Comments on: Retro Graphics: A Visual Sourcebook to 100 Years of Graphic Design

By: Mary J. Bedy

Mary J. Bedy — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:08:31 +0000

I read some reviews of this book by other reviewers say that this book does not provide basic information about the graphics. I think the book title describes exactly what this book is designed to provide and, in my opinion, does just that. This is an overview of the various preferences charts for decades, with color examples and layout of each time period. It was obviously not designed as a comprehensive textbook on the history of graphic design, but a sampling of favorite styles throughout the 20th century, and basic information to recreate the appearance of a certain age. In this regard, I think this book succeeds in what it has agreed to do, and I found it to be well organized and attractive in its presentation.
Rating: 5 / 5

By: Indy

Indy — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:09:48 +0000

This is a must have for those who need a quick reference history of graphic design. Even if the book goes into detail explaining the different movements and style that offers a good reference for font styles, color palettes and important elements that make it unique. The book also includes a color line for some time at the beginning and each brief explanation is in chronological order.
Rating: 5 / 5

By: Stephen Rustad

Stephen Rustad — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:06:21 +0000

This is a very useful book on several levels. First, it clearly and succinctly covers the major design trends that have influenced a century of design printing. Secondly – and better yet – the first-class book "how-to-do-it" manual, which analyzes these trends and show how it can be a source of inspiration (or just cloned if you're lazy) for the designer contemporary graphic. Every major trend is explored through the characters, the color choices, and advice on using software programs emulating the graphics like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. Useful addition to your reference library of graphical computation.
Rating: 5 / 5

By: F. Q. Irving

F. Q. Irving — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:45:27 +0000

I could not wait for this book and its reception, my first impression was not good. Then I sat and read. It is a great book to have, why? Lots of information and research went into the book, but it is short and precise. The examples are very good. However, the real value of this book is for me references fonts, spot colors, and simple techniques for reproducing vintage posters. That alone is worth the purchase. However, the book is a step-by-step tutorial on creating posters.
Rating: 4 / 5

By: Robin Benson

Robin Benson — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:29:36 +0000

Even in this digital age, designers can not have too many reference books, probably the largest number of books are the type and design year and probably less to do with the titles of historical style. Retro Graphics is part of the latter category and could be a useful reminder of the past styles, but I felt the editorial was rather imperfect. The essence of the book are different elements of the style of decades past, which could be useful if you need to create a period design. The seven chapters are accompanied with: scripts, posters, advertisements, publications colors, graphic symbols and also (if I do not really see that a decade in particular, can be nailed to a few colors) . All visual material is well chosen, but it goes on a tangent using the period of styles to create a contemporary design with Photoshop and Illustrator. Perhaps half of the book is devoted to explaining how these designs were created by historical examples. It seemed a rather pointless exercise. Neither book is a collection of reference card or the past is a guide to using the software. There are user guides much of graphics software (my faves are Peachpit Press) and I think a better visual books about the history of graphic design. Three that I found useful and interesting are the following: Graphic Design Source Book (1987) Saint Kitts and McQuiston, Design Source Book (1986) by Sparke, Hodges, Stone and Coad; available Source Book (1990) Alan Swann. All three are full of reference material and so, if you search on the net can be done very cheaply. Retro Graphics was originally published in Britain and so full of content contained reflect a European perspective. The design and production are very good (using a screen of 175), but I thought it was a pity that, overall, the book is not really realize the promise of the sub-deck covers 100 years Graphic Design. *** See some inside pages by clicking on the images on''customer under the lid.
Rating: 3 / 5