Hover your mouse over the
icon for a synopsis of or more information about any of the sources listed here.
Typography and Graphic Design by
This chronological study traces the evolution of graphic form, from Antiquity through the Middle Ages and up through the age of technology. Each period is explained in detail, from Classical craftsmanship to the changes brought on by the Industrial Revolution and the modern-day potential of the digital world. As computers now play an integral role in academic and professional environments, virtually everyone makes font choices on a regular basis, rendering typography more relevant than ever before. This thorough, scholarly, and visually-appealing volume combines the history of the letter form--from the invention of printing to the relationship between graphics and totalitarian regimes--with intricate analysis of graphic design and typography, all supported by 850 images with extensive notes and a bibliography. This is an indispensable handbook for understanding our daily visual environment, and essential reading for all graphic arts professionals.
Just My Type: A Book about Fonts by
A hugely entertaining and revealing guide to the history of type that asks, What does your favorite font say about you? Fonts surround us every day, on street signs and buildings, on movie posters and books, and on just about every product we buy. But where do fonts come from, and why do we need so many? Who is responsible for the staid practicality of Times New Roman, the cool anonymity of Arial, or the irritating levity of Comic Sans (and the movement to ban it)? Typefaces are now 560 years old, but we barely knew their names until about twenty years ago when the pull-down font menus on our first computers made us all the gods of type. Beginning in the early days of Gutenberg and ending with the most adventurous digital fonts, Simon Garfield explores the rich history and subtle powers of type.
Type Rules! The Designer's Guide to Professional Typography by
Type Rules! is an up-to-date, thorough introduction to the principles and practices of typography. From the fundamentals to cutting-edge applications, this Second Edition has everything today's serious designer needs. Dozens of exercises reinforce authoritative coverage on such topics as how to select the appropriate type for the job, how to set type like a pro, how to avoid common mistakes, and how to design a typeface, as well as how to fully harness the power of major design packages like Adobe InDesign and QuarkXPress.
Typography, Referenced by
Typography, Referenced is the single most comprehensive volume covering every aspect of typography that any design student, professional designer, or design aficionado needs to know today.
Exploring Typography by
Exploring Typography takes a concise but thorough approach to introducing and examining the principles of typography. Coverage begins with a brief history of type and a survey of how type is classified. Readers then learn about the physical components of letters and the rules of legibility, readability, and style. Subsequent chapters survey the creative use of emphasis, designing effective layouts, using grids, and developing original type styles. Finally, the author examines contemporary challenges in type while introducing terminology and concepts relevant to designing with type in a digital environment.
Moriz Jung, Greyhound, 1912. Color lithograph. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Not sure where to start? Try browsing the stacks. You might find something you know and love, or you might find something totally new! The stacks are organized by call number, and each call number range represents a particular subject. This means that books on the same topic will be located in the same general area.
Art, architecture, art history, art appreciation, and some design books are located in the N call number range of the 2nd floor stacks. Specifically, books on design, drawing, and illustration are in the NC call number range. Books on typography and printing are located in the Z call number range of the 2nd floor stacks.
Design Elements by
This book is simply the most compact and lucid handbook available outlining the basic principles of layout, typography, color usage, and space. Being a creative designer is often about coming up with unique design solutions. Unfortunately, when the basic rules of design are ignored in an effort to be distinctive, design becomes useless. In language, a departure from the rules is only appreciated as great literature if recognition of the rules underlies the text. Graphic design is a "visual language," and brilliance is recognized in designers whose work seems to break all the rules, yet communicates its messages clearly. This book is a fun and accessible handbook that presents the fundamentals of design in lists, tips, brief text, and examples.
