Resources

Art & Design Communities and Organizations

AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts)
AIGA, the professional association for design, is the place design  professionals turn to first to exchange ideas and information,  participate in critical analysis and research and advance education and  ethical practice.
designerID
designerID is an online portal that helps member design professionals and students connect in dynamic and meaningful ways.
The American Graphic Artist's Guild
The Graphic Artists Guild is a national union of illustrators,  designers, web creators, production artists, surface designers and other  creatives who have come together to pursue common goals, share their  experience, raise industry standards, and improve the ability of visual  creators to achieve satisfying and rewarding careers.
The Society of Illustrators
The mission of the Society is to promote the  art and appreciation of  illustration, as well as its history and  evolving nature, and to  encourage high ideals through exhibitions,  lectures, education, and by  fostering a sense of community and open  discussion.
AltPick.com
Altpick.com was created to answer the need to find photographers,  designers, illustrators, animators and other graphic related businesses  in a quick, efficient and effective way.
The Art Director's Club
The ADC is the premier organization for integrated media and the  first international creative collective of its kind. Founded in New York  in 1920, the ADC is a self-funding, not-for-profit membership  organization that celebrates and inspires creative excellence,  connecting creative visual communications professionals from around the  world.

Job/Career Resources

AIGA Job Board
"AIGA Design Jobs is the first place AIGA members turn to find their next opportunity, and the premier place for employers seeking the most qualified designers."
Krop
"Krop is a Job Board and career resource website for creative professionals. Whether you’re looking for job, or hunting top-notch talent, Krop’s simple and powerful tools are geared towards connecting the worlds brightest minds with the best companies."
Coroloft
"Coroflot's job board is the largest and most active site on the internet specifically targeted at hiring designers and other creative professionals. We count Fuseproject, Frog Design, Microsoft, Nokia, Landor, RIM, Nike, Intel, Blu Dot, and Sony among our clients, and they've all returned to use Coroflot again, for one reason: it works."
Freelance Switch
"FreelanceSwitch is a community of expert freelancers from around the world."
Guru
"With more than 1 million registered members, Guru.com is the world's largest online marketplace for freelance talent and a leader in providing quality freelance services you can trust."

Art & Design Resources in Western North Carolina

AIGA Charlotte
The American Institute of Graphic Arts, Charlotte chapter
The Asheville Area Arts Council
The Asheville Area Arts Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit institution whose mission is to strengthen the vitality and visibility of the creative community through advocacy, support and exposure.
The Laurel of Asheville
The Laurel of Asheville is a monthly publication featuring art, artists and culture from Asheville and the Western North Carolina region.
The Creative Technology and Arts Center
"The Creative Technology & Arts Center (CTAC) is a community hub for innovation. It welcomes artists, technologists and designers as they pursue projects that inspire and ignite transformative action."
Planet Art
"Planet Art is a different kind of frame shop and gallery located in the River Arts Galaxy in Asheville, NC.  We feature an Art Exchange where you can buy and sell (for cash or store credit) gently used art."
Coop
"Coop focuses on showcasing young, emergent and innovative artists across multiple forms of expression – from visual fine arts to performance and installations."
Asheville Bookworks
"BookWorks is a community resource for print and book arts located in West Asheville, North Carolina. Through classes, exhibits, lectures, and annual events like BookOpolis and Edible Book Festival, BookWorks has become a gathering place for those with an interest in bookbinding, papermaking, printmaking, and letterpress."

Recommended Readings

Books

Fundamentals and Design Basics

Design Elements: A Graphic Style Manual
by Timothy Samara
“Provides a good overview of design terminology. My favorite parts of the book are Samara's arguments for and against breaking 20 basic design rules.”
Color
by Paul Zelanski & Mary Pat Fisher
“One of my favorite books on color theory and application. Explains the various color systems used historically and in the present and provides insight on how colors affect each other in various environments.”
Color Design Workbook: A Real World Guide to Using Color in Graphic Design
by AdamsMorioka
Graphic Design Solutions
by Robin Landa
“This was the main textbook for my Design 1 class. It gives a relatively detailed breakdown of the principles and elements used in graphic design and showcases examples of work from decades past until today.”
How To Be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul
by Adrian Shaughnessy

Historical & Biographical

A History of Graphic Design
by Philip Meggs
“This book is the authoritative source for many designers on the matter of graphic design history. You can't know where you're going unless you know where you've been!”
Gardner’s Art Through the Ages 
(various)
“A chronicle of art from pre-history through present times. A great resource for learning how art shaped culture, and vice versa. Good for learning important people, work and movements in the art world.”
The End of Print: Graphic Design of David Carson
by Lewis Blackwell & David Carson

Creativity & Creative Process

The Creative Process Illustrated: How Advertising’s Big Ideas are Born
by Glenn Griffin & Deborah Morrison
Caffeine for the Creative Mind: 250 Exercises to Wake Up Your Brain
by Stefan Mumaw & Wendy Lee

