Customer Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book - fun to read and many useful examples
Comment: Fun, practical, readable and packed with examples are just a few of the words that came to mind as I was reading "The Non-Designer's Design Book" by Robin Williams. She has done it again and produced an updated version of a classic that is thoroughly enjoyable to read. I feel the book was written specifically for me - someone who is looking to increase their Design skills, develops presentations, white papers and other documents, and which them to have a 'professional' look and feel, then this book is for you. Robin discusses the four basic principles of Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and Proximity. If you don't apply these principles, then you are very likely to have a crap presentation, newsletter or document. She also covers the use of color and how the use of typeface can influence your readers perception of you and the document you developed.
As an added bonus, Robin spread included several exercises throughout the book. For me this is a huge benefit - it gives me a chance to try and apply the skills she described. Any book that helps ME improve, is worth the price on the cover, and this book is worth every penny.
All-in-all, I highly recommend this book and found the examples very helpful. Run, don't walk to the bookstore to get your copy.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Developers design book
Comment: The Non-Designers Design Book is well thought-out and organized. I come from a programming background and my ability to design visuals is limited, so whenever I find a book that can shed light on how designers think and put it in terms that a programmer can understand I am all for it. If you are a designer I think this book would be too basic for your liking, but us non-designers it is as simple as it gets. Do not get the wrong idea the information may be presented in a simple organized way, but the information is very valuable. I would have liked more examples for the web, but the concepts can easily be translated to the web. It was a pleasure to read and I recomend it for any non-designer. I give it four out of five stars.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Williams makes it easy for the rest of us
Comment:
Once again when a real expert writes a book the complex can seem so simple. This is a gorgeous book. She shows you exactly what to do about keeping items with intellectual connectivity proximate. She holds forth on how to best use Alignment, Repetition, Contrast and Colour for print, web and all types of content. Thoroughly done asd 100% enjoyable ot read. I loved the sections on Fonts; begone Arial/Times Roman !
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent intro to basic design principles!
Comment: I started reading this book yesterday afternoon because I wanted to spruce up my business card. The author's introduction & explanation to basic design principles was clear, easy to understand, & illustrated with plenty of visual examples. I've always been a hobbyist designer, initially relying on MS Publisher templates to put things together but then gradually started making my own designs from scratch over the years, so I thought my initial design for my business card was pretty good. But as I read through this book, the author gave several examples of amateur mistakes, many of which I was guilty of. But then the author also gave examples of how to fix these mistakes by employing the design principles she explains. This is probably one of the most useful books I've ever purchased!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Non-Designer's Design Book
Comment: My son needed this book for his 1st year at the community college. The book store didn't have it and I found it online with Amazon. It is exactly what the instructor required.
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