Communication Design
Principles, Methods, and Practices
by Jorge Frascara
Someone requested that we publish an article on design principles. But you really can't portray the scope of the topic in a single aritcle -- at least one that people would read on the internet. No, to tackle that topic you'll want to pick up a book like Jorge Frascara's Communication Design Principles, Methods, and Practices. This unique, comprehensive work brings the theory and practice of communication design to students and design veterans alike. While Allworth seems to be targeting students -- or educational institutions -- for this title, we believe it should be a required refresher for all visual communications practitioners.
Communication Design Principles, Methods, and Practices is written in easy to digest language and lends itself well to both browsing and a page-by-page read. Although I've been in the design industry for more than thirty years, I found some new lessons, new examples and fresh inspiration in these pages. Frascara will inspire even us jaded old design fogies to look beyond aesthetic concerns and develop an integrated, multidimensional understanding of this ever-changing field.
The book is systematically divided into eight sections: a description of the field, historical context, the knowledge-base, economy & technology, methods & planning, areas of professional practice, computer technologies and communication design, and culture & society. on the long path from idea to reader’s/recipient’s response.
Readers learn how to approach design problems in a methodical, professional manner; how the human mind interprets visual and verbal messages; how technology choices impact the design process; how design is used in the service of information, education, administration, and persuasion; what it means to design for noncommercial advertising, political and ideological propaganda, and much more. Complete with practical examples, case studies, and cutting-edge research, this eloquent primer is a springboard to integrated, contemporary communication design.
I believe if you read this book you'll be a better designer. You'll see the design solutions more clearly and you'll be able to visually portray those solutions to the essence of the message. New students and those just entering the world of visual communications will find these lessons of paramount importance in launching their careers on solid ground.
Fred Showker
DTG Magazine
Topics include:
- How to strike a balance between communication and aesthetics
- How the human mind interprets visual and verbal messages
- The essential phases of a design project from commission to implementation
- How the computer has influenced communication design
- How to design and organize an effective, inviting Web site
- How social roles and cultural language influence design
- Various issues affecting design for information (books, magazines, catalogues, signage), education (teaching aids, diagrams, maps), administration (forms, bills of sale, banknotes, stamps), and persuasion (advertising, propaganda, social interest communication
Jorge Frascara
Frascara is an internationally recognized expert on communication design with a versatile professional and theoretical training. He's a Fellow in the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada where he's a professor of Visual Communication Design at the University of Alberta.
See: Expert Forum for Knowledge Presentation Conference "Preparing for the Future of Knowledge Presentation and
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Communication Design
Principles, Methods, and Practices
by Jorge Frascara
Edition: Paperback; Publisher: Allworth Press (November 2004); Paperback: 207 pages: November 2004; List Price: $24.95 - buy now: Price: $16.47 and You Save: $8.48 (34%)
See similar titles in the Design department Keywords: Design and Publishing: graphic design, layout, aesthetics, arts
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