Best Books of 2003
for desktop publishing, design and graphics...
DT&G: Design, Type & Graphics Magazine in conjunction with The Design & Publishing Center, The Designers' Bookshelf and the Graphic-Design Network have selected the following as the best products in 2003 for the visual communications fields.
Selecting the Book of the Year
Unlike last year's blockbuster book of the year,"Inside The Publishing Revolution: The Adobe Story" by Pamela Pfiffner, DTG editors had quite a bit of difficulty deciding on a single "Best" for the year.
Editors had to step back and reevaluate the very mission of this web site. What book is most worth buying to advance the skill set most essential to all those in visual communications, graphic design and other creative endeavors? We arrived at the conclusion that our focus is all about two essential elements that makes for true greatness. Most importantly, ideas and creativity. Secondly, but equally important, is responsibility. These two books reflect the ultimate in those values and goals:
Clare Warmke gave us all a creative shot-in-the-arm this year, both visually and intellectually. Armed with this book we could shed those mental blocks and rise again into the etherial bliss of creativity! If you buy one book to enthrall, entertain and expand your creative prowess, this is the one!
What does it mean to be a visual designer in today's society? To whom does your ultimate responsibility reside? These are serious questions facing anyone in a position to persuade and influence people. A truly accomplished designer will also feel a grave responsibility to society Citizen Designer should be on every communicator's bedside table.
Keep in mind that all books reviewed and shown in the Designer's Bookshelf are read and actually checked for usability.
Best in Photoshop & Image Editing
- Most exciting new Photoshop book: The in-your-face, satin-doll, cotton-candy Glitter Guru of course! This one's NOT to be missed... The Glitter Guru on Photoshop
- Most Valuable New Photoshop Retouching Book: Katrin Eismann came back this year with lots of all new techniques, and in-depth Photoshop technology in her second edition of Photoshop Restoration & Retouching
- Most Important New Elements Book: From Richard Lynch comes a landmark book which at last shows everyone that Photoshop's second sister is just as powerful as the original when you truly unlock The Hidden Power of Photoshop Elements 2
- Industrial Strength Photoshop: While fat books on Photoshop are few and far between, you really don't need more than this one. David Blatner and Bruce Fraser have done it again with their latest edition of Real World Photoshop
- Most Valuable Books for Graphic Designers & Publishers: If we've said it once, we've said it a thousand times: You must get these before buying any other books! Peachpit's Visual Quickstart books of course... Photoshop VQG and Illustrator VQG
Best in Graphic Design & Publishing
- Best Graphic Design Training: From the gestalt of European design sensibility comes this blockbuster guide for new and intermediate designers. Important reading for all creatives! A Practical Guide to Digital Design
- Best Layout & Color Guides: This is a dynamic duo. We told you about AVA publishing earlier in 2003, and predicted they would become a major force in high-end graphic design and visual communications books. They've hit gold for both Color and Layout AVA Layout & Color
- Best in Typography: James Felici deserves a special place on every computer user's desk because with the power to put words on paper there comes a responsibility to do it well. For the ultimate guide to setting perfect type, you'll need The Complete Manual of Typography
Best in Web Design
- Best for Web Designers: The way we craft web pages is quietly changing as we prepare for the new era of hand-held wireless devices, and specialized use of the internet. Above all, web designers need to purchase and study Jeffery Zeldman's Designing With Web Standards
- Best Cascading Style Sheets: As reflected in the Design Bookshelf CSS Bibliography, this is Molly's finest hour. Her walk-through of a site makeover from the html terrorist days to today's highly capable CSS is the ultimate for anyone who started building web pages back in the '90s. Must read: Cascading Style Sheets: The Designer's Edge
Best All Around
- Best in Digital Photography: For getting the most out of that digital camera, Mikkel Aaland has done all digital camera owners a great service with Shooting Digital: Pro Tips for Taking Great Pictures with Your Digital Camera
- Most Fun: Whether you follow Tech TV or not, this book is lots of fun with special info and tips from TechTV's Leo Laporte and Megan Morrone each and every day of the year in TechTV Leo Laporte's 2004 Technology Almanac
- Special Recognition for Excellence: Peachpit Press We couldn't award ALL of Peachpit's Visual Quickstart Guides so we decided to award the "line" with a special recognition of excellence. Herein, we concentrate on the most important titles for visual communicators: Photoshop Elements
Get the real scoop on all the popular books
That's it for the Best Books of 2003. Any of these books represent the very best value for your money. Now The editors of the Design Bookshelf will start reading, using and evaluating books for 2004 -- so they can spot the ones you want to buy!
http://www.design-bookshelf.com/
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