Learning First in Black & White

Graphic designers combat the equivalent of writer's block with this system for creating fresh ideas and great designs on deadline.

Learning First in Black and White introduces The Design Code (R), an idea-generating system developed by Northwest artist and educator, Fred Griffin. It is a remedy for the artist's equivalent of writer's block, those times when the well of ideas runs dry. This system makes it possible to find fresh ideas and execute great designs on deadline.

Through many years of teaching design principles, Griffin found that if students worked first in black and white their grasp of basic design principles was much clearer than if they were dealing with the confusion of color. Color, a study unto itself, introduces an element of distraction--hence the title, Learning First in Black and White.

In this book, each lesson is explained with geometric shapes, followed by illustrations of an apple visually repeating the concepts. At the end of the book is a section that gives tips on how to dig deeper for better ideas. It's an answer to the question, Where do ideas come from?

There are basic design principles that are universal, but different schools of thought will refer and group the principles in different ways.

Griffin's The Design Code(R) is the result of several decades of laboratory experiments in the classroom as he refined his concepts. A designer and painter, his roots were in film animation and graphic design.

Learning First in Black & White is the first of three books that I have created in a series on Griffin's work and ideas. In this book, I have taken his system and shown the reader how it works, first in black and white, with the image and theme of an apple.

Through many years of teaching design principles, Griffin found that if students worked first in black and white their grasp of basic design principles was much clearer than if they were dealing with the confusion of color. Color, a study unto itself, introduces an element of distraction--hence the title, Learning First in Black and White. In this book, each lesson is explained with geometric shapes, followed by illustrations of an apple visually repeating the concepts. At the end of the book is a section that gives tips on how to dig deeper for better ideas. It's an answer to the question, Where do ideas come from? There are basic design principles that are universal, but different schools of thought will refer and group the principles in different ways. Griffin's The Design Code(R) is the result of several decades of laboratory experiments in the classroom as he refined his concepts. A designer and painter, his roots were in film animation and graphic design.