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Problem Solved: A Primer for Design and Communication
Designers and advertisers continually have to interpret design briefs, produce new solutions to familiar problems and work to keep their clients' brands high in the public consciousness. This highly informative guide brings together for the first time discussions and case studies that illustrate the working methods of major advertising and graphic design firms. Each chapter explores a different theme of 'problem solving', and concludes with a case study to illustrate a particular solution in detail. Themes producing innovative work, avoiding repetition, standing out in the market place, reinventing a tired brand, communicating essential facts in a culture of information overload, keeping a brand young and trendy, dealing sensitively with propaganda, the use of shock tactics, and word-based advertising in a world over-run with images and sound-bites. Examples featured are taken from classic and contemporary international advertising. Designers and agencies whose work is discussed in the book include Chermayeff and Geismar, Saatchi and Saatchi, BMP, Minale Tattersfield, Derek Birdsall, Niklaus Troxler, Bob Gill, Wieslan Walkuski, Makoto Saito, Paul Fishlock and Pentagram. Michael Johnson is creative director of Johnson Banks, which was voted most creative consultancy in Britain in 1999. He is Chairman of Education for British Design and Art Direction (D&AD) and lectures regularly on design theory and practice.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
10 people are currently reading
147 people want to read
About the author
Michael Johnson
4 books6 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Hi my name's Michael Johnson, I'm a designer and brand consultant based in London. My company johnson banks creates brands for organisations and companies across the world. We've rebranded London's Science Museum, Virgin Atlantic and Unicef UK. Globally we've branded a space observatory in Japan, a famous park in Paris, worked for the Guggenheim in New York and the Gates foundation in the Middle East. We're currently working with one of the pioneers of a freer internet, Mozilla, producers of the Firefox browser.
I became interested in writing books about 15 years ago when I started work on my first book, Problem Solved, recently out in its second edition (Phaidon Press, 2012). That identified the recurring issues I faced as a designer, splitting them up into 19 different types and supplying the answer.
More recently I've just published Branding. In Five and a Half Steps (Thames and Hudson 2016). This is an attempt on my part to write a definitive guide to the strategy and design of brand identities. Up until now, you've been faced with a pile of books on strategy, or a separate pile on logo design. I wanted to put all that I've learned in 25 years at branding's coal-face into just one, reasonably priced book, and fill it with good advice and great examples. You can see more of my work at johnsonbanks.co.uk, and read more of my thoughts on the johnson banks thought for the week - our design blog which often gets hundreds of thousands of hits.
Hi my name's Michael Johnson, I'm a designer and brand consultant based in London. My company johnson banks creates brands for organisations and companies across the world. We've rebranded London's Science Museum, Virgin Atlantic and Unicef UK. Globally we've branded a space observatory in Japan, a famous park in Paris, worked for the Guggenheim in New York and the Gates foundation in the Middle East. We're currently working with one of the pioneers of a freer internet, Mozilla, producers of the Firefox browser.
I became interested in writing books about 15 years ago when I started work on my first book, Problem Solved, recently out in its second edition (Phaidon Press, 2012). That identified the recurring issues I faced as a designer, splitting them up into 19 different types and supplying the answer.
More recently I've just published Branding. In Five and a Half Steps (Thames and Hudson 2016). This is an attempt on my part to write a definitive guide to the strategy and design of brand identities. Up until now, you've been faced with a pile of books on strategy, or a separate pile on logo design. I wanted to put all that I've learned in 25 years at branding's coal-face into just one, reasonably priced book, and fill it with good advice and great examples. You can see more of my work at johnsonbanks.co.uk, and read more of my thoughts on the johnson banks thought for the week - our design blog which often gets hundreds of thousands of hits.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 31, 2020
So far, this is one of the best broad scope reference books on graphic design I've read. This collection of iconic, unique, and historically influential graphic design solutions is categorized by common design challenges such as budget constraints, repetitive briefs, etc.
The book competently discusses and depicts a wide range of design work from much of the world including America, Europe, Scandinavia, and Asia reaching back into the early 1900s up until the year of the book's publication.
There is a ton of content here. At times it felt like trying to drink from a fire hydrant. I may have to revisit it again in a couple years.
I docked it one star because it claims to be a "how-to" book, but it isn't at all. There are no steps or instructions. There are ideas and how they've been implemented in the past, but any "how" for new solutions will still be entirely up to the designer.
Content warning: This volume does contain some nudity, so I wouldn't recommend it for kids.
The book competently discusses and depicts a wide range of design work from much of the world including America, Europe, Scandinavia, and Asia reaching back into the early 1900s up until the year of the book's publication.
There is a ton of content here. At times it felt like trying to drink from a fire hydrant. I may have to revisit it again in a couple years.
I docked it one star because it claims to be a "how-to" book, but it isn't at all. There are no steps or instructions. There are ideas and how they've been implemented in the past, but any "how" for new solutions will still be entirely up to the designer.
Content warning: This volume does contain some nudity, so I wouldn't recommend it for kids.
April 13, 2011
this book is easy to read. i finished it quickly. i feel it is a good book for anyone interested in advertising design - professionals as well as students. although he doesn't provide any in-depth study of the examples that he discusses. the entire material is a good reference source and a good starting point. (hope the review helps someone.)
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews