It's time to stop taking graphic design so seriously! All-natural, free-range and gluten-free, Design Funny: A Graphic Designer's Guide to Humor is an entertaining yet practical guide to the lighter side of the design profession. Inside you'll find inspiration, advice and visual gags from comedy juggernauts The Onion, Comedy Central, Funny Or Die, MAD magazine, JibJab, Cheezburger, as well as dozens of top creative agencies, talented freelance designers and professional comedians. But wait, there's more! You'll also get... 300 witty images 175 contributing designers 42 ways to design funny 10 quizzes to reveal your sense of humor 6 serious reasons to pitch funny 0 bullshit* Discover how you can use 42 principles of comedy to transform your visual communication from ho-hum to ha-ha. Find out what your client or boss needs to hear in order to buy into your funny ideas. Learn astonishing facts about design and humor theory from science, psychology and history. Did you know the first dirty cartoon appeared over 50,000 years ago? Whether you're an aspiring designer, design expert or just like funny pictures, you'll get a kick out of seeing the method behind the madness of designing funny.
". . . no one has ever written about graphic design in quite this way. The title sounds more like a short story, and at times I found myself reading it as though it were a fictional exploration of a designer's consciousness. When I did, itsenergy, relentlessness, emotion, and abundance of detail made sense, as did its literary style. Barringer writes entertainingly and has a gift for intricate metaphor. . .Designers who enjoy ambitious writing will find plenty toadmire . . ." From Rick Poynor's I.D. Magazine review of "American Mutt Barks in the Yard" (Emigre; 68) By winning the 2008 Winterhouse Award for Design Writing, David Barringer firmly established himself as the freshest and most interesting writer on the subject. His articles, which have appeared in publications from Print to Emigre, are notable for his strong personal point of view, literary style, and even humor, not always attributes associated with writing about design. In this collection of essays, Barringer's first, he wonders why drug names have so many X's in them, ponders the rise of gory DVD covers, and ruminates on his father's business card collection, pythons, and the human skullproving again and again that design is everywhere you look for it, (but may not have seen) without the powerful magnifying lens of this talented and exciting observer and writer.
Written and assembled by three leading critics and curators, Donald Albrecht, Ellen Lupton, and Steven Skov Holt, the book explores the design artifacts and practices that will define the twenty-first century."--BOOK JACKET.
New York Times best seller Ever since Gabrielle Stanley Blair became a parent, she’s believed that a thoughtfully designed home is one of the greatest gifts we can give our families, and that the objects and decor we choose to surround ourselves with tell our family’s story. In this, her first book, Blair offers a room-by-room guide to keeping things sane, organized, creative, and stylish. She provides advice on getting the most out of even the smallest spaces; simple fixes that make it easy for little ones to help out around the house; ingenious storage solutions for the never-ending stream of kid stuff; rainy-day DIY projects; and much, much more.
Just in time for the 20th anniversary of Spy's creation comes the definitive anthology, inside story, and scrapbook. Spy: The Funny Years will remind the magazine's million readers why they loved and depended on Spy and bring to a new generation the jewels of its reporting and writing, photography, illustration, design, and world-class mischief-making. It will demonstrate Spy's singular niche in American magazine and cultural history. But it is also intended to be enjoyed on its own: one beautiful volume containing Spy's funniest and most creative work, along with the ultimate insiders account of how it all came to be. All the best is here: Separated at Birth; Naked City; The Fine Print; Logrolling in Our Time; the Blurb-o-Mat; those hysterical (and now ubiquitous) charts; the inside stories on the New York Times and Hollywood by J.J. Hunsecker and Celia Brady; the covers; investigative features; and the hilarious stories on pretty much everyone who was anyone during the late 80s and early 90s. Not to mention the often grisly but always entertaining regular cast of characters from Spy's pages -- the churlish dwarf billionaires; beaver-faced moguls; bull-whip-wielding uber-agents; knobby-kneed socialites; and, of course, short-fingered vulgarians. During its heyday, from 1986 through 1993, Spy broke important ground in journalism and design, defining smartness for its generation. It was a once-in-a-lifetime creation that shaped the zeitgeist and succeeded (for a while) against all odds. Spy: The Funny Years will be the fun, stylish, hilarious holiday gift of the year.
