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books tagged “design”
books tagged “design”
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About Face 2.0: The Essentials of Interaction Designby Alan Cooper, Robert M. Reimann, Alan About Face CooperISBN 0764526413 (0-7645-2641-3)
Softcover, John Wiley & Sons Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'About Face 2.0: The Essentials of Interaction Design'Book summary:"The following description is for the second edition of About Face. The 3rd Edtion, About Face 3 (ISBN 0470084111), is now available."
First published seven years ago-just before the World Wide Web exploded into dominance in the software world-About Face rapidly became a bestseller. While the ideas and principles in the original book remain as relevant as ever, the examples in About Face 2.0 are updated to reflect the evolution of the Web.
Interaction Design professionals are constantly seeking to ensure that software and software-enabled products are developed with the end-user's goals in mind, that is, to make them more powerful and enjoyable for people who use them. About Face 2.0 ensures that these objectives are met with the utmost ease and efficiency.
Alan Cooper (Palo Alto, CA) has spent a decade making high-tech products easier to use and less expensive to build-a practice known as "Interaction Design." Cooper is now the leader in this growing field. Mr. Cooper is also the author of two bestselling books that are widely considered indispensable texts. About Face: The Essentials of User Interface Design, intro-duced the first comprehensive set of practical design principles. The Inmates Are Running the Asylum explains how talented people and companies continually create aggravating high-tech products that fail to meet customer expectations.Robert Reimann has spent the past 15 years pushing the boundaries of digital products as a designer, writer, lecturer, and consultant. He has led dozens of interaction design projects in domains including e-commerce, portals, desktop productivity, authoring environments, medical and scientific instrumentation, wireless, and handheld devices for startups and Fortune 500 clients alike. Joining Cooper in 1996, Reimann led the development and refinement of many goal-directed design methods described in About Face 2.0. He has lectured on these methods at major universities and to international industry audiences. He is a member of the advisory board of the UC Berkeley Institute of Design. [via]
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About Face: The Essentials of User Interface Designby Alan CooperISBN 1568843224 (1-56884-322-4)
Softcover, John Wiley & Sons Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'About Face: The Essentials of User Interface Design'Book summary:An excellent book for anyone who wants to understand why so much software is so poorly designed -- and an even better book for anyone who wants to DO something about the problem. Must reading (and doing!) for programmers of any level. [via]
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The Art of Looking Sidewaysby Alan FletcherISBN 0714834491 (0-7148-3449-1)
Hardcover, Phaidon Inc Ltd
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Art of Looking Sideways'Book summary:Alan Fletcher's The Art of Looking Sideways is an absolutely extraordinary and inexhaustible "guide to visual awareness", a virtually indescribable concoction of anecdotes, quotes, images and bizarre facts that offers a wonderfully twisted vision of the chaos of modern life. Fletcher is a renowned designer and art director and the joy of The Art of Looking Sideways lies in its beautiful design. Loosely arranged in 72 chapters with titles like "Colour", "Noise", "Chance", "Camouflage" and "Handedness", Fletcher's book, which he describes as "a journey without a destination", is "a collection of shards" that captures the sensory overload of a world that simply contains too much information. In one typical section, entitled "Civilization", the reader encounters six Polish flags designed to represent the world, a photograph of an anthropomorphic hand bag, Buzz Aldrin's bootprint on the moon, drawings of Stone Age pebbles, a painting of "Ireland--as seen from Wales" and a dizzying array of quotations and snippets of information, including the wise words of Marcus Aurelius, Stephen Jay and Gandhi's comment, "Western civilization? I think it would be a good idea". Fletcher's mastery of design mixes type, space, fonts, alphabets, colour and layout combined with a "jackdaw" eye for the strange and profound to produce a stunning book that cannot be read, but only experienced. --Jerry Brotton [via]
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Beautiful Evidenceby Edward TufteISBN 0961392177 (0-9613921-7-7)
Hardcover, Graphics Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Beautiful Evidence'Book summary:no marks, almost as new [via]
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Celtic Art: The Methods of Constructionby George BainISBN 0486229238 (0-486-22923-8)
Softcover, Dover Pubns
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The Cognitive Style of Power Pointby Edward TufteISBN 0961392150 (0-9613921-5-0)
Softcover, Graphics Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Cognitive Style of Power Point'Book summary:A booklet that examines the type of thinking/cognition that Powerpoint encourages. [via]
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Cognitive Style of Powerpoint: Pitching Out Corrupts Withinby Edward R. TufteISBN 0961392169 (0-9613921-6-9)
Softcover, Graphics Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Cognitive Style of Powerpoint: Pitching Out Corrupts Within'Book summary:In corporate and government bureaucracies, the standard method for making a presentation is to talk about a list of points organized onto slides projected up on the wall. For many years, overhead projectors lit up transparencies, and slide projectors showed high-resolution 35mm slides. Now "slideware" computer programs for presentations are nearly everywhere. Early in the 21st century, several hundred million copies of Microsoft PowerPoint were turning out trillions of slides each year. Alas, slideware often reduces the analytical quality of presentations. In particular, the popular PowerPoint templates (ready-made designs) usually weaken verbal and spatial reasoning, and almost always corrupt statistical analysis. What is the problem with PowerPoint? And how can we improve our presentations? [via]
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Color Index: Over 1100 Color Combinations, Cmyk Amd Rgb Formulas, for Print and Web Med Iaby Jim KrauseISBN 1581802366 (1-58180-236-6)
Softcover, F & W Pubns Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Color Index: Over 1100 Color Combinations, Cmyk Amd Rgb Formulas, for Print and Web Med Ia'Book summary:The best-selling author of Idea Index and Layout Index returns with an all-new title! Color Index provides more than one thousand color combinations and formulas-- guaranteed to help graphic artists solve design dilemmas and create effective images for both print and the Web. From progressive colors to natural tones, Color Index makes choosing hues for any job easier! Designers will start working with color in exciting new ways and create original, eye-catching designs that pop off the page. It's all the inspiration they need to explore and experiment with color as never before! Just like the other clever little design books in this series, Color Index is portable, packed with inspiration, and neatly packaged in a colorful, sturdy vinyl jacket [via]
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D.I.Y.: Design It Yourselfby Ellen LuptonISBN 1568985525 (1-56898-552-5)
Softcover, Chronicle Books Llc
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Data Analysis for Politics and Policyby Edward R. TufteISBN 0131975250 (0-13-197525-0)
Softcover, Prentice Hall
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Data Analysis for Politics and Policy'Book summary:Used Book [via]
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Design Basics Indexby Jim KrauseISBN 1581805012 (1-58180-501-2)
Softcover, F & W Pubns Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Design Basics Index'Book summary:Master the 3 C's of Head-Turning Design!
Cover your basics with the book that covers everything from typography and color to layout and business issues! Jim Krause, author of the popular Index series, guides you through the understanding and practice of the three elements every successful visual design must have:
Components: Learn how to get the most out of the photos, illustrations, icons, typography, linework, decoration, borders and backgrounds you use within your design.
Composition: Practice combining the components of a design in a visually appealing way by using the principles of placement, grouping, alignment, flow and spacing to create a pleasing, cohesive design.
Concept: Utilize the intangible elements of theme, connotation and style to present and deliver your message in a way that will wow your clients every time.
Whether you're a new, mid-level or experienced designer who is brainstorming ideas or finalizing your presentation, this handy-to-use, take-it-with-you book will instruct and inspire you to new heights of creativity.
