So The Design Manual goes into a bar in New York

Read the latest review by Scott Santoro. Scott is a New York-based designer who runs his Worksight studio and is adjunct professor of design at Pratt Institute and author of Guide to Graphic Design:

Wow, The Design Manual is quite an undertaking. This latest edition is so thorough and well written that it creates a foundation for us to work from. I gave myself four hours to run through the book, page by page. But as I got into it, I realized that I wanted to not just skim but read. It was very beneficial, as if I went to a training seminar. It wound up being about seven hours.

Love the side quotes, or maybe I should say that the Bart in me loves them because they’re there for the picking. But don’t worry, the Lisa in me loves digging into the text.

David has broken down ‘Purpose’ in the first chapter really well. I will pull sections to show my Professional Practice Seniors. 

I also like what he wrote in ‘Beauty and aesthetics’. Regarding Punk, I always bring up how the shift was where the musicians cared more about the passion they expressed than perfect playing. I think that bled into graphic design nicely. We needed a jolt.

David is very empathetic to all sides and schools of design ­– thankfully!

As I started on the ‘Ethical design’ section, I was thinking about Mike Monteiro ... and there he is at the end. David hasn’t missed a beat. He even talks about decolonization in the book.

OMG he has included De Bono … love his writing about idea creation.

I like how David framed what I call the mashup of something brought to something else. I tell students that your idea has to express itself in no more than two sentences. If it goes beyond that no one will understand it.

The author has included the definition of a leitmotiv in the book! It’s a term that I always bring up in class ... and Captain Blood on the same page – I was a huge Errol Flynn fan when young.

Kathryn McCoy has written about how type can be seen and read at the same time, which is what makes typography so amazing. Love that David remembered the Florent and the things Tibor Kalman did with that diner. Sadly, it closed a few years ago. I heard he used to do work as barter for dining there for him and his staff.

Regarding the profession of design, I attended a lecture where a colleague kept referring to graphic design as an industry. I had to correct them and point out that it’s really a profession where you can get a PhD in the subject. I’m glad David has referred to design as such. Can’t get anything past him.

Love his comments about running a studio and recognizing employees. Just great!

I learned from David’s book. It really is a manual. Thank you.