In the mid-seventies, both gender studies and humor studies emerged as new disciplines, with scholars from various fields undertaking research in these areas. The first publications that emerged in the field of gender studies came out of disciplines such as philosophy, history, and literature, while early works in the area of humor studies initially concentrated on language, linguistics, and psychology. Since then, both fields have flourished, but largely independently. This book draws together and focuses the work of scholars from diverse disciplines on intersections of gender and humor, giving voice to approaches in disciplines such as film, television, literature, linguistics, translation studies, and popular culture.
Creativity and Humor provides an overview of the intersection of how humor influences creativity and how creativity can affect humor. The book's chapters speak to the wide reach of creativity and humor with different topics, such as play, culture, work, education, therapy, and social justice covered. As creativity and humor are individual traits and abilities that have each been studied in psychology, this book presents the latest information. - Explains how, and why, humor enhances creativity - Explores the thought processes behind producing humor and creativity - Examines how childhood play is the basis for both creativity and humor - Discusses cross-cultural differences in humor and creativity - Reviews creativity and humor in politics, teaching and relationships
Designers, especially design students, rarely have access to children or their worlds when creating products, images, experiences and environments for them. Therefore, fine distinctions between age transitions and the day-to-day experiences of children are often overlooked. Designing for Kids brings together all a designer needs to know about developmental stages, play patterns, age transitions, playtesting, safety standards, materials and the daily lives of kids, providing a primer on the differences in designing for kids versus designing for adults. Research and interviews with designers, social scientists and industry experts are included, highlighting theories and terms used in the fields of design, developmental psychology, sociology, cultural anthropology and education. This textbook includes more than 150 color images, helpful discussion questions and clearly formatted chapters, making it relevant to a wide range of readers. It is a useful tool for students in industrial design, interaction design, environmental design and graphic design with children as the main audience for their creations.
For many, doing good work that also does good in the world is part of the ethos of design practice. Just Design celebrates and explores this increasingly critical aspect of design by showcasing a diverse collection of inspiring projects, people and causes. Look inside to explore more than 140 exceptional design solutions from many of the world's leading designers and discover new work from emerging voices. Dig deeper by reading the story behind every included project—including 10 expanded case studies. Gain new perspective with thoughtful essays by Alissa Walker, Kate Andrews, Aaris Sherin, Alice Bybee, Cinthia Wen and Brian Collins. Energize your creative spirit with inspirational profiles and interviews with designers such as Emily Pilloton, Michael Osborne and Randy J. Hunt, and unique perspectives from Kalle Lasn, Brian Dougherty and Ric Grefe. What People Are Saying About Just Design "Just Design is the first book to offer a thoughtful, comprehensive and inspiring look at what happens when designers use their knowledge, resources and ability to create work that is concerned with positive change over cashing a check. The sample projects, interviews and contributing stories provide a contagious energy, motivation, and optimism that is hard to find in any other design book." —Armin Vit Co-founder, UnderConsideration "Christopher Simmons' brilliant new book showcases the worldwide, world-class work designers are doing to convey what is good and important for everyone, everywhere. Just Design is proof positive that design—and designers—can change the world, one design at a time." —Debbie Millman President, Sterling Brands Past President, AIGA "Through deft curation and succinct, exacting project descriptions, Christopher Simmons and his guests provide a compelling set of work that confirms the critical and unique power of social design and its practitioners." —Allan Chochinov Partner, Core77 Chair, SVA MFA Products of Design "Just Design is the kind of book that makes you proud to be a designer. And inspires you to be a better one." —Valerie Casey Founder, Designers Accord "Just Design should be required reading for any designer or communications professional seeking to make a difference." —Joel Makower Chairman, GreenBiz Group, Author, Strategies for the Green Economy Inside: Adams Morioka • Adbusters • Albert Einstein • Altitude • Aufuldish & Warinner • Bob Dylan • Charles Darwin • Design Army • Firebelly Design • Frank Chimero • James Victore • Karlsonwilker • Lance Armstrong • Mende Design • MINE™ • Modern Dog • Office • Pentagram • Plato • Stefan • Sagmeister • Turnstyle • Vanderbyl Design • Volume Inc. • Winston Churchill • And more...
