Good Design

Social sciences.

The book reveals a new understanding of the ways that design shapes our lives and gives professionals and interested citizens the tools to seek out and demand designs that dignify.

Service design is a rapidly growing area of interest in design and business management. There are a lot of books on how to get started, but this is the first book that describes what a "good" service is and how to design one. This book lays out the essential principles for building services that work well for users. Demystifying what we mean by a "good" and "bad" service and describing the common elements within all services that mean they either work for users or don't. A practical book for practitioners and non-practitioners alike interested in better service delivery, this book is the definitive new guide to designing services that work for users.

The world today can be an infinitely better place. With the increasing amount of issues affecting us as a whole in recent years, such as the global health crises, environmental destruction, and socioeconomic disparities, the onus is on each and every one of us to do everything we can for the generations to come. Design has been -- and will always be -- our crucial tool in this regard. Whether it be through campaigns that rally for action, posters that raise awareness, or products that actually change bad habits, designers combine creativity, craft, and compelling visuals to materialize concepts that can effectively transform the way we live. Good by Design collates the best projects and insights to inspire not only those who wish to do good, but also hope for all in a better tomorrow.

The graphic design equivalent to Strunk & White's The Elements of Style This book is simply the most compact and lucid handbook available outlining the basic principles of layout, typography, color usage, and space. Being a creative designer is often about coming up with unique design solutions. Unfortunately, when the basic rules of design are ignored in an effort to be distinctive, design becomes useless. In language, a departure from the rules is only appreciated as great literature if recognition of the rules underlies the text. Graphic design is a "visual language," and brilliance is recognized in designers whose work seems to break all the rules, yet communicates its messages clearly. This book is a fun and accessible handbook that presents the fundamentals of design in lists, tips, brief text, and examples. Chapters include Graphic Design: What It Is; What Are They and What Do They Do?; 20 Basic Rules of Good Design; Form and Space-The Basics; Color Fundamentals; Choosing and Using Type; The World of Imagery; Putting it All Together?Essential Layout Concepts; The Right Design Choices: 20 Reminders for Working Designers; and Breaking the Rules: When and Why to Challenge all the Rules of this Book.

Explores new thoughts and practices in the movement toward an architecture that serves everyone, including the poor.

Exquisitely produced to reflect Dieter Rams' aesthetic philosophy, this book presents highlights from a forty-year career designing iconic consumer products that enhance our daily lives. For decades, anyone who cared about product design looked to the Braun label when choosing their appliances, radios, and other consumer items. Now Dieter Rams, the guiding force behind the Braun look, breaks down his design principles and processes in this elegant book. Enumerating each of his ten principles such as good design is innovative; good design is aesthetic; good design is useful, etc., this book presents one hundred items that embody these guidelines. Readers will find items that are familiar such as the ubiquitous coffee grinder but also those that are more unusual such as shelving systems and cigarette lighters. A fascinating essay places Dieter Rams in the context of modern design, from Bauhaus to Philip Johnson. Archival materials include photos of Rams' design team and excerpts from his publications and speeches. The book closes with a chronological overview of design icons, categorized by function, that show the enormous breadth of Rams' vision. Taken together, these images and texts offer the most comprehensive overview of Dieter Rams' work to date and will serve as both a reference and an inspiration for anyone interested in how and why good design matters.

The author polls several designers of different age groups and phases in their careers about what they consider “good design�. Each has selected an existing design piece they feel to be good, based on their personal definition of what “good� is. The author also takes a critical look at the design to determine if it is effective with its target market and interviews the designer of the piece to unlock the concept behind the design. By taking this backwards approach through design—from completed piece back to conception—readers will discover why the design works and how they can use this information in their own projects.