORCE-Dynamic-Drawing-Anniversary-Force/dp/1138919578/
And this: https://www.amazon.com/Figure-Drawing-All-Its-Worth/dp/0857680986/
Not bad. The thing that jumps out to me that could be improved is the mallet. For one, the bottom dark line under the diamonds doesn't curve on the left at all. The two diamonds on the outside also look off. The left one should be more foreshortened. It just dawned on me how you could draw the construction lines to make this look better. Admittedly, this could have been done better if I had split the oval reference lines more equally, but the prinicpal is there to get you understanding how to make construction lines for the diamonds to look better. I just kind of eyeballed it.
This book, How to Draw by Scott Robertson, can give you more in depth instruction on how to draw shapes from different angles.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732
Mmmm... it's hard to say really, I'm self-taught so my way of learning is most likely very inefficient. The few tips I can give you though is:
at the very beginning, just make drawing a consistent habit, draw whatever, but dedicate some time and try to draw daily. Little but consistent steps are much more powerful than ''drawing entire day once a week''.
fall in love with the process and don't care much about result, aka never compare yourself to others. Your drawings will suck, a lot, for a long time - and that's completely okay, because we all go through that. Comparing yourself to someone with years of experience will only demotimate you. This video perfectly illustrated what I mean: https://youtu.be/lRtV-ugIT0k
once you get into ha bit of drawing relatively often, you can try learning some fundamentals like anatomy/perspective. For those there are many resources online, and books.
AND PRACTICE - a lot, on paper, with pen, or wahtever you got, there's no such excuse ''I odn't have a tablet or fancy pen or whatever'', in fact most of your studies if not all, in the beginning should be on paper, before you get into digital things.
Books I recommend for a begginer:
Perspective: https://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732
Anatomy: https://www.alexhays.com/loomis/ (these are free)
and this channel is absolutely amazing https://www.youtube.com/user/ProkoTV
When you start with basics, you will be just drawing spheres and cubes. Learning fundamentals is very different from actual illustrations - it's quite tedious and even boring, but it propels you forward fast. When it comes to drawing fun stuff tho - always question what, why, how it works and use references. Look at many other artists and question how and why they did the things they did. Once you get down to it - it becomes just pure science.
I'm not gonna go on anymore because it's quite a long post as it is, hope it helps in a way. I use photoshop, because I started with it and it's very powerful- tho it's very hard for a beginner to use, in you case I would probably start with ''paint tool sai''.
If you wanna follow me and learn more about me, you can follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/tmiracleart and the links in the stream description, as well as join my discord (link in the stream description).
When you said Scott Robertson's How to Draw book you meant this?
http://www.amazon.de/How-Draw-Sketching-Environments-Imagination/dp/1933492732
http://www.amazon.de/How-Render-Fundamentals-Shadow-Reflectivity/dp/1933492961/
how to draw gibt einem die grundlagen wie man objekte/landschaften perspektivisch korrekt zeichnet bzw. konstruiert. how to render baut auf how to draw auf und zeigt einem wie man die linien mit farbe füllen muss. dazu gibts noch links auf seine website mit 30+ stunden videomaterial.
I would recommend How to Draw by Scott Robertson. He does lots of digital art but the book can easily be followed by using any medium of your liking. The book is filled with practical examples and knowledge. Many perspective books dive so deeply into the science they forget to show you how to use and apply it to your work. The book also comes with links to hidden videos to go with the book. Here is a video of him paging through the book. You can check out his other tutorials on that same youtube channel. His videos usually focus more on advanced subjects a bit past the basics but any skill level can learn from them.
Honestly mate, seems like you need to broaden your minds creative library. The best way to do this is to do a lot of studies of things from life and combined them with the things you love. So if you want to design cool vehicles then you need to do studies from vehicles we have around us today. Best way to learn this is to use your perspective knowledge and draw those vehicles/buildings. Scott Robertson honestly breaks this process down the best. And if you don't already have it I suggest picking up How to Draw, by Scott Robertson. https://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1541794749&sr=8-1&keywords=scott+robertson He goes pretty in-depth on how to create vehicles and buildings with perspective.
