By
Timothy Samara
Under the witty and metaphorical guise of a high-end cookbook, the author provides visual “ingredients,” such as grid structures, folios, border devices, type treatments, abstract graphic elements, categorized stylistically and functionally. These ingredients are shown in use through a “recipe” format to accomplish strategies such as movement, rhythm, organization, contrast, metaphor, etc. Ingredients are coded and cross-referenced among categories for mix and matching purposes as well as demonstrating varied alternate combinations to achieving different approaches to strategies.Timothy Samara is a graphic designer based in New York City, where he divides his time between teaching, writing, lecturing, and freelance consulting through STIM Visual Communication. His 18-year career in branding and information design has explored projects in print, packaging, environments, user interface design, and animation. He has been a senior art director at Ruder Finn, New York’s largest public relations firm, and senior art director at Pettistudio, a small multidisciplinary design firm. Before relocating to Manhattan, he was principal of Physiologic in Syracuse, located in upstate New York.
In 1990, he graduated a Trustee Scholar from the Graphic Design program at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia. Mr. Samara is a faculty member at New York’s School of Visual Arts, New York University, Purchase College/SUNY, and The New School, and has published six books on design and typography, all through Rockport Publishers: Making and Breaking the Grid; Typography Workbook; Publication Design Workbook; Type Style Finder; Design Elements; and, most recently, Design Evolution, released in January 2008. Mr. Samara and his partner live in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn.
SO that is a bit about the book and the author; here's the sneak peek, 'cause it's not out yet but you will want this book if you have ever needed or wanted to design something and you were staring at a blank page or screen scratching your head not having a clue where to begin!
This is just one of the great pages full of "ingredients."
If I were the challenging sort I would say, "Try making an altered page, ATC or art using each of these layout options!"
I think I just might.
Question: "Do you use the same layout all the time? Or do you use one from the above page a lot?"
Leave your answer and you are entered to win a free book!
I tend to use alignment and rhythm a lot.
This sounds like an interesting book.
Posted by: sandy | January 13, 2010 at 07:28 PM
I'm always switching layouts... never the same one.
Posted by: BrendaLea | January 13, 2010 at 07:44 PM
This book looks amazing! I seem to pay closest attention to proportion, orientation and scale. And I'm always considering overall movement and playing with the relationships between the focal point and other objects.
Posted by: Barbara Hagerty | January 13, 2010 at 07:53 PM
I try to do the layout differently everytime, and it will also depend on the subjects and motifs I am arranging.
Posted by: Ellen Lai | January 13, 2010 at 08:24 PM
You know what, I've been contemplating this question for a while and I'm just not sure. I tend to layer and layer and layer and not pay as much attention to layout as I probably should. I'd love to win this book and learn more about it all. Obviously I could def. use it!
Posted by: gisele | January 14, 2010 at 03:02 PM
Great post and it looks like a terrific book.
This made me realize that I tend to use just a couple of the limitless options.
I'm taking you up on the challenge to try to vary my layouts more.
Posted by: Eileen | January 16, 2010 at 09:14 AM
I tend to try different things...I often rip a page that I like from a magazine and then I try to analyze the layout to use those elements in my artwork. It helps me to understand some of the concepts.
Posted by: artdeme | January 21, 2010 at 01:54 PM
I'm not sure how I can describe the way I crop my photos - all I know is that I "feel" (intuition, creative instinct?) the best way to crop them, and It always seems to come out right, for whatever project I am doing. We can all do with a bit of extra tuition, though.
Posted by: Eunice Robertson | April 14, 2010 at 09:48 PM
Do you know this is fascinating! From the above page alone,I realise how predicatable I am, in that I tend towards horizonatals.
Such a clever concept that showing the layour, so simple too, why didnt it occur to me lolol dohhhhh
This looks like a cracking book!
Posted by: Lyn Lewis | April 15, 2010 at 01:01 AM
oops..........layouT ! :)
Posted by: Lyn Lewis | April 15, 2010 at 01:02 AM