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| Book cover from Workman Publishing |
Kidd, Chip. (2013). Go: A Kidd's guide to graphic design. New York, NY: Workman Publishing Company.
*Grades 6 and up
**2014 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist
**2014 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist
Go is a fantastic, thought-provoking introduction to graphic design. It contains the most basic principles while making the reader think about how they are used throughout the book itself. Each point has examples to prove its validity and make it easy for beginners to understand. It is accessible to middle school students and also valuable for older students and adults. Anyone who has ever had to create something visual should read this book.
Partner Titles:
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| Book cover from ALSC |
Pelletier, D. (1996). The graphic alphabet. New York, NY: Orchard.
**1997 Caldecott Honor from ALSC
Even though it is intended for younger children, this picture book is great for discussing graphic design. It features letters of the alphabet with clever layouts that can be analyzed by those who are learning design skills. Students can explain the design choices and then try creating some of their own graphic letters.
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| Book cover from Laurence King |
Heller, S., & Vienne, V. (2012). 100 ideas that changed graphic design. London: Laurence King.
Co-written by two graphic design experts, this is a fantastic history with only the most influential ideas in the field. It contains illustrations and examples to show how all of these types of design work. Students can refer back to this book for ideas and practice using some of them in their own work.
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| Book cover from HOW Books |
Sherwin, D. (2010). Creative workshop: 80 challenges to sharpen your design skills. Cincinnati, OH: HOW Books.
David Sherwin is a prestigious graphic designer. In this book, he has created 80 graphic design challenges. Each section begins easy and gets more difficult as it progresses. Teachers can lead students through the lessons or more advanced students can pace themselves through the sections.
Keys, W. (Producer & Director). (2010). Milton Glaser: To inform and delight [Motion picture]. United States: Arthouse Films.
This documentary is about Milton Glaser, a graphic designer best known for designing the "I (heart) NY" logo. The film is all about his life and career, and can introduce students to the career of a graphic designer. The trailer below gives a short introduction.
Cinedigm. (2010, May 18). Milton Glaser: To inform and delight-Intro [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH-o1r7gYgc
Yang, Y. & Huang, M. (Producers), & Tsai, M. (Director). (2012). Design and thinking [Motion picture]. United States: Muris Media. Retrieved from http://designthinkingmovie.com/
This documentary outlines what graphic design is and how it is used in different businesses. It explains how creativity can influence people in many ways. Watching this film can help students question the place design has in their lives. The official trailer is below.
DesignThink Movie. (2012, April 26). Design & thinking official trailer [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uilcaXYnluU
Teaching Ideas:
Judge a Book by its Cover: Chip Kidd is a book designer, so he includes some book cover examples to explain design in his book. Students can explore more about book cover design and then choose a cover to analyze. Questions to consider: How does the designer tell something about the book through the cover? Do you find the book aesthetically pleasing? What kinds of emotions are evoked by the cover? Would you want to read it just based on the cover?
Art I: Art Foundations AI.21 The student will analyze the functions, purposes, and perceived meanings of works of design (VDOE, 2013b, p. 19).
Book Cover Re-design: Students can work to design their own book covers. They should consider the main idea and author's purpose, just as Chip Kidd does in his work. This is a great opportunity to use design software or apps, creating a digital image as many graphic designers do.
English 9.4 a) Identify author’s main idea and purpose (VDOE, 2010a, p. 2).
C/T 9-12.16 B. Add meaning to individual and group ideas and products through creative work (VDOE, 2013a, p. 7).
Pantone's Color of the Day: Using the color of the day from Pantone’s website, students can create a design to represent that color. Each day’s color gives adjectives that tell what that color symbolizes. They should think about what color relationships, balance, harmony, and other elements of art as they design.
Grade Eight Visual Arts 8.8 The student will select elements of art and principles of design...to express meaning in works of art (VDOE, 2013b, p. 16).
Art Careers: As students explore future career options, help them to find more information about graphic design as a potential art career. AIGA's Career and Education Guide is one fantastic resource that begins with "What is Graphic Design?" and then discusses what possible jobs and how one becomes a graphic designer.
Grade Seven Visual Arts 7.13 The student will compare and contrast various visual arts careers in relation to career preparation (VDOE, 2013b, p. 14).
Forms of Energy Infographic: Using Piktochart,students can create an infographic to illustrate their knowledge about energy. They should use the principles of design learned in Go.
