Graphic Design Rules: 365 Essential Design Dos and Don'ts

by Sean Adams, Peter Dawson (Foreword), John Foster

Ask any graphic designer the world over about their preferred approach to setting type, choosing a colour, or beginning a new layout, and you will rarely get exactly the same answer twice. Every creative has their own individual approach, or more importantly their own combinations of the thousands of techniques one can apply when planning a new design project. But there are some dos and don'ts that always figure strongly in any heated debate about what one should or should not accept as the right way to create the best graphic design. Packed with practical advice but presented in a light-hearted fashion, Graphic Design Rules is the perfect book for the ever-growing group of non-designers who want some graphic design guidance.

Genres: Design, Art, Nonfiction, Art Design, Reference, Business, Crafts

384 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2012

About the author

Sean Adams is the Chair of the Undergraduate and Graduate Graphic Design Program at ArtCenter. He also serves as Executive Director of the Graphic Design Graduate Program. Adams continues his design practice with The Office of Sean Adams. He is the author of multiple books, and on-screen author for LinkedIn Learning. He is the only two-term AIGA national president in AIGA’s 100-year history. In 2014, Adams was awarded the AIGA Medal, the highest honor in the profession. He currently is on the editorial board and writes for Design Observer.

Adams is an AIGA and Aspen Design Fellow. He has been widely recognized by every major competition and publication, including a solo exhibition at SFMOMA. Adams has been cited as one of the forty most important people shaping design internationally, and one of the top ten influential designers in the United States. Previously, Adams was a founding partner of AdamsMorioka.

Reviews

[Jip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik heb dit boek op mijn telefoon gelezen. Misschien niet de wijze die de grafisch ontwerpers voor ogen hadden, maar ik heb er desondanks dingen van geleerd. Gedachteloos een lettertype uitkiezen zit er niet meer in.
De opzet van het boek in 365 stukjes vind ik niet ideaal. Sommige zijn vergezocht, of spreken de vorige regel tegen.

[Dimitri Maisuradze · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful book, to the point.

Not a cover to cover type. you should treat it as a bible.

going back and sporadically reconsuming it.

[clara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Je škoda, že je v knize tolik překlepů a jiných prohřešků, před kterými tolik varuje. Na jednu stranu jde o překlad, takže autorům to nemůžeme mít za zlé, ale fakt by se zvlášť u takové knihy vyplatilo si to po sobě párkrát přečíst.
Nachází se v ní spoustu užitečných tipů a rad a zvlášť začínajícím grafikům určitě přijde vhod!

[Samanta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started reading this book multiple times and found it particularly hard to finish. The writing style throughout the book was very consistent and it didn’t feel that the book was written by four different authors. I found their constant attempt “to be cool” in their writing style a bit unnecessary.

The book is very well structured, divided into 6 chapters - typography, layout, colours, imagery, production and the “Practice of Design” advice. Some of the Graphic Design rules were more useful than others but all of them – a great refresher for any designer. The last chapter with practical and general tips was my favourite.

Key takeaways:

“Some designers believe work must be hard. They believe that the only good ideas come from endless hours of suffering and difficult labour. Design does not need to be hard and overwrought. A simple and smart idea that feels good may be exactly correct.”

“When a designer is making these tiny adjustments all night, he should stop, and ask, “Am I simply adding lipstick to a pig?”

“You are not doing a brain surgery. You can take one day away from your work.”

[Petr · Rating 3 out of 5]

CZ/ENG

CZ:
Shrnutí rad pro práci v grafickém designu. Kniha je dílem tří autorů a nejspíš vede k hlavní výtce - nekonzistentnosti. Některé rady velmi překrývají nebo opakují. Také se zaměření rad pohybuje od velmi detailních poznámek k InDesignu k obecným radám utopeným v přirovnáních. Kniha mě zajistě obohatila, ale mám pocit, že mohla být o dost více soustředěná, konkrétní a kratší.

ENG:
The book of three authors lacks mostly, in my view, in focus. Many advice seems to duplicate previous advice and the level of advice jumps from particular comments about InDesign tools to general and vague simile about a designer's work. In general, I would love this book in a more concise and focused fashion, without necessarily aiming for the cool 365 advice title.

[Cliff Chew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a non-designer, so I wanted something to give me a broad overview of designing principles. So if you want to use my review to decide if this book is for you, remember that this is where I am coming from.

In general, the book does provide some interesting basic principles in design. However, there were certain parts that were not as necessary to me, such as printing, photo-editing, and physical visual layouts. These were the parts that I really skimmed through.

There are also certain parts of the book that are good primers that I can build upon foot my own design learning journey, which would have to be built from other materials. So in a way, this book does provide me with some view on what next I should read up.