Also check out Feng Zhu on YouTube. He talks about how to go about expanding your creative library. And being able to pull from it when concepting.
​
Hope this somewhat helps. Good luck with your art journey mate!
https://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732
I'd also recommend looking through the gnomon workshop for lectures about perspective, color theory, anatomy, composition, positive negative space, tangent lines, etc etc etc.
Art isn't an exact science but it's definitely close.
Well, I've gone ahead and picked up the recommended How To Draw book, since that seems to cover primarily what I'm trying to get better at (that flip through you did was perfect!).
I really enjoyed the advice you gave throughout your videos, like only committing to what you know you can do, and the risk/reward perspective. You make quite a few compelling points!
As far as topics - I've always marveled at how an artist can take a blank canvas, draw an outline, and then add details to bring them to life. I have enough technical skill to make a decent copy of an existing image, but I could never start an original concept from scratch without just creating generic stuff. Mentally I have an idea on features or style, but I'm never sure on how to incorporate them.
I guess my question would be - How do you 'design' the uniqueness to an idea? How do you figure out what kind of character to give it?
Sorry this is really not going to be helpful but I'm going to say it anyways. It's mostly practice. The more you try it, the more easily your eye spots it out. And by practice, I don't just mean look at stuff and try to find the shapes in it. Draw it out, build stuff out of geometric shapes or go over your drawings and fill it in with geometric shapes. If you search up analytical figure drawing, it basically takes this concept and applies it to the human figure. If you really want to go in depth, a book that really helped me with the technical aspect of art was the book, How to Draw. I'll link it at the bottom.
I think a lot of technical drawing is mostly retraining the things your eyes notice as well as muscle memory. If you practice enough, you'll get there. Some people like to say drawing is a talent, but the real talent is work ethic. If you want to get better, and you work at it, you will.
Link to analytical figure drawing example:
http://theartreferences.tumblr.com/post/33190998640/analytical-figure-drawing-week-6-shoulder
Link to the book:
http://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1422224291&sr=8-2&keywords=how+to+draw
Yup I highly recommend you get his newest book "How To Draw", fantastic book.
If you've got the time and resources to spare, try making maquettes. You can get modeling clay fairly cheap, and it can be incredibly helpful to throw together a quick maquette, chuck it under a lamp, and see what happens with the light.
If you want a great pair of books on light and form by a master painter, check out James Gurney's Color and Light and Imaginative Realism. His blog is worth a read as well, it's always informative and interesting.
If you want a more technical approach to lighting, How to Render is a fantastic technical examination of how light behaves on various surfaces. The associated How to Draw is an excellent technical book on perspective. Both are a bit dry and clinical, but quite excellent.
Anything by Andrew Loomis is also well worth picking up.
I made a little gif to explain how to derive a perspective grid using a 60 degree cone of vision. I thought you guys might appreciate it. It's based on Scott Robertson's How to Draw book:
https://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732
Steps:
I'm on Drawcrowd if you want to say hi: https://drawcrowd.com/kennedy31415
ahoy!
If you're finding it hard to make time for in person classes, there are tons of resources online that might suit you better for the time being. Youtube is an awesome resource, I really enjoy Aaron Blaise's channel but there are tons of other free lessons and tutorials available.
Tumblr is actually a really good place to find all kinds of art blogs/refs/tutorials. Even Reddit has some drawing sections where you can get critique from others!
Lynda.com you follow along with lessons and they provide working files you can can download.
FZD School of Design
Level Up!
Other than that just practice!
These books are a pretty good jumping off point if you want to just get a strong understanding of foundations.
Sorry for the long post, I likes me some drawing yar har :)
In this case, I'd figure a way to make it work for you instead of fighting it. For example, one of my classmates has really scratchy, high-density way of drawing. Another dude has very accurate inkings drawn with a crazy wobbly line - but because the initial sketch is calculated and very precise, the image still reads.
