Deane Nettles | Advertising & Graphic Design

Training to be a better designer:

  • Spend: Time either making changes recommended on your tissues just to see what happens, or revise the projects completely (good practice to take same project and make it completely different).
  • Find: Something you think is designed well and try duplicating it. Then have someone else look for the differences.
  • Read: Some suggestions on portfolios: Portfolios
  • Read: http://www.ilovetypography.com
  • Search: Pinterest for examples of logos/letterhead/posters etc. and create your own pin boards of examples
  • Subscribe to: Communication Arts magazine
  • Take: A drawing class. I recommend asking if the teacher works from Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.
  • Find: Another designer to work with and bounce ideas off of — working on your own is limiting.

Recommended Design Books:

Graphic Design School: The Principles and Practice of Graphic Design [Paperback]
David Dabner, Sandra Stewart, Eric Zempol
(A decent overview of graphic design)

The following are heavy-duty reference books that are perhaps difficult to digest — but consider that a challenge, not something to be afraid of; they are the gold standard for what they cover:

  • The Elements of Typographic Style
    Robert Bringhurst
  • Grid Systems in Graphic Design/Raster Systeme Fur Die Visuele Gestaltung
    (German and English Edition)
    by Josef Muller-Brockmann
  • Creating the Perfect Design Brief, Peter L. Phillips
    [How to work with clients in a professional manner]

Reference Books:

These Real World books are not current, but are easy to read and thoroughly cover the programs.

  • Real World Photoshop CS4
    David Blatner
  • Real World InDesign CS3
    David Blatner

Web Design

Interact with Web Standards: A Holistic Approach to Web Design
Erin Anderson, et al.