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The Design of Everyday Thingsby Donald A. NormanISBN 0262640376 (0-262-64037-6)
Softcover, Mit Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Design of Everyday Things'Book summary:Anyone who designs anything to be used by humans--from physical objects to computer programs to conceptual tools--must read this book, and it is an equally tremendous read for anyone who has to use anything created by another human. It could forever change how you experience and interact with your physical surroundings, open your eyes to the perversity of bad design and the desirability of good design, and raise your expectations about how things should be designed. [via]
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Design of the 20th Centuryby Charlotte Fiell, Peter FiellISBN 3822840785 (3-8228-4078-5)
Softcover, TASCHEN
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Design 20th Century'Book summary:This text is a journey through the shapes and colours, forms and functions of design history in the 20th century. It contains an A-Z of designers and design schools, which builds into a complete picture of contemporary living. [via]
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Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Softwareby Ralph Johnson, Erich Gamma, John Vlissides, Richard HelmISBN 0201633612 (0-201-63361-2)
Hardcover, Addison-Wesley
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software'Book summary:Published in 1995, design patterns: elements of reusable object-oriented software has elicited a great deal of praise from the press and readers. The 23 patterns contained in the book have become an essential resource for anyone developing reusable software designs. In response to a great number of requests from readers of the book and from the object-oriented community as a whole, these designs patterns, along with the entire text of the book, are being made available on cd. This electronic version will enable students to install the patterns directly onto a computer and create an architecture for using and building reusable components. Produced in html format, the cd is heavily cross-referenced with numerous links to the online text [via]
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Designing Interfacesby Jennifer TidwellISBN 0596008031 (0-596-00803-1)
Softcover, Oreilly & Associates Inc
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Designing Web Usabilityby Jakob NielsenISBN 156205810X (1-56205-810-X)
Softcover, Peachpit Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Designing Web Usability'Book summary:Creating Web sites is easy. Creating sites that truly meet the needs and expectations of the wide range of online users is quite another story. In Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity, renowned Web usability guru Jakob Nielsen shares his insightful thoughts on the subject. Packed with annotated examples of actual Web sites, this book sets out many of the design precepts all Web developers should follow.
This guide segments discussions of Web usability into page, content, site, and intranet design. This breakdown skillfully isolates for the reader many subtly different challenges that are often mixed together in other discussions. For example, Nielsen addresses the requirements of viewing pages on varying monitor sizes separately from writing concise text for "scanability." Along the way, the author pulls no punches with his opinions, using phrases like "frames: just say no" to immediately make his feelings known. Fortunately, his advise is some of the best you'll find.
One of the unique aspects of this title is the use of actual statistics to buttress the author's opinions on various techniques and technologies. He includes survey results on sizes of screens, types of queries submitted to search portals, response times by connection type and more. This book is intended as the first of two volumes--focusing on the "what." The author promises a follow-up title that will show the "hows" and, based on this installation, we can't wait. --Stephen W. Plain
Topics covered: Cross-platform design, response time considerations, writing for the Web, multimedia implementation, navigation strategies, search boxes, corporate intranet design, accessibility for disabled users, international considerations, and future predictions. [via]
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Designing With Web Standardsby Jeffrey ZeldmanISBN 0321385551 (0-321-38555-1)
Softcover, Peachpit Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Designing With Web Standards'Book summary:You code. And code. And code. You build only to rebuild. You focus on making your site compatible with almost every browser or wireless device ever put out there. Then along comes a new device or a new browser, and you start all over again.
You can get off the merry-go-round.
It's time to stop living in the past and get away from the days of spaghetti code, insanely nested table layouts, tags, and other redundancies that double and triple the bandwidth of even the simplest sites. Instead, it's time for forward compatibility.
Isn't it high time you started designing with web standards?
Standards aren't about leaving users behind or adhering to inflexible rules. Standards are about building sophisticated, beautiful sites that will work as well tomorrow as they do today. You can't afford to design tomorrow's sites with yesterday's piecemeal methods.
Jeffrey teaches you to:- Slash design, development, and quality assurance costs (or do great work in spite of constrained budgets)
- Deliver superb design and sophisticated functionality without worrying about browser incompatibilities
- Set up your site to work as well five years from now as it does today
- Redesign in hours instead of days or weeks
- Welcome new visitors and make your content more visible to search engines
- Stay on the right side of accessibility laws and guidelines
- Support wireless and PDA users without the hassle and expense of multiple versions
- Improve user experience with faster load times and fewer compatibility headaches
- Separate presentation from structure and behavior, facilitating advanced publishing workflows
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Don't Make Me Think!: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usabilityby Steve KrugISBN 0321344758 (0-321-34475-8)
Softcover, Macmillan Computer Pub
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach To The Web Usability'Book summary:Usability design is one of the most important though often least attractive tasks for a Web developer. In Don't Make Me Think, author Steve Krug lightens up the subject with good humour and excellent to-the-point examples.
The title of the book is its chief personal design premise. All of the tips, techniques and examples presented within it revolve around users being able to surf merrily through a well-designed site with minimal cognitive strain. Readers will quickly come to agree with many of the book's assumptions. For example, "We don't read pages--we scan them" and, "We don't figure out how things work--we muddle through". Getting to grips with such hard facts sets the stage for Web design that then produces top-notch sites.
Using an attractive mix of full-colour screen shots, cute cartoons and diagrams, and informative sidebars, the book keeps your attention and drives home some crucial points. Much of the content is devoted to proper use of conventions and content layout, and the "before and after" examples are superb. Topics such as the wise use of rollovers and usability testing are covered using a consistently practical approach.
This is the type of book you can blow through in a couple evenings. But despite its conciseness, it will give you an expert's ability to judge Web design. You'll never form a first impression of a site in the same way again. --Stephen W Plain [via]
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Elements of Typographic Styleby Robert BringhurstISBN 0881792063 (0-88179-206-3)
Softcover, Hartley & Marks Publishers, Incorporated
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Elements of Typographic Style'Book summary:Renowned typographer and poet Robert Bringhurst brings clarity to the art of typography with this masterful style guide. Combining the practical, theoretical, and historical, this edition is completely updated, with a thorough exploration of the newest innovations in intelligent font technology, and is a must-have for graphic artists, editors, or anyone working with the printed page using digital or traditional methods.[via]More editions of Elements of Typographic Style:
- The Elements of Typographic Style: ISBN 0881792055 (0-88179-205-5)
Hardcover, Hartley & Marks Publishers, Incorporated - Elements of Typographic Style: ISBN 0881790338 (0-88179-033-8)
Softcover, Hartley & Marks Publishers, Incorporated - Elements of Typographic Style: ISBN 0881791105 (0-88179-110-5)
Hardcover, Hartley & Marks Publishers, Incorporated - The Elements of Typographic Style: ISBN 0881792063 (0-88179-206-3)
Softcover, Hartley & Marks Publishers, Incorporated
- The Elements of Typographic Style: ISBN 0881792055 (0-88179-205-5)
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The Elements Of Typographic Style: Version 3.1by Robert BringhurstISBN 0881791326 (0-88179-132-6)
Softcover, Pub Group West
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Elements Of Typographic Style: Version 3.1'Book summary:This lovely, well-written book is concerned foremost with creating beautiful typography and is essential for professionals who regularly work with typographic designs. Author Robert Bringhurst writes about designing with the correct typeface; striving for rhythm, proportion, and harmony; choosing and combining type; designing pages; using section heads, subheads, footnotes, and tables; applying kerning and other type adjustments to improve legibility; and adding special characters, including punctuation and diacritical marks. The Elements of Typographic Style teaches the history of and the artistic and practical perspectives on a variety of type families that are available in Europe and America today.