Especially when you draw big (think A3 or larger) and then present the image smaller, the line quality will look better.
On techniques for fine motor skills, I've heard great things about Peter Han's course, though I haven't bought it myself. In school, we did the exercises from Scott Robertson's book. That book is hardcore on technical skills. The motor skills are only a small part of it.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933492732?keywords=scott%20robertson%20how%20to%20draw&qid=1458406075&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1
This one?
How to Draw: drawing and sketching objects and environments from your imagination by Scott Robertson:
amazon dot com/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732
I haven't made it to far into the book because my primary focus is on Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, but so far it seems pretty fun. It's about $25ish.
Get this book right here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933492732?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
I'm not an expert on what's out there by any means, as I'm mostly a 3d artist who recently has been more interested in brushing up and improving my drawing skills. But I just bought this book which deals a lot with what you're looking for.
If you want to get into design, make design. Your 5D illustrations are just illustrations. Ask yourself: In what contexts could one use them? What kind of client might be looking for something like that?
I personally find your "RE-DESIGN: A Portfolio of Quondam Flack" stuff much more expressive and more interesting than all your drawings. With one exception: I think this one is well drawn. A nice illustration with a solid composition. I wished there was more of that in your portfolio.
When I read your "about", I can't help but think: She's juggling too many balls at once. You've got many ideas which is great. But I think you should learn more about typography and composition if you want to make graphic design.
At the moment, when I'm scrolling through your works, nothing seems to belong together. Make a PDF of your 5D illustrations and flip through them as if it was a magazin/artbook to see what I mean.
To offer a certain level of quality in your portfolio, sort out weaker works like this, this and perhaps also that.
I'm also not sure about this one. As a longtime digital artist, I often see this kind of colouring with a soft round brush in paintings done by beginners. If you want to show your drawings in your portfolio, I also recommend to learn about anatomy and proportions. This is not acceptable. (I wouldn't tell you this if your drawings were of the same quality as your photographs.)
If I were you, I'd keep drawing as a hobby (until I'm better at it) and I'd invest time in learning about typography and grid systems and try to extend this style. Imagine you are working for a client, a magazin, that wants you to make collages like these for a fixed topic. Make a sequence of illustrations/collages. Three to five is enough. Try to design some fake covers. I could also imagine a CD cover and booklet in your style. And so on ...
> Making and breaking the grid
This comes up a lot. Have you also read Grid Systems by Josef Müller-Brockmann? If so, how do the two compare?
Here are some general book recommendations:
https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Typographic-Style-Robert-Bringhurst/dp/0881791326?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0
AND
https://www.amazon.com/Grid-Systems-Graphic-Design-Communication/dp/3721201450?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0
OR
https://www.amazon.com/Making-Breaking-Grid-Graphic-Workshop/dp/1592531253/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=NTZ6D5W49YDT8ABS9XXH
La design nu pot sa zic ca ma pricep prea tare, dar domeniul ma preocupa din ce in ce mai mult. Thinking with type si The Elements of Typographic Style, The Design of Everyday Things, Grid Systems in Graphic Design, Making and Breaking the Grid: A Graphic Design Layout Workshop si Don't Make Me Think sunt cartile care mi-au placut/din care am invatat cel mai mult, dar sunt clasice asa ca banuiesc ca stii de ele.
While at Uni we were recommended to buy this book:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sketching-Drawing-Techniques-Product-Designers/dp/9063691718
Its pretty good to read through, from basics up to more advanced techniques.
Also, you could take an object (whatever product you like) and study its form (you can clearly do this already if you can draw well from observation).
Set yourself a mini project to sketch out variations of the same product, they could be small changes to the details or slight changes to the shape. This way you are using a skill you already have and using it to develop one you want to work on.
Unfortunately there is no substitute for practice so give yourself realistic targets and stick to these, e.g. 10 concepts a day.
