A lot has happened in the world of digital design since the first edition of this title was published, but one thing remains true: There is an ever-growing number of people attempting to design pages with no formal training. This book is the one place they can turn to find quick, non-intimidating, excellent design help from trusted design instructor Robin Williams. This revised classic--now in full color--includes a new section on the hot topic of Color itself. In The Non-Designer's Design Book,3rd Edition, Robin turns her attention to the basic principles that govern good design. Readers who follow her clearly explained concepts will produce more sophisticated and professional pages immediately. Humor-infused, jargon-free prose interspersed with design exercises, quizzes, and illustrations make learning a snap--which is just what audiences have come to expect from this best-selling author.
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From the Back Cover
A lot has happened in the world of digital design since the first edition of this title was published, but one thing remains true: There is an ever-growing number of people attempting to design pages with no formal training. This book is the one place they can turn to find quick, non-intimidating, excellent design help from trusted design instructor Robin Williams. This revised classic--now in full color--includes a new section on the hot topic of Color itself. In The Non-Designer's Design Book,3rd Edition, Robin turns her attention to the basic principles that govern good design. Readers who follow her clearly explained concepts will produce more sophisticated and professional pages immediately. Humor-infused, jargon-free prose interspersed with design exercises, quizzes, and illustrations make learning a snap--which is just what audiences have come to expect from this best-selling author.
About the Author
Robin Williams is the author of dozens of best-selling and award-winning books, including The Non-Designer's Design Book, The Non-Designer's Type Book, The Little Mac Book, Robin Williams Mac OS X Book, Robin Williams Design Workshop, and Web Design Workshop. Through her writing, teaching, and seminars, Robin has influenced a generation of computer users in the areas of design, typography, the Mac, desktop publishing, and the Web.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Neil Crosby
Format:Paperback
I'm not a designer. That much is obvious from looking at the websites I produce that haven't been designed by someone else. That doesn't mean I don't care though; which is why on Christmas day last year I ordered this book.
I've only just got round to reading the book, but I'm glad I did. As a learning book it's deliberately quite lightweight and easy to get through in a short time, in the same way that Steve Krug's "Don't Make Me Think" is designed to be absorbed in a couple of hours on a flight. All told, I spent about three hours with this book, on my tube journeys to and from work this week.
Robin starts her journey by briefly explaining the concepts of Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and Proximity (anyone spot an acronym there?), before moving on to explore each concept in greater detail. As Robin repeatedly tells us in her book, by being able to name the concepts you're able to identify them and use them deliberately rather than accidentally.
The second half of the book deals with type; the different styles of typefaces, how to combine them and horrible errors of judgement to avoid.
Spread throughout the book are a bunch of mini quizzes and exercises designed to get you thinking about what you've just read. The quizzes are a nice touch, and I'm sure I've retained more knowledge because of them than I would have done if I'd just read through from cover to cover.
The book covers design in general, rather than being focused on the web, print or presentations. Whilst Williams has written a book called "The Non-Designer's Web Book" I specifically chose to buy this one because both I wanted a general overview book and because the web book is from 2005 (a lifetime ago on the web) and has some mixed reviews. "The Non-Designer's Design Book" did not disappoint - it's given me that overview that I was looking for, and I now feel a bit more comfortable that my designs will actually work.
I've only just got round to reading the book, but I'm glad I did. As a learning book it's deliberately quite lightweight and easy to get through in a short time, in the same way that Steve Krug's "Don't Make Me Think" is designed to be absorbed in a couple of hours on a flight. All told, I spent about three hours with this book, on my tube journeys to and from work this week.
Robin starts her journey by briefly explaining the concepts of Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and Proximity (anyone spot an acronym there?), before moving on to explore each concept in greater detail. As Robin repeatedly tells us in her book, by being able to name the concepts you're able to identify them and use them deliberately rather than accidentally.
The second half of the book deals with type; the different styles of typefaces, how to combine them and horrible errors of judgement to avoid.
Spread throughout the book are a bunch of mini quizzes and exercises designed to get you thinking about what you've just read. The quizzes are a nice touch, and I'm sure I've retained more knowledge because of them than I would have done if I'd just read through from cover to cover.
