Design Basics

by Stephen Pentak, David A. Lauer

Filled with hundreds of stunning examples of successful two-dimensional design, this how-to book explains design theory and gives students the tools needed to create successful designs. DESIGN BASICS presents art fundamentals concepts in full two- to four-page spreads, making the text practical and easy for students to refer to while they work.

Genres: Design, Art, Nonfiction, School, Reference, Art Design, Textbooks

320 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1941

Reviews

[Sharon Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Design Basics delivers exactly what the title promises. It would make a fine textbook for a Design 101 class. I consider myself beyond that level but I still found it a good refresher/reminder. There are a large number of example photographs, unfortunately ( or maybe not) only the section about color is actually IN color. By providing several examples to illustrate each concept abstract ideas are easily understood. [Art books that talk about artwork without showing the subject art is one of my biggest pet peeves].

The edition I own is the fourth and dates from 1995, so the mentions of “computer art” are somewhat stilted and outdated, but other than that design basics by definition are ageless making this a useful handbook no matter what your medium. The ninth edition was published in 2015.

[Michelle Weijia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good introductory text on design elements and principles for two-dimensional design. For non-fiction books, one important thing I’m looking at is clarity, both in terms of the structure and content. This book does well in both areas. It is well structured and explains concepts lucidly. The visual examples accompanied the text help to further illustrate the concepts. I enjoyed reading it and felt that I have gained a solid foundation for the design basics.

[Rama · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the right book to start learning the real way to design, it is simple but rich.It is full of illustrated examples and great works of art.This book will teach you that all you need to have in order to be a designer is curiosity.

[☠︎︎༒︎✞︎ ѕℓιм ☠︎︎༒︎✞︎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book for my introduction to 2D design, I actually enjoyed the class and the textbook. The textbook gave me information (examples) that I needed for this class, and it was also helpful.

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

DONE, AT LONG LAST! (Took me almost exactly two years to read, I note.)

My sister's boyfriend gave me this book after I'd asked him for some help learning how to improve my page layout and design skills, and this is what I was handed. Let it be known that this book does nothing whatever to aid in that quest; it did, however, teach me a lot of things about art that I hadn't known before. (Which isn't saying much, admittedly: I am extremely ignorant about fine art.) Things like light, perspective, color, balance, rhythm, and all of those sorts of topics were covered and I am now marginally less stupid about my sister and future brother-in-law's professions.

Mostly, though, I'm just glad I finally got this off of my "currently reading" shelf. There's a reason I never pursued art.

[Danielle The Book Huntress · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good basic introduction to art and design principles. I took this class because I wanted to learn the basic principles of design, and it was an invaluable class. I think that I learned more from the teacher's lectures and examples she showed in class than I did from the book, but it was helpful to get some didactic instruction with the book. I got a copy that was black and white, except for the color chapter. I think it would have been helpful to have more color images, but the examples were pretty good that they used for the concepts. You learn by doing when it comes to art, but it definitely helps to have a place to start, and then use this foundation to figure out what you want to do with your art.

Overall rating: 3.5/5.0 stars.

[pearl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great foundational text on design principles and elements, largely derived from fine art theory. The examples are clear and well-chosen and the text does a fantastic job of describing what a concept means and how it can be applied, including techniques. Not a book that goes into the details of type or layout, but rather a solid overview of the fundamentals that go into making a successful design. I'll be referring to this again!

[Penguin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of this is just small blocks of text. About two sentences for concepts then the rest describes artwork that has been copied onto most of the pages. Not a very helpful reference book. The only chapter that I found useful was the one on color. But that's not enough for me to want to keep the book. I'm glad I only rented it for my college course.

[Keeko · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a treasure. It's easy to understand, and every page has examples.

If you're learning to create art and designs, or if you want to learn about art, this book is exactly what you hope to find. Thanks to the author and everyone who worked on this.

[Samuel Perin · Rating 4 out of 5]

While some of the descriptions are a bit lacking, I think that this is a great introduction to the principles of design and a good book to keep handy if you work in the visual arts. The majority of the book is full of applied examples, which might be helpful for some.

