useful directions from the readings

My work thus far in this class has not really been Web-based, however, I did learn from "Don't Make Me Think" about the usefulness of breadcrumbs with regard to Web navigation, and in being simply a user of the Internet versus being a designer, that is something that people may rarely consider and may take for granted. I'm not sure I agree with the policy of always using the words "You are here" to precede them, though, which can be a bit insulting. I also found the "bad/good" examples at the chapter ends very helpful. This is information that I'll probably have to use quite a bit in the future when I have to work on Web pages.

From "The Elements of Graphic Design," I was re-introduced to the concept of gestalt, which I hadn't really thought about since my undergrad years ago. It's important to step back from a project and see how the elements are working together. The book also does a decent job of outlining design components and suggesting ways to use them. The book also performs a useful function in a backhanded way, I think, by providing an example of how not to lay out a design book! 8-)

The most interesting part of our readings, I found, were probably the least useful, but I enjoyed learning about the origins of the different font types and how involved typography can be. "Thinking With Type" contains both trivial and useful information on how to use different fonts, and indentifies the image each conveys.