Rockport Publishers – serie

Make drawing a rewarding daily habit with this practical and encouraging guide.What if drawing wasn’t just something you did when inspiration struck—but an essential part of your daily life? Drawing Is Important by illustrator and educator Tom Froese is an inspiring and practical guide to building a sustainable daily drawing practice, embracing consistency over perfection.Through insightful essays and creative exercises, Froese builds on his popular Skillshare class of the same name to make the case for why drawing every day—without pressure for results—can lead to greater creativity, artistic growth, and personal satisfaction. This book offers motivation, mindset shifts, and practical guidance to help you develop a habit of drawing regularly, no matter your skill level or experience.Inside, you’ll find:Encouraging insights on why daily drawing leads to creative breakthroughsExercises to build consistency and make drawing a natural part of your dayTechniques for overcoming perfectionism and creative fearsA beautiful design that inspires creativity on every pageWhether you’re an experienced artist looking to reinvigorate your practice or a beginner eager to build confidence, Drawing Is Important will help you make drawing a joyful, meaningful part of your daily life.

Take your design work to the next level with Making and Breaking the Grid: A Graphic Design Layout Workshop (Third Edition), the essential easy-to-use guide for designers working in every medium.With over 150,000 copies in print, this new edition makes a classic text relevant to a new generation of designers. Updates include:   A cross-cultural inclusive re-envisioning of design history related to the grid, including alternative approaches to layout Expanded discussion of grid use in interactive, UX/UI scenarios Greater equity in the representation of design work by women and BIPOC designers Grids are the most basic and essential forms in graphic design—and they can be the most rigid. This book shows you how to understand the rules of the grid to use them effectively, and then how to break them, resulting in phenomenal cohesive layouts. Timothy Samara explains the history of the grid and shows examples of grid basics, such as column, compound, and modular grids. He shows methods for building and using grids, and offers numerous examples of stunning design projects using a variety of imagery and typography.Pages are filled with hundreds of large, full-color layout concepts and diagrams that educate and inspire. After mastering the grid, discover how to break it using conceptual designs that deconstruct and flip the grid successfully. Split, splice, and shift; create spontaneous compositions; make narrative constructs; work on an axis; use intuitive design; and more to create unique layouts or other projects. See ideas in action with eye-catching layout examples.With this book you will:   learn how grids work. be inspired to explore new concepts for using—or not using—grids. discover achievable alternatives for boring layouts. get the results you want using fresh design elements. learn designers’ processes via fascinating case studies. see numerous examples of successful layouts created with and without grids. communicate ideas effectively using visual language. This new, expanded edition presents the most comprehensive, accessible, in-depth exposition of layout concepts ever published.

Find visual inspiration and intellectual stimulation in this stunning showcase of contemporary type design.Typography is the foundation of visual communication, shaping everything from branding and editorial layouts to digital interfaces and environmental graphics. Fine Specimens is an exquisitely curated collection that highlights the best modern typefaces from leading type foundries around the world, offering both a riveting visual exploration and an intellectual journey into the art of the letterform.With carefully selected type specimens and striking layouts, this book celebrates the versatility and impact of contemporary typography. Accompanied by insightful essays from renowned designers and writers, Fine Specimens portrays the vital role of typography in today’s design landscape.Inside, you’ll find:Exceptional type specimens from the most influential type foundries around the worldThoughtful essays on typography’s role in branding, editorial design, and digital interfacesVisually stunning examples of type in action, demonstrating the power of well-crafted fontsMore than just a type specimen book, Fine Specimens is a celebration of typography as an art form—an essential addition to any designer’s library.

Move beyond assumptions toward evidence-based decision-making with this structured, practical framework for conducting research within the design process.In A Designer’s Research Manual, Third Edition, Jenn and Ken Visocky O’Grady equip designers with the skills they need to conduct effective research. The third edition of this foundational text expands coverage of research environments, including data collection, collaboration, participatory design, and cross-disciplinary methodologies. Students and professionals alike will learn how to define research objectives, identify stakeholders, select appropriate methods, gather and analyze data, and synthesize findings into actionable insights.Key topics include:Primary and secondary research methodsInterviews, surveys, and observationEthnographic and participatory approachesQuantitative and qualitative analysisEvaluating sources and methodsTranslating findings into strategy and concept developmentClear diagrams, case studies, and frameworks guide you through each stage of the research process, demonstrating how research strengthens outcomes across branding, editorial design, digital interfaces, and systems design.More than a methods handbook, A Designer’s Research Manual positions research as a creative act. By engaging deeply with context, audience, and environment, designers develop work that is not only visually compelling but also culturally responsive and strategically grounded.Widely adopted in design programs, this third edition continues to serve as a core textbook for undergraduate and graduate courses in graphic design, communication design, and design strategy. It prepares designers to enter professional practice with confidence in both inquiry and execution.

