One of the benefits of working at Vassar is being around two of the most talented senior graphic designers (George Laws and Charles Mosco) who are expert in typography. Whenever they produced a poster, I often studied it carefully to figure out how they handled their types. Most of the time, I find their type treatments to be elegant and well communicated. Inspired by their works, I constantly seek for type books to sharpen my skills. In most cases, there are books that focused mainly on theories while others gave examples without detail explanations. Fortunately, Timothy Samara’s Typography Workbook bridges the gap.

The book divided into two main parts. The fundamental section covers technical aspects such as letterform, spacing, variation, color, and expression, and so on to help you understand the basic principles of typography. This section is crucially important; therefore, many revisits may be necessary. Once you comprehend the theories, the second section puts your knowledge to work. Whether you design a book, website, poster, identity, motion graphic or other media, this book provides tons of real-world examples with clear explanations to fuel your imagination.

I am so glad the book dedicated a section to web design. Even though the web is limited in typography due to the dependable on the users part, you still can design elegant and beautiful sites with appropriate execution of type treatments, especially with the power of CSS. Just incase you’re wondering, this book is strictly on the design of types; therefore, it does not cover any CSS. However, one of the inspiring features on this book is the interview with respected designers in different fields to give you a sense of how they approach their projects.

Typography Workbook indisputably is an invaluable resource and an inspirational supply for designers. The best part about type design is that you can communicate effectively without images. In real-life, images are not always available; therefore, type design skills come extremely in handy. Pick up this book and start investing your time on typography. It will definitely paid off down the road.

During my sophomore year in college, I had an internship opportunity with Trump Marina assisting an in-house graphic designer with various ads. At that time, my Photoshop skills were limited and I did not know how to create those simple yet useful effects to make my graphic design more appealing. As a result, both my internship and my desire to be a graphic designer ended that summer. If I had read Scott Kelby’s Photoshop Classic Effects back then, I wouldn’t have disliked graphic design so much; however, I am still glad that I have focused my energy on the web.

Before delving into each project in the book, I glance at the final piece and use my own methods to see if I can come up with the same result. Of course, there are many different ways to come up with the same effects in Photoshop; however, I find Kelby’s techniques to be more concise, simplier, and faster. Time is money so if I can come up with the same effects in lesser amount of time, why not following his methods?

Kelby has done a great job of keeping his instructions clear, easy, intuitive, and with a sense of humor. Furthermore, he has selected effects that I had always wanted to know when I first stepping into the graphic design era. Although I work mainly on the web and have been using Photoshop for years, I still find Photoshop Classic Effects to be an invaluable resource for quick and simple tasks.

Now that I am looking at my bookshelf, I am surprised that there is no book on Photoshop. Well, Classic Effects will be the first one. So if you’re looking into becoming a graphic designer whether creating magazines, brochures, banners or even web graphics, pick up this book – especially students – to save you the miseries I went through when I first started out. Kelby has written a classic Photoshop book with this one.

One of the greatest strengths behind Dan Cederholm’s Web Standards Solutions is accessibility. This is not only a markup and style handbook but an accessibility guide as well. Dan does an incredible job of keeping accessibility in mind throughout the book. It is an extremely important matter that other technical writers usually missed unless they are writing about accessibility.

Web Standards Solutions divided into 16 short and sweet chapters covering the core elements of web standards style and markup such as: list, table, forms, CSS layouts, image replacement, and many more. The simple, clear and concise instructional style makes this book to be an invaluable reference for web designers and developers.

What I like best about this book is Dan’s minimal approach to markup and style. In fact, “Minimizing Markup” is my favorite chapter. Clear and simple markup keeps file size small, makes codes easier to read, and most importantly, optimizes well for search engines.

To keep this review short and sweet just like the book, I highly recommend this book to web designers, programmers, developers, content managers and anyone who have the passion for creating slender, accessible and compatible websites. Web Standards Solutions is an excellent handbook to keep by your side when delving into XHTML and CSS. You will be amazed by how many times you’ll flip through the book searching for the best solutions and answers.

