The Non-Designer's Design Book

The book teaches basic design principles by real life examples, Design examples and quizzes (with answers too, of course). It also gives other information for example it tells how to use special characters on a PC and Mac. Just like the name suggests this book is intended for complete design novice. This book can be a good reference book and a eye opener to a design novice (it was for me). I totally agree with the author's statement “Once you can name something, you’re conscious of it. You have power
over it.”
NEGATIVE POINTS: The design examples are a bit boring and lame. It doesn't have much examples to explain colour theory. It's more focused on print design.
POSITIVE POINTS: The book is overall pretty engaging and beginner friendly Content is sorted out well so it is easy to understand and read. It also has many helpful examples and tips. ( )

This was a very quick read that basically confirmed that common sense applies to visual design: organize your information, line stuff up, repeat some elements and make others different. It's nice to have a framework for this "common sense" stuff, though, and it has helped me think more clearly about why something works or doesn't work.

I really like that it looks super dated. All her finished designs look kind of goofy but I think it actually reinforces the focus on underlying principles - you can tell that if the font faces and art styles were swapped around things would look just fine in a modern setting. ( )

This is probably one of the most engaging things I've ever read for school. It was very visually pleasing and really expanded on why certain designs don't look good to the eye. I learned quite a few skills I had never even considered prior to picking up the book, such as how certain alignment can look unprofessional if done incorrectly and how to mix fonts properly. It was an interesting read for school as a reference text. ( )

I accidentally bought this little gem. It's inexpensive and quite practical for programmers. ( )

This is an excellent reference work for those who want or need to design something, but who do not have the luxury of going to design school. The information is presented clearly and concisely, and there are many examples of the principles being discussed found throughout the book.

I first got this book for one of my college editing courses, and I still reference it regularly. It's helped to give me more tools to use in explaining why something does or doesn't work from a design standpoint. ( )