More Graphic Design rules

 


I decided to look at more pages within the book as simply flicking through it and stopping on some pages had created this strong emotion within me that made me want to see what else is written within the book. Like with some of these pages I've shown above, I just get this feeling where it's restricting and trying to force someone to do something they wouldn't do when designing or stifling their creativity. Like with the pages about using excessive tracking and negative letter spacing, yes I know it's not exactly perfect for design with type and can reduce readability but what if it helps with creativity. Maybe something within a body of text could be pushed further and improved with adding more tracking or reducing the letter spacing, just because it's not seen alot doesn't mean it's against the "rules". This is where my anger towards this book is coming from, the feeling that I am being restricted by it and told "no you can't do that, because I said so!".

While I don't like most of what is written within this book there are some parts of it that I find myself fully agreeing with, most of these pages I found near the end of the book. Some of this I completely agree with, like trying to stop procrastinating (as a chronic one this resonates alot with me) and not using mood boards simply coming from my own hate for them. This is what I think this book should have been, instead, it ends up reading in the wrong way and angers me. 

I may have agreed with these pages I do still feel like having this book about only designing in some way is wrong and detrimental, this book just seems really wrong to me. I want to think of something different and think about how I and other designers can be different and just create without staying to these rules.

Graphic Design Rules: 365 essential design dos and don'ts: Adams, Sean. London: Frances Lincoln, 2012.

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