Line Color Form - by Jesse Day (Paperback)

About the Book

Design students today are more visually literate than ever before, and their learning style naturally favors the visual over the textual. So why should they learn art and design theory from a traditional textbook? The only guide of its kind, Line Color Form offers a thorough introduction to design theory and terminology in a visually appealing and accessible format. With hundreds of illustrations and minimal text, this primer was created with visual learners in mind, making it ideal for art students as well as those for whom English is a second language.

Each chapter focuses on a single aspect of visual composition, such as line, color, or material. After an illustrated discussion of fundamental vocabulary, the chapters move on to applications of the concepts covered. These applications are again demonstrated through images, including photographs, color wheels, significant works of art, and other visual aids. Each image is accompanied by a descriptive paragraph offering an example of how the vocabulary can be applied in visual analysis. The book culminates with a section on formal analysis, aimed at teaching readers how to express their observations in formal writing and critical discourse.

With its emphasis on the visual, this unique guide is a highly effective learning tool, allowing readers to gain an ownership and mastery of terms that will benefit them academically and professionally. Whether you are a design educator, student, or professional, native or non-native English speaker, this bright and concise reference is a must.

Allworth Press, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, publishes a broad range of books on the visual and performing arts, with emphasis on the business of art. Our titles cover subjects such as graphic design, theater, branding, fine art, photography, interior design, writing, acting, film, how to start careers, business and legal forms, business practices, and more. While we don't aspire to publish a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are deeply committed to quality books that help creative professionals succeed and thrive. We often publish in areas overlooked by other publishers and welcome the author whose expertise can help our audience of readers.

Book Synopsis

"For those of us teaching higher education in art and design schools, Line Color Form is the answer to a problem so many of us face: How to help bright students, non-native and native speakers alike, who struggle to find words to express what they see."--Yael Samuel, Otis College of Art and Design

In exquisite full color with a plethora of instructive visuals, Line Color Form offers a thorough introduction to design theory and terminology in a visually appealing and accessible format. This unique guide takes into account that design students today are more visually literate than ever before, and their learning style naturally favors the visual over the textual. So why should they learn art and design theory from a traditional textbook?

With hundreds of illustrations and minimal text, this primer was created with visual learners in mind, making it ideal for art students as well as those for whom English is a second language.

Each chapter focuses on a single aspect of visual composition, such as line, color, or material. After an illustrated discussion of fundamental vocabulary, the chapters move on to applications of the concepts covered. These applications are again demonstrated through images, including photographs, color wheels, significant works of art, and other visual aids. Each image is accompanied by a descriptive paragraph offering an example of how the vocabulary can be applied in visual analysis. The book culminates with a section on formal analysis, aimed at teaching readers how to express their observations in formal writing and critical discourse.

With its emphasis on the visual, this unique guide is a highly effective learning tool, allowing readers to gain an ownership and mastery of terms that will benefit them academically and professionally. Whether you are a design educator, student, or professional, native or non-native English speaker, this bright and concise reference is a must.

Review Quotes

In this unusual reference book, Day (art and design history and theory, Parsons, the New School for Design, New York) seeks to lay out a lexicon of art and design vocabulary. The author communicates from a visual thinker s perspective, pairing images of objects related to key terms and concepts with simple, concise text descriptions. College-level and advanced high school art students will find this book a valuable and frequently used resource to help them speak with greater insight about their work. Sections on writing essays about art will be particularly helpful to art students. VERDICT Though students are the primary audience for this book, anyone seeking to discuss and appreciate their own or others artwork can benefit from it. --Library Journal

For those of us teaching higher education in art and design schools, Line Color Form is the answer to a problem so many of us face: How to help bright students, non-native and native speakers alike, who struggle to find words to express what they see but lack the vocabulary to describe. This book gives students the analytical tools they need, systematically identifying all the major components of visual experience in the most straightforward, elegant manner possible--Yael Samuel, assistant adjunct professor, Otis College of Art and Design

For those of us teaching higher education in art and design schools, Line Color Form is the answer to a problem so many of us face: How to help bright students, non-native and native speakers alike, who struggle to find words to express what they see but lack the vocabulary to describe. This book gives students the analytical tools they need, systematically identifying all the major components of visual experience in the most straightforward, elegant manner possible. --Yael Samuel, assistant adjunct professor, Otis College of Art and Design

A significant achievement and contribution to the field, this handbook's clear terminology and illustrations will enhance the communication and eloquence of any student or instructor of art and design practice. --Sarah E. Lawrence, dean, School of Art and Design History and Theory, Parsons The New School for Design

Written in an engaging and straightforward manner, Line Color Form is an essential guide to art and design terminology and an excellent resource for visual art students at virtually every level. --Angie Wojak, director of career development, School of Visual Arts

"A significant achievement and contribution to the field, this handbook's clear terminology and illustrations will enhance the communication and eloquence of any student or instructor of art and design practice." --Sarah E. Lawrence, dean, School of Art and Design History and Theory, Parsons The New School for Design

"Written in an engaging and straightforward manner, Line Color Form is an essential guide to art and design terminology and an excellent resource for visual art students at virtually every level." --Angie Wojak, director of career development, School of Visual Arts "For those of us teaching higher education in art and design schools, Line Color Form is the answer to a problem so many of us face: How to help bright students, non-native and native speakers alike, who struggle to find words to express what they see but lack the vocabulary to describe. This book gives students the analytical tools they need, systematically identifying all the major components of visual experience in the most straightforward, elegant manner possible." --Yael Samuel, assistant adjunct professor, Otis College of Art and Design