Design Thinking For Visual Communication

How do you start a design project? How can you generate ideas and concepts in response to a design brief? How do other designers do it? This book will answer all these questions and more. Now in its second edition, the highly popular Design Thinking for Visual Communication identifies methods and thought processes used by designers in order to start the process that eventually leads to a finished piece of work. Step-by-step guidance for each part of the process is highlighted by real-life case studies, enabling the student to see teaching in practice. This focus on ideas and methods eschews an abstract, academic approach in favour of a useable approach to design as a problem-solving activity. The new edition now includes contributions from a broader international range of design practices and adds depth to existing case studies by looking in greater detail at some of the processes used.

Where do design principles come from? Are they abstract "rules" established by professionals or do they have roots in human experience? And if we encounter these visual phenomena in our everyday lives, how do designers use them to attract our attention, orient our behavior, and create compelling and memorable communication that stands out among the thousands of messages we confront each day? Today's work in visual communication design shifts emphasis from simply designing objects to designing experiences; to crafting form that acknowledges cognitive and cultural influences on interpretation. In response, Meredith Davis and Jamer Hunt provide a new slant on design basics from the perspective of audiences and users. Chapters break down our interactions with communication as a sequence of meaningful episodes, each with related visual concepts that shape the interpretive experience. Explanatory illustrations and professional design examples support definitions of visual concepts and discussions of context. Work spans print, screen, and environmental applications from around the world. This introduction to visual communication design demystifies the foundational concepts that underpin professional design decisions and shape our experiences in a complex visual world.

An authoritative survey of different contexts, methodologies, and theories of applied communication The field of Applied Communication Research (ACR) has made substantial progress over the past five decades in studying communication problems, and in making contributions to help solve them. Changes in society, human relationships, climate and the environment, and digital media have presented myriad contexts in which to apply communication theory. The Handbook of Applied Communication Research addresses a wide array of contemporary communication issues, their research implications in various contexts, and the challenges and opportunities for using communication to manage problems. This innovative work brings together the diverse perspectives of a team of notable international scholars from across disciplines. The Handbook of Applied Communication Research includes discussion and analysis spread across two comprehensive volumes. Volume one introduces ACR, explores what is possible in the field, and examines theoretical perspectives, organizational communication, risk and crisis communication, and media, data, design, and technology. The second volume focuses on real-world communication topics such as health and education communication, legal, ethical, and policy issues, and volunteerism, social justice, and communication activism. Each chapter addresses a specific issue or concern, and discusses the choices faced by participants in the communication process. This important contribution to communication research: Explores how various communication contexts are best approached Addresses balancing scientific findings with social and cultural issues Discusses how and to what extent media can mitigate the effects of adverse events Features original findings from ongoing research programs and original communication models and frameworks Presents the best available research and insights on where current research and best practices should move in the future A major addition to the body of knowledge in the field, The Handbook of Applied Communication Research is an invaluable work for advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and scholars.

VISCOMM has been developed by experienced and knowledgeable teachers who understand what works in the Visual Communication Design classroom, to offer a complete and flexible resource package for the new study design. Contemporary design practise and trends are showcased along with examples of student work and both local and global designers to demonstrate current skills, methods and techniques at a variety of levels. Step-by-step visual guides and instructional diagrams cater for visual learners and help students understand and apply design elements and principles. Assessment tasks include a wide variety of individual, group work and extended tasks. These tasks can be matched to the outcomes of the study design, cater to different learning styles and provide opportunities to build up assessable folios. A strong focus on historical and contemporary typographic practice ensures a comprehensive coverage of the new study design. Many chapters rely on minimal prior knowledge, allowing for a flexible course structure that suits the needs and interests of teachers and students. If you order this product you will receive the following components: Print Textbook: delivered in full colour print. PDF Textbook: a downloadable PDF version of the student text that enables students to take notes and bookmark pages. The PDF textbook can be used in class or as a reference at home. To access the PDF textbook, simply register for a Cambridge GO account and enter the 16 character access code found in the front inside cover of your textbook.

Graphic Design for Architects is a handbook of techniques, explanations and examples of graphic design most relevant to architects. The book covers a variety of scales of graphic design, everything from portfolio design and competition boards, to signage and building super-graphics – to address every phase of architectural production. This book combines and expands on information typically found in graphic design, information design, and architectural graphics books. As architectural communication increases to include more territory and components of a project, it is important for designers to be knowledgeable about the various ways in which to communicate visually. For instance, signage should be designed as part of the process – not something added at the end of a project; and the portfolio is a manifestation of how the designer works, not just an application to sell a design sensibility. In thinking about architecture as a systematic and visual project, the graphic design techniques outlined in this book will help architects process, organize and structure their work through the lens of visual communication. Each chapter is titled and organized by common architectural modes of communication and production. The chapters speak to architects by directly addressing projects and topics relevant to their work, while the information inside each chapter presents graphic design methods to achieve the architects’ work. In this way, readers don’t have to search through graphic design books to figure out what’s relevant to them – this book provides a complete reference of graphic techniques and methods most useful to architects in getting their work done.

Visual Thinking brings the science of perception to the art of design. Designers increasingly need to present information in ways that aid their audience’s thinking process. Fortunately, results from the relatively new science of human visual perception provide valuable guidance. In this book, Colin Ware takes what we now know about perception, cognition, and attention and transforms it into concrete advice that designers can directly apply. He demonstrates how designs can be considered as tools for cognition – extensions of the viewer’s brain in much the same way that a hammer is an extension of the user’s hand. The book includes hundreds of examples, many in the form of integrated text and full-color diagrams. Experienced professional designers and students alike will learn how to maximize the power of the information tools they design for the people who use them. Presents visual thinking as a complex process that can be supported in every stage using specific design techniques Provides practical, task-oriented information for designers and software developers charged with design responsibilities Includes hundreds of examples, many in the form of integrated text and full-color diagrams Steeped in the principles of “active vision, which views graphic designs as cognitive tools

'Designing Texts' is an edited collection dedicated to teaching visual communication in non-visual disciplines, with a particular focus on the fields of technical and professional communication, rhetoric, and composition.