Design: The Definitive Visual History by
Design: The Definitive Visual History lays out the complete evolution of design, from its origins in early cultures to the contemporary design -- physical and digital -- of today. This comprehensive volume covers every major design movement, along with the iconic designers and manufacturers who influenced everyday life through the objects and buildings they created. Arranged chronologically, Design moves decade-by-decade from the 1850s onward to explore the cultural, social, political, economic, and technological forces in the world at large and shows how these factors influenced movements and styles in design. Gorgeous catalogues of objects demonstrate how design in turn has influenced the everyday life, through architecture, fashion, furniture, ceramics, glassware, lighting, fabrics, electronic equipment, and more. With profiles of famous designers such as Alvar Aalto, Frank Gehry, and Philippe Starck and stunning images of buildings and interiors, Design: The Definitive Visual History is a true celebration of classic design across the centuries. Produced in association with the Smithsonian Institution.
Graphic Design History: A Critical Guide by
Graphic Design History traces the social and cultural role of visual communication from prehistory to the present, connecting what designers do every day to a history of innovative graphic forms and effects. It offers a unique and exciting set of critical lenses for thinking about the cultural purpose and historical dimensions of the graphic designer's work, placing emphasis on the relevance of the history to the practices of designers today. Designed by the authors, the book is beautiful, spacious, and elegant. Clearly organized into three content-rich layers, it is informative yet lively and driven by ideas that offer ways of thinking about graphic design from a wealth of historical examples.
Graphic Design: The New Basics by
Through visual demonstrations and concise commentary,The New Basics shows students and professionals how to build interest and complexity around simple relationships between formal elements of two-dimensional design such as point, line, plane, scale, hierarchy, layers, and transparency. The New Basics explains the key concepts of visual language that inform any work of design from a logo or letterhead to a complex web site. It takes a fresh approach to design instruction by emphasizing visually intensive, form-based thinking in a manner that is in tune with the latest developments in contemporary media, theory, art, and technology. Colorful, compact, and clearly written,The New Basics is the new indispensable resource for anyone seeking a smart, inspiring introduction to graphic design and destined to become the standard reference work in design education.
The sources below are great reference dictionaries.
Below you'll find a few resources, both print books and e-books, to help you create a graphic novel. Hover your mouse over the icon for a synopsis of or more information about any of the sources listed here.
Writing and Illustrating the Graphic Novel by
Dramatized sequential illustrations with dialogue--an art form once confined to production of comic strips and comic books--has recently graduated into the popular, fast-growing, and often financially rewarding genre of the graphic novel. Writing and Illustrating the Graphic Novel is an authoritative instruction manual suitable for formal art class or for self teaching on the part of ambitious self-starters. Beginners who have artistic and storytelling aptitudes learn the basics of graphic novel creation, from first conception of a story idea to publication of a professionally produced book.
The Complete Guide to Figure Drawing for Comics and Graphic Novels by
Written for art students and beginners who want to illustrate for comics and graphic novels, this book provides a thorough grounding in drawing the human form. This guide explains how to pose and photograph models, and then use photos as reference for finished drawings; describes the essentials of creating sequential art, including backgrounds, facial expressions expressing emotion, poses suggesting action, and more; includes examples and principles on how to draw clothing and costumes; and advises on writing dialogue that keeps the story action moving.
Making Comics by
Making Comics focuses his analysis on an analysis of the comic art form itself, exploring the creation of comics, from the broadest principles to the sharpest details (like how to accentuate a character's facial muscles in order to form the emotion of disgust rather than the emotion of surprise.) And he does all of it in his inimitable voice and through his cartoon stand-in narrator, mixing dry humor and legitimate instruction. McCloud shows his reader how to master the human condition through word and image in a brilliantly minimalistic way.
Drawing Words and Writing Pictures by
Drawing Words and Writing Pictures is a course on comics creation - for college classes or for independent study - that centers on storytelling and concludes with making a finished comic. With chapters on lettering, story structure, and panel layout, the 15 lessons offered provide a solid introduction for people interested in making their own comics.
Moriz Jung, Greyhound, 1912. Color lithograph. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.