Before & After Books Recommended by Seth Godin.
Before and After How To Design Cool Stuff
By John McWade
Before & After, How To Design Cool Stuff, is 226 pages of design for every designer, young and old, who is looking for inspiration as well as instruction. In a friendly and straightforward style, this book breaks down simple, elegant designs and shows you both why and how they work, so you can use the same techniques yourself over and over again to improve your designs.
Before & After Graphics for Business
By John McWade
Before & After's Graphics for Business, is 194 pages of designs for business essentials such as logos and identities, stationery, newsletters, charts and graphs, maps and sales materials, all first published in Before & After magazine. Learn how to make your good ideas great in ways that respect your time, budget and resources.
Before & After Page Design
By John McWade
Before & After Page Design, is 192 pages of instruction for designing newsletters, ads, brochures, fliers, stationery and more, clearly explained and beautifully illustrated, all first published in Before & After magazine. You're sure to find the perfect project!
Below the Line: Long list of inspiring elements addressed in the three books.
Knowledge
Design without rulers
Put away your ruler. Here's how to design the way you see.
The empty page has a lot to say
Don't fly past that setup dialog! It's where your design begins!
Our color wheel
The color wheel is our tool for understanding which colors go with what.
How to find the perfect color
The color palette you need is already hidden in the photo. Here's how to find it.
What typeface goes with that?
How to pick a typeface that complements a graphic.
How contrast create type style
Using contrast properly can make or break your typographic design
Typography 101
Type is a tool: Learn how to use it properly, and your work improves.
Technique
Many from one
Big photos have small photos inside. Here's how to get several images out of one original.
More from less
Cropping basics
How to crop photos for function and meaning.
Background selection
Focal points
Complex or ambiguous photo? Eight simple ways to put the reader's eye where you want it.
Cool covers
Ten simple ideas for great-looking covers.
How to design a second page
You've designed a beautiful outside. How do you follow it up inside? Simply.
Bring the outside in
Simply borderless
How to design pages for desktop printers that can't print to the edge.
Voice-over captions
A caption can be much more than a label. Here's how to get it onto your picture and into your story.
Multi-caption photo tells many stories
Multiple captions in high style
Lessons from a beautiful site
The University of Miami College of Arts & Sciences show that beauty really is in the details.
A welcoming home page
Greet all of your online viewers.
Simple, bold bright
Minimalism works on any scale.
Organize that card
The power of the postcard
Big image and small type, or big type and small image: Either works well.
Put a photo in your name
Words and pictures can be stronger than words alone.
Projects
Make a theme
A simple graphic can provide a focal point, color, and continuity.
Design a story-style brochure
Fold — and unfold — a single sheet into an appealing, narrative-like presentation.
Template: Story-style brochure
Pocket-size brochure
Eight small pages tell a big story.
Small newsletter that reads big
Half-size page is easy to design and creates a strong impression.
Design a “photo” graph
Design a card the easy way
A photo and one block of type is all it takes to make a beautiful card.
Design a dual-purpose letterhead
Legal-size sheet can serve as your letterhead and provide a bonus, too.
How to set a text-only logotype
The key is to work with the natural pattern of your letters.
Design a flier that comes back to you
On a budget? Design a flier that doubles as its own return envelope!
Template: Flier that comes back
Small site, great format
This simple beauty is ideal for professionals and small enterprises.
Template: Small format website
Design a beautiful Web header
Create an effective header the easy way. Just think in sections.
Design simple presentations
Visual brevity will help a great talk.
Picture your presentation
Photographs give your audience an emotional connection to your words.
Design a panoramic booklet
A cross between book and magazine, this landscape format is unusually easy to lay out.
Template: Panoramic booklet
Design below the line
Simple technique creates a report that looks open and inviting.
Newsletters
Catch the eye of a passerby
Is your newsletter displayed in a public place? Here are six simple ways to improve its curb appeal
What typefaces are best for text?
How to pick, set, and lay out type that can be read
Design a handsome, ‘no frills' newsletter
This strong structure shows off well, and it's perfect for in-office printing
A newsletter clinic
An item-by-item analysis reveals techniques useful for every job
Typeface combinations
What typefaces go together? Here's how to mix and match
Head and shoulders above the rest
Design a newsletter that's elegantly tall
Lively newsletter puts everyone on stage!
Eye-catching and fun to read, this unusual newsletter is made of boxes
No art? No problem! White space can be your best friend
How to decongest your newsletter
Here's how ample white space and clear, visual contrasts make your stories connect with the reader
Dozens of documents? Make them look alike
Your look should say this is us. Here's how to unify your image — and simplify your job
How to get in touch fast
The personal touch
Design business stationery
Consistency please!
Gathering ideas on paper
Quick — before you forget!
Logos & Identity
What makes a good logo?
The most successful business logos share valuable characteristics. Here are some of the most important
Let's design logos!