You don't have to show these to anyone and don't be precious, just get your ideas down on paper and you will begin to see improvements :)
Learn to use the grid?
This is very much from a graphic design background rather than as a developer but here are a few of the best resources I've used.
The Elements of Typographic Design by Robert Bringhurst
This is specifically for typography rather than design as a whole but its the best book I've ever read on the subject. Graphic designers (at least the ones I know) use it all of the time as a reference. PDF
Grid Systems in Graphic Design by Josef Muller-Brockmann
Josef Muller Brockmann was a genius with grids and this is his book teaching other's his use of them. PDF
The Kerning Game
Super simple little game but it'll teach you the basics of kerning.
More so then these resources though I just advise you to look at history, look at famous designers (Paul Rand, Paula Scher, Mark Farrow, Wim Crouwel) and their work then try to think critically about what makes them successful, what are their short comings, why they chose those colours and then try to develop your own style using multiple designers that have come before you as a reference. If you have a graphic designer friend you can bounce ideas off of and get feedback from all the better.
The Visual Display of Quantitive Information is a great source for history and inspiration on Data Visualization and analysis. If you do end up gravitating more towards design I would also recommend Grid Systems in Grpahic Design by Josef Müller-Brockmann.
​
https://www.amazon.com/Visual-Display-Quantitative-Information/dp/1930824130
https://www.amazon.es/Grid-Systems-Graphic-Design-Communication/dp/3721201450
https://www.amazon.com/Grid-systems-graphic-design-communication/dp/3721201450
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/3721201450 is (among) the best.
You're around that particular device every day. Just like you know how to use the doors at school or work. Such a mindless process can throw people off when it deviates from the norm, though. Maybe the Yes/No is switched left and right, or even top and bottom. Maybe the card swiper is on the top instead of the side, or swipes in the opposite direction. Sometimes you even insert the card instead of swiping. Some places don't even ask about cash back. Some places ask if your cashier greeted you on the screen.
The Design of Everyday Things is a good book on User Centered Design. Just because something is simple once you learn it doesn't necessarily mean it is well designed...even if learning it only takes 3 seconds.
I enjoyed The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman which everyone seems to recommend for designers of all types from UI to ID.
I haven't looked at any of the others suggested for materials but I was very surprised at how good Manufacturing Processes for Design Professionals was when I was looking through it last week, it's full of images and diagrams and does a great job of going over things. Much more interesting than this book which I used in Man. Tech.
It kind of depends on what kind of calligraphy you'd like to try.
I'm still very much a learner myself, so take my recommendations with a grain of salt. But for traditional calligraphy, I like a pilot parallel and this book: The Calligrapher's Bible. It's not the best for basic technique, but for playing around and deciding what I liked it's been excellent.
I haven't found a good book for flex nib calligraphy, yet; I've mostly been working from printed sheets on the internet. The nib I'm using right now is a so-so speedball kit that takes a lot of pressure.
I strongly recommend this jetpens writeup which I've just found; there's a lot of great information here.
On an additional note, I've found that while I'm learning, a light table has been great for practice. It takes the pressure off of being able to eyeball and/or draw out all the needed guide lines; I can just trace while I get a feel for the basic mechanics of the pen. I wish I'd had one when I was learning traditional calligraphy, because it's really flattened the learning curve with brush and pointed pen.
Edit: out of curiosity, would anyone care to explain why I'm being downvoted here? It would be nice to engage in discussion on this, since the downvotes don't help either Sweatshirt or myself...
This article is the equivalent of suggesting a graphic designer to use Frontpage for web development, and assure him that the results will be professional enough.
Relying on visual design tools, just because they work, without making a minimal effort to understand WHY they work is like taking a code library and using it without first investigating what it actually does.
Being visually literate is not too hard, once you know the rules. For your average dev, whose analytical mind has no problem wrapping around complex problems, it's just a matter of explaining these rules in a way they can easily grasp. For me Robin Williams' "Non Designers Design Book was a real eye opener.
