[.ca] The Non-Designer's Type Book (ISBN 0321303369)

NOT for type lovers:
When I picked up this book, I figured that the title, "The Non-Designer's Type Book," meant that it was a book about type, FOR non-designers. After reading it, from cover to cover, I now wonder if the title refers to the author's credentials rather than the book's target audience. I love typography. I sit in theaters and watch every minute of the rolling credits if the font used is well chosen and well displayed. I have a Caslon 540 lower-case "g" pinned to the wall above my Mac instead of swimsuit pics. If you love type, you know what I'm talking about. If you love type, avoid this book and do not recommend it to anyone who hopes to someday love typography and master its use. Robin Williams' cutesy and heavy-handed text, while sometimes informative, is loaded with irritating "insights" as well as written-in-stone directives that are passed off as law. For instance, in at least two places, she states that type should NEVER, EVER be underlined. She says that it's a "law" that should "never" be broken. C'mon Robin! I mean yes, underlining is very often misused, but have you looked at the latest PRINT or CA Annual? There is a time and a place for underlining and the sensitive, savvy designer knows when and how to do it. She outright trashes one of the most elegantly designed faces in the history of the printed word, Helvetica, and glibly states that it will be out of style for the "next two hundred years." What?? Again, has Ms. Williams even looked at what contemporary (and effective) designers are doing these days? Helvetica is alive and flourishing. And, at the same time she is trashing Helvetica, she calls "rendered" type (such as 3D effects, letters that appear to be chiseled from stone or made of, say, salad greens) typography's "most beautiful" trend. She's killin' me!! If you want to fulfill and expand your appreciation for typography, buy Robert Bringhurst's exquisite manual, The Elements of Typographic Style.

Very Helpful:
Robin Williams does such a great job explaining design concept's to "non-designers." I feel like she's teaching me. Here, she turns her attention to typography. Anyone could learn a great deal about typography without having read any other books on the subject from this book. Williams, being a designer, takes a visual approach to teaching typography and has a humorous way of hammering important points into your head. Not only will you be more sensitive to how type works after reading this book, but you will know the terminology of typography and, most importantly, know how to use type well and creatively.

I don't love typography:
I generally find typography one of those dry, tedious details I have to know to as part of my job. But THIS book makes it approachable, understandable, interesting, and even entertaining. As titled, this is a book for NON-designers - people who aren't usually interested in this stuff unless compelled to be, and who don't have a lot of time to learn it. If you're looking for something edgier or for "breaking the rules," this is not the book to start with. However, if you're one of those people with a thousand fonts on your computer and only about 3 you ever use, this book will open your mind to the possibilities.

Good information, but the author gets on your nerves:
You'll find good information and clear explanations with plenty of examples in this book, so there's no denying that you'll learn something by reading it. Plus, although it is technically a technical book, it's fairly easy to read even as a bed time book. But the author has the terrible habit of treating the reader as if they were complete idiots, and her patronizing tone really got on my nerves more than once. She cautions the reader with "don't be dumb" at least a dozens times, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Basically, the author seems to believe that she's the most brilliant genious ever to have walked the surface of this planet and she really thinks she knows what's right and what's wrong. You'll also get advice like "you thought that this was right, but now you know it's wrong, so don't be dumb" all the time. It bothers me that anyone can behave as if they were the sole guardians of The Truth. This book could have been called The Gospel According to Robin Williams. Another aspect that bothered me is that, in the name of "good design", the book uses a third more paper than it really should. It's extra-tall format makes it seem to be denser, but in fact most pages have only been printed on the top half. Oh, and Robin Williams also mentions her other books in most chapters, so if you were to follow her advice to the letter you'd end up with the full collection of her books

For professional designers too!:
Designers, don't let the title scare you. This is not a dumbed-down guide for amateurs. Yes, it's a great resource for amateurs and they will understand it, but it's also a wonderful guide for professional designers who need to review professional-level typography. It's a must-have reference in my library. Includes lots of ideas on layout, fonts you can use in different situations, fonts that complement each other, increasing legibility and special typographic effects.