The best Design & Graphics Software Books: Reddit reviews

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

I highly recommend Cynthia Brewer’s book on cartographic design. There’s so much useful stuff to guide or inspire you. Although it’s ESRI press, it really doesn’t matter if you’re an Arc user or not.

Check out Cindy Brewer’s book Designing Better Maps for some guidance on map design itself.

Then I suggest checking out the works of John Nelson who does cool things with custom designs.

Stop Stealing Sheep, so good you pictured it twice ;-)

I'd include The Mac is not a typewriter as a great beginners book, and I'd discount Just my Type by Simon Garfield as he wrongly identified a font I used in a campaign as Comic Sans, it was Giant Sized Spectacular.

Not that I'm bitter about it though ;-)

Cynthia Brewer's (the Brewer in colorbrewer) two books are very good too.

Designing Better Maps is more like a guidebook/textbook on how to make your maps look good. Chapters on layout, symbols, color, labelling, etc. The typography/labelling section is particularly good, especially if you haven't thought about it much before.

Designed Maps: A Sourcebook for GIS Users is a big reference book with example maps in different categories. Good to flip through and find inspiration for how to handle situations you might run into.

Both are ArcGIS based, but the lessons apply anywhere and the majority of the content is about the theory of making maps look good rather than "use X tool with Y setting"

Googling and glancing at it this seems decent:

https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/LaTeX

(I mostly learned LaTeX from Lamport's 1994 LaTex book in the mid 2000s, but wouldn't recommend it today.)

Strategic Writing for UX is a popular one. I started out by reading it and would recommend it.

https://www.amazon.ca/Strategic-Writing-Engagement-Conversion-Retention/dp/1492049395/ref=asc_df_1492049395/?tag=googlemobshop-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=337070798151&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3266714861732875676&hvpone=&hvptw...

This book talks about it quite early on. Basically shader with distance check to mouse in worldspace that you feed to the material in C#.

Up to you what you tell it to do with that distance check, like colour it purple or something

This is a slightly off-tangent recommendation but I never pass up an opportunity to share this:

https://www.amazon.com/Mac-Not-Typewriter-2nd/dp/0201782634

I was gifted this book in 1993 and it absolutely upped my typesetting game to a whole new level. 99% of it is relevant today, 30 years later (yikes!).

I feel like for self-taught designers it’s a must have.

I recommend buying Lamport and reading it. Then write a paper using it. If you need stuff not in Lamport, then the LaTeX Companion is the go-to source.

Not what you wanted, but for reference these books are infinitely better than all the videos in the world plus stackoverflow.

Awesome attitude! Read this book if your stuck: Logo Design Love

Also check out using grids. I’m not great with typography. I usually play it safe and stick with either Adobe Fonts or Hoefler Type.

Thanks, u/Netzapper for the comprehensive reply, seems like you have accrued some interesting experience in rendering. There's a split in opinion on the value of learning software rendering in this post, but you've provided a pretty convincing justification.

Regarding learning something like Ogre3d, would you say the 3d concepts in there would be anything in addition to something you would learn in a traditional text like https://www.amazon.com.au/Fundamentals-Computer-Graphics-Peter-Shirley/dp/1568814690 (if you're familiar with it) - or more a difference in preferred learning style?

The LaTeX Companion was invaluable to me when I first tried learning LaTeX many years ago. You don't have to read it cover to cover, just read the parts you need as you go. I've almost worn my copy out from so much use. All the online documentation and tutorials are fine, but for me this book was the best way to get started.

A absolutely recommend a text-only format and to store it along with the source code in version control.

I've used reStructuredText for smaller documentations and LaTeX for larger ones. (I also used the LEO text editor to document a large library in HTML/chm, it is interesting but this leans more to the experimental side).

reStructuredText has some specific support which makes it more powerful than Markdown, for example it has extensive support for formatted code listings, and can add tables of content. It has many output options. You can convert it to wikitext, using the pandoc vonversion utility. Also, github can render it. There is a python pip package called restview which renders your document in the browser, including links, while you type it - this works very smoothly.

