I want to invest more time in studying the fundamentals of graphic design for the web, in positioning shapes on the page, combining colors, combining shapes with other shapes or with text, learn some basics of calligraphy, how to chose fonts and how to combine all the above into a harmonious whole.
The book doesn’t necessarily need code examples, just the fundamentals of visual design and text effectively. My earliest websites that I designed years ago didn’t look good because I didn’t understand the fundamentals of graphic design, not because I didn’t know how to code.
Ideally, I think I could use some teaching on why things work well when they work well, rather than showing me just a slideshow of award-winning, visually stunning sites.
There are some good books about Graphic design. I would suggest few:
The Elements of Graphic Design
Type: A Visual History of Typefaces and Graphic Styles
Thinking with type
Designing Brand Identity
How to be a graphic designer without losing your soul
Designer’s Color Manual: The Complete Guide to Color Theory and Application
Grid Systems: Principles of Organizing Type
Made with FontFont
U&lc (Uppercase & Lowercase)
The Art of Color
Making and Breaking the Grid
Color Psychology And Color Therapy: A Factual Study Of The Influence Of Color On Human Life
The Icon Handbook
read the info about them and choose what suits you best.
Then you can move to reading software specific books, articles and resources in general.
There are good Photoshop books released by SitePoint and other editors/authors.
I hope this helps.
This is exactly the kind of mix I was looking for. Thank you very much, this should keep me busy for a while…I mean like 3 years…hehe. This forum is the best.
Books for Graphic Design
1.Graphic Design: The New Basics
2.Sustainable Graphic Design: Tools, Systems and Strategies for Innovative Print Design
3.Graphic Design Solutions
4.The Elements of Graphic Design
Wow, sorry if this sounds like I’m trying to sell you something, but “The Principles of Beautiful Web Design” by Jason Beaird (yup, it’s a Sitepoint book) is really good.
