The Elements of Graphic Design

July 13, 2006 | 7 Comments

I’ve been reading a quite a bit lately and design’s been what I’ve been reading the most about. I’ve simply been devouring all sorts of books on design and I’m always looking for more if you’ve got any recommendations. One book I’ve just finished up is one I think many Web designers could get a whole lot out of, even though it’s not focused on the Web at all.

The Elements of Graphic Design by Alexander W. White is a great reference and easy to follow guide to the fundamentals of page layout. It covers concepts like space, relation, hierarchy and more. It’s a whole book about white space in many aspects.

As someone who “grew up” with Web design I found the book enlightening in many ways; it’s easy to follow mostly due to it’s easy to follow language and great use of examples, and has a ton of useful information. At it’s core it teaches you to pay attention to the space between elements and recognize the impact that space (a design element itself) has on the quality of your designs.

The book is primarily focused on layout design for print and graphics. At first glance that might not seem all that relevant to Web design, but if you read through and then sit down and think about it, there are lots of lessons in here to be learned.

If nothing else it’s a great reference, but if you’re looking to learn some great design fundamentals, or even if you just need a refresher, pick it up, it’ll be worth it.

Filed under: Books
Keyword Tags: the+elements+of+graphic+design web+design books

Comments

1. Jake said:

I got that book my self last year, it was really good.. and affordable compared to alot of the books out there.

It teaches alot of good things that are essencential to good design in any field, definately a worth while read :)

Posted on July 13, 2006 06:13 PM | #

2. beth said:

Another great piece of reference for the bookshelf is Stop Stealing Sheep. I hated that book in college, but I’m surprised how often I now flip through it.

Posted on July 14, 2006 05:33 AM | #

3. Baxter said:

The one I’ve probably found most interesting and thought-provoking was Donald Norman’s Design of Everyday Things. Not because it will teach you design (it won’t), or because it’s focused on the web (it’s not), but because it makes you stop and think about how and why things work, or don’t work. You’ll never look at a door handle the same way again.

Posted on July 14, 2006 06:28 AM | #

4. Keith said:

Beth – You’re right. I accidentally “stole” that book from Geoff and have had it on my desk ever since. I should get that back to him and get my own copy. I’m sure he misses it.

Baxter – The Norman books are terrific. I agree.

Posted on July 14, 2006 07:50 AM | #

5. Sally Carson said:

I really like “Understanding Comics” by Scott McCloud. The entire book is written as a comic book. Technically it’s about comics, but the concepts can be applied to design, iconography, and…life? It’s such a fun and engaging read, everything that he is explaining is expressed visually in his drawings.

Posted on July 14, 2006 01:26 PM | #

6. Keith said:

Sally - Oh boy I love that book…great book.

Posted on July 14, 2006 02:16 PM | #

7. Ross Johnson said:

Looks like a good read, probably will pick it up after I do some more scripting research. Hard to keep all your skills evoloving in an industry that has such a broad range.

Posted on July 16, 2006 12:18 PM | #