Graphic Design Learning & Instructional Tools

Design Workshop by Robin Williams & John Tollett, 2nd Edition

By Chris Dunmire

Several years ago I recommended the first edition (2001) of Design Workshop co-authored by Robin Williams and John Tollett and gave a brief overview of the major sections I thought newbie designers would find useful in the book.

When I initially reviewed Design Workshop, I was studying digital graphic design in college and was extremely inspired by every one of Robin's books I could get my hands on. It didn't take long for me to notice that several of her books including The Non-Designer's Design Book and this one was stocked in the college bookstore and assigned as textbooks in several of the graphic art courses. This was exciting, but not surprising, I thought, because Robin has taught college-level design courses for many years and her expertise in the field has been spotlighted in many places, including on Adobe.com and in a column she wrote several years ago called "TypeTalk."

I've since graduated from the design program I was enrolled in, but I'm still a huge fan of Robin Williams and keep several of her Web design, print design, and typography books on my book shelf for reference material and creative inspiration.

In 2006 the books' publisher, Peachpit Press, released an upgraded version of Design Workshop, a second edition with a new front cover design. My recommendation for this book stands as it originally did as I wrote in my early overview:

"Design Workshop is another book by Robin Williams that I recommend, especially if you've enjoyed her Non-Designer's Design Book.

This 280-page book is a follow-up to the Non-Designer's Design Book, and builds upon the principles discussed in that book and applies them into real-life design situations. The book is divided into three major sections: Idea Sparks, Projects, and Designers & the Design Process. 

The Idea Sparks section helps you to realize the vast amount of clipart, illustration, and photography resources available to you, and gives examples on how to effectively use these elements sparingly, tastefully, and with restraint in your design projects.

The Projects section begins with a lesson on logo design and then focuses on how you can apply the same techniques to various print and electronic media including: business cards, billboards, Web sites, newsletters, and brochures.

Finally, the last section in the book, Designers & the Design Process, is a showcase of work by guest designers to help you gain insight into the design process. It includes an interesting synopsis of the process John Tollett went through in creating the cover for the first edition of the Design Workshop book."

Robin Williams Design Workshop, 2nd Edition
"Presented in Robin and John's signature style—writing that is so crystal clear, it's accessible to absolutely anyone—and illustrated with hundreds of full-color design examples, the ideas in this book tackle design theory, visual puns, and layout and graphics strategies for real-world projects. Developing designers will appreciate the authors' imaginative approach and well-chosen examples." More »

Here's an additonal excerpt from Amazon.com's book description to fill out my overview:

"Learn design theory and practical know-how from the award-winning author/design team, Robin Williams and John Tollett! Robin Williams introduced design and typographic principles to legions of readers with her best-selling Non-Designer's book series. Now she and designer/co-author John Tollett take you to the next level of creative design with practical advice and lessons in composition, visual impact, and design challenges.

• Discover practical and effective design principles and concepts—and how to apply them to virtually any project.
• Learn why some designs are attention-getting and others are not.
• Learn how to choose just the right look—corporate or casual, classic or trendy—for specific types of projects, such as business cards, letterhead and envelopes, newsletters and brochures, logos, advertising, and more.
• Test your design acumen by comparing before-and-after examples.
• Find a wealth of inspiration for your own design projects.
• Gain insight into the design process by studying the work of guest designers, who offer their personal commentary and insights."

Order Robin Williams Design Workshop from Amazon.

© 2008 Chris Dunmire. All rights reserved.

About the Author | More by Chris Dunmire
Chris Dunmire is an artist, humorist, Kaizen-Muse creativity coach, and the driving force behind the popular Creativity Portal Web site. Chris inspires people of all ages with creativity articles, printable playbooks, and fun projects such as her world-famous Dollar Bill Origami Money Plant gift project plan e-book, now available for Amazon Kindle.

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