[Rich B · Rating 4 out of 5]

365 pieces of graphic design wisdom from 4 experienced design experts. It mostly does what it says on the tin, and you get some good insights into areas like typography and colour, as well as more practical areas like working with printers and clients.

Definitely learned some new things from reading this, and each bit of advice is mostly short and to the point.

The only thing that holds it back is that because it’s trying to cover 365 ideas and is written by 4 different authors, not all the ideas are consistently strong. Some are a little obvious or generic lifestyle-type tips which I found myself skipping past.

It’s generally stronger when the advice gets more specific. How much you’ll get out of it really depends on how much you know already, and if you use the tools they talk about (especially Adobe Creative Cloud tools which get mentioned a lot).

It’s probably too specific for complete beginners and too simple for real experts. But if you’re someone who’s in between those extremes in terms of what you know about graphic design, it’s a quick and good easy read.

I bookmarked quite a few pieces of advice to go back and read again, and overall, got out of it what I wanted to get out of it. A better than average read on design and what it’s like working as a designer.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should” is the kind of designer wisdom given past, present and future. "Graphic Design Rules" is full of essential knowledge and elaborations of this for junior level, designer wannabes, and specifically the self-taught designer. They may not know what the rules of type, color or composition are, and lean towards subjectivity in their own design POV. Newbies often focus on looks or aesthetics over conceptual ideas, which is what gives a design meaningful richness. For others that haven’t learned to obsess about visual details, it’s important to know why certain ways work better over another. But how does one know the difference between innovation or a hot mess? How can one break the rules if one doesn’t even know them?

That's what this mentor in a book helps to articulate in a world where computers, internet and digital tools are so accessible, that everyone thinks they're a graphic designer (but not everyone should be). Key insights from experienced designers and educators Sean Adams, Tony Seddon, Peter Dawson & John Foster offer clear conversational guidance, more relatable over conventional textbooks. Broken into 6 categories, each designer contributes rationale of essential Design Dos and Don’ts from typography, layout, color, imagery to production and the vital "Practice of Design” chapter. Useful examples support solid design experimence against bad decisions with detrimental results, or memorably expensive lessons. It’s not hard for a seasoned pro to nod or smirk knowingly as they read this, or give up too soon thinking they know it all. As a refresher it wouldn’t hurt and there’s always something new to learn.

Once a designer has understood and adopted these pearls of wisdom that they no longer need this guidebook, then the authors' work will not have been in vain. As a revised edition, it begs two more bits of design advice: #1: Just because it was quoted years ago by a famous designer, doesn’t mean it’s true now (Massimo Vignelli’s 12 typeface limit doesn’t hold up anymore). #2: Design thinking is a skill to be honed and worked upon often like a muscle….so use it well, use it often, and use it with discernment. P. S. Ironically, for a book about Graphic Design Rules, this is FULL of unfortunate hyphenation errors throughout—a cautionary rule highlighted on page 87.

[Marje Eelma · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book might be too “obvious” for those who have been active in design field for many years, but it is nicely written and very useful for those who are still in the beginning. I personally found some very useful information in the last chapter - some piece of advice on how to organise my everyday life to run things smoother and to have more straight backbone. Mostly a recognition that others have exactly the same issues and how to solve these situations.

[The Really Official Mr Shields · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I'm extremely fluent in sarcasm, the use of sarcasm in this book made it difficult to get through in sections. The contradictory tips, which I understand were sometimes added for humor, muddled some of the content. And while it is a book of tips, a little more emphasis on the design theory behind some of the information would have been extremely helpful. All-in-all, there is some useful information, but I would have benefited more from something with more theory than mostly opinion.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a professional Graphic Designer I find this book very helpful. I tend to go back and reference this book a lot when designing. I like that’s is visually pleasing and easy to quickly find something. I would recommend to anyone who’s a designer or wanting to be to have this book as one of your must have design books.

[Chiase Premium · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each rule is presented clearly and concisely, making it easy to digest and apply to everyday design work. Adams' writing style is engaging and accessible, ensuring that the reader is both informed and inspired. The rules cover everything from typography and color theory to layout and branding, offering a well-rounded education in graphic design principles.

[Manuel Frias · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice collection of design rules written in a fun and relaxed way. Most of the rules are relevant but the part on type and typography has most of my stickers index tabs. I also enjoyed the chapter on layout and design.

[Miss M · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a good book to start from. It gives you a full picture of basic rules of graphic design. I really recommend it!

[Sola Olododo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful and concise.

