InfoD: Bookwatch (42)

         * InfoDesign Bookwatch *   (42)


           In this message:
           1. Designing effective communications (J. Frascara (ed.))
           2. Visual communication: From theory to practice
              (J. Baldwin and L. Roberts)

           From the Bookshelf:
           - Shaping information (C. Kostelnick, M. Hassett)


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1)    TITLE: Designing effective communications

       AUTHOR: Jorge Frascara (editor)

      DETAILS: Price: USD 24.95
               ISBN: 1-58115-449-6
               Published: 2006 / 298 Pages
               Publisher: Allworth Press

      WEBSITE: http://www.allworth.com/Catalog/DW408.htm

DESCRIPTION: This anthology explores how personal interests,
intellectual development, value systems, emotional states,
and cultural backgrounds all affect the way in which we
process information. A group of designers, educators, and
interdisciplinary experts challenge the existing theory
that communication hinges on transmission and that the
audience is merely a passive receptacle.
This book is partly based on papers presented at the
'Creating communicational spaces' conference, held
May 1-3, 2003 at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada.

CONTENTS:
Prologue
Introduction: Creating communicational spaces (Jorge Frascara)

Part I: Conceptual frames
1  A gloss on communication (Thomas M. Nelson)
2  Games: A transactional context (Sharon Poggenpoh)

Part II: The space of information
3  Where am I? (David Sless)
4  Visual information about medicines for patients (Karel van der Waarde)
5  Extending the boundaries of communication: Interactive iconic
     communication to help those who suffer from aphasia (Rosemary Sassoo=
n)
6  Creating possibilities for communication (Guillermina No=EBl)

Part III: Exploring tools and frames
7  Scaffolds for building everyday creativity (Elizabeth B. N. Sanders)
8  Design-driven innovation: Scenario building as a tool to facilitate th=
e
     communication flow within complex design processes (Simona Maschi)
9  From communication design to activity design (Stefano Maffei and
     Daniela Sangiorgi)
10 Behavior change theory and visual communication design (Zoe Strickler)

Part IV: Living spaces as communication spaces: From the home to the city
11 Space as process (Bernd Meurer)
12 The 'Faces' of space (Rosalind A. Sydie)
13 Sign of design: Deciphering the audience's codes < design in
     the urban landscape (Ronald Shakespear)
14 Dialogue of many (Zalma Jalluf)
15 Centered on society: exploring public knowledge of design
     (Bonnie Sadler Takach)

Part V: The space of language and graphics
16 On signs and centuries (Ruben Fontana)
17 Using context to create meaning (Barbara Sudick, Paul Rand)

Part VI: The space of identity
18 Representing the 'Dutch Woman' at the 1898 national exhibition
     for women's labour: Avoiding visual miscommunication in the
     public sphere (Joan E. Greer)
19 Cross-cultural comparison on attributing meaning to corporate logos
     (Barbara Martinson and Sauman Chu)
20 Identity in sheep's clothing (Dietmar R. Winkle)

Part VII: The learning space
21 Reading minds: The book as a communicational space (Susan Colberg)
22 Ecologies for designing playful interaction (Ron Wakkary,
     Marek Hatala, Kenneth Newby, Ec(h)o)

Part VIII: The electronic space
23 Information modeling (Charles Field)
24 The experiential interface: Creating emotionally engaging spaces
     (Doreen Leo and Jim Budd)
25 Traces of previous use: The communicational possibilities of
     interaction histories (Stan Ruecker)

Contributor Biographies
Index

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2)     TITLE: Visual communication: From theory to practice

       AUTHOR: Jonathan Baldwin and Lucienne Roberts

      DETAILS: Price: =A324.95
               ISBN: 2-94037-309-4
               Published: 2006 / 192 Pages
               Publisher: Avabooks

      WEBSITE: http://www.avabooks.com.sg/avauk/details.php?id=3D96

DESCRIPTION: Visual Communication places graphic design in a wider
cultural context, highlighting the key debates and issues the
practice implies. Theoretical essays discussed by today's leading
designers apply the cultural theory to the real world practice of
graphic design, helping students to develop sound critical judgement
and informed strategies for the generation of new ideas that
accurately reflect the current zietgiest.
The book has been edited to fit broadly into the diverse curriculae
of art schools and colleges around the world and is tailored for
course adoptions.

CONTENTS:
Front matter
- How to use this book
- The Theory
   Foreword: Isn't design simply all about 'the visual'?
- The Practice
   Foreword

Communication
- Aims of chapter 1
The Theory
- Introduction: Even natural processes have explanations
- Communication as a process
- Semiotics
- All design is political, part one
- Afterword: No more rules?
The Practice
- Introduction
   The practitioners: Neville Brody; Michael Bierut

Culture
- Aims of chapter 2
The Theory
- Introduction: Everyday visual communication
- What is culture?
- All design is political, part two
- Style and identity
- Afterword: 'Meaningful' is not the same as 'full of meaning'...
The Practice
- Introduction
   The practitioners: Joan Farrer; Shin Azumi and Tomoko Azumi

Conflict
- Aims of chapter 3
The Theory
- Introduction: Form verses function: Styling as communication
- All design is political, part three
- The political designer
- Design under threat?
- Afterword: Beneath the surface
The Practice
- Introduction
   The practitioners: Erik Spiekermann; Emmi Salonen

End matter
- Bibliography
- Index
- Credits
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     *  From the Bookshelf  *


'From the Bookshelf' mentions books that were not recently
published, but that we have missed on introduction.


1)     TITLE: Shaping information
               The rhetoric of visual conventions

      AUTHORS: Charles Kostelnick and Michael Hassett

      DETAILS: Price: USD 50.00
               ISBN: 0-8093-2502-0
               Published: 2003 / 259 Pages
               Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press

      WEBSITE:
http://www.siu.edu/~siupress/titles/f03_titles/kostelnick_shaping.htm

DESCRIPTION: From charts, texts, and graphs to illustrations,
icons, and screens, we live in an information age saturated
with visual language. Yet the underlying principles that
provide structure for visual language have long eluded
scholars of rhetoric, design, and engineering. To function
as a language that reliably conveys meaning, visual language
must embody codes that normalize its practices among both
the designers who employ it and the readers who interpret it.

Charles Kostelnick and Michael Hassett demonstrate how visual
language in professional communication - text design, data
displays, illustrations - is shaped by conventional practices that
are invented, codified, and modified by users in visual discourse
communities. Drawing on rhetorical theory, design studies,
and a broad array of historical and contemporary examples, this
book explores the processes by which conventions evolve and
proliferate and shows how conventions serve as the medium that
designers use to shape, stabilize, and streamline visual
information.

Kostelnick and Hassett argue that visual conventions also
thrive within discourse communities and are fragile forms
that vary widely in their longevity and scope.

CONTENTS:
Introduction
1. Visual language, discourse communities, and the inherently
     social nature of conventions.
2. What's conventional, what's not.
3. The origins and authority of visual langauge.
4. The mutability of conventions.
5. The grip of conventions.
6. The slipperiness of conventions.
Conclusion
Notes
References
Index

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InfoDesign Bookwatch is compiled and edited by Piet Westendorp
and Karel van der Waarde. Suggestions for titles are welcome,
and may be sent to: [email protected]
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