A Book about Design: Complicated Doesn't Make It Good

by Mark Gonyea

Design is all about the perception of size, shape, and color.

A fabulous and fun introduction to the concepts of design

A Book About Complicated Doesn't Make It Good takes a most creative approach to introducing young (and not-so-young) readers to the fundamental elements of design. Using simple shapes, lines, and a sense of humor, this book explains why complicated doesn't make it good-and why that matters. Mark Gonyea opens up the world of design and makes it accessible to young artists and non-artists alike.

A Children's Book-of-the-Month Club Selection
A JUNIOR LIBRARY GUILD SELECTION

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Design, Childrens, Picture Books, Juvenile, Middle Grade

144 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2005

About the author

Born in northern New York seven years before I saw Star Wars for the first time. While spending the better portion of my early life watching tv, going to movies and playing video games, little did I realize this was to be the essential ground work for a career in cartooning, graphic design and kids books.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic 'my first book about design' that even adults can enjoy. I read the author's Another Book About Design: Complicated Doesn't Make It Bad first, but this is better.

Of course, I still believe Go: A Kidd's Guide to Graphic Design is the standard, but that is bigger and not as accessible to younger children as Gonyea's books.

[Emilia P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did you know the placement of a couple of circles on a page can make all the difference about what that page is trying to express to you? I didn't! Well... I kind of did, but this book really brought it home, thoughtfully laying out the essentials of design by talking about warm and cool colors, shapes and angles, size and placement. But one at a time, patiently, building each element upon the last, until you start to understand that this stuff is at the root of everything visual and artistic that we look at, in art museums, in comic books, in our everyday lives. Really great stuff for the artistically inclined, or just visually inclined, kid, or even grownup!

[Manik Sukoco · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is one of the few books to address basic design issues for young picture book readers - and its advice and insights should be considered by many an adult, too. Simple lines, shapes, colors and humor explain why complication doesn't equal a good design - and why that fact matters. Pages of merely one or two sentences are accompanied by easy sample pictures to illustrate such basic design concepts as 'change the size of one (in this case increase it) and you lessen the impact of the other'.

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I totally have an I-love-your-brain crush on this author.

Favorite Concepts:
Design is all about the perception of size, shape, and color.
1:3:9 is a ratio. It can also be a strong graphic tool.
Complicated doesn't make it good.

[Abbie Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! It's a bold, colorful children's book about the basic elements of design. It was written in such a way that even adults (like me!) could read it and not only enjoy it, but learn a thing or two.

[rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book :3 I remember my favorite teacher reading this to us

[Benjamin Jacobson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled onto this book in the children's section of my local library. I was invigorated at how well it, with only a picture and a sentence per page, managed to distill important design concepts. I've sampled many beginner's books on design, but they often get tangled in their own vocabulary, unable to transform images into words. While reading this many of those core ideas finally clicked, because they were explained simply and without pretension.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

My students make the ugliest slides. Not sure if this would help them out - it's more of a basic concept book than a how-to.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most succinct, humorous, and visually engaging book on design I've found. My daughter read it several times and has referenced it when explaining her art to me. Worth the time and the five minutes to read.

[Saravanan B]

Design is all about perception of shape, size, and colour.

[Elaine Bearden · Rating 4 out of 5]

gr. 3 and up
Hmmm. I thought I would like this a lot better than I did. I felt like it could have gone just a touch deeper, and there would have been a big pay-off. Nonetheless, and interesting way to talk about design with kids, and for them to start thinking about (I think this would be a great application) how advertisements are put together to appeal to those principles. There is another one, I think, that came out before this, and I would like to take a look at that one. I do like the way this one ended - Design is about the PERCEPTION of size, shape and color. Interesting. Now having read this again just now, I'm feeling better about it. I think I was hoping for something a little more, though this is a good introduction to design (and art).

[Brigid · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like this simple book about design that teaches basic graphic design while making the point about how a complicated design doesn't make it good:) Absolutely love the chapters on Lines, Letters are Shapes Too, Complicated Doesn't Make it Good, and Putting it Together.

One of my gripes is the verbiage Mr. Gonya uses: "most important piece on the page" (talking about 1:3:9 size ratios)—he also uses "important" when discussing shape, color, and space among objects, "aggressive" warm colors and "passive" cool colors, "unbalanced" because only one item is on the page.

I appreciated the humor and brilliant graphic design of the book.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kids occasionally cite concepts they picked up from this book and its companion ("...Doesn't Make It Bad") and it makes me damn glad we have these books in our house. Graphic design is so useful in making people better visual communicators, but also for understanding how you are being communicated AT. They now pick out design elements from websites, cereal boxes, billboards, store signage, etc. and seem to understand that those elements are deliberately chosen to say or do something, for them or to them. Great skill set to have early on in an image and message saturated world.

[Villa Park Public Library]

This is a great book for teaching kids the basics of design and composition. It is fun, just a little goofy, and very simple and easy to understand. Some concepts may take a little more explanation than what is given, depending on the age of the reader.

Find this book at the Villa Park Public Library:
https://catalog.swanlibraries.net/client/en_US/vpd/search/detailnonmodal/ent:$002f$002fSD_ILS$002f0$002fSD_ILS:1763489/ada?qu=book+about+design&lm=VPD

[Huda Fel · Rating 5 out of 5]

هذا الكتاب يعطي صورة مبسطة عن المبادئ التي تراعى عند التصميم
كيف تجعلي من شكل معين نقطة تلفت انتباه القارئ
مامعنى الخطوط الطولية والعرضية
وهكذا

كتاب آخر أكيد يفيد في استيعاب هذي المفاهيم إسمه
Picture This
تجدوه على هذا الرابط
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/89...
الكتاب الثاني حبيته أكثر لأني شفته متوسع أكثر
لابد أن د.نجود أتطرقت له في إحدى المحاضرات

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. An enchanting look at the world of composition, in simple but profound terms. This is a book to be savored and discussed, before handing your child some art supplies and saying, "now, go!". Relevant for all ages, since the principles it explains (in very basic language and very few words) are timeless and relevant. Read this book, watch some ViHart videos, and be inspired.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son is going into first grade and seems to be very skilled in visual design, symmetry and stuff of that nature so this book really interested him and taught both he and I some things about graphic design. He really liked this book. But has not enjoyed the other ones Mark Gonyea has done...I think my son just liked this one the best and the other ones paled in comparison.

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The design the author arguably says is the worst one is what they picked for the cover. Interesting.

Super simple book that introduces some concepts about perception of design. Not quite sure the audience but it's an interesting book!

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun book that explains the basic concepts of design. Would be good for a elem. school age program.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great intro to the basics of graphic design: color, shape, composition.

[Purl Scout · Rating 5 out of 5]

a book about design. for young children. genius.

[Nancy J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just the title alone makes a great statement. Contrast, ratio, cool, passive, balanced and unbalanced are among the terms given their own special page.

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Visually appealing and easy to understand. Great for kids but also a good review for veteran artists.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and fun for kids and adults alike, this book goes over basic elements of good design like spacing, color, size, etc.

[Nadine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this book was geared towards children, I found it to be a great introduction for myself. Very easy to understand with great visuals. I would suggest this to any age group.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book on Design aspects.
Teaching art and composition to kids: perfect

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great resource for children's design class.

[Salsabrarian]

Illustrates simply, in a graphic and fun way, concepts of design such as impact, lines, ratio, contrast, color and balance. Excellent introduction to art for kids.