Geometry of Design, revised edition: Studies in Proportion and Composition (Design Briefs) Paperback – August 17, 2011

Designers and artists will be intrigued by Kimberly Elam’s visually rich investigation of proportion, form, and composition. I tend to draw intuitively, placing elements in a picture where they seem to “fit”. My ability to illustrate was definitely sharpened by my years in design school working with grid systems and analyzing the composition of posters and page layouts. Kimberly Elam’s book echoes that experience by closely examining everything from a Mies van der Rohe Barcelona Chair to a Toulouse-Lautrec poster. She relates the forms in design, architecture, and art to naturally occurring forms such as a Nautilus shell or a pine cone. The author’s ability to explain complex concepts in an understandable way makes this book approachable, useful, and fun. I am fascinated by Ms. Elam’s use of transparent overlays that allow the reader to see the structure of the work under examination. Judging by the fact that the book has been published in nine languages, apparently other readers are fascinated as well.

This book should be required reading for all design students. Very well written with great illustrations. More design students -- and teachers as well -- need to be aware and familiar with the geometric principles behind, well... everything! Geometry is not just a way to mathematically analyze spacial relationships from works of art or architectural structures, but integral to the study of human interaction with, well... everything! Artwork on a wall, images and type on a page, digital interfaces, furniture in a room -- geometry is the heart of all understanding of the world around us and how we relate to it.

Very interesting book. It won't teach you how to use grids and such for your own art... but it will help you learn to analyze existing art... including your own. Ms. Elam writes in a simple clear way that is backed up with strong design examples.

This is an amazing book. I really enjoy the analisys and the geometric layouts and compositions inside it, but I feel that you should be really interested on the subject before, cause this book will be a little boring for students who wants to know pratical things about design methods. This is a book for reference to understand how artists and designers thru history used grid systems to organice the elements and proportions in the space. This book could be an interesting starting point to think the design as a reflexive exercise. Highly recommended.

This book was helpful for understanding the Golden Mean and other systems, various ways to use the systems, and for seeing how some great prints, paintings, and furniture was designed. Illustrations with overlays specifically show the geometry of the objects, and they are fascinating.

Just okay. Some useful information but not that practical.

This is an eye opening and mind bending book. For any art related practice, it's a essential literacy to comprehend. Very well explained.

Incredible book!!!Best for the price.