Monkey Butler Ninja

Presentation Zen Design by Garr Reynolds

Who is this book for? Is it the same for the Designer working at Apple versus a high school student. Not really.

Therefore, if you have NOT been formally trained in visual arts or you are one of those ‘self-taught’ AND you use PowerPoint (or Keynote) then absolutely 5 stars on this book. It is written for YOU!

If you do have some artistic or designer training you will find this book on the beginner side. The sub title on the cover actually addresses this, “Simple Design Principles and Techniques to Enhance Your Presentations.”

Pros:

1. Garr Reynaolds has immersed himself in Japanese culture, which has obviously contributed heavily to his design teachings and principles. If you are going to pick a culture, Japan’s is a good choice.
2. His points are VERY clear (imagine that) and supported by plenty of nice examples.
3. An abundance of slide examples accurately reinforce points made in the text.
4. The layout of the book is pretty pleasing in my humble opinion. Maybe a tad to much white-space, but then again, he is the expert.
5. FAST read that is written efficiently and leaves you retaining the knowledge you acquired.

Cons:

1. The book fails to communicate one message. It makes it appear as if PowerPoint has NO place in design, but then later in the book the message then seems to counter that. I caught myself actually saying, “OK, I’m not suppose to use PowerPoint, got it… then what do I use?” But I think THIS is the message: PowerPoint is a presentation tool. And in the hands of someone with good design principles and technique, it can be a powerful tool.
2. Tooooo Japanese. Nothing is wrong with the culture and the examples are very nice. But at times some of the book felt like a tourism brochure. Slight, slight con in my opinion
3. While so many good examples populate this book, the “slide examples” chapter left me rather disappointed. Some were nice, but most just didn’t do it for me.

Neither Pro or Con:

As a rookie photographer I have been introduced to the micro stock debate. If that has any meaning to you then you should know iStockPhoto is a huge contributor to this book… even the cover is a photo from iStockPhoto. I have mixed feelings about the debate. On one hand iStock is a great service for this books target audience, on the other, how much was paid to the photographer for the COVER photograph of a book?

Summary:

This is absolutely a book you can read from cover to cover. It builds on previous lessons fluently. The delivery is done so in a simple, yet powerful manor. I consider myself a decent “designer” and good “graphics-guy” that can say with certainty this book has enhanced my presentation practices.

Recap:

If you = are an artist; formally trained; use Flash instead of PowerPoint/Keynote = PASS on the book, 2 of 5 stars.

If ANY of the following describe you: open PowerPoint fairly often; use clip art; think more color and fonts the better; feel like you need a better handle on design = BUY IT TODAY! 5 of 5 stars.

Monkey Butler Ninja Rating:

Since the book clearly says it on the cover “Simple Design Principles and Techniques…” it should not miss its target audience, therefore the Monkey Butler Ninja says 5 ninja stars out of 5!

The Visual Story by Bruce Block

The subjects covered in this book are CRITICAL to all artist, Photographers, Painters, Game Designers, and Videographers. We must have a good grasp of fundamental principles concerning visual structure.

The Visual Story by Bruce Block reads a lot like a textbook. Since I prefer a book to come across as if hearing some guru on the subject teach me, this is a con. That being said, it is an excellent textbook. In the early chapters it sets stages for fundamentals like Contrast/Affinity and Space for example. Then, throughout the book it constantly refers to these pillars of visual design giving real world examples.

Which brings me to my next point, the examples this book gives are superb. Bruce Block will cover a subject, like TONE, for an entire chapter and at the end he will bring the lesson full circle by giving you ‘films to watch.’ But wait! The films that Bruce recommends vary extensively! In the TONE chapter, ‘films to watch’ include the movies T-Men (1947) and Kill Bill (2003) [plus a handful more]. Using this layout, Bruce is able to convey that the subject matter for each chapter is TIMELESS! His example movies transcend not only time released, but also subject matter and themes.

This book really shines with its illustrations. An absolute ideal amount of visual aids are delightfully displayed throughout the book. Not too many, not too few. Even the graphs (which typically aren’t the most exciting graphical element) had a proper layout. I seem to remember running across somewhere that the first edition of this book was all black and white, wow. GREAT move going to full color, I can honestly say that this book would have not been nearly as impacting. I do have a problem with the cover art though, it’s a small gripe but I always use my hands to frame a picture in widescreen (thumbs to index fingers). That is very nitpicky but the cover to a book is pretty critical, and since it aced the illustrations in the book, I wanted to mention it.

Early in the book it can seem a bit drawn out and basic. I would encourage readers to not skip the beginning chapters as they are constantly referenced throughout the book. Even if you feel you have a fantastic grip on the subject matter, it never hurts to review.

The appendix is very detailed and honestly, it feels like these were sections of chapters pulled out to keep the pace up a little. Regardless, this section is full of info that needs to be read.

Chapter Nine is Story and Visual Structure. I have a post-it note sticking out of this with “fantastic chapter” written on it. Seriously, this graph filled chapter will change the way I look at all productions and will effect my planning and execution for the rest of my professional career.

I was going to give The Visual Story 4.5 out of 5 stars but realized the impact this book has on my future work and decided it deserves my highest recommendation. Full 5 stars for Bruce Block. It may feel a bit ‘text-booky’ but it has certainly changed my work process.

Bravo Bruce this Monkey feels more like a Ninja. Monkey Butler Ninja gives The Visual Story 5 out of 5 ninja stars and a banana tree! Go BUY IT!