Do you have what it takes to bring design in-house? Let the folks at OrangeSeed Design help you make the decision. Bringing Graphic Design In-House not only guides you through the process of creating your own logo, letterhead, business card, brochure, newsletter and website, it also assists you to determine whether to outsource or go for it. If you decided to hire a design firm, the book also provides tips to select the right agency to fit your needs and budget.

The first section of the book breaks down the pros and cons of bringing design in-house including managing the projects, buying appropriate software programs, working with design agencies, and so on. Even though this section is short, it contains valuable resources to help you evaluate whether is it feasible or not to handle in-house.

Once you have decided to go in-house, Section 2 will walk you through the fundamentals of design such as: layout, color, typography, and much more to help you achieve your goal. Pay close attention to the Project Management piece, it is also an important part of design basics.

After you have grabbed the basic concepts, Section 3 provides case studies to show you how the basic concepts in Section 2 applied into the real world projects. Section 3 fills with in-house design examples with brief explanations to feed your hungry mind.

Now that you have understood the basic concepts and seen real world case studies, let’s move into Section 4 where you will find creative solutions to your projects. The book discusses 10 useful “Design Systems” to help you make the connection across the board from print to online materials. The book then devoted each segment delving into the studies of logos, stationary, brochures, newsletters, and websites to help you visualize the creative process behind each design.

OrangeSeed Designs has done an exceptional job of explaining basic graphic design for non-designers and beginners. Although the book covers web design as well, it only focuses the visual elements and web design is much more involved than just the appearence. If you are thinking of bringing graphic design in-house, this book is definitely your best friend; however, if you are also thinking of bringing web design in-house to save money, you need to pick up Carrie Bickner’s Web Design on a Shoestring as well. In fact, I highly recommend both of these precious books to in-house designers and beginners. They will make your job more pleasant and successful.

I am one of those who only use Google for all kind of online search and never go further then the homepage. I am definitely missing out many great features from other search engines; however, I don’t have time to play around with every search engine on the web to find out what each has to offer. Fortunately, Diane Poremsky has done the research for me. Google and Other Search Engines delves into major search engines on the web including: AltaVista, AOL Search, Ask Jeeves, Excite, Google, HotBot, Lycos, MSN Search, Yahoo, and many more.

Poremsky starts off with an overview of how search engines work then she breaks down each one to show how you can benefit from using one over the other to make your online search more effective in less amount of time. I didn’t even know that I could type in tracking numbers to find out the status of my UPS package or flight information through Google. I didn’t know how to use the Boolean searching in AltaVista and HotBot to limit my searches for more effective results. Best of all, Poremsky takes us through Advanced Search Options, which I never bother look at. Beside the major search engines, she also touch upon the specialized ones such as searching newsgroups, locating mailing lists, finding people, finding businesses, and many more from A to Z.

Diane Pormsky’s Google and Other Search Engines is a helpful reference for improving your online search. If you’re new to the web, this book is highly beneficial to you. If you’re a veteran, you might pick up some advance features from one search engine over another. From a web designer perspective, reading this book helps me get a good idea of how people would do their searches and how each search engine responses so I can improve my sites’ keywords and meta tags to better accommodate each search engine and my target audience.

One of the greatest strength about Lynda’s Hands-On Training series is the ability to reach the right audience. Lynda Weinman and Shane Rebenschied had definitely listened to the readers; therefore, they know exactly whom Beyond the Basics is for. While beginner Flash books bore the hell out of me and advanced ActionScript books make me dizzy, Beyond the Basics bridges the gap. This book is all that you need to build a complete interactive Flash site.

