O'Reilly logo

Stay ahead with the world's most comprehensive technology and business learning platform.

With Safari, you learn the way you learn best. Get unlimited access to videos, live online training, learning paths, books, tutorials, and more.

Start Free Trial

No credit card required

The Non-Designer’s Design Book, Second Edition: Design and Typographic Principles for the Visual Novice

The Non-Designer’s Design Book, Second Edition: Design and Typographic Principles for the Visual Novice

1 review
by Robin Williams
Publisher: Peachpit Press
Release Date: August 2003
ISBN: 0321193857
View table of contents
Start reading

Book Description

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.

Table of Contents

  1. Copyright
    1. Dedication
  2.  
  3. Is this book for you?
  4. Mini-glossary
  5. 1. Design Principles
    1. 1. The Joshua tree epiphany
      1. The four basic principles
        1. Contrast
        2. Repetition
        3. Alignment
        4. Proximity
      2. Umm . . .
    2. 2. Proximity
      1. Summary of proximity
        1. The basic purpose
        2. How to get it
        3. What to avoid
    3. 3. Alignment
      1. Summary of alignment
        1. The basic purpose
        2. How to get it
        3. What to avoid
    4. 4. Repetition
      1. Summary of repetition
        1. The basic purpose
        2. How to get it
        3. What to avoid
    5. 5. Contrast
      1. Summary of contrast
        1. The basic purpose
        2. How to get it
        3. What to avoid
    6. 6. Review
      1. Proximity
      2. Alignment
      3. Repetition
      4. Contrast
        1. Little Quiz #1: Design principles
        2. Little Quiz #2: Redesign this ad
      5. Summary
    7. 7. Extra tips & tricks
      1. Creating a package
      2. Business cards
        1. Business card size
      3. Don’t do this!
      4. Try this . . .
        1. Tips on designing business cards
          1. Format
          2. Type size
          3. Create a consistent image with letterhead and envelope
      5. Letterhead and envelopes
      6. Don’t do this!
      7. Try this . . .
        1. Tips on designing letterhead and envelopes
          1. Envelope size
          2. Create a focal point
          3. Alignment
          4. Second page
          5. Faxing and copying
      8. Flyers
      9. Don’t do this!
      10. Try this . . .
        1. Tips on designing flyers
          1. Create a focal point
          2. Use subheads that contrast
          3. Repetition
          4. Alignment
      11. Newsletters
      12. Don’t do this!
      13. Try this . . .
        1. Tips on designing newsletters
          1. Alignment
          2. Paragraph indents
          3. Not Helvetica!
          4. Readable body copy
      14. Brochures
      15. Don’t do this!
      16. Try this . . .
        1. Tips on designing brochures
          1. Contrast
          2. Repetition
          3. Alignment
          4. Proximity
      17. Postcards
      18. Don’t do this!
      19. Try this . . .
        1. Tips on designing postcards
          1. What’s your point?
          2. Grab their attention
          3. Contrast
      20. Newspaper ads
      21. Don’t do this!
      22. Try this . . .
        1. Tips on designing newspaper ads
        2. Contrast
        3. Type choices
        4. Reverse type
      23. Web sites
      24. Don’t do this!
      25. Try this . . .
        1. Tips on designing web pages
        2. Repetition
        3. Readability
  6. 2. Designing with Type
    1. 8. Type (& Life)
      1. Concord
      2. Conflict
      3. Contrast
      4. Summary
        1. But . . .
    2. 9. Categories of type
      1. Oldstyle
      2. Modern
      3. Slab serif
      4. Sans serif
      5. Script
      6. Decorative
      7. Be conscious
        1. Little Quiz #3: Categories of type
        2. Little Quiz #4: Thick/thin transitions
        3. Little Quiz #5: Serifs
      8. Summary
    3. 10. Type contrasts
      1. Size: In which category of type does this face belong?
      2. Weight: In which category of type does this face belong?
      3. Structure: In which category of type does this face belong?
      4. Form: In which category of type does this face belong?
      5. Direction: In which category of type does this face belong?
      6. Color: In which category of type does this face belong?
      7. Combine the contrasts
      8. Summary
        1. Little Quiz #6: Contrast or conflict
        2. Little Quiz #7: Dos and don’ts
        3. An exercise in combining contrasts
  7. 3. Extras
    1. 11. So, do you get it?
      1. The process
      2. An exercise
      3. Okay—redesign this!
    2. 12. Answers to quizzes
      1. Answers: Quiz #1 (page 84)
        1. Proximity
        2. Alignment
        3. Repetition
        4. Contrast
      2. Answers: Quiz #2 (page 85)
      3. Answers: Quiz #3 (page 139)
      4. Answers: Quiz #4 (page 140)
      5. Answers: Quiz #5 (page 141)
      6. Answers: Quiz #6 (page 172)
      7. Answers: Quiz #7 (page 173)
    3. 13. Resources
      1. Magazines
      2. Web sites
      3. Design
      4. Typography
      5. Ideas and concepts
    4. 14. Typefaces in this book
  8. About this book
  9. About this author
  10. Some of the other books I’ve written