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Creative Workshop( 80 Challenges to Sharpen Your Design Skills)[CREATIVE WORKSHOP][Paperback]
Creative Workshop( 80 Challenges to Sharpen Your Design Skills) <> Paperback <> DavidSherwin <> NorthLightBooks
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First published October 28, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 31, 2014
Exactly what I needed! This a classroom post-degree exercise book. As a recent graduate with graphic design knowledge and skills in back pocket, this book introduces exciting self projects to get your creative gears moving and reinforces the habit of sketching (which, I believe is an underappreciated initiation of design solving for many).
This is THE book for creating items for your portfolio.
Each exercise includes rules, time restraints, examples of others work, and a possibility to manufacture more make-believe stress with "advanced" guidelines. One of them, for example, is "SEO's wife wants a handwritten font!" D'oh! Can you handle all that problem solving and create a final product in the next 120 minutes? Get cracking!
This is THE book for creating items for your portfolio.
Each exercise includes rules, time restraints, examples of others work, and a possibility to manufacture more make-believe stress with "advanced" guidelines. One of them, for example, is "SEO's wife wants a handwritten font!" D'oh! Can you handle all that problem solving and create a final product in the next 120 minutes? Get cracking!
September 4, 2014
I'm not a designer or even someone who works in a strictly creative industry (unless you consider business consulting "creative") so with that caveat, here is my review.
I was interested in this book because partly because I like exercises to stimulate ideas and solutions to problems (even seemingly boring business problems). And also because I deliver training sessions and so I'm always on the lookout for ways to give people insights. If it takes a creative exercise to bring about an ah-ha moment, then I'll include one in the training, however tangential it may seem.
The author endeared himself to me early on by saying, "As architect Matthew Fredrick notes,"being process-oriented, not product-driven, is the most important and difficult skills for a designer to develop." Being aware of your working process as a designer and reshaping it to fit the problem presented to you is a lifelong practice that will define your career...Your design process consists of the living, breathing flow of actions that you take - some conscious, some unconscious - as part of solving a client problem. As you repeat similar types of design projects, you become more proficient in identifying which of these actions lead to a well-designed result. But we radically improve our skills when forced outside of our comfort zone and asked to solve problems that seem foreign, or use tools or method that seem alien to us."
Much of the above paragraph can be applied to decision-making (at least as I advocate it). Yes, I'm cautious about liking books that agree with my thinking and principles but sometimes (I recklessly think) it's just fun and comforting to do so!
I liked the book as a spur to stimulate thoughts, most of the exercises were too challenging for me (or perhaps I just have low design esteem). So this rating comes with a strong note of the opening caveat.
I was interested in this book because partly because I like exercises to stimulate ideas and solutions to problems (even seemingly boring business problems). And also because I deliver training sessions and so I'm always on the lookout for ways to give people insights. If it takes a creative exercise to bring about an ah-ha moment, then I'll include one in the training, however tangential it may seem.
The author endeared himself to me early on by saying, "As architect Matthew Fredrick notes,"being process-oriented, not product-driven, is the most important and difficult skills for a designer to develop." Being aware of your working process as a designer and reshaping it to fit the problem presented to you is a lifelong practice that will define your career...Your design process consists of the living, breathing flow of actions that you take - some conscious, some unconscious - as part of solving a client problem. As you repeat similar types of design projects, you become more proficient in identifying which of these actions lead to a well-designed result. But we radically improve our skills when forced outside of our comfort zone and asked to solve problems that seem foreign, or use tools or method that seem alien to us."
Much of the above paragraph can be applied to decision-making (at least as I advocate it). Yes, I'm cautious about liking books that agree with my thinking and principles but sometimes (I recklessly think) it's just fun and comforting to do so!
I liked the book as a spur to stimulate thoughts, most of the exercises were too challenging for me (or perhaps I just have low design esteem). So this rating comes with a strong note of the opening caveat.
March 19, 2017
This book is an interesting tool for when you as a designer feel your creativity is drained out. Each "chapter" is an activity to hone your designing skills. I didn't do the activities just yet but some of them look really daring.
February 25, 2024
Great way to become inspired and get going. I do a couple of exercises in here and it's enough for me to push out 4-8 visually appealing prototypes to be turned into high fidelity prototypes later on.
