Dynamics in Document Design

This is a comprehensive book, to the point where you would kind of need to read it in a group, or make it a point to read it very slowly, synthesizing and integrating as you go. Just reading it from start to finish probably won’t accomplish much.

This book is an examination of how human perceive a field of information. It was written in 1996, so it’s in the context of a written document. How do our eyes scan the page? How do we relate text and images? What mental shapes do we put around the content? How can be make documents more understandable?

To give you an idea of the depth, there’s 60-some-odd pages at the beginning about the history of document design, all the way back to ancient writing.

I’m giving this five stars because it’s a stunning resource for a graphic designer or a content designer. I skimmed it, because it’s just so dense that I’d need a group to convene and discuss it. Also, I’m interested in how much of this book has changed in 25 years, or how relevant this book still is in the age of digital text?

But if you’re a designer, or you need to get better at conveying information, this is your book.