To date, my book reviews on the blog have focused primarily on works of fiction. Starting today, however, I've decided to record my notes on the textbooks I have been reviewing--design textbooks, specifically. This shift in focus owes to my recent acceptance of a position teaching digital design at the Breckenridge campus of Colorado Mountain College in Summit County. My goal for reading these textbooks is twofold--to help me select an appropriate text for my students, and also to broaden my own knowledge of the subject.
Exploring the Elements of Design is a thin and colorful textbook by Poppy Evans and Mark A. Thomas (2004). I ordered it about a month ago using interlibrary loan and proceeded to read and take detailed notes on the entire book. I thought it was a good read.
One of the things I liked most about Exploring the Elements of Design is that fact that the authors directly address students throughout the book, periodically identifying and acknowledging students' potential fears or presumptions about the design process and then addressing them in a comforting yet instructional manner. This voice helped to make the material accessible to me (a student, always), so I imagine it might do the same for other design students. For example, there is a section in which the authors define a workflow for students attempting to take a design problem from idea to visual solution--whether for a client or a class assignment. After making a good pitch for conducting thorough research on a topic to determine appropriate images and fonts, the authors drive the point home by stating that "working exclusively from your head will limit your ability to solve the problem accurately and creatively." It is simple but important advice that addresses the issue head on. I can't say how many times in my 10 years of design work I chose to simply work from my head. Egad.
To give you an idea of the topics covered by Exploring the Elements of Design, here is the chapter outline:
- Defining the Language of Design
- Managing Effective Design
- Designing with Color
- Typography in Design
- Imagery in Design
- Finding a Position in the Design Industry
As you can see from the outline, the book contains a broad survey of material that designers need to know and design students will likely study in further depth throughout the course of their education. Textbooks in and of themselves are often derided for being dry and lacking depth, but keep in mind one of the main purposes of a textbook is to provide a mental framework into which material can be filed later, allowing for an understanding of the breadth of a subject and assuming that areas of interest or importance will be explored in more depth later. In that light, I thought Exploring the Elements of Design did an excellent job providing such a framework for new design students.
Again, I liked the voice in which the material was presented--both for the accessibility it created as well as the clear and understandable explanation of content. I also found the images and illustrations to be well chosen and effective as visual examples of the written content.
This is the first purely design-focused textbook I have reviewed (as I have been mostly reading typography textbooks), so please keep that in mind if you plan to use my assessment as a basis for evaluating the text. That being said, I liked Exploring the Elements of Design and I feel confident in recommending it.
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