Inside/Outside: From the Basics to the Practice of Design

To express most effectively one's creative powers as a designer, one must first understand the basic character of the object, process, or enterprise for which one is doing a design. The design must develop from the inside out - from essence to execution - and that is the unifying theme of Malcolm Grear's guide to solving problems in graphic design.
Inside/Outside: From the Basics to the Practice of Design clarifies principles of graphic design through well-crafted exercises and real-world examples derived from Grear's three decades as a teacher at the Rhode Island School of Design and as founder and Director of a leading design firm.
Grear provides a series of wonderfully inventive design problems and solutions, from simple to complex. These problems encourage and challenge readers to devise their own unique approaches to design. Beautifully illustrated, full color examples of various solutions display imaginative but highly practical applications of graphic principles.
The focus is not on explication of a system for design but on ways for designers to discover the heart of a problem and to use this deep understanding to generate ideas that lead to a compelling solution. Grear stresses the importance of examining closely the basic components of a design assignment in order to comprehend and express the whole. He demonstrates how concepts learned in formal studies can be applied to work in the outside world.
More that 500 illustrations - including over 100 in full color - show the process of design in action, as an art and a powerful cultural force. These images reveal Grear's design philosophy and techniques, which have influenced the work of many of today's leading designers.
Readers will discover how to develop the attitudes and strategies that help newcomers achieve success as designers; sustain creative development without being trapped in a single "system"; express individual initiative while meeting a client's needs; put a personal stamp on a design while remaining within constraints dictated by its purpose; and achieve an effective balance of graphic elements for any design project.
Grear demonstrates creative ways to use type and to manipulate space, light and shadow, form and counterform. He shows how signs can communicate without words. He explains approaches to a host of problems. Included are guidelines on how to develop designs for posters and books and for exhibitions and other three-dimensional structures. A treasury of ideas and insights for graphic designers, art directors, advertising professionals, and students preparing to enter careers in these fields.