Latest modern science | Review: Slidedocs - Si Bejo Science

Latest modern science | Review: Slidedocs - Si Bejo Science

reviews

Unknown 05.00 Add Comment

Nancy Duarte is one of the best in the business when it comes to design of slide decks. After three conventionally published books on paper, she has just released her fourth, Slidedocs, as a free ebook created using, and evangelizing, PowerPoint.

To some degree, PowerPoint is Duarte�s hammer, and she�s on the lookout for nails to use it on. Previously, Garr Reynolds called annotated PowerPoint decks in place of documents �slideuments�, which he called the �illegitimate offspring of the projected slide and the written document.�While Reynolds was critical, Duarte wants to legitimize the format by rebranding it as a �slidedoc.�

Duarte believes that the traditional document is dead (except for a few niche cases), and PowerPoint has won. She argues that PowerPoint is already used for so many purposes besides slides, and that it integrates visuals and text so much better than other tools, we should use it for much routine communication within business.

Why do I bring this up on the poster blog? Because on at least one count, Duarte is right. As I�ve mentioned many times before, PowerPoint is the most commonly used software for making conference posters. I still contend that is is not a great tool for this, yet there are just too many people who know no other way, and won�t put in the effort to buy or learn new software.

Thus, the tasks that Duarte talks about in creating a slidedoc are the same steps you need to go through in creating a conference poster.

The nitty gritty for people making a conference poster begins in section 2 (slide 37), discussing the process of creating appropriate text. This is something that I haven�t given a lot of attention to on this blog, so if you�ve been looking for a discussion of that, this is a good place to start.

Section 3 (page 99) is hits closer to the sort of topics normally featured on this blog: graphic design. It talks about creating a consistent �visual language� (slide 102), the use of grids (slide 116) and white space (slide 121), and good ideas for using text (slide 127).

Section 4 is less relevant to poster creators, as it looks at how to present slidedocs. We know how posters are presented (print, carry, hang, stand and chat), and it�s not the same way that slide decks, or slidedocs, are.

Slidedoc is a self-exemplifying book. It clearly has the look of a PowerPoint deck, just one done about 1,000% better than most decks you have ever seen. It took a lot of careful effort to get it to look that good, and the same will be true of posters, too.

Making this book free is a wonderful gift from Duarte. Check it out.

External links

Slidedocs

Latest modern science | Wanna do graphics? Pease�s book more about the job than the work - Si Bejo Science

Latest modern science | Wanna do graphics? Pease�s book more about the job than the work - Si Bejo Science

reviews

Unknown 05.00 Add Comment

I continue to hunt for introductory books on graphic design to give academics who have avoided anything even closely resembling �art� classes a way into the craft of design. As I wrote before, kids� books are often great introductions, as they are often more concise and readable than their adult counterparts.

Design Dossier: Graphic Design for Kids covers some of the basic tools like grids, typefaces, and colour. But big chunks of the book are more inspirational than instructional.

A fair amount of the space in the book is devoted to career counseling. It tells the reader, �If you wanted to be a graphic designer as a profession when you grow up, you should...�. Another big chunk of the book is devoted to �Graphic design milestones,� which is a short history. Mostly, it shows decade-by-decade trends, from the art nouveau of the early twentieth century to the current �digital age.�

The book has some playful elements, like interviews with designers printed on big read pull-out cards. There�s also a nice step-by-step case study, and suggested projects.

Because this book is more about graphic design as a job than the work that goes into graphic design, it probably wouldn�t be satisfying for an adult with a job (like an academic) who just needs an introduction to the lingo and major dos and don�ts.

Related posts

Go now! Kidd�s book a wonderful intro

Latest modern science | Go now! Kidd's book a wonderful intro - Si Bejo Science

Latest modern science | Go now! Kidd's book a wonderful intro - Si Bejo Science

reviews

Unknown 05.00 Add Comment

Doctor Who writer Terrance Dicks said that when he wanted to do research on a subject for a script, he would head to the library, and go straight to the kid�s section. Books for kids or young adults, he found, gave him all the major information he needed, but in a much more approachable and concise form than books for adults.

With that in mind, a lot of academics might want to have a look at Go: A Kidd's Guide to Graphic Design by Chip Kidd.

What you can�t see from the cover image at right is that this is a big book, with big text. It has a cardboard cover, like you associate with young kid�s books. And the interiors look gorgeous, a real kaleidoscope of different images and looks.

This book is playful. When you open up the cover, inside it reads:

Congratulations, you have decided to open this book, even though you have no idea what it�s about because the cover doesn't tell you much. In fact, the cover is weird weird and seemingly at cross-purposes with the message and possibly even a bit pretentious. And you know what? That was a design decision. Yes, indeed. Whether you realize it or not, most of the decisions you make, every day, are by design.

It�s friendly. Early on, Kidd asks the reader,  �Why should you  believe me?�, and gives a self-deprecating answer:

Overall, I think I�ve done over 1,000 book covers to date. That fact alone, of course, doesn't necessarily prove that any of them are good.

It�s informative, for a new reader who has never thought about design before. Make no mistake, this is an introductory book.

Chapter 1 lays out a lot of basic elements that go into graphic design, like size, colours, negative space, and image quality. There are a lot of concepts, each given 2-4 pages or so.

Type gets a chapter all to itself, in Chapter 2. As with Chapter 1, you get briefly introduced to the lingo (points, leading, etc.) through a lot of examples.

Chapters 3 and 4 are short, asking, �What are you trying to communicate?� (content) and �How are you trying to communicate it?� (concept).

Chapter 5 provides a series of short projects to get the creative juices flowing. They range from �start a collection� to �remake something you love� to �make a logo for a cause you believe in.�

Most of the stuff in this book I have covered in the last few years writing this blog. But even though all the material here is basic, and I already knew it, the book is so engaging that I was never bored revisiting material I already knew. I wanted to see how Kidd would explain it to me.

Go is allegedly aimed at young people, but it�s perfect for a novice of any age. It never feels condescending, and never feels like the good stuff is being held back for when you�re older. Go is a great place for anyone to start thinking about design, even a grown-up working towards a Ph.D., or a grown-up who got one years ago.

Bonus quote from this interview:

Your book talks a lot about fonts. Why do you have such strong feelings about them?
I want everyone to educate themselves more about typefaces � a lot of them won�t hold up to the test of time, and will look super dated in 10 years.

Like Comic Sans?
Yes, I think it�s terrible. It�s the 8-track tape of typefaces, but you see it everywhere!

External Links

Go: The book
Good is Dead: Chip Kidd�s home page