Why I’m Excited About the iPad
I’ve been getting more excited about the iPad as its launch date draws near. As an Apple Fanboy I paid close attention on Keynote day and watched all the live coverage blogs to find out all the details. Continue Reading…
The New Basics
I recently finished reading a new book I received for my birthday a few weeks ago, Graphic Design: The New Basics by Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Cole Phillips. What a great read! As its title expresses this book is focused on the basic principles that designers use every day. Each chapter focuses on one principle, such as pattern, transparency, point/line/plane, and layers. Using examples from professionals as well as many student projects from MICA, including one from my friend Meghana Khandekar, the book illustrates how these established elements of design are used in contemporary design practice. I really enjoyed how the book featured media that I frankly did not know much about in its examples. The book showcased several design pieces that were created using computer code, usually using the open source Java program Processing. The New Basics takes the model of teaching teaching design by principle and practice from the Bauhaus updates the principles to reflect current design practice. If I were taking a Design Basics class again I would definitely want this book at my side.
Goodbye College
I’m finishing up my Bachelor’s Degree this week. A couple weeks ago I had my Senior Show and it went pretty well. I’ve included some shots of my Senior Thesis book. I designed it and uploaded it to Blurb‘s new PDF to Book service. A week and a half later the package arrived and it had turned out pretty well. It’s always great to something something you created in physical form. More Pics after the jump.
Indie Publishing
Thinking With Type, one of Ellen Lupton’s other books, was one of my first introductions to the world of typography. Now she’s written another great introduction to the world of indie book publishing.
She explains the advantages and disadvantages of different types of publishing, from major houses to the online options that now exist, such as Lulu, to self publishing. She only goes skin-deep as far as design techniques go, but it’s a great starting point for beginners in book design, such as myself. One thing it has motivated me to do is create booklets for Christmas gifts this year. I recommend Indie Publishing for anyone who wants to learn the basics of book design and see examples of great examples of independent books.
Indie Publishing