A Book About Design

Gonyea, Mark. A Book About Design: Complicated Doesn’t Make It Better. Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 2005. ISBN 978-0-8050-7575-5

Description

This cheerful introduction to graphic design shows kids that our perception of size, shape and color has meaning. The book is divided into short chapters. Chapter 1, All or Nothing, shows that you can’t change one piece of an image without affecting all the others. Chapter 2, The Box, points out that lines in a box have meaning such as speed, direction, strength, and structure. Chapter 3, 1:3:9, introduces this ratio that is used to make some design elements appear more important and other less prominent. Other chapters focus on contrast, letters as shapes, color, balance, and space. The final chapter shows how more is not always better, and how simple can be best in graphic design.

Critical Evaluation

This book reads like a picture book for very young children, and it will be appreciated by early readers. But it also has appeal for older children and tweens. The graphic design principles treated in this book are described clearly with minimal language. The graphic illustrations are simple, spare, and very thoughtfully linked to the explanations given.

Annotations

Design means making choices about many visual attributes. It is important to remember that complicated doesn’t make it better. Simple visual expression of ideas is powerful.

Author

Mark Gonyea loved cartoons, video games, and monster movies as a child. He attended the Joe Kubert School of Cartooning and Graphic Art.

Genre

Non-fiction – visual arts

Curriculum Ties

Visual arts – graphic design

Booktalk Ideas

Not applicable.

Reading Level/Interest Age

Grade 3 to 8 (age 8 to 14).

Challenge Issues and Defense

None.

Why is it here?

The field of graphic design appeals to young readers today. They are significant consumers of graphic media via television, gaming, and online activities.