If you look at Flash sites and wondering how the developers loaded video, music, text, form, and everything else seamlessly into a page, you need to pick up Beyond the Basics. This book is truly a real world hands-on training where you get to put together an interactive Flash site from scratch. Shane will walk you through step-by-step of building a Flash based site in a modular fashion. According to Shane’s definition, modular fashion is, “to design a module once, then reuse it for multiple purposes.” You will learn how write reusable ActionScripts, load external SWF and JPG files, format text with external TXT, HTML and CSS files, build a dynamic slideshow, develop a Flash form, generate an MP3 player, make a video player, and construct the navigation bar. In fact, go to L.A. Eyeworks and see what you are going to build.

Even though I haven’t touch ActionScript for two years, Shane helps me get up to speed with his clear and approachable style. Furthermore, his sense of humor helps moistening up the book. For instance, “There’s a ton of new and very exciting examples in the next chapter, so go lock your door and tell your significant to go to bed without ya because you have a different date tonight! ;-)” I was about to go to bed at the end of that chapter but his witty makes me go into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee to read on. It’s a nice reading when the author loosens up a bit.

Beyond the Basics is highly recommended for any intermediate Flash users and web designers who would like to create an interactive Flash site. The book is definitely worth its price considering how much you get out of it; however, there is one area the book should have been included is Flash accessibility. Designing accessible content is extremely important on the web and Macromedia has recognized it by integrated new features in Flash to promote accessibility. Beyond the Basics is fantastic but it would have been greater if accessibility is covered.

Improve your design with Jan V. White’s Editing by Design. This classic masterpiece will show you how to attract magazines’ readers from every possible angle. For instance, it shows how to grab readers’ attention while they are flipping through the magazine and how to use space appropriately instead of wasting it.

Even though Editing by Design focuses on graphic design, I find many elements could be applied to the web as well. For example, rhythmic placement (sameness) could be used to help visitors get a sense of where they are. The rhythmic placement of a navigation menu would help increase usability. With his third edition, White has updated the materials to cover design for screen as well; therefore, he mentioned principles that applied toward the web along the way.

Complimenting his explanations with the witty hand-draw cartoon illustrations, White makes it easy to comprehend the fundamental of design including: layout, typography, color, space, and much more. White starts off with The Multi-page Medium and Inducement where he gives us an invaluable psychology tour of how readers approach a magazine. My favorite chapter is Originality because of the useful tips from White:

You don’t need to be “original” if you:
1. Do not overfill the pages
2. Split information into its component parts
3. Organize space on the page into well-designed zones
4. Devise shapes appropriately to the material
5. Vary the visual texture the way the text is written
6. Don’t mix information types within the info-unit
7. Use contrast to help searchers find what they are looking for
8. Use the same visual techniques throughout
9. Use verbo/visual means appropriate to the material

Yes, but what if you’re stuck for ideas?
Work at it
Develop and keep up a file
Loosen thinking
Forgive yourself
Eliminate the negative
Use your hands
Describe the subject in words
Look for patterns
Substitute a pictorial metaphor
Use a detail
Transform the familiar
Look for a new angle

Finally, the Q&A section is useful for designers (web, graphic, information), art directors, and editors. If you wear one of the hats mentioned, Editing by Design is for you. The content presented is timeless so buy it, read it, learn it, and apply it.

Even though English is my second language, there is no excuse for my improper use of punctuations; however, I don’t feel so bad for not getting it correctlyt because Lynne Truss’s Eats, Shoots & Leaves, the Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, shows British and American make mistakes too. As a stickler, Truss is fed up with the incorrect use punctuations and she shows no love for the ones who misused them.

Unlike other grammar books, Eats, Shoots & Leaves is concise, humorous, and approachable. Truss demonstrates how misplaced punctuation could alter the communication and she does it in a witty manor. She has done a great job of providing correct and incorrect usage of basic punctuation side by side for comparison. The best part of the book is the little history of punctuation such as: who invented italics, semicolon, coma, etc. Thanks to Truss, I am now clear on the use of ellipses and [sic].