The last section of the book classifies and displays many type families, offers a glossary of typography terms, and lists type designers and type foundries. The book briefly mentions digital typography, but otherwise ignores it, focusing instead on general typography and page- and type-design issues. Its examples include text in a variety of languages--including English, Russian, German, and Greek--which is particularly helpful if your work has a multinational focus. [via]
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Emotional Design: Why We Love (Or Hate) Everyday Thingsby Donald NormanISBN 0465051367 (0-465-05136-7)
Softcover, Perseus Books Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things'Book summary:Did you ever wonder why cheap wine tastes better in fancy glasses? Why sales of Macintosh computers soared when Apple introduced the colorful iMac? New research on emotion and cognition has shown that attractive things really do work better, a fact fans of Don Norman's classic The Design of Everyday Things cannot afford to ignore.In recent years, the design community has focused on making products easier to use. But as Norman amply demonstrates in this fascinating and important new book, design experts have vastly underestimated the role of emotion on our experience of everyday objects.Emotional Design analyzes the profound influence of this deceptively simple idea, from our willingness to spend thousands of dollars on Gucci bags and Rolex watches to the impact of emotion on the everyday objects of tomorrow. In the future, will inanimate objects respond to human emotions? Is it possible to create emotional robots?Norman addresses these provocative questions--drawing on a wealth of examples and the latest scientific insights--in this bold exploration of the objects in our everyday world.[via]More editions of Emotional Design: Why We Love (Or Hate) Everyday Things:
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Envisioning Informationby Edward R. TufteISBN 0961392118 (0-9613921-1-8)
Hardcover, Graphics Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Envisioning Information'Book summary:This book celebrates escapes from the flatlands of both paper and computer screen, showing superb displays of high-dimensional complex data. The most design-oriented of Edward Tufte's books, Envisioning Information shows maps, charts, scientific presentations, diagrams, computer interfaces, statistical graphics and tables, stereo photographs, guidebooks, courtroom exhibits, timetables, use of color, a pop-up, and many other wonderful displays of information. The book provides practical advice about how to explain complex material by visual means, with extraordinary examples to illustrate the fundamental principles of information displays. Topics include escaping flatland, color and information, micro/macro designs, layering and separation, small multiples, and narratives. Winner of 17 awards for design and content. 400 illustrations with exquisite 6- to 12-color printing throughout. Highest quality design and production. [via]
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The Evolution of Useful Thingsby Henry PetroskiISBN 0679740392 (0-679-74039-2)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Evolution of Useful Things'Book summary:This surprising book may appear to be about the simple things of life--forks, paper clips, zippers--but in fact it is a far-flung historical adventure on the evolution of common culture. To trace the fork's history, Duke University professor of civil engineering Henry Petroski travels from prehistoric times to Texas barbecue to Cardinal Richelieu to England's Industrial Revolution to the American Civil War--and beyond. Each item described offers a cultural history lesson, plus there's plenty of engineering detail for those so inclined. [via]
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Grammar of Ornamentby Owen JonesISBN 185170048X (1-85170-048-X)
Hardcover, Studio Editions, Limited
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Grammar of Ornament'Book summary:Architect and decorator Owen Jones supervised the works at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, and his decoration of the Crystal Palace was hailed as one of the great achievements of the exhibition. In 1856, Jones published his indispensable reference work, The Grammar of Ornament. Organized into twenty chapters with introductory text, its encyclopedic approach offers a unique vision of decorative styles throughout time. The richly detailed and varied illustrations make the Grammar of Ornament a must-have volume for curious-minded scholars, contemporary craftsmen, and artists. [via]
More editions of Grammar of Ornament:
- The Grammar of Ornament: Illustrated by Examples from Various Styles of Ornament: ISBN 0756777100 (0-7567-7710-0)
Softcover, Diane Pub Co - The Grammar of Ornament: Illustrated by Examples from Various Styles of Ornament: ISBN 0789476460 (0-7894-7646-0)
Softcover, Dk Pub - Grammar of Ornament: ISBN 0442241755 (0-442-24175-5)
Hardcover, Van Nostrand Reinhold Co - Grammar of Ornament: ISBN 0517624869 (0-517-62486-9)
Hardcover, Random House Value Pub - The Grammar of Ornament: ISBN 2914199120 (2-914199-12-0)
Softcover, L'Aventurine - Grammar of Ornament: ISBN 291419949X (2-914199-49-X)
Softcover, Laveturine - The Grammar of Ornament: ISBN 185170048X (1-85170-048-X)
Hardcover, Studio Editions, Limited
- The Grammar of Ornament: Illustrated by Examples from Various Styles of Ornament: ISBN 0756777100 (0-7567-7710-0)
The Grammar of Ornament: All 100 Color Plates from the Folio Edition of the Great Victorian Sourcebook of Historic Designby Owen JonesISBN 0486254631 (0-486-25463-1)
Softcover, Dover Pubns
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Grammar of Ornament: All 100 Color Plates from the Folio Edition of the Great Victorian Sourcebook of Historic Design'More editions of The Grammar of Ornament: All 100 Color Plates from the Folio Edition of the Great Victorian Sourcebook of Historic Design:
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Graphic Design Cookbook: Mix & Match Recipes for Faster, Better Layoutsby Leonard Koren, R. Wippo MecklerISBN 0811831809 (0-8118-3180-9)
Softcover, Chronicle Books Llc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Graphic Design Cookbook: Mix & Match Recipes for Faster, Better Layouts'Book summary:Graphic Design Cookbook offers the most stimulating and time-saving route to fresh design ideas and workable graphic solutions. Here are over one thousand design samples that can be compared and combined to create your own compositions for books, magazines, posters, stationery, reports, logos, labels, menus, and advertisements. All information is presented graphically for easy, immediate use. [via]
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How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Builtby Stewart BrandISBN 0140139966 (0-14-013996-6)
Softcover, Penguin Group USA
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› Find signed collectible books: 'How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built'Book summary:This book on buildings asks the question why so many buildings punish and restrict us because almost none of them adapt well. In real use, buildings need to adapt because their uses are constantly changing. All buildings are predictions, and yet more high-style buildings are designed not to change, not to accommodate new use. A good portion of how buildings learn will be a natural history of how buildings change with time and what things work to make buildings adapt gracefully, what building layouts allow easy redefinition of space and building code considerations that permit remodelling. This practical book aims to integrate all the different aspects of the fragmented design and construction process, so that buildings can be seen as embodying a functional, yet aesthetic and capacious vision, not the conflicts, compromises and conveniences of clients, architects, engineers and contractors, all working in their interests, not the buildings. [via]
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Idea Index: Graphic Effects and Typographic Treatmentsby Jim KrauseISBN 1581800460 (1-58180-046-0)
Softcover, F & W Pubns Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Idea Index: Graphic Effects and Typographic Treatments'Book summary:Sit! Stay! Be Creative!
It's tough to be creative on command. And with deadlines looming, you can't wait for inspiration to strike.
That's where Idea Index comes in. Don't let the small size fool you. Inside you'll discover thousands of big ideas for graphic effects and type treatmnts via hundreds of prompts designed to stimulate, quicken and expand your creative thinking.
Use Idea Index to brainstorm ideas, to unclog your mind, and to explore different looks and approaches.
The Idea Index instant creative genius when you need it most!