Although I admit I was born gifted with visual acuity, after studying some design theory, my understanding of how things work visually has increased manyfold. I believe everyone is born with some ability of distinguishing beauty from ugliness (in the most general sense, visually). Everyone can see a design work that's just a bit off, but most are unable to say exactly why. What studying design theory does, is enable you to pinpoint exactly why a piece is not working, and what to do about it.
If you leave out the artsy jargon, what remains is well-defined geometrical and logical rules. Composition, Layout and Color theory are all very precise in nature. You can safely follow these rules, at first blindly, but as you progress, you begin to internalize these rules, and they become second nature to you. After a while you will come to the realization that, in fact you always kinda knew these rules, the only thing that design theory gave you was an ordered understanding.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0321534042?pc_redir=1397282920&robot_redir=1
> do not require to think about how to use it
https://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Revised-Expanded/dp/0465050654
"knowledge in the world" - easy to figure out how to do things w/out thinking/knowing all the details. if you know what you need to do, you can figure out how to do it.
vs.
"knowledge in the head" - you have to memorize things. harder learning curve. much much more efficient for power users. most cli tools are "knowledge in the head". most CLI applications in linux are "knowledge in the head" applications because they don't have the same UI affordances as a desktop/windowed application.
GNU screen and tmux ARE CLI applications. you might run one on your desktop directly, but they are even more useful to run on remote servers and keep a persistent session.
also, you may have to tweak the config a bit, but i see almost no difference in actually using screen vs. tmux (except tmux has better features). even the default key-bindings are the same.
Yes
and this
and this
There are three things I would recommend to you. :)
You'll find that a lot of information on color out there is almost strictly theory oriented (not a big surprise considering it's called color theory), and there isn't much practical help on how to apply that information. Each of the things I just suggested are all very practical sources of information for learning how to work with color.
Some things you should note, though...the Scott Robertson book is designed to build on top of his book How to Draw. That book teaches you perspective and how to create proper 3d forms in 2d space. How to Render builds on that by teaching you how light will interact realistically with those forms you now know how to create. If you don't want to work through How to Draw, that's fine (though I highly suggest that book as well)...but you'll probably be losing out on a fuller understanding of the concepts.
Make sure that before you move too much into painting and color working that you can make well constructed drawings and can handle value properly. Those two are the most important. Why? Because if you don't have a proper looking drawing then no matter how well you can render and lay color over it...that won't save it...it will still look wrong. And if you can draw well constructed things but you're weak in values, then you're really in trouble. If, when you lay down color, the values of those colors are wrong, then your well constructed forms that you drew will no longer read as the forms that they're supposed to because the "light" that's interacting with the form isn't interacting like it would in real life so your eye reads it as a different form than you intended.
I understand that they style you're going after isn't at all realistic. On some of them the color that's there isn't even being used to render...it's simply there as a graphic element. Which is fine! Really awesome style. But you will be well served if you put in the time to learn the technical application of light and color. That way, since you know the "rules", you'll have control over the color...when to use it realistically and how and when to use it graphically...rather than the color having control over you. :)
Hope this helps! :)
Read this book and get back to me (amazon link, no hard feelings after all). Good design doesn't expect people to be machines. Instead it anticipates common mistakes and strives to minimize them. Clearly I'm not the first person to make this mistake (the customer service rep knew what my problem was before I had finished explaining it), so it's something that needs to be planned for and avoided. Switching the default address back to the old one over and over is the exact opposite of planning for the mistake, they're practically encouraging it.
>No. At a certain point, not paying attention to what you are doing has to be blamed on you.
Well yes. There's a balance here that I was implying with "at a certain point." Not every mistake is the designer's fault, but not every mistake is the user's fault either. Some things, like the present case, are both the user's fault and bad design. Just because the manual says "Don't push that button," that doesn't mean that the machine is well designed. Good design goes way beyond this, and users are better off when they call bad design what it is, even if it's their own mistake that they're pointing out when they do so.