Robin Williams Design Workshop

by Robin P. Williams, John Tollett

Describes practical graphic design principles and explains why some designs are more likely to grab attention and which looks are suitable for specific types of projects, including business cards, letterhead, brochures, logos, and other advertising.

Genres: Design, Reference, Nonfiction, Art

280 pages, Paperback

First published October 26, 2000

About the author

Robin P. Williams is an American writer of computer-related books. She is particularly known for her manuals of style The Mac is Not a Typewriter and The Non-Designer's Design Book, as well as numerous manuals for various Mac OS operating systems and applications, including The Little Mac Book. Williams has also spent years studying William Shakespeare, and in 2006 issued her book Sweet Swan of Avon: Did a Woman Write Shakespeare? in which she proposed the writer Mary Sidney as a candidate in the Shakespearean authorship question.

Reviews

[Aaron Dettmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

No, not by that Robin Williams. Should I include textbooks in this list? A (relatively) fun read. If you're going to make anything design related - whether it be a flyer, business card, website, or a logo, At least read the chapter in this book about that specific topic. Contains lots of good examples of how to create a good design. However, got really repetitive after the first 90 pages (out of 280).

[Eric Xia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute book with lots of old 90s design principles and graphics. Has aboriginal ideograms though which are cool

[Kiro Selanor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about graphics design. There are chapters about business cards, signs, logos, etc. Almost everything is about designing paper material; the single chapter on web design is woefully outdated. Every page has a sample (sometimes several), and this helps to see what the author means. Sometimes the author shows how a project is improved from a boring initial version (which looks like something I'd whip out using Word!) to a professional finished product.

The book is supposedly for non-beginners, and there's a "test" in the beginning which I flunked, but it's actually easy to read even without previous design experience. It has changed the way I think about design.

[Lizziebeth10 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most amazing and eye-opening books out there. If you do any sort of promotion for anything, read this book ASAP. And then read it again and again. Sure, parts are quite out of date (web specs and design), but the vast majority of the concepts are timeless.
Get the most out of your effort - apply these principles and see the results for yourself!

[Marico · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robin Williams is an incredible writer. She is genuinely humorous and you feel like you are chatting with a friend while reading her work. This is my favorite design book to date.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all-time favorite design books, although it is getting a little old now. The pictures may look out of date, but the principles are still good. "Don't be a wimp!"

[Hoby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice little book to have on hand.. quick reminders for keeping your designs balanced and compelling.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still have a lot to learn. This book helped me assess my knowledge of design. The section on websites in the edition I read could use updating.

[Webfrau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting.

[Russell Proctor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robin Williams really knows her stuff. I've used this book time and time again for reference and would not be without it!

[Richard Luciano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is one of my favorite's out of her series of books. Extremely well thought out and executed. I always look forward to Robin's next book. Keep up the great work!