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Information Architecture for the World Wide Webby Louis Rosenfeld, Peter MorvilleISBN 1600330150 (1-60033-015-0)
Hardcover, Oreilly & Associates Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Information Architecture for the World Wide Web'Book summary:[via]Today's web sites have moved far beyond "brochureware." They are larger and more complex, have great strategic value to their sponsors, and their users are busier and less forgiving. Designers, information architects, and web site managers are required to juggle vast amounts of information, frequent changes, new technologies, and sometimes even multiple objectives, making some web sites look like a fast-growing but poorly planned city-roads everywhere, but impossible to navigate. Well-planned information architecture has never been as essential as it is now.
Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, 2nd Edition, shows you how to blend aesthetics and mechanics for distinctive, cohesive web sites that work. Most books on web development concentrate on either the graphics or the technical issues of a site. This book focuses on the framework that holds the two together.
This edition contains more than 75% new material. You'll find updated chapters on organization, labeling, navigation, and searching; and a new chapter on thesauri, controlled vocabularies and metadata will help you understand the interconnectedness of these systems. The authors have expanded the methodology chapters to include a more interdisciplinary collection of tools and techniques. They've also complemented the top-down strategies of the first edition with bottom-up approaches that enable distributed, emergent solutions.
A whole new section addresses the opportunities and challenges of practicing information architecture, while another section discusses how that work impacts and is influenced by the broader organizational context. New case studies provide models for creating enterprise intranet portals and online communities. Finally, you'll find pointers to a wealth of essential information architecture resources, many of which did not exist a few years ago.
By applying the principles outlined in this completely updated classic, you'll build web sites and intranets that are easier to navigate and appealing to your users, as well as scalable and simple to maintain. Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, 2nd Edition is a treasure trove of ideas and practical advice for anyone involved in building or maintaining a large, complex web site or intranet.
More editions of Information Architecture for the World Wide Web:
- Information Architecture for the World Wide Web: ISBN 0596000359 (0-596-00035-9)
Softcover, Oreilly & Associates Inc - Information Architecture for the World Wide Web: ISBN 0596527349 (0-596-52734-9)
Softcover, Oreilly & Associates Inc - Information Architecture for the World Wide Web: ISBN 1600330150 (1-60033-015-0)
Hardcover, Oreilly & Associates Inc
- Information Architecture for the World Wide Web: ISBN 0596000359 (0-596-00035-9)
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Information Architecture for the World Wide Web : Designing Large-Scale Web Sitesby Louis Rosenfeld, Peter Morville, Linda MuiISBN 1565922824 (1-56592-282-4)
Softcover, O'Reilly Media, Incorporated
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Information Architecture for the World Wide Web : Designing Large-Scale Web Sites'Book summary:In Chapter 6 of Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, the authors discuss the details of good search-engine design. In a bitingly humorous segment, they analyze a Web site's search-page results: "Let's say you're interested in knowing what the New Jersey sales tax is.... So you go to the State of New Jersey web site and search on sales tax. The 20 results are scored at either 84% or 82% relevant. Why does each document receive only one of two scores?... And what the heck makes a document 2% more relevant than another?"
With a swift and convincing stroke, the authors of Information Architecture for the World Wide Web tear down many entrenched ideas about Web design. Flashy animations are cool, they agree, as long as they don't aggravate the viewer. Nifty clickable icons are nice, but are their meanings universal? Is the search engine providing results that are useful and relevant? This book acts as a mirror and with careful questioning causes the reader to think through all the elements and decisions required for well-crafted Web design. --Jennifer Buckendorff [via]
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The Inmates Are Running the Asylumby Alan CooperISBN 0672316498 (0-672-31649-8)
Hardcover, Macmillan Computer Pub
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Inmates Are Running the Asylum'More editions of The Inmates Are Running the Asylum:
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The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanityby Alan CooperISBN 0672326140 (0-672-32614-0)
Softcover, Macmillan Computer Pub
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity'Book summary:In this book about the darker side of technology's impact on our lives, Alan Cooper begins by explaining that unlike other devices throughout history, computers have a "meta function:" an unwanted, unforeseen option that users may accidentally invoke with what they thought was a normal keystroke. Cooper details many of these meta functions to explain his central thesis: programmers need to seriously reevaluate the many user-hostile concepts deeply embedded within the software development process.
Rather than provide users with a straightforward set of options, programmers often pile on the bells and whistles and ignore or deprioritize lingering bugs. For the average user, increased functionality is a great burden, adding to the recurrent chorus that plays, "computers are hard, mysterious, unwieldy things." (An average user, Cooper asserts, who doesn't think that way or who has memorized all the esoteric commands and now lords it over others, has simply been desensitized by too many years of badly designed software.)
Cooper's writing style is often overblown, with a pantheon of cutesy terminology (i.e., "dancing bearware") and insider back-patting. (When presenting software to Bill Gates, he reports that Gates replied: "How did you do that?" to which he writes, "I love stumping Bill!") More seriously, he is also unable to see beyond software development's importance--a sin he accuses programmers of throughout the book.
Even with that in mind, the central questions Cooper asks are too important to ignore: Are we making users happier? Are we improving the process by which they get work done? Are we making their work hours more effective? Cooper looks to programmers, business managers, and what he calls "interaction designers" to question current assumptions and mindsets. Plainly, he asserts that the goal of computer usage should be "not to make anyone feel stupid." Our distance from that goal reinforces the need to rethink entrenched priorities in software planning. --Jennifer Buckendorff [via]
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Invisible Computer: Why Good Products Can Fail, the Personal Computer Is So Complex and Information Applicances Are the Solutionby Donald A. NormanISBN 0262640414 (0-262-64041-4)
Softcover, Mit Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Invisible Computer: Why Good Products Can Fail, the Personal Computer Is So Complex and Information Applicances Are the Solution'Book summary:Currently, computer users must navigate a sea of guidebooks, frequently asked questions (FAQs), and wizards to perform a task such as searching the Web or creating a spreadsheet. While Donald Norman acknowledges that the personal computer allows for "flexibility and power," he also makes its limitations perfectly clear. "The personal computer is perhaps the most frustrating technology ever," he writes. "It should be quiet, invisible, unobtrusive." His vision is that of the "information appliance," digital tools created to answer our specific needs, yet interconnected to allow communication between devices.
His solution? "Design the tool to fit so well that the tool becomes a part of the task." He proposes using the PC as the infrastructure for devices hidden in walls, in car dashboards, and held in the palm of the hand. A word of caution: some of Norman's zealotry leads to a certain creepiness (global positioning body implants) and goofiness (electric-power-generating plants in shoes). His message, though, is reasonably situated in the concept that the tools should bend to fit us and our goals: we sit down to write, not to word process; to balance bank accounts, not to fill in cells on a spreadsheet. In evenly measuring out the future of humanity's technological needs--and the limitations of the PC's current incarnation--Norman presents a formidable argument for a renaissance of the information appliance. --Jennifer Buckendorff [via]
More editions of Invisible Computer: Why Good Products Can Fail, the Personal Computer Is So Complex and Information Applicances Are the Solution:
- The Invisible Computer: Why Good Products Can Fail, the Personal Computer Is So Complex, and Information Appliances Are the Solution: ISBN 0262140659 (0-262-14065-9)
Hardcover, Mit Pr - Invisible Computer: Why Good Products Can Fail, the Personal Computer Is So Complex and Information Applicances Are the Solution: ISBN 0262640414 (0-262-64041-4)
Softcover, Mit Pr
- The Invisible Computer: Why Good Products Can Fail, the Personal Computer Is So Complex, and Information Appliances Are the Solution: ISBN 0262140659 (0-262-14065-9)
The Laws of Simplicityby John MaedaISBN 0262134721 (0-262-13472-1)
Hardcover, Mit Pr
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Layout Indexby Jim KrauseISBN 1581801467 (1-58180-146-7)
Softcover, F & W Pubns Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Layout Index'Book summary:Idea Index kick-started a revolution in graphic design books, unique in size, feeland most importantwealth of ideas. Layout Index is the next step, a compendium of layout idea-generators that will help designers explore multiple possibilities for visual treatments each time they turn the page. The visual and textual suggestions are divided into eight major areas, including newsletters, flyers, posters, brochures, advertising, stationery, page layout, and Web pages.
