featured as this month’s quote ( seen here ). this book is a great find – the breakdown of the chapters is clever (there are many small chapters and there are times associated as to how long it should take to read). the candid insights Austin brings to the table say what we (designers) are all thinking.

title… designers don’t read
author… austin howe

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reading this book ( which took all of 40 minutes ) was like consolidating years of unfettered access to the subtle and not so subtle insights of a creative & marketing industry icon. contained in a easily absorbed in a little over 125 pages. some of which contained as few words as…

“if you can’t solve a problem, it’s because you’re playing by the rules.”

a few more of my favorite entries…

“don’t seek praise. seek criticism.”

“don’t look for the next opportunity. the one you have in hand IS the opportunity.”

and from the cover page of this site “do not covet you ideas. give away everything you know, and more will come back to you.”

title… it’s not how good you are, it’s how good you want to be.
authors… paul arden

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i’ve seen this book around and feared it was being over “pushed”. that generally means it’s either really good or really bad… in this case – really good! i have folded corners and marked up a few dozen entries and i’m only half way through the book. here are some of my favorites…

“you want to invent new ideas, not new rules.”

“a designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when’s there is nothing left to take away.”

“the more we reduce the amount of information in an idea,
the stickier it will be.”

title… made to stick: why some ideas die and others die
authors… chip heath & dan heath

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i’m up late again. getting projects finished and trying to stay up to date with design and sales. the daniel vosovic book ‘fashion inside out’ is one of the best designed books i’ve seen in a long time… tons of pictures and interviews – very much enjoyed the insight into his creative process.

then we have my fan. it just looked really cool so bam… there it is.

and to not ignore the left side of my brain we have selling the invisible by harry beckwith. one can never learn enough about business, service and the human element. i saw that hollye has a well read copy and i know that angela picked herself up a copy a few weeks ago.

okay, g’night – oh yeah… hey shannon, let’s go get coffee this week – lux?

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there are just so many books – i’m quite excited about these three right now. for the love of light: a tribute to the art of Polaroid is a limited edition (i have #289 of 500) beautiful collection of polaroid photography. this is an absolute must have. get a copy before they sell out! i’ve heard a lot about adrian shaughnessy’s book, How to be a graphic designer, without losing your soul. i decided to get this one after reading the table of contents – it covers all designers levels from employee’s to entrepreneurs. now the last book, stefan sagmeister’s Things I Have Learned In My Life So Far. the title says it all. this flawless presentation catalogues what sagmeister has learned over the past 5 years as a successful artist/designer. 

title… for the love of light: a tribute to the art of Polaroid
multiple contributors, edited by Jennifer Altman

title… How to be a graphic designer, without losing your soul
author Adrian Shaughnessy, forward by Stefan Sagmeister

title… Things I Have Learned In My Life So Far
author Stefan Sagmeister

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as most of you know, i am always looking & learning. here are a few new books i’ve added to the library. i’ve almost finished ‘the laws of simplicity’ by john maeda and will be moving on to the other two. when i was buying ‘laws’ i just saw ‘designing design‘ by kanya harra and loved the way it was presented. beautifully simple and purposeful. i can’t wait to get into that one. besides the brilliantly simple design of the book, it was the chapter on ‘white’ as a design concept pulled me in to explore the rest of the book. ‘citizen marketers’ by mcconnell / huba is a book from a few years ago and i love the focus on the power of people and their ability to influence companies. power of the people – celebrate!

title… The Laws of Simplicity, Design, Technology, Business, Life
author John Maeda

title… Designing Design
author Kenya Harra

title… Citizen Marketers, When People Are the Message
author Ben McConnell / Jackie Huba

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