With LaTeX, code listings (I guess you don't need them here) be done using the "minted" Package. What makes LaTeX extremely good specifically for the purpose of documentation is, apart from a very consistent formatting, its support for a keyword index. And this is something you really need to make information discoverable in a large documentation. It is actually fun to build it. You can compile documents to different paper sizes, one in B5 which fits well as a PDF on a medium screen, and one for printing on A4 paper, for example. With the right font settings, it looks really really good and top notch readable.

Book recommendation (and a good example on how to do it well) : Leslie Lamport, LaTeX, A Document Preparation System.

Edit: Also, I have good experiences with inkscape for graphics. Readers love graphics.

Edit: Racket's scribble has been mentioned. I think it is good.

I work on the design side so I don't know much about UX writing. Writing is actually my weakest skill which I'm trying to improve. I would google UX writing and UX writing jobs. There are a ton of resources online. Here's one I just found:

https://www.avoagency.com/articles/how-to-get-started-in-ux-writing

This is a book on my reading list to check out:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1492049395/

On the side, I do recommend learning the basics and concepts of interactive design as well as some coding so you can speak the language when collaborating with designers and developers.

You should probably start with Leslie Lamport's classic. It's clear, thorough, and concise. It also has a reference section in the back where you can look things up quickly if you forget some particular syntax. Plus the drawings in the book are really cute! After reading this book you can move on to some of the more modern tutorials people have linked to.

You're welcome. BTW I sort of glossed over a bunch of details with my comment "applying curves in Lab mode", and in fact, there's at least <em>one</em> entire book written on the topic, and although the concepts are a little abstruse, actually applying them is generally quite simple. You can probably find enough information to get started by plugging the phrase into Google.

Good luck, and please post your results if you like how they turned out.

Link of the book :

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321985206/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=inkbot05-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=0321985206&amp;linkId=b05fbd7ab1b9acec082c4f5f61b362ba

No, the LAB color space. This book is a good introduction to the powerful things you can do in LAB that you can't easily do in RGB or CMYK because luminosity is separate from color

I just ordered : https://www.amazon.com/Unity-5-x-Shaders-Effects-Cookbook/dp/1785285246/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1478088279&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=Unity+5+shader+cookbook

to learns Shaders and lighting effects. I'm hoping this takes my abilities to the next level. I love Alan Zucconi's website so I'm chomping at the bit for this book to arrive!

Find a good book. I have one (I think it's this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0201362996/ref=cm_sw_r_taa_ZBGxxbFYM23S2) and the fact it shows you a ton of packages and how to use them fantastic. I haven't come across a tutorial that has remotely as much info as that book.

I haven't read it yet, but a new edition of Designing Better Maps came out last year.

This is what you are looking for

It introduces you to all concepts you need to learn under your first year(s) of programming with C#. It has great, easy-to-grasp instructions and every chapter ends with exercises that it walks you through. I went from a novice to comfortable with the language in ~3 months.

After this, you have to get your hands dirty. Google for "programming exercises" or something like that. The point is that you will learn 100 times more when you take on a task that you have to solve by using your brain.

http://www.amazon.com/Logo-Design-Love-Creating-Identities/dp/0321985206/ref=zg_bs_3564965011_3

I have this one and it's fantastic. Check the reviews for it, too.

This one will probably be my next purchase on that same theme:

http://www.amazon.com/Designing-Brand-Identity-Essential-Branding/dp/0470401427/ref=zg_bs_3564965011_7

This book explains it quite well: http://www.amazon.com/The-Mac-Not-Typewriter-Edition/dp/0201782634

TL;DR Computers aren't typewriters. A well-designed font includes enough space after the period to improve readability in the same way double-spacing used to in typewriters.

