I think art & design books will be a common genre on this website. It’s a personal interest, as well as a professional one. If I were to niche myself, that’s exactly where I would be.

Today’s review is one that I read a while ago, and it will likely be my last review of the year. Despite having a long list, I haven’t been in much of a mood to read anything except non-fiction art & design books.

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GO: A Kidd’s Guide to Graphic Design
by Chip Kidd

get it here

BOOK SUMMARY

Kids love to express themselves, and are designers by nature whether making posters for school, deciding what to hang in their rooms, or creating personalized notebook covers. Go, is an introduction to the ways in which a designer communicates his or her ideas to the world. It’s written and designed just for those curious kids, not to mention their savvy parents, who want to learn the secret of how to make things dynamic and interesting.

BOOK REVIEW

*A copy of this book was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When they say “don’t judge a book by its cover, they mean this one, especially this one.

‘Go’ is an easy-to-understand introduction to graphic design written for younger audiences or for readers who are interested in dabbling into graphic design. It explains common terminology, colour theory, typography and other elements, but it also highlights the rationale of design, which I admire greatly.

Aside from that, I appreciate how Kidd gave a list of design projects at the end to put what you’ve learnt to practice. It is a fun activity that you can do without the need of Canva or Adobe, but just with paper, colours, magazines – any material you can get your hands on. It’s a great way to unleash your creativity and explore what type of design style you enjoy.

I love the author’s humour and way of storytelling and it was such a joy to read. Even if it’s targeted towards children, it’s such a delight for adults too. I was also very happily surprised to discover he had designed many book covers, of which many I recognise and love. However, I might have a personal beef with him for the Kafka on the Shore cover that continues to give me nightmares.