The book covers design in general, rather than being focused on the web, print or presentations. Whilst Williams has written a book called "The Non-Designer's Web Book" I specifically chose to buy this one because both I wanted a general overview book and because the web book is from 2005 (a lifetime ago on the web) and has some mixed reviews. "The Non-Designer's Design Book" did not disappoint - it's given me that overview that I was looking for, and I now feel a bit more comfortable that my designs will actually work.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I am a software developer so I am naturally awful at creating things that look good ;)
I am very much aware of user experience though, and I hate the idea that I am potentially creating something useful that no one ever wants to pick up because of bad UI designer.
This author came highly recommended to be, and I can see why. Robin does an excellent job of breaking down the concepts of design and demonstrating them. This book has really opened my eyes to the basic principles of good design and made an excellent "foot in the door".
A must for those that are not naturally artistic-creatives :)
I am very much aware of user experience though, and I hate the idea that I am potentially creating something useful that no one ever wants to pick up because of bad UI designer.
This author came highly recommended to be, and I can see why. Robin does an excellent job of breaking down the concepts of design and demonstrating them. This book has really opened my eyes to the basic principles of good design and made an excellent "foot in the door".
A must for those that are not naturally artistic-creatives :)
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I bought this book based on the stellar "Presentation Zen" by Garr Reynolds. (A must-read if you do presentations of any type).
What I was seeking to glean from this book was how to improve the look of my PowerPoint presentations. Though Robin doesn't cover this specifically, everything she writes about can be applied to the design of the slides.
The book is aimed at 'non-professional' designers. By this I mean those of us who design things in our work, but aren't trained to do so, e.g. flyers, event alerts, newsletters, reports, business cards, studies, articles, etc.
I found it funny how often she tells us not to be "wimps" in our design choices. I mean she REALLY tells us a lot. But her point is we need to be bold, not "wimps", in our design choices ... but only once we know the basics.
All in all an excellent read. Good examples, good overview at the end of each section, and good pop quizzes to make sure we were paying attention :-)
What I was seeking to glean from this book was how to improve the look of my PowerPoint presentations. Though Robin doesn't cover this specifically, everything she writes about can be applied to the design of the slides.
The book is aimed at 'non-professional' designers. By this I mean those of us who design things in our work, but aren't trained to do so, e.g. flyers, event alerts, newsletters, reports, business cards, studies, articles, etc.
I found it funny how often she tells us not to be "wimps" in our design choices. I mean she REALLY tells us a lot. But her point is we need to be bold, not "wimps", in our design choices ... but only once we know the basics.
All in all an excellent read. Good examples, good overview at the end of each section, and good pop quizzes to make sure we were paying attention :-)
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good book
Great book for someone who wants to learn about the basic concept of designing a printed material. As a beginner with no knowledge in that area I enjoyed the book very much.
Published 13 days ago by Tama
4.0 out of 5 stars
Really good back to basics or intro
I like this for its simplicity in reinforcing the 'rules' (and how to break them) of design. Highly recommend this as an 'Exactly what the title says' book. Read more
Published 28 days ago by Vashton
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing book for a developer who 'can't' design!
This has to be one of the best books I've read.
I'm a web developer (not designer at all) and after reading this book it's the first time I feel like I can actually... Read more
I'm a web developer (not designer at all) and after reading this book it's the first time I feel like I can actually... Read more
Published 1 month ago by N. Nand
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great little book
Really easy to read and has lots of examples of good design work and shows how to make a start with a new piece of work
Published 3 months ago by AnnaSpanna
4.0 out of 5 stars
The title says it all.
This book is exactly what I was looking for. Simple to understand, easy to follow and the graphic examples really do reinforce the fundamentals of design that we all need to... Read more
Published 3 months ago by TerryM
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Introduction Book, Bit Dated
This book really got me thinking about design - arranging elements on a page, type, alignment and contrast. Read more
Published 4 months ago by James Bond
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good introduction to design
As a programmer, I am asked to come up with basic design for the web applications that we develop. Without formal training in design, this is often challenging and time-consuming. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Eddy Young
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent: does exactly what it says on the (very well-designed) tin
Whilst this book won't turn you into a design guru overnight it does exactly what it sets out to, introducing non-designers to the basic techniques of good visual design. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Stuart
5.0 out of 5 stars
For the absolute beginner!
I know nothing about design. So this book is perfect. It starts with the very basics, introducing the reader to the four basic principals in design; contrast, repetition,... Read more
Published 7 months ago by R Helen
4.0 out of 5 stars
A reasonably good, comprehensive look at text and graphic design
The title of this book is well chosen. It is a book about design but its target is not the design professional but the everyday person who at the minimum needs regularly to create... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Claptonian
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