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Design and Layout: Understanding and Using Graphics
David Dabner

There’s no escaping it. This is a book about graphic design. You may already be thinking that it’s not for you, but please read on.

If you ever produce a document, a presentation or even try to capture notes on a flip chart or writing pad then you’re into graphic design whether you realise it or not.

Unfortunately reading most business documents and sitting through most business presentations, it seems that we mostly don’t realise it.

Graphic design is all about effective communication, making the message clear, understandable and coherent.

If you’ve seen a company’s annual report this is the one business document that has a fair amount of design lavished on it. Sadly within organisations the focus is on information with little thought to the use of design to make the documents more accessible, interesting and effective.

This is a book that will take you through a host of exercises that will make you more aware of design ideas and be more able to make, often simple changes, to transform the way your material appears and affects the viewer.

This is great if you want to create better documentation, but of course along the way the exercises get you into the habit of seeing, not just looking, and also questioning the way things are and why. It will also have you trying new ideas and testing how well they work. What a fabulous bonus.

So in summary, a book that helps you communicate more effectively and have something more effective to communicate.

Highly recommended.

Steve Unwin
September 2008

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