Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Graphic design is everywhere we look from the colors on a box of cereal to advertisements plastering the walls of buildings to the shapes of labels on toothpaste tubes and shampoo bottles. Illustrious graphic designer Kidd, who, among other things, created the iconic cover of Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park (1990), introduces kids to design elements they likely take for granted. But Kidd dispenses with the boring technical jargon and instead presents a rich, colorful, and captivating overview of the things designers consider every day. He clearly and engagingly explains concepts such as form, color, typography, and scale, but he relies far more on delicious full-page visuals of book covers, advertisements, vintage posters, and photographs to illustrate his points. The chapter on typography in particular makes excellent use of images to demonstrate concepts. Apart from geeking out about design elements, however, Kidd's primary goal is to encourage aspiring designers to pay attention to graphics they see every day in their favorite book covers, ads, and posters and to use this newfound knowledge to create their own designs. Captivating, eye-opening, and just plain cool.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Celebrated designer Kidd's first lesson is on the front cover: the eight-sided red sign on it doesn't say STOP, but GO. "The cover is weird," Kidd writes. "But you opened it anyway. And you know what? That was a design decision." Crammed with images and type, the book is as riotous as a walk through Times Square. A brief introduction to copyright, thoughts on the place of graphic design in the broader world of design, and a short history of graphic design lead to the heart of the book: a series of lucid, witty, and absorbing analyses of graphic design techniques, illustrated largely with book covers created by Kidd and his colleagues. They sometimes sound like descriptions of magic tricks-not a coincidence, since graphic design, like magic, is concerned with manipulating viewers' attention. "If you simply turn an image upside down, it automatically makes the viewer not only look at it differently, but pay more attention to it." There's a section on typography, and an inspiring series of exercises-tomorrow's designers will want to grab a pencil and get going. Ages 10-up. Agent: Amanda Urban, Curtis Brown. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Here is one of two books currently available for the young reader interested in graphic design. The other, Pamela Pease's Design Dossier: Graphic Design for Kids, is presented more as a reference work that discusses all aspects of the design process. This title is more conversational and succeeds in introducing the aspiring designer to the thought processes behind typography and visual organization. Among the topics are color, juxtaposition, typography, design history, and the use of design to convey concepts such as irony and metaphor. Illustrator Kidd, whose book jacket designs include many recognizable covers, such as Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park and Dean Koontz's Intensity, is also an experienced comic book and fiction author who uses his writing skill to make design theory more interesting and appealing for young artists. The final chapter features ten projects to help the beginner learn to think like a designer. These exercises involve collecting design elements, creating personal logos, and redesigning familiar objects. -VERDICT A great choice for the high school student considering a design career and perhaps for older or younger readers as well. [See "A World of New Titles: Editor's Picks," LJ 7/13, p. 24.-Ed.]--Eric G. -Linderman, -Euclid P.L., OH (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 5 Up-In this general introduction, Kidd informs readers that virtually everything is a product of a designer's imagination, and that graphic design, or "visual communication," has been around for hundreds of years in one form or another. He includes some splendid historical examples as proof. Peppered throughout are numerous samples of the author's own and other talented artists' fascinating and quirky work. Kidd's folksy, conversational tone, in which he speaks directly to readers, is appealing. Readers will also appreciate the respect he shows for their individuality and inherent talent. Most welcome will be the 10 thought-provoking, fun projects that allow students the opportunity to use the lessons learned herein to communicate effectively through typography, color, visual imagery, and so on. This is a book not only for art classes, but also for courses in journalism, communications, media, and writing, for units on persuasive writing and advertising, and to demonstrate how strong visual images convey meaning and appeal.-Carol Goldman, Queens Library, NY (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Here's a book that starts on the front cover and uses every bit of space to make its point. From the word "Go" in a red stop-sign shape, Kidd makes graphic design immediate and accessible to middle schoolers and up (including adults) by posing questions and answering them in engaging ways. While the author is no stranger to self-promotion, using his own designs and photos of himself as examples, what could seem self-serving is instead imbued with Kidd's enthusiasm for his subject. He wants to make design personal for every reader. The first four chapters--"Form," "Typography," "Content," "Concept"--tackle such essentials as serif and sans serif type, frequent mistakes (e.g., low dpi resulting in poor image quality), and advanced ideas including "visual flavor." The final chapter, "10 Design Projects," presents projects of increasing complexity with lots of room for self-expression; the final one is simply a suggestion to create an original project and post it at a given Tumblr address. The book's inside back cover provides resources including websites, museums, and design organizations. lolly robinson (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Beginning with the striking cover design--a red stop sign reading "GO"--this book challenges our assumptions about what we see and read. Kidd skillfully uses typography and illustration to demonstrate how graphic design informs the ways we make decisions that affect our lives. In his introduction, he emphasizes that graphic design, unlike industrial or architectural design, is "purely a head trip, from your eyes to your mind." We are bombarded with thousands of images every day, all of which influence our decisions about what to wear, do, see or buy. Everything that is not made by nature is designed by someone, even such mundane objects as TV remotes and baseballs. Beginning with a comprehensive analysis of form, Kidd explains key fundamentals of design in an engaging, colorful style, with extensive visual references to his own and others' designs and an eclectic range of ephemera, from book covers to razor-blade wrappers. Budding graphic designers will relate to his emphasis on the importance of developing one's own visual style; the 10 design projects at the end include, appropriately, creating your own visual identity. In spite of its trendy presentation, this book is firmly rooted in traditional graphic design for printed products; the specific technical knowledge required today to design for the Web is not touched upon. Not for artists only; an engaging introduction to a critical feature of our modern, design-rich environment. (further resources) (Nonfiction. 13 up)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