PS.6 The student will investigate and understand forms of energy and how energy is transferred and transformed (VDOE, 2010b, p. 7).References:
Cezzar, J. (2015). AIGA career and education guide. American Institute of Graphic Arts. http://www.aiga.org/guide-careerguide/
Virginia Department of Education. (2010a). Grade nine. English standards of learning for Virginia public schools. Retrieved from http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/english/2010/stds_english9.pdf
Virginia Department of Education. (2010b). Physical science. Science standards of learning for Virginia public schools. Retrieved from http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/science/2010/courses/stds_physical_science.pdf
Virginia Department of Education. (2013a). Computer technology standards of learning for Virginia public schools grades 9-12. Retrieved from http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/computer_technology/2012/stds_comptech_9-12.pdf
Virginia Department of Education. (2013b). Visual arts standards of learning for Virginia public schools. Retrieved from http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/fine_arts/2013/visual_arts/std_finearts_visualarts.pdfFurther Explorations:
Go the Book Tumblr: The publishers of Go created a Tumblr page for people to share their design accomplishments when they complete the challenges from the book. Anyone can send in their designs to be featured!
20 Graphic Designers You Should Know: This article lists 20 fabulous graphic designers with examples of their work and explanations of why they are noteworthy. It also includes links to more information about each one. Chip Kidd is included at number 18.
11 Free Web Apps for Designers and Creatives: This article shares some free software and apps that are easy to learn and use. They cover a variety of uses, and would be fun to explore.
Chip Kidd's TED Talks: The two talks featured here are "Designing books is no laughing matter. OK, it is." and "The art of first impressions--in design and life." Chip Kidd is an engaging and funny speaker in addition to his spectacular design skills. These books give background on his experience in graphic design and perspective on what draws us to good design.
Chip Kidd's Portfolio: The portfolio page of Chip Kidd's website has thumbnail pictures of the book covers he has designed. Click on them to see an enlarged size, and explore the rest of his website for more about him.
50 YA Covers for 2014: The Casual Optimist is a blog about "books, design, and culture." Each month, Dan Wagstaff posts a list of the best new release covers, in his opinion as a publisher. At the end of each year, he posts his 50 favorite YA covers from that year.
Booketing Tumblr: This Tumblr displays visually attractive book covers. No commentary or explanation, just pictures. It is run by the French graphic designer Clement Buee, who has a design blog by the same name. Anyone can suggest a book cover to be included on the page.
Books Covered YouTube Channel: British book graphic designer Stuart Bache just started this YouTube channel devoted to book covers. He chooses a book of the week and explains what drew him to that particular book. He provides links to the designers' work each week.
Recovering the Classics: This White House-led initiative is devoted to creating new book covers for classics in the public domain, thereby making them more attractive to new readers of the classics. Creative Action Network and the Digital Public Library of America have teamed up to make the project a reality. Anyone 13 and up can contribute a design to the site, and can receive payment (40% of the proceeds) when someone buys something with their design on it. This link goes to a page with current designs and products for sale. Click on "anyone can contribute" to read the specifications and the list of 100 classics being included in this project.
2015 American Package Design Awards: Each year, Graphic Design USA awards the best in package design. Browse this year's winners by category or company.
2015 American package design awards. (2015, June 3). Graphic Design USA. http://gdusa.com/competitions/package-design/2015-american-package-design-winners
Bache, S. (2015). Books covered. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpbgBwR63XxOUQh8PRn1DAw/videos
Booketing [Tumblr]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://booketing.tumblr.com/
Faris, J. (2014, September 17). 11 free web apps for designers and creatives. How Design. Retrieved from http://www.howdesign.com/editors-picks/11-free-web-apps-designers-creatives/
Go the book [Tumblr]. (2015). Retrieved from http://gothebook.tumblr.com/
http://www.complex.com/style/2012/03/20-graphic-designers-you-should-know/
Kidd, C. (2015). Portfolio. Retrieved from http://chipkidd.com/home/portfolio-3/
Recovering the classics. (2015). Creative action network. Retrieved from http://shop.thecreativeactionnetwork.com/collections/recovering-the-classics
Ted conferences. (n.d.). Chip Kidd. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/speakers/chip_kidd
Wagstaff, D. (2014, December 11). 50 YA covers for 2014. The casual optimist [Tumblr post]. Retrieved from http://www.casualoptimist.com/blog/2014/12/11/50-ya-covers-for-2014/
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