Islamic Art and Architecture: The System of Geometric Design

Islamic Art and Architecture: The System of Geometric Design by Issam El-Said
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Issam El-Said pinpoints the rules of composition that form the basis of the geometric concepts of Islamic art. He then shows how intricate patterns are based on these basic principles. Fully illustrated in three colors to show the development of the patterns, this book offers an insight into how craftsmen and designers in the Muslim world achieved monumental feats of artistic expression using the simplest of tools. Chapter I presents graphical analyses of numerous complex patterns, to reveal the numerical rationale behind them. In Chapter II, the author analyses the system of measure used in ancient Egypt, before the use of numbers for calculating measurements. 

He shows how measuring cords and a geometric method based on a grid-pattern originating from the circle were employed by master craftsmen in the design of Islamic art and architecture. The book offers an insight into how craftsmen and designers in the Muslim world have achieved monumental feats of artistic expression with harmony and precision, using the simplest of tools such as a ruler, a string and templates, together with a system of measure that is both simple and sophisticated.

Islamic Art and Architecture: The System of Geometric Design

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Art Deco Complete: The Definitive Guide to the Decorative Arts of the 1920s and 1930s

Art Deco Complete: The Definitive Guide to the Decorative Arts of the 1920s and 1930s by Alastair Duncan
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Art Deco Complete is the last word in Art Deco, the most glamorous decorative arts style, and the one that shaped popular ideas of modern luxury. It covers furniture and interior decoration, sculpture, paintings, graphics, posters and bookbinding, glass, ceramics, lighting, textiles, metal work, and jewelry. It includes the work of all of the important Art Deco designers, from high-style French furniture makers to the creators of the popular “Streamline Moderne” style. And it is, in the spirit of Art Deco, a lavish and attractive book, as well as being authoritative and thorough. 

This 544-page volume includes more than 1,000 color images of classic Art Deco objects and spaces.

Its author is the colorful and experienced Alastair Duncan, who was for many years the expert who ran the twentieth-century decorative arts department at Christie’s in New York. Duncan is the author of many well-known books on Art Deco and Art Nouveau. This book will stand as his monument to Art Deco.

Art Deco Complete: The Definitive Guide to the Decorative Arts of the 1920s and 1930s

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Art Nouveau Designs (Design Source Books)

Art Nouveau Designs (Design Source Books) by Judy Balchin
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Judy Balchin's "Art Nouveau Designs" uses simple, but elegantly rendered, line drawings to give the beginning user a real sense of the flow and curve of the Art Nouveau style. The patterns are uncluttered enough for easy tracing and transfer, with plenty of room for the more advanced artist to add their own embellishments. Black and white illustrations are ideal for photocopying, and can be scaled using a modern copy machine that does it automatically.

My only caveats are that the book is heavily skewed towards floral designs (about 15 pages out of the 32 page total), and that the human figures are rendered in a flatter style (see simple) than you'll find in similar motifs elsewhere, especially in reproductions of period references. That being said, this book is an excellent resource for those new to the exuberant Art Nouveau style, and a good way to get a feel for the structure underlying the works of Mucha, Mackintosh, Lalique, and many others.

Art Nouveau Designs (Design Source Books)

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Early American Decorative Arts, 1620-1860: A Handbook for Interpreters (American Association for State and Local History)

Early American Decorative Arts, 1620-1860: A Handbook for Interpreters (American Association for State and Local History) by Pauline K. Eversmann
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Winterthur Museum is well-known for its dazzling decorative arts collections. Since 1952, Winterthur staff has worked to compile comprehensive training materials. Now, Rosemary Krill with Pauline Eversmann, two Winterthur educators, have created a general, highly accessible guide to interpreting early American decorative arts.

Early American Decorative Arts, 1620-1860: A Handbook for Interpreters (American Association for State and Local History)

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Design and Decorative Arts : Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for

Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students (Design Briefs)

The organization of letters on a blank sheet -- or screen -- is the most basic challenge facing anyone who practices design. What type of font to use? How big? How should those letters, words, and paragraphs be aligned, spaced, ordered, shaped, and otherwise manipulated? In this groundbreaking new primer, leading design educator and historian Ellen Lupton provides clear and concise guidance for anyone learning or brushing up on their typographic skills. Thinking with Type is divided into three sections: letter, text, and grid. Each section begins with an easy-to-grasp essay that reviews historical, technological, and theoretical concepts, and is then followed by a set of practical exercises that bring the material covered to life. Sections conclude with examples of work by leading practitioners that demonstrate creative possibilities (along with some classic no-no's to avoid).

Personally, this has probably been the most influental design book that I own. I felt like I was a better designer after having read half of it, without once touching my mac. i just knew that what I had absorbed was going to come out in my work, and it did. The book takes an overview look at design, and speaks in plain english about many things that I've heard or dealt with. But catagorizes stuff and explains things in a fluid manner so that the different bits of information come together and make sense. It is good for the novice and the struggling self taught. Full of great examples. It's too elementary for the serious designer. But for someone who did not go to Design School, but now works with design, its the perfect basic "education in a book".

This book and some of the other books from the Design Briefs series, have become an integral part of my working resource library. Ellen Lupton's book has been one that I have used over and over again. I often reference it when I am faced with a blank page that I am having a hard time laying out.

The section on typography, the largest section of the book, was a very interesting read. I enjoyed learning about the history of printing and typography. Beginning designers will appreciate the categorizing of typefaces. This leads into the discussion of electronic typesetting and the limitations and challenges that has created for designers.

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