I am not an expert on this subject. On the contrary, I am not even close to average; therefore, reading this book and writing this review is a hard task. Not only I have to read it slowly and carefully, I also have to write down useful advices. There is one usage of punctuation in the book I am quite confused and hoping Truss would explain it but she didn’t. From what I can recall from reading grammar books, the punctuation always goes before the quote; however Truss uses it interchangeably throughout the book. For Example:

Punctuation is “a courtesy designed to help readers to understand a story without stumbling”.

Notice how Truss uses the period after the quote. Shouldn’t it be before the quote? One time she uses it after; other time she uses before. Can someone explain to me when to use it after/before appropriately?

I can easily see how this book would make it to English classes required reading. Eats, Shoots & Leaves is both invaluable and enjoyable for anyone who would like to punctuate properly.

Angela Ardis’s Inside a Thug’s Heart shows the sentimental side of 2pac Shakur. The book features letters, poems, and conversations between 2pac and Angela during his incarceration at Rikers Island and Dannemora State Prison for sexual assault charges. Pac had so much confidence when it comes to women. Even when he was locked down, he was still able to make a woman falling head over heels with his pen. He aroused her soul with his letters and sexed her mind with his poems.

Pac’s words were provocative and Angela’s writing was erotic; therefore, reading their exchange letters not only make you laugh and cry but also arouse. Pac expressed himself clear and explicit. He was keeping it real and didn’t afraid to speaks out his sexual, depression, and honest stage of mind. Jail can lock him down physically but not mentally. Likewise, Angela kept the faith in him and followed her own instinct instead of allowed her mother, friends or the media interfered with their relationship. She wrote sincere letters and exotic poems to help Pac keeps his head up. Best of all, she knew exactly how to get a man hard with her fantasy stories. She put him critical condition with her vivid descriptive words, “She slowly licked the head, then the shaft, and ran her tongue up and down the length of it and back to the head. Round and round she went, then she put it her mouth and begin sucking it, first softly, then hard, then softly, than harder, circling her tongue at the scrotum.” Damn! Where can I get a pen pal like that?

Inside a Thug’s Heart is simply a pleasurable experience. After reading it, I can see how he could make Can U Get Away, Temptations, How Do You Want It, What Ya Phone Number, Do For Love, etc., so damn hot. It’s his personality, his openness, his honesty and his masculinity that carried throughout his works. Angela did a fantastic job of structuring the pieces and putting all the letters together. It was like a love fairy tail, they finally met each other near the end; unfortunately, the story didn’t end at that point. Angela lost a great friend and we lost a real rapper.

Finally, Lynda Weinman and Jeff Van West come out with Adobe Illustrator CS: Hands-on Training. This is the only book that gets it right for me. I must admit that I am an illiterate when it comes to Adobe Illustrator. I have no problem with Photoshop but I have been struggling with Illustrator for years. I have been reading books after books but still failed. How am I getting by all these years? Flash has been saving my career; however, I have to get over the learning curve of Illustrator if I would like to create more advanced vector artworks.

Why did I choose Hands-on Training over other books? I had the same learning problem a few years ago with Dreamweaver 3. I read the manual and several other books but still didn’t understand it. Fortunately, Dreamweaver 3: Hands-on Training came to rescue. I spent five hours reading that book and was able to grab the concept of Dreamweaver inside out. Now once again, Lynda and Jeff help me overcome Illustrator learning curve with their approachable style and lenient instructional manner.

Even though the book comes with exercise files and demo movies, Lynda and Jeff do not required readers to follow the CD-Rom exercises; therefore, they provide detailed screenshots of every step along the way. I am the type of person who cannot read and go through tutorials at the same time. As a result, any book that relies only on exercises (hint, hint) to get the point across will not do it for me. I am sure many others have similar problem as well but if you can read and do exercise at once, you will appreciate the tutorials and the bonus demo movies accompanied with the book.

So if you’re new to Adobe Illustrator, this book will save you time and money. If you need to get up to speed with Illustrator CS swiftly, this book is for you. If you’re like me who needs to get over the learning curve, this is it. The Hands-on Training series is still one of the best instructional books out there in the market. I am recommending it undoubtedly.