John McWade
1 I could actually *do* this!
I'll take any and all help I can get when it comes to doing graphical design for a website. I got the book Before and After Graphics For Business by John McWade (Peachpit Press), and it's a wealth of ideas and concepts.
Chapter List: Newsletters; Stationery; Logos & Identity; Sales & Forms; Charts, Reports, Calendars, & Maps; Index
Like all good (or at least what I consider "good") books on graphic design, this is a lavishly illustrated volume that does a great job on taking "before" examples of business literature and giving them a make-over to enhance their image and design. McWade does an excellent job in explaining the use of fonts, colors, and spacing in creating designs that convey a consistent theme and image for the company. Along the way, you pick up a working understanding of typesetting vocabulary, like kerning and leading. By the time you get done, you might actually understand what that "art-y guy" in the next cubicle is talking about...
The other thing I appreciate about this book is the large number of examples. While you wouldn't necessarily want to "borrow" exact images and logos that he's created, you can easily follow how he's built them and the techniques you can follow to come up with your own ideas. I actually came away from this book thinking I could possibly come up with a redesigned logo for my blog site. I don't know that I *will*, but I think I could now.
This is one of those books I'll take into work and make sure no one walks off with it...
