Timothy Samara is a graphic designer based in New York City, where he divides his time between teaching, writing, lecturing, and consulting through STIM Visual Communication. His 20-year career in branding and information design has explored projects in print, packaging, environments, user interface design, and animation. He has been a senior art director at Ruder Finn, New York’s largest public relations firm, and senior art director at Pettistudio, a small multidisciplinary design firm. Before relocating to Manhattan, he was principal of Physiologic in Syracuse, located in upstate New York. In 1990, he graduated a Trustee Scholar from the Graphic Design program at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia. Mr. Samara is a faculty member at New York’s School of Visual Arts, New York University, Purchase College/SUNY, and The New School, and has published six books on design and typography, all through Rockport Publishers: Making and Breaking the Grid; Typography Workbook; Publication Design Workbook; Type Style Finder; Design Elements, Design Evolution, and Letterforms. Mr. Samara and his partner live in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn.

What Is Graphic Design?
Twenty Rules for Making Good Design

FORM AND SPACE
DEFINING VISUAL LANGUAGE
ATTRIBUTES OF FORM
PUTTING STUFF INTO SPACE
COMPOSITIONAL STRATEGIES

COLOR FUNDAMENTALS
THE IDENTITY OF COLOR
CHROMATIC INTERACTION
COLOR LOGIC AND SYSTEMS
WHEN COLOR MEANS SOMETHING
COLOR IN THE REAL WORLD

Choosing and Using Type
STRUCTURE AND OPTICS
ISSUES RELATED TO STYLE
THE MECHANICS OF TEXTSETTING
TYPE IS VISUAL, TOO
TYPE AS INFORMATION

The World of Imagery
THE NATURE OF IMAGES
MEDIA AND METHODS
CONTENT, CONCEPT, CONTEXT
NARRATIVE MASSAGE

Putting it all Together
MERGING TYPE AND IMAGE
WORKING WITH GRIDS
INTUITIVE ARRANGEMENT
DESIGN AS A SYSTEM
THE WORKING PROCESS

Causin’ Some Trouble: Breaking Every Rule in This Book
Index (By Subject)
Directory of Contributors
About the Author and Acknowledgments