Design Elements - A Graphic Style Manual

Title: Design Elements – A Graphic Style Manual
Author: Timothy Samara
Publisher: Rockport Publishers, Inc.
ISBN: 13: 978-1-59253-261-2
Pages: 272
Reviewer: Ryan Via (ryan.m.via@gmail.com)
Rating: 5/5 stars

Before I delve into the meat and potatoes of this book, I want to first commend Rockport on what an amazing publisher they are. I have reviewed and purchased books from publishers such as O’Reilly, Focal Press, and Linda.com and, while I enjoy their books, the presentation and style of Rockport’s books is amazing.

I rarely like to give a 5/5 star rating for books as I feel I am stating the book is so well done there is no room for improvement; however, the last two Rockport books I have reviewed received a 5/5 star rating. Both books were truly deserving of this rating and are, I feel, essential to any designer’s reference shelf; that being said, here is my review for “Design Elements – A Graphic Style Manual”.

Timothy Samara’s book begins by introducing the reader to twenty rules for making good design. This opening creates a great ‘peek’ for the following chapters on Form and Space, Color Fundamentals, Choosing and Using Type, The World of Image, and Putting it All Together.

Each chapter is broken into sub-chapters that really give the reader a solid understanding of the main chapter. For example, Chapter 1 - Form and Space is divided into: Seeing Form and Space, Categories of Form, Putting Stuff Into Space, Compositional Strategies, and A Foundation for Meaning.

Timothy Samara’s greatest contribution to this book, in my opinion, lies in Appendix B. Appendix B covers When and Why to Challenge Anything in This Book. This addendum reminds the reader (and designers) of the underlying importance that rules learned in this book can be broken, but never ignored.

Learning great rules for design, when to apply them, and when to break them, is the core theme of this book. With a fifteen-year career spanning branding and information design, Timothy Samara presents this perfectly.

Design Elements is an enjoyable and comprehensive manual for graphic designers that include many useful tips and examples for building design fundamentals. I highly recommend this book (and this publisher) for any individual wanting to enhance their design knowledge and capabilities.