Explore 100 pivotal moments when creativity and culture intersected to shape modern life. Design is not just about objects—it’s about ideas that have changed the world. From William Morris’s Red House and the Great Exhibition of 1851 to the Bauhaus, the iPhone, and 3D-printed bridges, 100 Milestones in Modern Design traces the decisive events that transformed the way we live, work, and see the world. Drawing on decades of scholarship, curator and educator Daniella Ohad presents a panoramic and provocative view of design’s evolution as a social, technological, conceptual, and aesthetic force.Through 100 concise, visually rich entries, Ohad connects the dots between invention and ideology, showing how design has responded to—and influenced—industrialization, urbanization, war, feminism, consumerism, globalization, climate change, and sustainability. Each milestone represents a point of transformation: The birth of the modern home with William Morris’s Red HouseThe advent of industrial furniture through Thonet’s bentwood chairsThe modernist ideals of the BauhausThe cultural impact of Levi’s blue jeansThe utopian visions of glass architectureSteve Jobs’s first visit to JapanThe role of the sale of Yves Saint Laurent in shaping the design marketOhad reveals design as an ongoing dialogue between progress and purpose—a mirror of the societies that create it and shape our lives. Her selection, deeply informed yet accessible, reframes modern design history as a story of courage, experimentation, and the pursuit of better living.Beautifully illustrated and globally inclusive, 100 Milestones in Modern Design invites you to see design not as decoration, but as an instrument of change—from the materials that define eras to the movements that define meaning.For designers, educators, students, and anyone fascinated by creativity’s role in shaping civilization, this book offers a vital perspective: The history of design is the history of us all.

Stop selling pretty logos. Start building brands that work in the real world.Do inflated processes, branding jargon, and performative “thought leadership” leave you feeling like creativity is not enough or that you must become a brand psychologist to be taken seriously? In No Bullsh*t Branding, James Martin (Made By James), partner at Lincoln Design Co, strips branding back to what it truly requires. No mystique. No posturing. No bloated decks. Just clear tools and creative confidence to build brands that succeed in the market, not only in portfolios.You will learn to build brands from the inside out using the Five Idea Keys, the Minimum Viable Brand, and reputation-through-evidence frameworks. You will not be asked to reinvent yourself as a coach or consultant. You will learn to think, make, and ship brands with honesty, clarity, and conviction.This is for designers who want to move beyond execution and operate as true creative partners. You will learn to shape ideas with intention, design identities with purpose, and build reputations that grow through proof, not performance.You will also learn how to apply these tools to your own ideas. The goal is not only stronger client outcomes. It is to help you release your own concepts without perfectionism, build your creative voice publicly, and grow a career grounded in real-world evidence rather than noise.You will discover:Why real brands begin with truthful ideas, not tacticsHow to use the Five Idea Keys to turn sparks into structured brand foundationsHow to build a Minimum Viable Brand without unnecessary complexityHow to choose names, messaging, and visuals that serve the ideaHow to attract aligned clients through proof, not persuasionHow to grow your reputation alongside your client work, without burnoutThrough real case studies and transparent process breakdowns, No Bullsh*t Branding shows how clarity, evidence, and creative honesty outperform inflated theory and trend-chasing every time.If you have ever felt underqualified, overcomplicated, or pressured to follow industry scripts, this book will help you trust your instincts, sharpen your craft, and build brands that stand up in the world and stand out in the market, including your own.With wit, warmth, and a justified level of profanity, No Bullsh*t Branding champions designers, honors creative instinct, and teaches branding without the nonsense.

Ideal for students of design, independent designers, and entrepreneurs who want to expand their understanding of effective design in business, Identity Designed is the definitive guide to visual branding.  Written by best-selling writer and renowned designer David Airey, Identity Designed formalizes the process and the benefits of brand identity design and includes a substantial collection of high-caliber projects from a variety of the world’s most talented design studios.  You’ll see the history and importance of branding, a contemporary assessment of best practices, and how there’s always more than one way to exceed client expectations. You’ll also learn a range of methods for conducting research, defining strategy, generating ideas, developing touchpoints, implementing style guides, and futureproofing your designs. Each identity case study is followed by a recap of key points.  The book includes projects by Lantern, Base, Pharus, OCD, Rice Creative, Foreign Policy, Underline Studio, Fedoriv, Freytag Anderson, Bedow, Robot Food, Together Design, Believe in, Jack Renwick Studio, ico Design, and Lundgren+Lindqvist.  Identity Designed is a must-have, not only for designers, but also for entrepreneurs who want to improve their work with a greater understanding of how good design is good business.