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Designing Visual Language: Strategies for Professional Communicators (Part of the Allyn & Bacon Series in Technical Communication) (Technical Communication) | 
 enlarge | Authors: Charles Kostelnick, David D. Roberts, Sam Dragga
Publisher: Longman
Category: Book
List Price: $76.40
Buy Used: $40.00
You Save: $36.40 (48%)
New (6) Used (20) from $40.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 280471
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 455
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9 x 7 x 0.9
ISBN: 0205200222
Dewey Decimal Number: 686.22
EAN: 9780205200221
ASIN: 0205200222
Publication Date: December 26, 1997
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: USED BOOK WITH HIGHLIGHTING AND WEAR BUT STILL IN PERFECT FOR READING
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
More often workplace writing and document design takes a backseat in a company's mission/product. This book offers strategies and tools for document design of ALL types. Readers will extend to visual design the approach they assimilate in their writing and editing. It focuses on the kinds of situations and practical documents that employees encounter daily, with a special focus on audience, purpose, and context of the message. Topics include: perception and design; visual analysis; extra-textual design; pictures, and more. Writers and editors who design documents. Part of the Allyn & Bacon Series in Technical Writing, edited by Sam Dragga, Texas Tech University.
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| Customer Reviews:
An okay introductory book, but it lacks substance/research/depth. January 24, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book serves as a very general introduction to visual design, but it doesn't have much "meat" to it. Specifically, it might tell the reader to do something, and it might explain why the reader should do something, but it provides no references to all the research and studies that back up the theory.
That's perfectly fine for people who want to just get some general concepts, but it's completely unacceptable for advanced college students (especially at the masters or PhD level) or those who are truely interested or experienced in this area.
If you want a truly definitive book on design theory--especially with respect to paper (and to a lesser extent online) design theory--you MUST get Karen Schriver's "Dynamics in Document Design: Creating Text for Readers" book. It is THE definitive document design theory book for people who want not only the theory, but also the research and references to go digging deeper.
Unfortunately, "Designing Visual Language" merely scratches the surface of this discipline. I can only recommend this book for beginners/novices/undergraduates, and I would do so hesitantly at best.
Also, be aware that this book is not representative of the Allyn & Bacon series in Technical Communication. Some of their other books are quite good/useful--though occasionally lightweight on references.
 Dreadful May 20, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book was required for a graduate course in visual communications. The book is written in a style of chest-puffing academic balderdash that renders it useless and unreadable. Crummy paper and truly ugly illustrations add to the miasma. I usually keep classroom texts but I'm selling back this one. I won't get much money though because it's so poorly bound that it looks much more used than it really was. Poor unlucky student who buys it.
Poor quality September 11, 2005
9 out of 13 found this review helpful
The content of this book is not bad, but the actual quality of product is horrendous.
I have had this text for about a week and the pages have already become unbound. Some of the pages look like they were printed on a photocopier running out of ink. The text is fine, but the graphs look terrible. One would think that a book about design would have put more thought into their own design and production run.
My gripe is simply that this book is too much money for the truly piss-poor physical quality. $76 for a book whose binding became unglued in the first week? $76 for a text whose pages look like they were printed on with an empty toner cartridge? This is a sick joke! Designing Visual Language is a piece of junk and Allyn & Bacon should be ashamed of themselves for having no quality control.
Addendum...
I'm wondering why people have not found this review helpful. Is it because they want to buy a book that is poorly made? If so, I invite you to buy the book. Unless Allyn & Bacon make some serious changes, you'll soon think, "Maybe his review WAS helpful after all!" but by that time you'll be out $76.
 Designing Visual Language July 13, 2001
7 out of 12 found this review helpful
It reads kind of like a text book, but the information is very good. I am trying to learn about graphic design in my free time and this book has helped me to better understand the basics of visual communication. I have also reciently read "The non-designers design book", which I also recommend. This book starts at the beginning and helps you to understand what you must do, and take into account in order to make something visually pleasing. It has helped me in my design efforts. The book was lent to me and now I plan on buying it, it was so good. I might even look into the rest of the books in the series. (The Allyn & Bacon series in Technical Communication) All in all a good book. I give it 4 stars
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