[.ca] The Big Book of Design Ideas (ISBN 0060087633)

Only graphics:
I bought this book with a few other books because I wanted to learn designing. But this book only has pictures. It doesn't tell you why a design is good or bad. It doesn't teach you anything. But it has a lot of pictures and examples of graphics. So its a good buy for people who design for their living and are stuck or have a case of designers block. It can provide with good designing ideas. It can also help in colour combinations. But its not suited for beginners and don't buy this book if you want to learn about designing concepts.

The Big Book of Design Ideas:
I absolutely love this book. David Carter has definitely done his research, and in doing so found the most amazing work ever created by designers all over. I've gained endless inspiration from this book ... its the best!

The "No Design" Design Book:
This is what it should be called. It has many images of so-so to excellent design. However, all of the images seem to be thrown around on the pages with no regard to the layout of the page or the sections of the book. The section headers were so faint that you almost missed them. Some of the images were bled off the page in such a way that you could not appreciate what was being illustrated. On other pages the examples were so close to the binding you almost have to rip the book in half to see them. It was hard to find what you were looking for or to focus on the designs themselves as the design of the book itself was so poor. Its OK to have a book with minimal text, but the design should be strong enough to support that.

No Explanations:
If you are looking for creative ideas for your designs, this book was specifically created for you. If you are new to design, this is not the best book for you. Like me, you may not know exactly what to look for in the examples shown. Included are book jackets, catalogs, calendars, posters, and other creative designs that you can look at for ideas. Unfortunately, they are just pictures so the detail does not always come out as you might hope. There are no explanations. With each idea are the client, the art director, and the creative firm. Sometimes, it will list the designer. Unless you know what you are looking at, and can see the different elements of the whole as well as how they interact, then this book will not be very helpful. This book would be a good reference for people with design backgrounds, but not for the beginner.

Great book for letting your creative spirits flow:
Every time I am browsing through this book, I feel inspired by the beautiful and imaginative designs that this books offers. And that is exactly the purpose of it: no explanations, just tons of great designs to get you in the creative mood. A must have for all graphic designers!