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The Look of the Centuryby Michael TombiniISBN 0789446359 (0-7894-4635-9)
Softcover, Dk Pub
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Look of the Century'Book summary:Michael Tambini, founder of Pentagram Design in London, presents The Look of the Century, a thorough yet concise wrap-up of the most outstanding designs of the last 100 years. A record of human inventiveness, as well as of human consumption, this weighty little softcover volume (512 pages) looks at various stylistic movements, their leaders, and the key developments and innovations that have shaped our aesthetic environment. Chock-a-block with thousands of small color reproductions and written in an extremely accessible style, this book serves as a kind of field guide to the world of products. It is organized into sections on each of the various rooms in a house and chapters on leisure, transportation, the office, graphics, advertising, and packaging. Form, craft, detail, size, longevity, availability, and cost are addressed for each item. And more complex issues like the impact of assembly-line production, the phenomenon of mass consumption, the notion of corporate identity, the consequences of the design industry for the environment, and the effects of computers on product forms and their construction are explored as well. Also included is an A to Z of designers' biographies, as well as a glossary of terms. --A.C. Smith [via]
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Massive Changeby Bruce Mau, Jennifer LeonardISBN 0714844012 (0-7148-4401-2)
Hardcover, Phaidon Inc Ltd
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Massive Change'Book summary:Massive Change [Hardcover] by Bruce Mau; Jennifer Leonard [via]
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Meggs' History of Graphic Designby Philip B. MeggsISBN 0470042656 (0-470-04265-6)
Hardcover, John Wiley & Sons Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Meggs' History of Graphic Design'Book summary:Critical acclaim for previous editions of A History of Graphic Design
"I expect it to become a foundation and keystone of serious study . . . it is a fortress work." -Communication Arts
"[It] traces the role of the designer as a messenger of culture." -STA Journal
"Now . . . a hefty, yet concise, documentation of the entire field exists." -Print
"It is a noble and formidable undertaking." -he Artist's Magazine
"An excellent and invaluable work." -Library Journal
"This is a reference work that reads like a novel. It's comprehensive, authoritative, graphic, and exciting." -U&lc: The Journal of Typographics
"[This book] establishes graphic design as a profession. Bravo!" -Design Issues
"A significant attempt at a comprehensive history of graphic design . . . it will be an eye-opener not only for general readers, but for designers who have been unaware of their legacy." -The New York Times
"Mr. Meggs enthusiastically conveys these excitements to us, from the invention of photography and 'popular graphics of the Victorian era' through the Arts and Crafts movement, Art Nouveau, the Secession, the isms . . . to the Modern Movement. . . . More importantly, he shows us the joins as well as the parts."-rinting World
After a decade of research by the author, the first edition of A History of Graphic Design was heralded as a publishing landmark by the Association of American Publishers, who awarded it a coveted award for publishing excellence. Now, after fifteen years of development in graphic design, this expanded and updated Third Edition includes hundreds of full-color images and new material in many areas, including alphabets, Japanese and Dutch graphics, and the computer revolution which has impacted all aspects of contemporary design and communications. With its approximately 1,200 illustrations, lucid text, and interpretive captions, the book reveals a saga of creative innovators, breakthrough technologies, and important design innovations.
Graphic design is a vital component of each culture and period in human history, and in this account, an extraordinary panorama of people and events unfolds, including:
* The Invention of Writing and Alphabets
* Medieval Manuscript Books
* The Origins of Printing and Typography
* Renaissance Graphic Design
* The Arts and Crafts Movement
* Victorian and Art Nouveau Graphics
* Modern Art and Its Impact on Design
* Visual Identity and Conceptual Images
* Postmodern Design
* The Computer Graphics Revolution
A History of Graphic Design is recognized as a seminal work; this Third Edition surpasses in detail and breadth the content, design, and color reproduction of previous editions. It is required reading for professionals, students, and everyone who works with or loves the world of graphic design. This comprehensive reference tool is an invaluable visual survey that you will turn to again and again. [via]More editions of Meggs' History of Graphic Design:
- Meggs' History of Graphic Design: ISBN 0471291986 (0-471-29198-6)
Hardcover, John Wiley & Sons Inc - Meggs' History of Graphic Design: ISBN 0442262213 (0-442-26221-3)
Hardcover, Van Nostrand Reinhold - Meggs' History of Graphic Design: ISBN 0442318952 (0-442-31895-2)
Hardcover, John Wiley & Sons Inc - Meggs' History of Graphic Design: ISBN 0470042656 (0-470-04265-6)
Hardcover, John Wiley & Sons Inc
- Meggs' History of Graphic Design: ISBN 0471291986 (0-471-29198-6)
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Meggs' History of Graphic Designby Alston W. Purvis, Philip B. MeggsISBN 0471699020 (0-471-69902-0)
Hardcover, John Wiley & Sons Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Meggs' History of Graphic Design'Book summary:Now in its Fourth Edition, this unrivaled, seminal work continues its long tradition of providing balanced insight and thorough historical background. Under the new authorial leadership of Alston Purvis, this authoritative book offers more than 450 new images, along with expansive coverage of such topics as Italian, Russian, and Dutch design. It reveals a saga of creative innovators, breakthrough technologies, and important design innovations. [via]
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The Non-Designer's Design Book: Design and Typographic Principles for the Visual Noviceby Robin WilliamsISBN 1566091594 (1-56609-159-4)
Softcover, Addison-Wesley
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Non-Designer's Design Book: Design and Typographic Principles for the Visual Novice'Book summary:So you have a great concept and all the fancy digital tools you could possibly require¿what¿s stopping you from creating beautiful pages? Namely the training to pull all of these elements together into a cohesive design that effectively communicates your message. Not to worry: This book is the one place you can turn to find quick, non-intimidating, excellent design help.
In The Non-Designer¿s Design Book, 2nd Edition, best-selling author Robin Williams turns her attention to the basic principles of good design and typography. All you have to do is follow her clearly explained concepts, and you¿ll begin producing more sophisticated, professional, and interesting pages immediately. Humor-infused, jargon-free prose interspersed with design exercises, quizzes, illustrations, and dozens of examples make learning a snap¿which is just what audiences have come to expect from this best-selling author. [via]More editions of The Non-Designer's Design Book: Design and Typographic Principles for the Visual Novice:
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The Non-Designer's Type Book: Insights and Techniques for Creating Professional-Level Typeby Robin WilliamsISBN 0321303369 (0-321-30336-9)
Softcover, Addison-Wesley
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Non-Designer's Type Book: Insights and Techniques for Creating Professional-Level Type'Book summary:This latest addition to Robin Williams' Non-Designers line of books not only defines the principles governing type but explains the logic behind them so readers can understand and see what looks best and why. Armed with this knowledge, and putting into practice the secrets Robin reveals for making type readable and artistic, readers can then go on to create beautiful, sophisticated, professional-looking pages on their computers for output as hard copy or for use on Web pages.