[Reuben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read for beginners. ¼ is a manual for InDesign® though... be warned

[Connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book will continue to come back

[Tasheena Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great overview of essentials

For aspiring designers or designers who want to stay sharp this is a great book and reference. Graphic design in general.

[Peter Vegel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fairly badly designed for a book about graphic design...

Often I had to reread certain passages many times because the phrasing or imagery was so unclear.

[Arlo Linnard · Rating 3 out of 5]

It sure do be 365 design rules

[Sleepidur · Rating 3 out of 5]

2025
BOOK NO. 05
Graphic Design Rules
Oleh: Sean Adams
(3,5/5)

[Karim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple, albeit sometimes obvious, design rules to use as guides.

[Kate Ellison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I considered this book a must read as a graphic designer just starting out: While I was at uni I realised that there were a lot of unspoken, often untaught, rules about layout and typography that I just needed know. It made me insecure and afraid to make mistakes - making me afraid to start a new project incase I did something stupid - but reading this book has helped me let go of the fear of making rookie mistakes and has set me free to be a lot more creative as a person.

It's kind of like the Proverbs of Graphic Design.

As I read I realised that many of the rules in this book were no brainers to me and boosted my confidence, and other rules I ended up treating as handy tips. Thinking to myself "huh, who knew that was a thing that could help".

But the foreword from Stephen G. Bucher was especially helpful to me in learning that as much as we in graphic design make each other feel like there are right answers and really WRONG answers - and non of us really know them - The fear of them will never make us happy or content with our work.

Our work will never evolve if we stick to the rules religiously with no real reason to but the fear of making mistakes.

It is good to abide by the rules for the sake of visual language and communication, but obsessing over pixels (as important and satisfying as it may feel in the moment) can be tedious at the best of time and must be let go of if we want to be really creative.

In Bucher's confident words: "You can look at this book as a guide to avoiding rookie mistakes, or you can be an ordinary bastard like me and see it as a list of 'Oh yeah? We'll see about that!' challenges."

I may be leaning more to the 'Rookie Mistakes' perspective on the book, but I enjoy the possibility of seeing the challenges in it too.

[Georg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Useful rules written in a (mostly) funny and entertaining way.

E.g.:

Commentary If you're looking for a new colourway for your latest project, there are lots of very useful resources out there in print and online where thousands of different colour combinations or schemes can be referenced and compared. However, there's another way of looking for colour combinations that will not only provide a real-world view of how colours might combine but has been provided by the absolute experts of colour. Look at art. People have been experimenting with colour combinations for thousands of years and it's all out there for us to look at. You can even gear your choice of art to the kind of project you're working on. If you want an earthy combination of blacks and browns take a look at some cave paintings. If you want rich and luxurious colours try something by Hans Holbein the Younger. For bold bright combinations try Vincent van Gogh, or some of Mark Rothko's work. If you're not so much into painting but like more graphic work, look at Lichtenstein. Mondrian or Warhol. The colours are all there for the taking. RS

[Ksenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really thoroughly enjoyed this book and read it from cover to cover. I am a beginner and hence many of the concept were novel to me and beg further research - all the more reason to return to the book when I am a bit wiser and nod my head in understanding and agreement. Still, as it is it will allow one to make less rookie mistakes and not feel bad in client communication, when your gut tells you to demand a good written brief, yet you're unsure if it is indeed done that way and if the client will think you unprofessional or slow for doing so. Why it wasn't a solid 5 stars was the book's proclivity to handle InDesign as the software of choice and some rules stemmed from function of said software. And the fact that many rules from typography were rooted in book/magazine layout design, which is not such a frequent case.

[Nicole Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have skimmed through the whole book and plan on going through again with a fine tooth comb soon. I hope this isn't premature, but I'm calling this my Graphic Design Bible as I get deeper into the world of Graphic Design. I don't know how it holds up for seasoned graphic designers - perhaps it's all basics to them? But I did Illustration at university and it's all new to me. Some things are more obvious than others, but the precious esoteric tidbits like not letting a line end with the words "it" or "is", for example, are like rare jewels to me and I find it all terribly interesting and helpful.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another guide to Graphic Design; my latest interest.

Useful to a beginner but overall definitely one for an actual designer rather than the innocent by-stander I happen to be. Lots of great ideas but many of them (especially in the typography section) are too detailed for me. But that's a failing of me rather than the book itself.

[Maria K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that books like this one, that gather bits and pieces of information about a field of study, are really smart and helpful. Plus, Graphic Design Rules is a joy to browse, not to mention funny, too.

[James McAulay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction to the field written in a clear and amusing style. Perfect for deciphering a lot of the jargon you were too afraid to ask about.

[Lennart Guldbrandsson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well designed, and some good advice, but not enough for that length. Inspiring, though.