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The A-Z of Visual Ideas: How to Solve any Creative Brief

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The A–Z of Visual Ideas explains the key ideas, sources of inspiration and visual techniques that have been used throughout design history. Showing where ideas and inspiration come from, the book provides numerous strategies to help unlock the reader’s creativity.

Using a dynamic and easy-to-understand A–Z format, the book reveals techniques that can be exploited to deliver ideas with greater impact, each entry offering a different starting point. Looking at everything from, Art to Zeitgeist, Intuition and Instinct to Happy Accidents and Hidden Messages, the book also features a section explaining how to use the idea or technique, providing readers with an infallible ‘tool kit’ of inspiration.

Including hundreds of inspirational quotes and packed with great examples of advertising campaigns, posters, book and magazine covers and illustrations, this is an indispensable primer that shows design students and professionals how to solve any creative brief.

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 10, 2011

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About the author

John Ingledew

12 books2 followers

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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
Profile Image for Amy.
13 reviews4 followers
March 31, 2015
First of all, An A-Z of Visual Ideas: How to Solve Any Creative Brief is a hugely underrated book.

If you’ve been stumped for ideas on how to push the envelope in your work or to add context by twisting thing ups a notch, then you must, absolutely, get this book.

What this book does is to link, connect and inspire new ways of thinking and creative solving. From A to Z and start to finish, the book not only outlines how to breathe new life into your ideas, but show you many examples of how others have done them.

From focusing on hidden messages to adding maths into the equation, there’s so many ways of seeing. I’m using some of the techniques for problem solving and coming up with new ideas already, but I’m so pleased to see that there are so many left to explore.

The book isn’t just meant for just graphic designers or advertising agencies. It’s for copywriters, artists, illustrators, and every profession in between who dabbles in visuals in their everyday work. I’d consider it a modern textbook that belongs in every syllabus as recommended reading material if you’re studying. It makes you think. It makes you squint. Above all it makes you want to create and put the ideas you see here in the book to use immediately.

And that to me, is a hallmark of an excellent book.
Profile Image for Ihor.
181 reviews7 followers
March 7, 2019
Чудова книга. Надихає на креатив. Матеріал подано дуже жваво й весело.
Profile Image for Jennifer.
429 reviews15 followers
July 30, 2016
Great book full of a lot of interesting ideas to help you come up with design solutions. Sometimes all it takes to find that great idea is one word to set your brain going. I think this is going to come in very handy if I am stuck and can't think of a solution to a design brief.
Profile Image for Olya Chizh.
34 reviews3 followers
April 3, 2014
that’s a super inspiring and helpful reference book of ways for generating ideas
22 reviews2 followers
February 17, 2016
Great idea kick starter. Many examples, photos and illustrations. Perfect for dislodging your creative log jam.
Profile Image for Parka.
797 reviews479 followers
November 14, 2012

(More pictures on my blog)


This is a nice book collecting from A-Z, or 26, visual techniques you can use for design. It's a creativity book essentially that aims to give you inspiration and ideas.

The examples focuses mostly on print ads and several outdoor displays. They are plentiful and engaging.

Easily recommended to designers.

If you're into advertising, the other book to check out is Creative Advertising.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews

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