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 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.
About the Author
Ellen Lupton is adjunct curator at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, and co-chair of the design department of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She is a Chrysler Design Award winner and the best-selling author of Thinking with Type, D.I.Y Design It Yourself, D.I.Y. Kids, Design Culture Now, and Mixing Messages. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Review
"Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Cole Phillips introduces key concepts of visual language in graphic design." --Publishers Weekly, January 21, 2008
Review
"A tome on the basics of form. (Graphic Design:The New Basics) illuminates the gray areas between software and visual thinking, and as the introduction states, shows 'how to build richness and complexity around simple relationships.'"
Review
Design On The Verge; Diva Of D.I.Y.
"With her tousled blond hair, cheery demeanor and casual clothes, the 44-year-old Lupton looks barely older than her students. As she passes one on campus, he fixes on the book she's holding, 'Graphic Design: The New Basics.'
'Is that the only copy?' he asks excitedly.
Indeed it is. Scheduled to come out in May, Lupton says she hopes it will become the definitive textbook for the next ten years.' " -- Lisa Simeone
