Line Color Form: The Language of Art and Design - Softcover

Day, Jesse

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1621532445 ISBN 13: 9781621532446

Publisher: Allworth, 2013

Design students today are more visually literate than ever before, and their learning style naturally favors the visual over the textual. So why should they learn art and design theory from a traditional textbook? The only guide of its kind, Line Color Form offers a thorough introduction to design theory and terminology in a visually appealing and accessible format. With hundreds of illustrations and minimal text, this primer was created with visual learners in mind, making it ideal for art students as well as those for whom English is a second language. 

Each chapter focuses on a single aspect of visual composition, such as line, color, or material. After an illustrated discussion of fundamental vocabulary, the chapters move on to applications of the concepts covered. These applications are again demonstrated through images, including photographs, color wheels, significant works of art, and other visual aids. Each image is accompanied by a descriptive paragraph offering an example of how the vocabulary can be applied in visual analysis. The book culminates with a section on formal analysis, aimed at teaching readers how to express their observations in formal writing and critical discourse. 

With its emphasis on the visual, this unique guide is a highly effective learning tool, allowing readers to gain an ownership and mastery of terms that will benefit them academically and professionally. Whether you are a design educator, student, or professional, native or non-native English speaker, this bright and concise reference is a must.

About the Author:

Jesse Day teaches art and design history and theory at Parsons the New School for Design, where he has been a lecturer since 2006. Prior to this appointment he taught English as a Second Language at the New School University and at the American Language Institute at New York University. Day holds a double Bachelor’s Degree in modern literature and European history from the University of Santa Cruz, CA, and was ESL certified by the Language House, Prague, CZ. He is the recipient of two Innovations In Education grants from the New School, the first of which funded the development of Line Color Form. He lives in New York City. 

Review:

“In this unusual reference book, Day (art and design history and theory, Parsons, the New School for Design, New York) seeks to lay out a lexicon of art and design vocabulary. The author communicates from a visual thinker’s perspective, pairing images of objects related to key terms and concepts with simple, concise text descriptions. College-level and advanced high school art students will find this book a valuable and frequently used resource to help them speak with greater insight about their work. Sections on writing essays about art will be particularly helpful to art students. VERDICT Though students are the primary audience for this book, anyone seeking to discuss and appreciate their own or others’ artwork can benefit from it.” (Library Journal)

“

For those of us teaching higher education in art and design schools, Line Color Form is the answer to a problem so many of us face: How to help bright students, non-native and native speakers alike, who struggle to find words to express what they see but lack the vocabulary to describe. This book gives students the analytical tools they need, systematically identifying all the major components of visual experience in the most straightforward, elegant manner possible.

” (Yael Samuel, assistant adjunct professor, Otis College of Art and Design)

“Written in an engaging and straightforward manner, Line Color Form is an essential guide to art and design terminology and an excellent resource for visual art students at virtually every level.” (Angie Wojak, director of career development, School of Visual Arts)

“

A significant achievement and contribution to the field, this handbook's clear terminology and illustrations will enhance the communication and eloquence of any student or instructor of art and design practice.

” (Sarah E. Lawrence, dean, School of Art and Design History and Theory, Parsons The New School for Design)