Creative Workshop: 80 Challenges to Sharpen Your Design Skills

This book arrived double wrapped in like new condition. There are absolutely no pencil markings, no ink pen markings, and no highlighter markings on the pages. I carefully looked at each individual page. There are no markings on the edge of the pages, and not on the front cover and not on the back cover. The book binding is well intact. There are not any loose pages. As a graphic design student at an art college, this book challenges to practice outside of the college assignments. Also, this book helps to think outside of the box. This book provides a variety of design challenges that I need, to improve my graphic design skills. Right now, my college art assignments are easy and basic to do. I bought this book, to help me to grow, by learning new technique(s). I can practice design skills for product packaging, mobile apps, music products, book products, retail store display, and much more. This book provides the projects that a graphic designer can include in a designer portfolio. This book provides the additional practice, that an art college student needs, beyond the basic poster assignments. I am keeping this book to measure my improvement with designing in a professional and efficient way. This is the BEST graphic design book that I have bought on Amazon. This book really helps me to learn, the types of designs that I am interested in doing currently. Furthermore, the other exercises are great to practice, when I grow beyond the basic design phase. I do not need to buy another graphic design book. In the beginning of my journey as a Graphic Designer, I would start with this particular book, and not invest in other design book(s).

This book is still a must have for anybody interested in digital communication. Every chapter contains a bunch of challenges to stimulate your brain and creativity. I love the fact that one uses also one hands, scissors, glue, paper, etc to envision its reflexion about the project as it should always be. The author is a designer, writer and teacher. At the beginning of the book he gives a few useful pieces of advice on how to use one's time to reach the deadline for example. The challenges are definitively various and some of them are really fun. Great to train oneself and acquiert a working discipline. Highly recommended.

Creative Workshop is a good book to learn design. Furthermore, it has challenges to teach student designers. The 80 challenges not only get the design juices, but the creative juices flowing. This book is a well-designed design book. It is well crafted and shows progression from one challenge to the next challenge. Content: 4 out of 5 The challenges are great lessons to hone design skills. The teacher's guide actually is useful for teaching. The organization of the book is an excellent design example. The only tool that I wished the book contained was "best" solutions for the design challenges. It is even useful to budding and novice designers. It also presents challenges for master designers. Readability: 5 out of 5 This book is easy to understand. I recommend it to creatives in a variety of fields.

I got this for my sister as a high school graduation present last May because she's now in college, majoring in graphic design. It's a really fantastic way to sharpen your creativity and graphic design perspective, both of which are important in her graphic design coursework. The challenges each center on one common theme, like using as little white space as possible, for example. I personally think it's a great way to prepare for working in the real world, where you may encounter strange requests like those in this book. By practicing these challenges, you're preparing yourself for those types of design obstacles. My sister also says the challenges are completely repeatable, especially since there are so many in this book. By the time she gets around to repeating a challenge, she's already learned so much more in her classes that she's able to come at the challenge from a totally new perspective. All in all, I'd definitely recommend this to challenge the minds of budding or even experienced graphic designers! Think of it like a crossword puzzle book for artists... keeps the mind sharp! :)

It's jam packed with exercises reminiscent of those college days only with more. The samples are interesting, the exercises concise and very clear. You take away what ever you put into this book and if you approach it that way, it's sure to reward you. Keep in mind that this is for a self disciplined person because it does you no good to "read-ahead" toward the next exercise. This book teaches you how to think faster and with restrictions ( what you encounter in the real world). The only suggestion to the author, include a chapter on how to specifically generate / concept ideas.

What a great book. I bought it hoping to get some PBL idea for my graphics classes and a fresh look at graphics, typography, and branding idenity. This book has it and it's appropriate for high school and beyond. I plan on working some of the exercises just to keep sharp and keep my creative juices flowing. Each project is written in a concise manner and I love the quotes. Plus, with each project/exercise you get a challenge, the author terms it "Take it Further." You won't be disappointed by this author and David Sherwin's writing style is easy and enjoyable to read. This book is a home run!!!!

A bit different approach in how-to area with some nice problem/solution examples. Good addition to any proffesional or junior broad range designers library. It won't be left unread. Just fine selection of quotes are worth it.

I do a lot of in-house design for marketing material production. Since I work in-house, I regularly do "similar" work and wanted to grow my abilities and learn some new things. This book offers a nice change of pace and offers projects to make you better at designing and applying new concepts to your current work. The "Challenges" are a nice balance of fun and difficulty, whose end result can nicely expand a portfolio with a variety of work.

Die 80 Workshops sind sehr praxisnah aufgebaut. Ich habe mir das Buch bestellt um wieder Anregungen für Aufgabenstellungen für meine SchülerInnen im Bereich Desktop-Publishing zu sammeln. Die Aufgabenstellungen sind sehr kompetenzorientiert - mit Beschreibung der Situation etc. formuliert und lassen daher immer genügend Spielraum für kreative Lösungsansätze. Einziger Nachteil ist, dass die Aufgabenstellungen teilweise sehr umfangreich sind und daher teilweise wahrscheinlich sogar Semesterprojekte wären. Als Tipp dazu. Es gibt zu diesem Buch im Internet auch ein kostenlos downloadbares Lehrerhandbuch-pdf. Darin sind die Unterrichtsziele der Beispiele sowie für welche SchülerInnen die Beispiele geeignet sind sowie besondere ergänzende Hinweise für LehrerInnen zu finden.

I'm using this book as a way to keep an up to date portfolio - the projects are great, and well thought out. The book itself is attractive and makes for some good brain storming. I'd recommend this to any graphic designer.

The book was for a gift, but before giving it, I took a look at its pages and seems like an intersting, useful tool to help improve creativyty, just as it's described. The book have attractive texts, with captivating images and colors, so I guess wouldn't result boring to read. The book also arrived in perfect conditions, with no wrinks on its pages and/or cover, thing that is appreciated, since it's a NEW book, but I have received new books bought on Amazon before that arrive with details.

Inspires you to start thinking and working in design on a set path. Offers inspirations and hints to keep you motivated.

Livro bem interessante que apresenta ferramentas para o processo de design, organizadas entre as suas diversas fases, a serem escolhidas e utilizadas de acordo com cada tipo de projeto!