Each short chapter explores a different type secret including use of evocative typography, tailoring typeface to project, working with spacing, punctuation marks, special characters, fonts, justification, and much more. It is written in the lively, engaging style that has made Williams one of the most popular computer authors today. And it uses numerous examples to illustrate the subtle details that make the difference between good and sophisticated use of type. The non-platform specific, non-software specific approach to the book makes this a must-have for any designer's bookshelf - from type novices to more experienced graphic designers and typesetters.
Please note! If you've read Beyond the Mac is not a typewriter then you don't need this book. This book is almost exactly the same as Beyond the Mac is not a typewriter. [via]
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The Non-Designer's Web Book: An easy guide to creating, designing, and posting your own web siteby Robin Williams, John TollettISBN 0321303377 (0-321-30337-7)
Softcover, Addison-Wesley
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Non-Designer's Web Book: An easy guide to creating, designing, and posting your own web site'Book summary:While The Non-Designer's Web Book won't answer all your technical questions about the inner workings of the Web, it explains most of what a beginning designer needs to know: what the Web is, how it gets to your computer, how to use it, and most of all how to design for it.
Any artist can tell you that you have to know how a medium works to get the most impact working in it. A basic understanding of how the Web works enables the good designer to create sites with the most effect. This book thoroughly discusses the different kinds of graphics used on the Web, when to use one over another, how to make the most of text styles, and how to design navigation systems.
The comparisons are the best stuff here--good design vs. bad design, why designing Web pages and printed pages is different, and why a site looks terrific on one monitor but terrible on another one. Two chapters on properly preparing graphics and setting typography for Web site use describe how to avoid obvious mistakes that would make your work look amateurish.
Not limited to design, Non-Designer shows you how to get a site up and running, register the domain name, and add it to search engines. After the design is finished and implemented, the site has to be uploaded and updated, and that's explained too.
If there is one fault with this book, it's the lack of information on specific authoring tools. The barest overview of the current crop of tools appears in chapter 3, "Just What Are Web Pages, Anyway?" but a discussion of why you should choose one package over another is absent.
Don't let that stop you from buying this book, though. Plenty of magazines regularly have Web authoring tool "shootouts." What the magazines don't tell you, and what Non-Designer excels at, is how to make well-designed pages. If you're going to build Web sites, for either personal or professional use, but you have no clue where to begin, start with this book. It's easy to read, it's devoid of confusing jargon, and it's full of do's and don'ts to help you avoid common snags. --Mike Caputo [via]
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A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Constructionby Christopher Alexander, Murray Silverstein, Sara IshikawaISBN 0195019199 (0-19-501919-9)
Hardcover, Oxford Univ Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction'Book summary:The second of three books published by the Center for Environmental Structure to provide a "working alternative to our present ideas about architecture, building, and planning," A Pattern Language offers a practical language for building and planning based on natural considerations. The reader is given an overview of some 250 patterns that are the units of this language, each consisting of a design problem, discussion, illustration, and solution. By understanding recurrent design problems in our environment, readers can identify extant patterns in their own design projects and use these patterns to create a language of their own. Extraordinarily thorough, coherent, and accessible, this book has become a bible for homebuilders, contractors, and developers who care about creating healthy, high-level design. [via]
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The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstanceby Henry PetroskiISBN 0394574222 (0-394-57422-2)
Hardcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance'Book summary:Like most other human artifacts, the common pencil, made and sold today by the millions, has a long and complex history. Henry Petroski, who combines a talent for fine writing with a deep knowledge of engineering and technological history, examines the story of the pencil, considering it not only as a thing in itself, but also as an exemplar of all things that are designed and manufactured.
Petroski ranges widely in time, discussing the writing technologies of antiquity. But his story really begins in the early modern period, when, in 1565, a Swiss naturalist first described the properties of the mineral that became known as graphite. Petroski traces the evolution of the pencil through the Industrial Revolution, when machine manufacture replaced earlier handwork. Along the way, he looks at some of pencil making's great innovators--including Henry David Thoreau, the famed writer, who worked in his father's pencil factory, inventing techniques for grinding graphite and experimenting with blends of lead, clay, and other ingredients to yield pencils of varying hardness and darkness. Petroski closes with a look at how pencils are made today--a still-imperfect technology that may yet evolve with new advances in materials and design. --Gregory McNamee [via]
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Political Control of the Economyby Edward R. TufteISBN 0691021805 (0-691-02180-5)
Softcover, Princeton Univ Pr
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The Psychology of Everyday Thingsby Donald A. NormanISBN 0465067093 (0-465-06709-3)
Hardcover, Perseus Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Psychology of Everyday Things'Book summary:With the many recent advances in technology, it seems, there has followed a diminution of quality. Electronic books have several advantages over their print counterparts, for instance. But for the time being, they're hard to use and unattractive to boot. Computers, which are supposed to make our lives easier, are commonly sources of frustration and wasted time. Movies are wondrously chock-a-block with special effects--but someone forgot the story. And so on.
Donald Norman, a retired professor of cognitive science, is bothered to no end by the fact that grappling with unfriendly objects now takes up so many of our hours. Over the course of several books, of which The Psychology of Everyday Things was the first, he has railed against bad design. He scrutinizes a range of artifacts that are supposed to make our daily living a little easier, and he finds most of them wanting. Why, he asks, does a door need instructions that say "push" or "pull"? A well-designed object, he argues, is self-explanatory. But well-designed objects are increasingly rare, for the present culture places a higher value on aesthetics than utility, even with such items as cordless screwdrivers, dresser drawers, and kitchen cabinets. In their concern for creating "art," many designers don't seem to consider what people actually do with things. Such disregard, Norman suggests, leads to few objects being standardized: think of all the different kinds of unsynchronized clocks that lurk in microwave ovens, VCRs, coffee makers, and the like--and of all the different kinds of batteries needed to drive them. Why, he wonders, must we reset all those clocks whenever the power goes off? Some designer somewhere, he ventures, ought to develop a master clock that communicates with all other electric clocks in a home--one that, when reset, synchronizes its slave units.
You don't need to be especially interested in technological matters to enjoy Norman's arguments. The book's underlying question is aimed at a global audience: will the design of everyday things improve? If this entertaining and, yes, well-designed book changes even a few minds, perhaps it will. --Gregory McNamee [via]
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Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Codeby Don Roberts, Martin Fowler, Kent Beck, John Brant, William OpdykeISBN 0201485672 (0-201-48567-2)
Hardcover, Addison-Wesley
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code'Book summary:Your class library works, but could it be better? Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code shows how refactoring can make object-oriented code simpler and easier to maintain. Today refactoring requires considerable design know-how, but once tools become available, all programmers should be able to improve their code using refactoring techniques.
Besides an introduction to refactoring, this handbook provides a catalog of dozens of tips for improving code. The best thing about Refactoring is its remarkably clear presentation, along with excellent nuts-and-bolts advice, from object expert Martin Fowler. The author is also an authority on software patterns and UML, and this experience helps make this a better book, one that should be immediately accessible to any intermediate or advanced object-oriented developer. (Just like patterns, each refactoring tip is presented with a simple name, a "motivation," and examples using Java and UML.)
Early chapters stress the importance of testing in successful refactoring. (When you improve code, you have to test to verify that it still works.) After the discussion on how to detect the "smell" of bad code, readers get to the heart of the book, its catalog of over 70 "refactorings"--tips for better and simpler class design. Each tip is illustrated with "before" and "after" code, along with an explanation. Later chapters provide a quick look at refactoring research.