Here's how to turn lively little dingbats into excellent logos and stationery
How to make a lettermark
Create a stylish, compact logo by combining a picture with your company's initial
How to design a wordmark
A wordmark is a logo without pictures, and it's hard to believe it's so easy!
Discover the logo in your name
Inside your name is a real logo — and finding it is as basic as one-two-three!
Design a name
Here's how to create a good look out of nothing — just a name on a shape — but there's a secret
Monogram logo conveys character
Typestyle, color, and a dash of flair say volumes about your company
Design your own ligature
Companies of every kind sign their names with letters that link
The art and type tango
You buy them separately, but art and type are two sides of the same coin — and there's magic in making them work together. Here's how they relate
Design a playful, multi-image logo
Can't decide on that one perfect graphic? This surprising technique uses them all!
Sales & Forms
Guidelines for a good layout
Basic guidelines can improve even dull forms
How to design photocoupons
Sparkling and compact, photocoupons have full-page appeal at a fraction of the price
Snap together a great catalog
Square plug-in modules make handsome, organized pages in a hurry
Create an infomark
Here's a recipe for subtle selling
How to draw great visual instructions
Have something to demonstrate or explain? Don't say it — show it!
How to design a Yellow Pages ad
Get all those fingers walking to your place
Charts, Reports, Calendars, & Maps
Bring the world to your door
The perfect point map will guide the reader anywhere without a word of text
A single line of months and days
Perfect for your desk, monitor, or wall
Create a word map
Bring customers to your door with just a few words
What's at the heart of a chart?
A good chart communicates quickly. Here's how to make one
How to design a business report
Keys to success: organization and a smart sense of style
Newsletters & Newspapers
How to design a news letter
Beautiful and simple, too, win accolades with this one-column gem
This digest-size newsletter is for readers
A cross between paperback and magazine, this low-key, text-rich format is ideally suited for long, thoughtful articles — and it's easy to lay out
Clean, asymmetrical layout leads the eye
Consistency and variation can work together
Easy! A simple, do-able look
What can you do with a few pieces of clip art and a tight schedule? Lots! Just think round!
How to energize a faceless newsletter
A crisp new design is easy to browse, as well as a point of pride
A simple, do-anything newsletter
This slick, half-size newsletter can adopt any attitude from high-tech to antique, and it goes together fast!
Brochures
Beautiful, square brochure make a regal impression
How to make a familiar vehicle make a grand entrance anywhere it goes
Tiny brochure is a great stocking stuffer
A small but mighty package can be crafted from a standard-size sheet
Build a brochure with peekaboo panels
This format, built entirely from a single, cleverly folded sheet, gives consistency and motion to your message
Good-looking pocket brochure works hard, updates easily
This design is a promotional chameleon, ready to adapt to whatever use you need
An eye-catching zigzag brochure
Organize and grab your reader's attention at the same time
Fliers & Mailers
Preflight checklist for your flier
Follow these steps, and improve the vitality of your fliers and mailers
Design a product showcase
You can draw all eyes to your product if you properly organize your photos
Make your flier easier to read
This fundamental design principle will invigorate your pages
Add real feeling to your flier
Words inform, while art imparts the feeling
A greeting with a surprise
The customer is king with this generous coupon card
A magic message
This triple-panel production pops the payoff to your headline
A flier that stands on its own
A table tent takes a 2-D message into the 3-D world
A flying flier
Create an unforgettable mailer, one that sails into reader's hearts
A miniature postcard
Want to wish customers your best? Send them a card
Advertising
How to lay out a good advertisement
Getting the balance just right is easier than you might think
How to design a powerful product ad
It's surprisingly easy: Just show us the stuff!
Advertising a speaker? Here's how
It's a common problem: an event to promote, an uninspiring photo, and a short deadline
Small phone, smaller phone book
A phone that's on the move needs a directory than can keep pace
How to strengthen a small ad
Flat shapes and soft grays give a 2 x 2-inch ad boldness and depth
Create dramatic photo layouts for your products
How to design versatile catalog pages that draw the reader into the action
Stationery
How to lay out a stationery system
The first step toward great stationery is to build a strong foundation
How to design a “cold call” postcard
It's more than a card; it's you! Here's how to look your best
A business card brochure is a mini-marketer
Introduce yourself while engaging your prospect with this charming design
The invisible square
Design a handsome business card in this surprising space
Business Documents
Create a do-it-all business portfolio
Versatile and economical, this design can contain all of the materials you need to impress customers
How to design a modern resume
This businesslike, you-are-there resume presents the person behind the stats
Design a cover with background art
Build a setting for the mind, and words come alive
Make an easy-to-read data sheet
Sell! Visual organization turns an ordinary data sheet into a sales tool
How to improve every form you make
On a form, function is everything. Here are the simple rules
