Just two books I think would be beneficial to any creative person.
The first book I would recommend students get would be a book called, Graphic Design as a Second Language. This book has been described by Stefan Sagmeister, “This is the most comprehensive package about the fundamentals of design I’ve seen anywhere” and also by Micheal Bierut of Pentagram Design as “The only way to tell which jobs Gill designed yesterday and which ones were designed years ago, is to look at the date. Styles come and go, but his ideas and teaching philosophy are timeless. That’s why Bob Gill is one of the heroes that got me and so many others into graphic design in the first place.” If these designers approve of this book then I think it has been justified as a must buy. This book has taught me basic visual skills and have developed my awareness of simplicity, layout, context and thinking. It is really straightforward to read and is a bargain, a steal even!
Graphic Design as a Second Language (Hands on Graphics) by Bob Gill (Hardcover – Feb 2004) on Amazon
The second book I would definitely recommend would be a book that I bought at the beginning of the Advertising project for Changing Minds a month ago. This book called The Advertising Concept Book, edited and written buy a well known creative called Pete Barry this book takes you through step by step the whole area of advertising, beautifully rendered images throughout the book are drawn as still in rough form (scamps etc) which strongly relates to the process of coming up with the ideas/concepts in the first place. It takes you through print, techniques, basics of advertising, Television guides and more Advertising related material. This book is not just about Advertising although it may seem that way, but it governs the whole ideas behind how Ad’s are formed and created, from basic print techniques to photography. This book is a well rounded book for any creative person and has served me well in making me aware of what needs to be implemented in order to create great Advertising.