Like software patterns, refactoring may be an idea whose time has come. This groundbreaking title will surely help bring refactoring to the programming mainstream. With its clear advice on a hot new topic, Refactoring is sure to be essential reading for anyone who writes or maintains object-oriented software. --Richard Dragan
Topics Covered: Refactoring, improving software code, redesign, design tips, patterns, unit testing, refactoring research, and tools. [via]
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Robin Williams Design Workshopby Robin Williams, John TollettISBN 0201700883 (0-201-70088-3)
Softcover, Addison-Wesley
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The Rosary: Chain of Hopeby Benedict GroeschelISBN 0898709830 (0-89870-983-0)
Softcover, Ignatius Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Rosary: Chain of Hope'Book summary:Responding to the Pope's Apostolic Letter on the Rosary, his five new "Luminous Mysteries", and declaration of 2003 as "The Year of the Rosary", Fr. Groeschel presents this book of meditations on all 20 mysteries of the rosary. Drawing on his vast personal experiences as well as the grand traditions of the Church, he takes us on a spiritual journey that will inspire us to greater depths of prayer. This special book includes: The Pope's Letter on the Rosary, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, and lavishly illustrated with 20 classic color paintings. [via]
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Shaping Thingsby Bruce Sterling, Lorraine WildISBN 0262693267 (0-262-69326-7)
Softcover, Mit Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Shaping Things'Book summary:"Shaping Things is about created objects and the environment, which is to say, it's about everything," writes Bruce Sterling in this addition to the Mediawork Pamphlet series. He adds, "Seen from sufficient distance, this is a small topic."
Sterling offers a brilliant, often hilarious history of shaped things. We have moved from an age of artifacts, made by hand, through complex machines, to the current era of "gizmos." New forms of design and manufacture are appearing that lack historical precedent, he writes; but the production methods, using archaic forms of energy and materials that are finite and toxic, are not sustainable. The future will see a new kind of objectwe have the primitive forms of them now in our pockets and briefcases: user-alterable, baroquely multi-featured, and programmablethat will be sustainable, enhanceable, and uniquely identifiable. Sterling coins the term "spime" for them, these future manufactured objects with informational support so extensive and rich that they are regarded as material instantiations of an immaterial system. Spimes are designed on screens, fabricated by digital means, and precisely tracked through space and time. They are made of substances that can be folded back into the production stream of future spimes, challenging all of us to become involved in their production. Spimes are coming, says Sterling. We will need these objects in order to live; we won't be able to surrender their advantages without awful consequences.
The vision of Shaping Things is given material form by the intricate design of Lorraine Wild. Shaping Things is for designers and thinkers, engineers and scientists, entrepreneurs and financiersand anyone who wants to understand and be part of the process of technosocial transformation. [via]More editions of Shaping Things:
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Small Things Considered: Why There is No Perfect Designby Henry PetroskiISBN 1400032938 (1-4000-3293-8)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Small Things Considered: Why There is No Perfect Design'Book summary:Henry Petroski, Americas poet laureate of technology (Kirkus Reviews)author of The Pencil and The Evolution of Useful Thingsnow gives us an entertaining and perceptive study of design in everyday life, while revealing the checkered pasts, and some possible futures, of familiar objects.
Chairs, lightbulbs, cup holders, toothbrushes, doorknobs, light switches, potato peelers, paper bags, duct tapeas ubiquitous as these may be, they are still works in progress. The design of such ordinary items demonstrates the simple brilliance of human creativity, while at the same time showing the frustration of getting anything completely right. Nothings perfect, and so the quest for perfection continues to continue.
In this engrossing and insightful book, Petroski takes us inside the creative process by which common objects are invented and improved upon in pursuit of the ever-elusive perfect thing. He shows us, for instance, how the disposable paper cup became a popular commercial success only after the public learned that shared water glasses could carry germs; how it took years, an abundance of business panache, and many discarded modelsfrom cups that opened like paper bags to those that came with pleatsfor the inventor of the paper cup to arrive at what we now use and toss away without so much as a thought for its fascinating history.
A trenchant, surprising evaluation of why some designs succeed and others dont, Small Things Considered is also an utterly delightful study of human nature.
Henry Petroski, the Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and a professor of history at Duke University, lives in Durham, North Carolina. He is the author of ten previous books. [via]More editions of Small Things Considered: Why There is No Perfect Design:
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Stop Stealing Sheep & Find Out How Type Worksby Erik Spiekermann, E. M. GingerISBN 0201703394 (0-201-70339-4)
Softcover, Adobe Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Stop Stealing Sheep & Find Out How Type Works'Book summary:Frederic Goudy, American type designer, once said, "Anyone who would letterspace lower case would steal sheep." To most people, this comment only adds to the perception that type inhabits a mysterious world with intricate terminology and elaborate rules; added to this are thouasands of type faces out there that all seem to look alike. Until now, Spiekerman and Ginger shepherd their decades of typograhpic experience into a unique and lively guidebook which shows that type is easy to use, easy to understand, and in the hands of a savvy user, a powerful communications tool. You need no previous knowledge of typography to enjoy Stop Stealing Sheep. It makes no difference what kind of computer you work on, what type of software you use, or what you do for a living, because as the authors show- type, good type -reaches across all boundaries, computer platforms, and professional distinctions. [via]
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Thinking With Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Studentsby Ellen LuptonISBN 1568984480 (1-56898-448-0)
Softcover, Princeton Architectural Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Thinking With Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students'Book summary:The organization of letters on a blank sheetor screenis the most basic challenge facing anyone who practices design. What type of font to use? How big? How should those letters, words, and paragraphs be aligned, spaced, ordered, shaped, and otherwise manipulated? In this groundbreaking new primer, leading design educator and historian Ellen Lupton provides clear and concise guidance for anyone learning or brushing up on their typographic skills.
Thinking with Type is divided into three sections: letter, text, and grid. Each section begins with an easy-to-grasp essay that reviews historical, technological, and theoretical concepts, and is then followed by a set of practical exercises that bring the material covered to life. Sections conclude with examples of work by leading practitioners that demonstrate creative possibilities (along with some classic no-no's to avoid). [via]More editions of Thinking With Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students:
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Timeless Way of Buildingby Christopher AlexanderISBN 0195024028 (0-19-502402-8)
Hardcover, Oxford Univ Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Timeless Way of Building'Book summary:The theory of architecture implicit in our world today, Christopher Alexander believes, is bankrupt. More and more people are aware that something is deeply wrong. Yet the power of present-day ideas is so great that many feel uncomfortable, even afraid, to say openly that they dislike what is happening, because they are afraid to seem foolish, afraid perhaps that they will be laughed at.
Now, at last, there is a coherent theory which describes in modern terms an architecture as ancient as human society itself.
The Timeless Way of Building is the introductory volume in the Center for Environmental Structure series, Christopher Alexander presents in it a new theory of architecture, building, and planning which has at its core that age-old process by which the people of a society have always pulled the order of their world from their own being.
Alexander writes, "There is one timeless way of building. It is thousands of years old, and the same today as it has always been. The great traditional buildings of the past, the villages and tents and temples in which man feels at home, have always been made by people who were very close to the center of this way. And as you will see, this way will lead anyone who looks for it to buildings which are themselves as ancient in their form as the trees and hills, and as our faces are." [via]More editions of Timeless Way of Building:
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Universal Principles of Designby Jill Butler, William Lidwell, Kritina HoldenISBN 1592530079 (1-59253-007-9)
Hardcover, Rockport Pub
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Universal Principles of Design'Book summary:Whether a marketing campaign or a museum exhibit, a video game or a complex control system, the design we see is the culmination of many concepts and practices brought together from a variety of disciplines. Because no one can be an expert on everything, designers have always had to scramble to find the information and know-how required to make a design workùuntil now.[via]Universal Principles of Design is the first cross-disciplinary reference of design. Richly illustrated and easy to navigate, this book pairs clear explanations of the design concepts featured with visual examples of those concepts applied in practice. From the 80/20 rule to chunking, from baby-face bias to Ockham's razor, and from self-similarity to storytelling, 100 design concepts are defined and illustrated for readers to expand their knowledge.
