MTIV Process, Inspiration and Practice for the New Media Designer

by Hillman Curtis

Book Overview

Outlines the approach for working with clients to develop clear, cogent, and creative communication. Divided into three parts, this book offers a methodology for artistic and professional work and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0735711658
• ISBN13: 9780735711655
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: New Riders Publishing
• Length: 239 Pages
• Weight: 2.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 8.1" x 9.9"

Customer Reviews

Thoughtful, timely material for anyone in design biz..

.Hillam Curtis, veritable Flash mavens as they are, show less interest in spewing out a snazzy graphic-design treatise or a 'Web Graphics for The Rest of Us' series of tips stash on how to make your designs ooze sex appeal. They offer instead a rather refreshing and long overdue thoughtpiece on 'New Media' design that is not confined to the web. Our world has obviously chugged along since the days of whimsical DHTML and the other Nielsenesque extreme of prosaic "usability for everything", and we now have truly new mediums, modern technologies that need increasingly intelligent designing for. This book presents some of the most practical, common-sensical ideologies to deal with such new-fangled challenges. Several philosophical elements of creative design are discussed, and while such rhetoric may not be everyone's bag, the writing is real-worldly and intuitive enough to be engrossing. What makes it an outstanding book though is the smart undercurrent of design as an art of 'problem solving', with its primary agenda of identifying and meeting goals that target users expect from the medium they interact with.You won't find tips, techniques and code snippets here except when inevitable to illustrate an idea. When we discuss color for instance, we talk about the affective influences of colour on people, not Pantene decimals or the spokes of a colour wheel. Discussing typography is not about quaint typefaces or font sizes but about leading the reader into the information, aiding and facilitating communication. The illustrations are fresh, exciting and for anyone related to design, veritably inspiring.Is this required reading in graphic design courses yet? It should be. It certainly could be. A highly recommended reading for anyone in the business of design.

Simply... inspiring

Let me tell you why I bought this book: I'm a self-taught designer, and I do what Mr. Curtis does - New Media Design. I create web sites, Flash, multimedia, video, and more through my company Wicked Penguin. I've bought many books on software and technical aspects- ColdFusion, Flash, XML, etc. However, what all those books lacked was one simple word: INSPIRATION. Yes, they told you what buttons to push, what code to type, etc. But what is all that worth if you don't have great ideas and a good way of getting them across to people?That's where this book comes in. First off, it's great to know you're not alone when it comes to having difficulty finding that right idea. Ideas are a dime a dozen, but finding a GOOD idea is no easy feat. This book encourages you to find ideas anywhere, whether it's in movies, print, old posters, etc. As long as you arrive where you need to be, it doesn't matter how you get there.Secondly, as a designer who went to art school, I've never been schooled in business practices - the art of the deal, so-to-speak. While I feel I'm adept at the design part, it's the interaction with the client that's always been somewhat of a challenge for me. This book opens doors to new ways of approaching clients, particularly by stressing a "you're all in this together" theme. Mr. Curtis' style of writing is excellent. He presents an idea, delivers a related anecdote or story, and then brings it home. It's a blend of theory and practical experience that can immediately make you see what he's talking about.This book is not for those who want a nuts-and-bolts instruction on Flash programming, or web design. This is - in its essence - a philosophy book. If you're looking for in-depth line-by-line breakdowns of SQL database queries, walk away. As I said, I've bought tons of web and media design books. This is the only one that ever made me go "WOW".

One of the best

This is definitely one of the best design books I have ever read. The approach is honest and thoughtful; a nice change of pace from the usual congratulatory and often pompous style with which a good number of design books seem to be plauged. This book has beauty and substance.In this book, Hillman shares his inspirations, methods, and experience (the title DOES say it all) in a way that seems to not talk at you, but with you. I love the layout, the tone and convention, and the pretty pictures =). No, this is not a how-to book. It will not teach you how to use the basics of Flash, nor will it teach you how to how to create a web page. It is not the place for it. It will however, teach you that even great designers face roadblocks, and how to overcome them. It will open you up to a new perspective on design if you allow it to. I think this book, very successfully, did what it sought of to do. If you don't agree, maybe you should read the title again.Don't buy it if you are looking for procedural how-to's to design. Do buy it if you're into honest approaches concerning design.

a must have for any design library

if you find yourself in a design rut lately, pick up this book! not only did this book inspire me, it reminded me of why i chose to be an interactive designer in the first place. i always love reading how other designers get their doses of inspiration, and this book not only helps you go "behind the scenes" of a talented designer, but it also focuses in on key design principles from different design mediums such as print, motion graphics and video. it's definitely motivated me to start working on motion graphics projects again!

Once Again A 5 Star Book From Hillman

I was lucky enough to have a friend get a copy of this book for me and have it signed by Hillman Curtis just 4 days ago. I've already read it once, and plan on reading it more than one more time.Similar to Hillman's first book (Flash Web Design), MTIV discusses business practice, how to conduct yourself in meetings, the philosophy of design, etc. Also, similar to the first book, MTIV has a section devoted to "learning," but not as step-by-step as the first book. A number of well known designers contribute at the end of this book short sections on different areas of design: typeography, XML, HTML, print, and much more.I highly recommend this book not only to both beginners and advanced Web Designers but also "non designers" who want a good resource on business practices, helping clients, and developing solutions that don't just "look cool" but also deliver functionality and answers.