Application & Inspiration

Area & Area 2
(Phaidon Press)
The Big Book of Illustration Ideas, 1 & 2
by Roger Walton
Print and Pattern
by Bowie Style
Graphic: Inside the Sketchbooks of the World’s Great Graphic Designers
by Steven Heller & Lita Talarico
Big Ideas: Concepts Developments Explanations Solutions
by Roger Walton
Zanders/Ikono Showbook
(M. Real)
Vitamin P: New Perspectives in Painting
by Barry Schwabsky
“Written by renowned art critic and writer Barry Schwabsky, Vitamin P examines the state of painting in the 21st century and provides dozens of examples of new paintings from every corner of the globe, representing a myriad of styles and approaches. Schwabsky provides an inside look at each artist's process and an exploratory view of selected pieces from their collections.”
Searching for the Perfect Beat: Flyer Designs of the American Rave Scene
(The Earth Program)
Graffiti World: Street Art from Five Continents
by Nicholas Ganz
Rmx: Rinzen Presents Rmx Extended Play
(Rinzen)

Typography

The Elements of Typographic Style
by Robert Bringhurst
Typography: Macro and Microaesthetics
by Willi Kunz
Thinking with Type
by Ellen Lupton
Typographic Specimens: The Great Typefaces
by Philip Meggs & Rob Carter
Typographic Design: Form and Communication
by Rob Carter, et al
Moving Type: Designing for Time and Space
by Matt Woolman
The Encyclopedia of Fonts
by Gwyn Headley

Print & Layout

Layout Workbook: A Real-World Guide to Building Pages in Graphic Design
by Kristin Cullen

Advertising & Marketing

Creative Strategy in Advertising
by Jerome Jewler & Bonnie Drewniany

Information Design, Information Architecture & User Interface

Information Design Workbook
by Kim Baer
Form+Code in Design, Art, and Architecture
by Casey Reas & Chandler McWilliams
Pictograms, Icons and Signs
by Rayan Abdullah
Wayfinding: Designing and Implementing Graphic Navigational Systems
by Craig Berger

Packaging & Non-Print Surfaces

Extraordinary Graphics for Unusual Surfaces: Getting Graphics Right for Hard-to-Design Shapes
by Poppy Evans
“I purchased this book simply because I wanted to familiarize myself with printing on non-paper substrates and surfaces. It turned out to be a good buy, in my opinion. This book gives a good overview of the types of non-print projects that are out there, with examples split up into various categories depending on the type of project. This is not a book that breaks down every part of the process, but gives considerations to take into account when approaching designs that will be applied to different surfaces.”
Box Bottle Bag: The World’s Best Package Designs from TheDieline.com
by Andrew Gibbs
“The Dieline is my favorite packaging design blog. The creator, Andrew Gibbs, has amassed a collection of some of the best packaging designs on his blog to place into his new book Box Bottle Bag. The book is divided up into several categories based on the style of each project (luxe, bold, crisp, etc).”
The Packaging Designer’s Book of Patterns
by Lászlo Roth & George Wybenga

Web Design

Beginning HTML with CSS and XHTML: Modern Guide and Reference
by Craig Cook & David Schultz
Bulletproof Web Design
by Dan Cederholm
Beginning JavaScript with DOM Scripting and Ajax
by Christian Heilmann
Beginning PHP and MySQL
by Jason Gilmore

Reference

Pocket Pal
(International Paper)
“Over the years, Pocket Pal has expanded its content to accommodate the broadening definition that is lumped into the terms “graphic design” or “graphic communication”. A must have for anyone working in the world of print!”
The Designer’s Desktop Manual
by Jason Simmons
Basics Design: Print and Finish
by Gavin Ambrose & Paul Harris
Forms, Folds, and Sizes
by Poppy Evans
The Graphic Artist’s Guild Handbook of Pricing & Ethical Guidelines
(GAG)
The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms
(Thames & Hudson)
Nature and Its Symbols
by Lucia Impelluso
The Digital Photography Workflow Handbook
by Juergen Gulbins & Uwe Steinmueller

Humorous (good for a laugh)

Wordless Diagrams
by Nigel Holmes

Magazines & Periodicals

CMYK
HOW
“HOW Magazine is an all around good resource for providing great design news, techniques and inspiration at regular intervals. There are many semi-annual issues that focus on a specific design area such as creativity, design business, or typography.”
Communication Arts
Computer Arts
Digital Artist
“A digital art magazine featuring tutorials and how-to articles broken into various categories/methods. Digital Artist also features artwork from emerging artists around the globe.”
Print
Graphic
Grafik.
Juxtapoz
Lurzer's Archive
Lemon
High Fructose
“A contemporary art magazine featuring artists from around the globe. Published quarterly.”

Articles & e-Books

The Design Funnel
by Stephen Hay


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