Customer Reviews

Design-It-Yourself: Logos, Letterheads, and Business Cards, Newsletters

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Who is this book for? Non-designers trying to design their own logos, letterheads & businesscards.

How good is it? It's the best I've come across. And I've gone through hundreds of them. This book helped me design a logo and stationary for more than one business, got my creative juices flowing, gave me a lot of ideas - that I would've never thought about otherwise - and to top it all, gave me STEP BY STEP instruction on how to achieve simple but very elegant, clean & professional results!

The design of the book itself makes you want to buy it the very first time you look at it - very well organized, simple, elegant. Inspires confidence.

Does it deliver the goods as promised? SURE!

Another of Chuck's books that I read ages ago and is highly recommended and valuable even today: The Desktop Publisher's Idea Book. It still sits on my desk/bookshelf, and I go back to it often to get new ideas.

Finally, Chuck's web site - ... - is equally impressive, a treasure chest of ideas & resources for budding or amateur designers exploring the world of design.

Request to Chuck if he reads this - please let us have more of these in a series - Design It Yourself Logos 2, 3, 4... etc. PLEASE!

Bharat Suneja

I've read literally hundreds of design books and frankly find most of them to be long on theory and have precious little to offer by way of concrete learning and real-world usability. This book (and The Design-It-Yourself Newsletter also by Chuck - which I also own) doesn't overburden the reader with "fluff." It's a pleasure to find a book that tells me what I should know and need to know rather than what some "expert" wants to tell me. These books are practical, useful, clear, and easy-to-follow. Do yourself a favor and invest a very reasonable sum in this book (or any of Chuck's books for that matter), and you will be a better designer for it.

Most of the books of the same kind, you'll find 500 pages just with theory, things that you should do and you shouldn't. This one is just plane and simple, if you are an expertise graphic designer, it will show you really cool and fresh ideas.
If you are a designer with no background education, it will guide you step by step in the process of creation.
For the price you pay and the content you get, this book is one of its kind.

I recently purchased this book at a local bookstore on my lunch hour. It was so difficult to eat lunch with my new treasure and then have to return to work. Right after dinner that evening I sat down in a comfortable chair and just read and read until I went through the entire book. I just couldn't put this book down. It was wonderful, interesting and very informative. The recipes were great and I will incorporate their use in my at home graphic design business. I have been doing graphic design for about 8 years and cannot get enough to read on the subject. I am self taught and this is just the kind of book that will help those who are just like me, or even give fresh new ideas to those who are experts. Thanks Chuck! I need more of this -- got any more like this coming?

Not that detailed but great if you are not going to sit down and read an involved design book. Quick tips.

I am a graduating senior in Graphic Design at Ohio State. I first stumbled upon ideabook.com then knew I absolutely had to have this book. I think even the most experienced designer can learn a lot from this book, if nothing else it's usefull for a launch pad for ideas, and it's the out and out cure for "designer's block."

It's a reference book also... It's nice to have printing information, basic sizes for layouts, and usefull as a refresher course in some basic elements of design, all in such an easy to use book. We have had to buy many books through the 3 year program here at school (this book was not a required purchase unfortunately) and I will say this is the BEST book I have ever read on the subject of Stationary Design. This is one of those books you can't just get at the library, sure you can probably read it in one night, but you will always refer to it.

I really can't say enough good things about it, so I will tell you the two regrets I do have... Number one, I wish I would have found ideabook.com and this book when I started into graphic design - and number two now that I have found the DIY series I am having trouble waiting for the next book to come out. But seriously, if you are just getting into design or have worked in it for years; This is the book you've always wanted, but could never find.

I am a graduating senior in Graphic Design at Ohio State. I first stumbled upon ideabook.com then knew I absolutely had to have this book. I think even the most experienced designer can learn a lot from this book, if nothing else it's usefull for a launch pad for ideas, and it's the out and out cure for "designer's block."

It's a reference book also... It's nice to have printing information, basic sizes for layouts, and usefull as a refresher course in some basic elements of design, all in such an easy to use book. We have had to buy many books through the 3 year program here at school (this book was not a required purchase unfortunately) and I will say this is the BEST book I have ever read on the subject of Stationary Design. This is one of those books you can't just get at the library, sure you can probably read it in one night, but you will always refer to it.

I really can't say enough good things about it, so I will tell you the two regrets I do have... Number one, I wish I would have found ideabook.com and this book when I started into graphic design - and number two now that I have found the DIY series I am having trouble waiting for the next book to come out. But seriously, if you are just getting into design or have worked in it for years; This is the book you've always wanted, but could never find.

I bought a copy of Designit Yourself by chance at the
> bookstore and I have to
> say it is the best book I have ever read on the subject. I
> love everything
> about it -- it is so enjoyable to read and I especially love
> the fact that
> you included information on where to find anything -- fonts,
> art, paper, etc.
>
> I am a graphic design student and I can use all the help I
> can get.

I've been a professional designer for ten years, and have a lot of graphics reference books in my collection (so I know what's out there). This book is really an original. It is clean and elegant in its presentation, it is very informative, and is quite inspirational with the design samples used. Green starts with general concepts about how to start thinking about your project and what various issues can be involved... and then shows a myraid of design concepts that one might use when designing logos, business cards and letterhead. His examples are really great -- they are designed so nicely for being imaginary companies, and they are also open-ended enough that it's more of a launching pad for you to go and be creative on your own, following some of the general principles that you are interested in. Personally, I found the subtitle of "The Non-Designer's Step-By-Step Guide" to be misleading. Sure, non-designers could use this book for ideas. But as a professional graphic designer, I found PLENTY of inspiration here. If I had to narrow down my collection of design books to just a handful, I bet I would end up including this book as one of them. With lots of books that just show samples of printed pieces, the books can end up looking dated after just a few years. I have a feeling that Green's book will hold up more for the long-term, because he focuses on *concepts* of good design, and not just reprinted samples. And good concepts are timeless.

I love Design It Yourself. I've been looking for months and this is the first time that someone has been able to explain how the design process actually works. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.