This landmark reference will become the standard for designers, engineers, architects, and students who seek to broaden and improve their design expertise.
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The Visual Display of Quantitative Informationby Edward R. TufteISBN 0961392142 (0-9613921-4-2)
Hardcover, Graphics Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Visual Display of Quantitative Information'Book summary:A timeless classic in how complex information should be presented graphically. The Strunk & White of visual design. Should occupy a place of honor--within arm's reach--of everyone attempting to understand or depict numerical data graphically. The design of the book is an exemplar of the principles it espouses: elegant typography and layout, and seamless integration of lucid text and perfectly chosen graphical examples. Very Highly Recommended. [via]
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Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrativeby Edward R. TufteISBN 0961392126 (0-9613921-2-6)
Hardcover, Graphics Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative'Book summary:With Visual Explanations, Edward R. Tufte adds a third volume to his indispensable series on information display. The first, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, which focuses on charts and graphs that display numerical information, virtually defined the field. The second, Envisioning Information, explores similar territory but with an emphasis on maps and cartography. Visual Explanations centers on dynamic data--information that changes over time. (Tufte has described the three books as being about, respectively, "pictures of numbers, pictures of nouns, and pictures of verbs.")
Like its predecessors, Visual Explanations is both intellectually stimulating and beautiful to behold. Tufte, a self-publisher, takes extraordinary pains with design and production. The book ranges through a variety of topics, including the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger (which could have been prevented, Tufte argues, by better information display on the part of the rocket's engineers), magic tricks, a cholera epidemic in 19th-century London, and the principle of using "the smallest effective difference" to display distinctions in data. Throughout, Tufte presents ideas with crystalline clarity and illustrates them in exquisitely rendered samples. [via]
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Web Design in a Nutshellby Jennifer Niederst RobbinsISBN 1600330126 (1-60033-012-6)
Softcover, Oreilly & Associates Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Web Design in a Nutshell'Book summary:[via]Are you still designing web sites like it's 1999? If so, you're in for a surprise. Since the last edition of this book appeared five years ago, there has been a major climate change with regard to web standards. Designers are no longer using (X)HTML as a design tool, but as a means of defining the meaning and structure of content. Cascading Style Sheets are no longer just something interesting to tinker with, but rather a reliable method for handling all matters of presentation, from fonts and colors to the layout of the entire page. In fact, following the standards is now a mandate of professional web design.
Our popular reference, Web Design in a Nutshell, is one of the first books to capture this new web landscape with an edition that's been completely rewritten and expanded to reflect the state of the art. In addition to being an authoritative reference for (X)HTML and Cascading Style Sheets, this book also provides an overview of the unique requirements of designing for the Web and gets to the nitty-gritty of JavaScript and DOM Scripting, web graphics optimization, and multimedia production. It is an indispensable tool for web designers and developers of all levels.
The third edition covers these contemporary web design topics:
- Structural layer: HTML 4.01 and XHTML 1.0 (9 chapters), including an alphabetical reference of all elements, attributes and character entities
- Presentation layer: Ten all-new chapters on Cascading Style Sheets, Level 2.1, including an alphabetical reference of all properties and values.
- Behavior layer: JavaScript and scripting with the Document Object Model (DOM)
- Web environment: New web standards, browsers, display devices, accessibility, and internationalization
- Web graphics optimization: Producing lean and mean GIF, JPEG, PNG, and animated GIFs
- Multimedia: Web audio, video, Flash, and PDF
Organized so that readers can find answers quickly, Web Design in a Nutshell, Third Edition helps experienced designers come up to speed quickly on standards-based web design, and serves as a quick reference for those already familiar with the new standards and technology.
There are many books for web designers, but none that address such a wide variety of topics. Find out why nearly half a million buyers have made this the most popular web design book available.More editions of Web Design in a Nutshell:
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Web Design in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Referenceby Jennifer NiederstISBN 1565925157 (1-56592-515-7)
Softcover, Oreilly & Associates Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Web Design in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference'Book summary:[via]Are you still designing web sites like it's 1999? If so, you're in for a surprise. Since the last edition of this book appeared five years ago, there has been a major climate change with regard to web standards. Designers are no longer using (X)HTML as a design tool, but as a means of defining the meaning and structure of content. Cascading Style Sheets are no longer just something interesting to tinker with, but rather a reliable method for handling all matters of presentation, from fonts and colors to the layout of the entire page. In fact, following the standards is now a mandate of professional web design.
Our popular reference, Web Design in a Nutshell, is one of the first books to capture this new web landscape with an edition that's been completely rewritten and expanded to reflect the state of the art. In addition to being an authoritative reference for (X)HTML and Cascading Style Sheets, this book also provides an overview of the unique requirements of designing for the Web and gets to the nitty-gritty of JavaScript and DOM Scripting, web graphics optimization, and multimedia production. It is an indispensable tool for web designers and developers of all levels.
The third edition covers these contemporary web design topics:
- Structural layer: HTML 4.01 and XHTML 1.0 (9 chapters), including an alphabetical reference of all elements, attributes and character entities
- Presentation layer: Ten all-new chapters on Cascading Style Sheets, Level 2.1, including an alphabetical reference of all properties and values.
- Behavior layer: JavaScript and scripting with the Document Object Model (DOM)
- Web environment: New web standards, browsers, display devices, accessibility, and internationalization
- Web graphics optimization: Producing lean and mean GIF, JPEG, PNG, and animated GIFs
- Multimedia: Web audio, video, Flash, and PDF
Organized so that readers can find answers quickly, Web Design in a Nutshell, Third Edition helps experienced designers come up to speed quickly on standards-based web design, and serves as a quick reference for those already familiar with the new standards and technology.
There are many books for web designers, but none that address such a wide variety of topics. Find out why nearly half a million buyers have made this the most popular web design book available.More editions of Web Design in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference:
- Web Design in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference: ISBN 0596009879 (0-596-00987-9)
Softcover, Oreilly & Associates Inc - Web Design in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference: ISBN 0596001967 (0-596-00196-7)
Softcover, Oreilly & Associates Inc - Web Design in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference: ISBN 1565925157 (1-56592-515-7)
Softcover, Oreilly & Associates Inc
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The Zen of CSS Design: Visual Enlightenment for the Webby Molly E. Holzschlag, Dave SheaISBN 0321303474 (0-321-30347-4)
Softcover, Addison-Wesley
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Zen of CSS Design: Visual Enlightenment for the Web'Book summary:Proving once and for all that standards-compliant design does not equal dull design, this inspiring tome uses examples from the landmark CSS Zen Garden site as the foundation for discussions on how to create beautiful, progressive CSS-based Web sites. By using the Zen Garden sites as examples of how CSS design techniques and approaches can be applied to specific Web challenges, authors Dave Shea and Molly Holzschlag provide an eye-opening look at the range of design methods made possible by CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). By the time you've finished perusing the volume, you'll have a new understanding of the graphically rich, fully accessible sites that CSS design facilitates. In sections on design, layout, imagery, typography, effects, and themes, Dave and Molly take you through every phase of the design process--from striking a sensible balance between text and graphics to creating eye-popping special effects (no scripting required). [via]
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