Book Review

"How to think like a creative, act like a businessman and design like a God" - Although I can't claim to have acquired a resulting godlike design prowess, I have to give this beautifully designed and bound publication an unreserved thumbs up. I figured that given its bold claims, great reviews, Drew de Soto's 25 years of experience in the industry and the fact that it is an object of desire in itself, I just had to buy Know Your Onions - Graphic Design. I was not disappointed.

Benefitting from a wealth of colour illustrations and a robust thread sewn binding, this is a handbook you can actually keep at hand and use year after year. While it may be that the more seasoned of us will learn less, about the principles of design, than the newly graduated; few readers will fail to gain some nuggets of valuable design advice. For my part, I found the information on typography invaluable. It is also very useful to have all such essential information in one place and I have already used its illustrations to help explain certain aspects of the trade to clients.

I doubt whether there are any designers who would not benefit from at least some of de Soto's business advice. There are none of the usual "we are all in the business of business" platitudes. It simply offers practical and straightforward advice on how to proceed, as a designer, in a manner more conducive to a profitable outcome.

Five stars out of five   *****