The Visual Design Primer

A highly practical and compact reference for beginning designers, this easy-to-use "how-to" guide offers an abundance of step-by-step design development examples as it clearly explains the basic building blocks of designhow to stimulate creativity, the process of design (from thumbnails to layouts to comprehensives), and the immediate application of these concepts to specific design projects for print and electronic media.Begins with a quick background overview and continues with sections of design preliminaries, design components, design production, and the design profession. Explains concepts simply with many examples and illustrations. Lays a strong foundation for solving all kinds of design problems. Provides extensive, annotated examples of design development at the early stages when designers are most confused and easily discouraged, clearly demonstrating the steps to take to begin an actual design. Explores a full range of design applications in common print and electronic uses, such as advertisements, posters, pictograms, brochures, newsletters, web pages, and display presentations, and examines a full range of production issues, including printing techniques, paper selection and manufacture, and finished art preparation. Comes in a compact 5 1/2" x 8 1/8" size.For graphic designers, or those contemplating a career in design.

1. Background.
Historic Milestones. Target Audience. Design Process. Professionalism.

2. Design Preliminaries.
Tools. Creative Process. Research. Seeing Design. Thumbnails, Layouts and Comps. Drawing.

3. Design Components.
Design. Type. Identity. Visuals. Color. Proofing.

4. Design Production.
Pictograms. Systems. Posters. Ads. Brochures. Newsletters. Finished Art. Paper. Printing. Web Pages. Presentations. Videos.

5. Design Profession.
Prepare. Contact. Résumé. Portfolio. Interview. Evaluate.

Glossary.
Index.