Basics of Design: Layout and Typography for Beginners

Read the Prose. Study the illustrations. And apply what you have learned to design your own pages. It's easy with Basics of Design; Typography and Layout for Beginners! This heavily illustrated, compact guide is ideal for readers with no graphic design or art education background who need to create first-rate visual page designs. Entrepreneurs challenged with designing their own business cards, and administrative assistants suddenly put in charge of producing newsletters and fax cover pages, are just two examples of readers who benefit from the information in this primer. Its uniquely conversational tone - combined with numerous "before" and "after" illustrations- provides everything needed to design pages as effective as those of professional designers. Part One introduces readers to important design principles, as well as how to use color and images to add impact to designs. Part Two concentrates on the basics of typography. Part Three features a number of common design projects of the variety frequently assigned to non-designers (.., company business cards, fax cover letters, graphical and statistical reports, and more). To further aid readers, each project is accompanied by a brief listing of some of the special considerations involved in that type of visual page design. The final chapter of the book lists useful design books and resources for readers interested in advancing their typography and layout skills.

Lisa Graham is an Associate Professor of Graphic Design at the University of Texas at Arlington. She is a recipient of the Illumina Teaching Award, a national teaching award honoring design professors presented by the American Institute of Graphic Arts and The Justice Organization. Her illustrations have appeared in the MIT publications, Computer Music Journal, Leonardo, and Terra Nova. Ms. Graham has produced a wide range of graphic designs, illustrations, and informational graphics for clients in the fashion, high-tech, energy, military, and geology industries.