Huge collections of fonts and images are par for the course with most design software, whether for the web or paper, but that doesn't mean they are all good.

Knowing what looks good where and when is a valuable skill, and if you've never done anything like this before, you should read this book. In fact if you have been doing design without any advice (that’s me), you should read this book too.

The layout of the book is as good as my introduction would suggest, giving examples of all the principles that are explained. A particularly helpful touch is that all the fonts used in the book are named in a special index at the back. There are few things worse than finding a font and then not knowing what it’s called.

The basic message of the book boils down into four key principles:

• Contrast
• Repetition
• Alignment
• Proximity

The acronym may be unfortunate but it is memorable! Each is explained in some detail and there are exercises to follow at the end of chapters.

At nearly £25, The Non-Designer’s Design Book might seem expensive, especially given it’s slim stature. But this is money very well spent if you are planning any kind of design work. It radically improved the design work I’ve been doing both at work and at home.

5/5 Buy it! 

The Non-Designer's Design Book
Robin Williams
PeachPit Press
£23.99
ISBN: 978-0321534040