How do designers get ideas? Many spend their time searching for clever combinations of forms, fonts, and colors inside the design annuals and monographs of other designers’ work. For those looking to challenge the cut-and-paste mentality there are few resources that are both informative and inspirational. In Graphic Design: The New Basics, Ellen Lupton, best-selling author of such books as Thinking with Type and Design It Yourself, and design educator Jennifer Cole Phillips refocus design instruction on the study of the fundamentals of form and ideas in a critical, rigorous way, informed by contemporary media, theory, and software systems.
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.
www.gdbasics.com, the on-line companion to Graphic Design: The New Basics, includes a variety of student responses to the design problems featured in the book. Sample syllabi for a variety of course levels are included along with key technical information from each chapter.
Ellen Lupton is the author, coauthor, or editor of thirteen books, including Design Culture Now; Skin: Surface, Substance + Design; Inside Design Now; Thinking with Type; D.I.Y. Design It Yourself; and D.I.Y. Kids. She is curator of contemporary design at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum and the director of the graphic design MFA program at the Maryland Institute College of Art. She received a Gold Medal for lifetime achievement from the AIGA in 2007.
Jennifer Cole Phillips is principal of J. Cole Phillips Design, a design studio specializing in visual identity and branding, as well as packaging, environmental, and new media design. She is associate director of the graphic design MFA program at the Maryland Institute College of Arts, and has received awards from Graphic Design USA, The Art Directors’ Club, and the AIGA.
