How do designers get ideas? Many spend time searching for clever combinations of forms, fonts, and colors inside the design annuals and monographs of other designers' work. There are a few informative and inspirational resources for those looking to challenge the cut-and-paste mentality. In Graphic Design: The New Basics, Ellen Lupton, best-selling author of such books as Thinking with Type and Design It Yourself, and design educator Jennifer Cole Phillips refocus design instruction on the study of the fundamentals of form in a critical, rigorous way informed by contemporary media, theory, and software systems. Through visual demonstrations and concise commentary, The New Basics shows students and professionals how to build interest and complexity around superficial relationships between formal elements of two-dimensional design such as point, line, plane, scale, hierarchy, layers, and transparency.
The New Basics explains the fundamental concepts of visual language that inform any design work from a logo or letterhead for a complex website. It takes a fresh approach to design instruction by emphasizing visually intensive, form-based thinking in a manner that is in tune with the latest developments in contemporary media, theory, art, and technology. Colorful, compact, and written, The New Basics is the new indispensable resource for anyone seeking a bright, inspiring introduction to graphic design and destined to become the standard reference work in design education.