[Ed Howe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Introduction to design concepts.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great general overview of design principles with plenty of examples

[Yokusun Basi]

Design Basics by David A. Lauer (1999)

[Ana Gabriela Quiroz Barriga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un libro muy interesante completo que habla de los principios y elementos básicos del diseño, con miles de ejemplos explicados, que hacen fácil internalizar los conceptos expuestos en el libro.

[Tibor Konig · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Design Basics tankönyv és referencia egyszerre. Abban segít, hogy a dizájnnal kapcsolatos, intuitív módon többnyire már megértett dolgokat elhelyezhessük egy rendszerbe, és elkezdhessük tudatosan használni őket.

A könyv legnagyobb erősségei: az azonnal áttekinthető szerkezet és a remekül megválasztott illusztrációk. Ami a szerkezetet illeti, minden egyes téma pontosan két, egymással szembeni oldalt foglal el, balra a téma lényegre törő szöveges ismertetése (és esetleg egy-két kép), jobbra pedig kizárólag illusztráció található. Ez egyrészt segíti a "fogyaszthatóságot", hiszen akkor is érdemes kézbe venni a könyvet, ha csak pár percünk van, másrészt referenciaként is jobban használható.

A képanyag szuper. Kétféle illusztráció található a könyvben: ismert és kevésbé ismert (de az adott témához kitűnően illeszkedő) festmények, rajzok reprodukciói, szobrok és épületek fényképei, valamint a szerző(k) saját egyszerű, de hatásos, geometrikus magyarázó ábrái. Ahogy az ember sorban olvassa a fejezeteket (én legalábbis úgy tettem), kissé szomorúan konstatálja, hogy valamennyi illusztráció fekete-fehér. Aztán elérkezik a 229. oldalon kezdődő, "Color" című fejezethez (az egész könyv mindössze 280 oldal), és meglepetésszerűen kinyílik a színek világa - ez az a pont, ahol már szükség van rájuk!

Összefoglalva: a Design Basics jó alapozó mű, és bár nem gondolom, hogy naponta használnám, mostantól ott lesz a kezem ügyében.

[Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great introductory design textbook. It lays out the concepts and principles very well. I was quite impressed with the number of images (paintings, drawings, photos, etc.) and how well they actually corresponded to the principles taught in the book.

It is a textbook and can seem daunting to go through, but it reads really fast and is actually quite interesting. I would recommended this book to all design students.

[LemontreeLime · Rating 3 out of 5]

Textbook assigned for class. I have the 8th edition (2012) and the 2nd edition (1985) and read both. It's curious to see how the chapters were rewritten and how they've changed the art selections and examples to reflect the times... In all honesty, I think they could have had more text and less fluff. It skims all the issues of the eye, but I feel my own research into the subject helped me learn more in the end.

[Malika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Admittedly, no, I did not read this textbook in it's entirety. This was a required book for one of my art classes and I did find it enjoyable to read. Definetly not boring, as their are many pictures/paintings/art works throughout that were made as an example. Easy to read and made for the person who fears the textbooks with pages filled with only words.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent text book. Each page has numerous, full-color illustrations, giving examples of the design elements that are being discussed. Lauer is very considerate of his readers, making the reading easy and interesting for his visual learners.

[Darek Markiewicz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely amazing book. It's packed with solid design fundamentals. It has provided me with solid foundation on understanding the visual language. I just wish it wasn't so damn expensive, but it's College text so go figure.

[Bill Forsyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

great book for fundamentals of design and aesthetics

[Emir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful introductory book to design elements and principles. It is not discipline specific and is well suited for foundations 2D design courses.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

good book

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful textbook which I would like to reread and practice applying.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read if you are an art major. It states and gives definitions to things that come intuitively. It will be a good reference book.

[Alyamm · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best for learning the fundementals of design. simple and easy to read, very self explanatory and has alot of interesting graphics.

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this book it is simply the best Art book ever!!!!

[Olya Chizh · Rating 5 out of 5]

That’s an amazing one, a clear-cut reference book and a guide to composition and basic elements of design. Worth every cent spent.

[Evgenia Pradel · Rating 3 out of 5]

good book

[Riapurwanti Jamin · Rating 3 out of 5]

simplicity and complexity are not contradictory forces in design.. like Elizabeth Murray showed.