March 18, 2015
Great fun even for non designers like my boyfriend and myself! Creative and interactive challenges--have given it as a gift to two designer friends so far who have enjoyed it.
December 23, 2020
This book intimidated me, thus it was sitting on my shelf for years. Finally, I found time and courage to deal with it ;) It was fun, sometimes frustrating kind of fun, but still something worthwhile.
The book describes 80 exercises to flex your design skills in different directions and with different media. A prior design experience (e.g. typography, packaging and industrial design, paper engineering) pays off in some of them, but the majority can be undertaken by newbies without any special design knowledge.
Challenges are open to interpretation and don't give any tips on how to approach them. The only "help" readers can get are photos or sketches of results achieved by designers. On the one hand, this helps to understand what is expected, but on the other hand, can sometimes raise the bar significantly as they are seasoned designers who knew what they were doing.
I didn't know what I was doing most of the time, but still, I was able to learn something new. Sometimes I had no idea how to approach the challenge or my initial exploration led nowhere, which was pretty frustrating, but that was a part of the learning experience. Otherwise, it was pure fun and helped me to activate some parts of my brain that were covered in dust ;)
Watch out: this book takes the "learning by doing" approach. There is a brief intro on how to approach those exercises (timebox, have a process, brainstorming techniques), but other than that there is no design knowledge or theory presented. Once you take on the challenge, you are left to your own devices.
The book describes 80 exercises to flex your design skills in different directions and with different media. A prior design experience (e.g. typography, packaging and industrial design, paper engineering) pays off in some of them, but the majority can be undertaken by newbies without any special design knowledge.
Challenges are open to interpretation and don't give any tips on how to approach them. The only "help" readers can get are photos or sketches of results achieved by designers. On the one hand, this helps to understand what is expected, but on the other hand, can sometimes raise the bar significantly as they are seasoned designers who knew what they were doing.
I didn't know what I was doing most of the time, but still, I was able to learn something new. Sometimes I had no idea how to approach the challenge or my initial exploration led nowhere, which was pretty frustrating, but that was a part of the learning experience. Otherwise, it was pure fun and helped me to activate some parts of my brain that were covered in dust ;)
Watch out: this book takes the "learning by doing" approach. There is a brief intro on how to approach those exercises (timebox, have a process, brainstorming techniques), but other than that there is no design knowledge or theory presented. Once you take on the challenge, you are left to your own devices.
April 29, 2021
Good for graphic design students. I use it to push myself out of my comfort zone and create diverse projects for my portfolio. I love the time restrictions. This book pushed me to finally create a "brand identity" for myself, something that I've been trying to do for years and if only took 40 minutes.
August 8, 2017
In formative and to the point....
The author is very creative in keeping the readers interest. I almost stopped reading a few time yet it seemed the next sentence or chapter heading would pull me back in.
The author is very creative in keeping the readers interest. I almost stopped reading a few time yet it seemed the next sentence or chapter heading would pull me back in.
July 6, 2013
It took me a while to read this book because there wasn't much pulling me forward. But, that said, I found it to be pretty interesting and provocative. While I have yet to try any of the ideas, it did serve as a creative stepping stone to me creating my own ideas of activities I can do.
My only real criticism is I was hoping that the activities would be more at a beginner level. Some of them, I think, would require some hefty graphic design skills that many who are "designers" don't have.
My only real criticism is I was hoping that the activities would be more at a beginner level. Some of them, I think, would require some hefty graphic design skills that many who are "designers" don't have.
April 27, 2022
Good exercises don't remember when i read it.
November 2, 2013
The title was somewhat confusing to me, but in the end i liked the book. It just makes you think in a creative way.
August 2, 2018
Good design reference book, the last two sections: "innovation" and "interpretation" are particularly intriguing.
May 9, 2016
Excellent book for providing creative projects and ideas to develop creativity and sharpen design skills
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January 15, 2016153.35 S5541 2010
October 30, 2013
Présente certaines idées intéressantes pour stimuler la créativité, mais demeure au premier niveau!
May 1, 2017
Great guidance for overcoming writers' block (or illustrator's block or designer's block). Intriguing exercises.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews