I received this book 'How to be a graphic designer without losing your soul', as a Christmas gift last year from a best mate; it was on my design book wishlist. Realised I hadn't gotten round to writing a review on it yet, thought now would be good.
This book really is a good and straight forward read, once I had started it took a while before I could put it down. Shaughnessy guides the reader through the many aspects of the graphic design industry, taking a look at how graphic design has evolved, and where it sits today in our modern and digitalized world. He provides potential solutions to the various questions up and coming designers would have, what to expect being in the industry, how to carry one's self professionally, and covers scenarios that veteran designers know all to well - the classic case of the client who is unwilling to cough up what they owe. He also addresses important issues such as sustainability, design responsibility and concludes with interviews from leading designers. What I find useful about this book is that, it gives practical as well as philosophical insight and balances creativity with business (yay for freelancers).
Working both as training wheels for the first time rider and a reminder for those who may have lost sight being well into their career, this is a must read not only for the young graphic designer and freelancer but for designers in other commercial art & design fields, as a lot of his insight can be applied to some of these areas too. Have you read this book?
