[.ca] Layout Index (ISBN 1581801467)

Horrendous!:
I have been slowly building my Design Library, and this book made me laugh right out loud! Just by looking at the sample page excerpts offered, one can tell that this book is a total waste of money to anyone with a fine arts-based design degree. But, if you do not have any idea about design, and enjoy cookie-cutter, bland, out-dated design, or if you don't need much to inspire you, then this book would probably be just fine for your library.

Good Series, Weakest of the Set:
This is part of a three book set, which is a great addition to any design library. Unfortunately, this is the weakest of the set - there are a few tidbits, but nothing much. If you buy the other two (Color Index & Idea Index) you will be set. This one I don't recommend to often.

A simple, helpful guide:
Design inspired by this little book leans towards clean & well ordered displays of information. This book provides basics of page building & information distribution. Beginners will like this book, however, those looking for more complex layout ideas should either work on the existing ideas taking them to the next levels, or peruse other books.

Not overly sophisticated:
I bought this along with the Color Index, and I must admit I'm not overly impressed with the ideas in this text. I will keep it onboard because you -never- know what might spark your creativity, and I must admit there are a few good ideas to jump off from in this book. I donno, I guess I just feel underminded when I flip through this book. It is a bit too kitchy for me (think clip-art-like graphics), and many of the solutions presented in it are too busy and hardly professional.

Cute but Powerful Little Reference Guide:
I mainly do websites for small businesses, but if they like my work, they often ask me to re-do their business cards or create a newsletter template to match their website. Of course, I lie and tell them I know how to do these things. This book has made an honest person out of me. It provides inspiration for these different media formats. If I'm stuck when trying to create a new web identity from scratch, these pages have provided that spark of inspiration. Worth the money and it doesn't take up much room on your desk.