Graphic Design School: The Principles and Practice of Graphic Design 4th Edition

I am an aspiring web and graphic designer still in my self taught studies. I had contemplated for quite some time on whether to go to design school or not. With the cost of tuition - I decided to continue to learn on my own. While there are great tutorials out there to help you gain experience, I have yet to come across any self guided books on learning design fundamentals and principles. I am still learning Photoshop, then it is off to Illustrator and InDesign, so I have not started to hit the GDSB yet.I have however, skimmed through the book, and I must say I am very impressed. The book is mirrored to the same text as you would receive in Design School, with numerous modules and assignments, teaching you everything from the fundamentals and principles of design to typography and color. The assignments from each module range anywhere from research to projects. Being a self taught student, I have set up a curriculum for myself to mirror school, and while this book has 192 pages in it, it very well could take me close to a year to complete this book from beginning to end.If you are an aspiring designer contemplating on going to design school, I highly recommend this book. While being at design school is excellent to have peers to lean on, I honestly can say, you will be learning the same principles etc in school as you would from this book. The only difference, is with the GDSB, you will be saving thousands of dollars. If you wish to spend thousands to have peers to lean on, think twice, buy this book and lean on the design community.

Definitely not worth $40 however for $20 a great review. I am currently in my final year of getting my BFA with a specialty in Graphic Design, and this book was great to review the basics of design. It doesn't delve to deep into everything which is fine considering that's what school and the internet are for, however it did bring up points I had thought about regularly but never actually fully developed enough to understand them.(If that makes sense) I recommend reading this book, however someone mentioned that they are using this book as a substitute for design school and that is completely inaccurate. While they may believe it to be a great substitute, that just simply isn't true. If you are trying to substitute school with a book your greatly mistaken, a book will not provide you with the invaluable feedback you receive in school. Sure the book has "assignments" but these are not portfolio pieces, they are things that help you better understand the concepts the book refers to.

The design of the book is great - which is a great way to present what is being taught. But the principles are a little incomplete, and the reading is so spread all over the place that I get tired of looking for the right information sometimes. 3 Stars.

As a web developer moving into design work, I found this book both accessible and comprehensive. It won't turn you into a designer (I think experience and good mentors do that), but it will give you a good base from which to build, and much food for thought.

I like this book because it gives what appears to be a good foundation in this topic, although admittedly I have no knowledge of this topic. I bought it for my daughter who is doing Art in school. At a glance though, the illustrations are a little small and the instruction in various techniques seems brief.

This book has a ton of great information regarding Graphic Design methods. I am using it in my Electronic Design class through the Art Institute online and it has proven to be very helpful. Three weeks into the class and so far, I'm sporting a 100% grade!

This book is one to have, if you are a graphic designer, or have an interest in becoming one.

Excellent to learn about Graphic Design.