[Sigia-l] visual thinking, by rudolf arnheim

[George Olsen]

Of the two books mentioned, "Art and Visual Perception" is probably the more
useful -- although it maybe overkill for a lot of people.

Arnheim was one of the first key researchers on visual perceptions. What's
really useful about the book is that Arnheim was an artist as well as a
researcher. Consequently, the book is able combine scientific lab
experiments with examples of how artists over the centuries have intuitively
used the principles involved. It's a good read on the building blocks used
in design, but fairly detailed.

A more easily digested book on the same topic is "Designing Visual
Interfaces" by Kevin Mullett & Darrell Sano
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0133033899/interactionby-20/104-8444
536-2810344> which illustrates visual design principles with examples from
both traditional graphic design and software UI design.

George