Get to the nub of what design is all about with these incisive and amusing Venn diagrams.
Consider this next time you see a font you really really have to own
What's design all about? It's a big question, and luckily there are any number of articles and free ebooks you can read that might explain it for you.
Sometimes, though, you don't want to have to hack all the way through someone's treatise on flat design; instead you want something succinct that gets straight to the heart of the matter. Basically, you want a diagram.
Putting your portfolio together? Bear this in mind.
Luckily, Mitch Goldstein has you covered. A designer and assistant professor at Rochester Institute of Technology's School of Design, he's come up with A Helpful Diagram: a series of, yes, helpful diagrams that explain a bunch of design issues at a glance.
Maybe you should get another external drive, just in case
Best of all they're Venn diagrams: the best kind of diagram, we're sure you'll agree. Over the course of 20 of them, Goldstein covers a range of subjects including design education, typography, inspiration and that perennial favourite, Adobe.
We got your creative practice right here
You'll also find some useful observations on how designers spend their time, the role of sports in design, and the absolute final word on whether print is dead or not.
We couldn't possibly comment
It's an essential collection of bite-size design wisdom, and it's not Goldstein's first such collection of tidbits; he's also the man behind Design Process, a fabulously minimal one-pager that comes up with a random pithy design tip every time you refresh it.
Stop kvetching about the menu and order your damn lunch
You can see the whole collection of helpful diagrams here. And if you have your own delightfully terse nuggets of design advice, why not share them in the comments?
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Jim McCauley is a writer, performer and cat-wrangler who started writing professionally way back in 1995 on PC Format magazine, and has been covering technology-related subjects ever since, whether it's hardware, software or videogames. A chance call in 2005 led to Jim taking charge of Computer Arts' website and developing an interest in the world of graphic design, and eventually led to a move over to the freshly-launched Creative Bloq in 2012. Jim now works as a freelance writer for sites including Creative Bloq, T3 and PetsRadar, specialising in design, technology, wellness and cats, while doing the occasional pantomime and street performance in Bath and designing posters for a local drama group on the side.
