Another Book About Design: Complicated Doesn't Make It Bad
Grade 1–5—This lively volume is just as successful as the author'sA Book about Design: Complicated Doesn't Make It Good(Holt, 2005). Once again, Gonyea presents a deceptively simple introduction that effectively combines concise text and dramatic visuals to illuminate some of the basic principles of graphic design. Catchy chapter titles ("Don't Stand So Close to Me") and a vibrant palette of blues, reds, and yellows make the title appealing and entertaining. Artistic concepts such as foreground and background, positive and negative space, unity, and complexity are explained in terms that children can easily understand. The culminating chapter employs each principle, step by step, to show how an artist creates a finished picture—the eye-catching superhero featured on the cover. Youngsters will gain a deeper understanding of just what goes into a scene in a comic strip or graphic novel, and may be inspired to create their own graphic designs. A welcome addition.—Robin L. Gibson, Granville Parent Cooperative Preschool, OHCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.