Alright... I am still really unsure, but can you technically then buy this for me without seeing my address?
http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/0321985206?colid=21Y47OPF5FIIT&amp;coliid=I1X9M9IHKORALZ&amp;ref_=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl

Making mistake and learn from it , that is how most of the programmers learn. You will make mistake, and then learn how to fix from it at this early stage. A "revert-to-good-stage" button won't do much learning for you. (although we do have that button for all the programmers, just in a different name: "Version Control". you should use that in a later date)

Having said all of that, there are quite a few sources you can try to learn more about C#:

• Microsoft Virtual Academy, search up "C# Fundamental" or "C# for absolute beginner" , you should be able to see 2 courses from Bob Taylor. They are really good.

• Introduction to C# Video series from a channel name "TheNewBoston" on YouTube. He describes everything in a really good manner and "straight to the point"

• This book . It is a much better book for beginner than "C# in the nutshell" , but "C# in the nutshell" is actually a better "reference" book when you have a decent knowledge over C#.

After crunching all of those, like everyone else said, find something you love to make, preferably something that you would use personally, something useful, and make it. Probably an alarm clock, personal calculator... or even something really big ( i will leave that "really big" to you (: )

An introductory text on graphics will tell you how this is done; the course I followed used this one, for example. It'll explain how to figure out what object is visible at what pixel, and how to calculate shading effects.

Some keywords to get you further: rasterization, ray tracing, z buffer, linear algebra, shading.

Many of these kinds of adjustments are most easily achieved in L*a*b color mode - which gives me a chance to plug one of my favorite photography/post-processing workflow books.

So I've got $300 of Amazon credit (yay credit card rewards) and I have no clue what to buy.

I mostly shoot Micro 4/3 (Olympus OM-D E-M5) and I've got ~300GB of SD cards, 17mm, 45mm primes and a couple of zoom lenses I never use, a decent tripod, a polarizing filter and a ColorChecker Passport.

Usually I shoot when I'm out with my friends or with my girlfriend so mostly portraits and street photography but occasionally city/landscapes as well.

I haven't really done much with lighting so far but I'm thinking of learning so would it be a good idea to buy some lighting equipment? I've played with Photoshop and DxO 10 quite a bit so that's another idea and my home server is running a rather volatile set of hard drives so that's the last idea I had in mind.

I even had a look at switching to a Nikon D5200 for the extra 2 stops of dynamic range but decided it wasn't worth it since I don't find myself needing it that often.

Honestly I think I should have cashed in my credit card rewards for cash and taken some lessons instead but it's a bit late for that.

To sum up, these are the ideas I currently have:

• Hard drives for NAS
• Lighting equipment
• DxO Optics Pro
• Photoshop CC subscription
• Fisheye or wider angle lens (can anyone recommend a good landscape lens on M4/3?)
• Books? Online courses or other educational materials? (this has seemed interesting)

If you were in my place what would you choose?

So I've got $300 of Amazon credit (yay credit card rewards) and I have no clue what to buy.

I mostly shoot Micro 4/3 (Olympus OM-D E-M5) and I've got ~300GB of SD cards, 17mm, 45mm primes and a couple of zoom lenses I never use, a decent tripod, a polarizing filter and a ColorChecker Passport.

Usually I shoot when I'm out with my friends or with my girlfriend so mostly portraits and street photography but occasionally city/landscapes as well.

I haven't really done much with lighting so far but I'm thinking of learning so would it be a good idea to buy some lighting equipment? I've played with Photoshop and DxO 10 quite a bit so that's another idea and my home server is running a rather volatile set of hard drives so that's the last idea I had in mind.

I even had a look at switching to a Nikon D5200 for the extra 2 stops of dynamic range but decided it wasn't worth it since I don't find myself needing it that often.

Honestly I think I should have cashed in my credit card rewards for cash and taken some lessons instead but it's a bit late for that.

To sum up, these are the ideas I currently have:

• Hard drives for NAS
• Lighting equipment
• DxO Optics Pro
• Photoshop CC subscription
• Fisheye or wider angle lens (can anyone recommend a good landscape lens on M4/3?)
• Books? Online courses or other educational materials? (this has seemed interesting)

If you were in my place what would you choose?