Before & After Graphics for Business 1st Edition

I purchased John McWade's BEFORE & AFTER: HOW TO DESIGN COOL STUFF, BEFORE & AFTER: GRAPHICS FOR BUSINESS, and BEFORE & AFTER: PAGE DESIGN, and I love all three books! I subscribed to McWade's Before & After magazine for years, and it was solid gold. These three books are all excellent, and continue that fine tradition. They feature hundreds of design examples, including variations on each one, explanations of the design choices being made, and information on how to create each effect and layout. I am thrilled with my purchase.

A great resource for working graphic artists. I created a nice mid 6 figure income, raised a family, and have made a very nice life for myself by talking my way into a job that requred graphic arts skills that I didn't have at the time. I quickly taught myself the necessary skillset from McWade's old "Before and After" magazine. I will forever be grateful he made those available. This book encapsulates many of those original lessons.

"Graphics for Business" is a great resource for generating ideas for creative projects. Whether you're tasked with putting together a corporate newsletter, or coming up with a new logo and branding for a client, "Graphics for Business" is an invaluable resource and reference tool. I found the section on layouts particularly useful, and have gotten a lot of great ideas for newsletters and corporate reports. The ideas presented here could easily be utilized for other types of print design as well (flyers, resumes, etc.). This book is a collection of some of the best articles from the "Before & After" magazines by John McWade. Highly recommended for anyone that wants their publications to stand out from the pack!

What I love about this guy is the way he teaches is the way many people design. We start with MEH and work hard to make it shine. His approach is intelligent, accessible and relevant even if the designs are a bit dated. The principles are not. Reminds me of the Michelangelo quote: I saw the angel in the marble and I chiseled until I set him free.

I really liked this book. it had a lot of ideas that anyone could put together. But I would mostly recommend it for someone who is not a design professional, but needs to come up with a design to suit a business need. Someone starting their own business, but cant afford a design team should definately invest in this book (and just about any B&A product!)

Finally, John McWade has compiled the brilliant articles from his magazine Before and After into a useful book. This volume is a collection of how-to articles ranging from newsletters to letterhead and should be read by every small (and large) business owner. If McWade were king, there would be a lot less crap "out there" and the graphics of business communication would be a lot better.

I've been a fan of John McWade for years -- a true graphic design guru -- and this book has many great insights and techniques; some of which I've seen before in his other publications. I guess I was hoping there would be a larger section on information graphics and a little less on layout, but it's all great stuff.

If you're running a business on a budget and need to do layouts yourself, you need this book. It's very clear and concise, and if you take the time and really learn what John McWade is teaching you, your publications will have a professional look.