Branford Authors Talk Best Practices of Design

was lucky when to open , a graphic design studio here in town exactly two years ago. Since then, the company has grown, and is making a lasting impression situated in the William Russel House on their little slice of West Main Street. Branford is now even luckier that to claim Graver and Elements employee Ben Jura as two accomplished local authors.

Graver, President and Creative Director of Elements teamed up with Ben Jura, Senior Designer at Elements to pen their new book Best Practices for Graphic Designers, Grids and Page Layouts: An Essential Guide for Understanding and Applying Page Design Principles, $40.00, Rockport Publishers, July 1, 2012. The book is a “unique go-to guide for designers that details essential layout and design principles using valuable, professional insight into strategy and technique.”

A first-time book author, Graver details in the interview below, that her father was published and she’s delighted to join him in the ranks. Her background as a photojournalist made her an ideal candidate to write this book, she said, adding that the partnership of Jura made the undertaking possible.

The duo will and discussion at in Madison tonight at 7 p.m. Design experts and novice artists alike should come with questions for this charismatic set.

Before heading down, get to know Amy and Ben:

Patch: When you set out to become a designer, did you ever think you would write a book?
BEN:  I figured at some point I might write a children's book or some other type of personal project to create a format for doing some illustrations and telling ludicrous stories—never in a million years could I have imagined writing a technical work on grids of all things.

AMY:  When I was a senior at , my Dad - Dr. Howard Levitin - was asked by a publisher to write a book. He was the Dean of Admissions for the Yale Medical School and he wrote the "Pre–Med Handbook". I thought it was such an honor that he was selected to write a book about his profession. You can imagine my surprise and delight when I was asked by Rockport Publishers to do the same. It wasn't something I ever imagined would happen to me as it had for my Dad.

Patch: What actually prompted you to take on the task of writing this book?
AMY:  Rockport approached me about writing the book because of my journalism background as well as the reputation of my studio and the Acquisitions Editor had read quite a bit of my writing on our blog (www.elementsdesign.com/blog). She told me it was rare to find a great designer who could also write. The moment I hung up from the call, I sauntered over to Ben's desk to ask him if he wanted to write a book with me. I knew I didn't want to write it alone and Ben and I collaborate well together on projects everyday, so he was the perfect fit. And as a bonus, he also is a great designer who can write.

Patch: Was writing an academic-style book challenging? If so, how did you two decide what approach to take?
BEN:  The thought of writing an academic book about design technique and theory that would be (hopefully) read by designers around the world was slightly terrifying. Over the years I have developed the confidence to share raw and sometimes divergent ideas with people but I had until this point no experience that would quite prepare me to be an educator of sorts. If some piece of info in the book is not the best that it could be, it could potentially be making it more difficult for other people to succeed—that's a lot of pressure. We got around this by doing extensive interviews and using them for the basis of all of our case studies. It shifted the perspective from "this is how it should be done" to "this is how we do it" and took some of the pressure off.

Patch: Do you find teaching others hard? Is there a trick to getting your methods across?
AMY:  It's never easy to sit down and explain what exactly what it is that you do — so writing this book forced us to really take an in-depth look at all of our processes. We are better suited to explain ourselves having written this book. The trick to getting your methods across is the use of lots and lots of beautiful visual aids. Humor helps, too.

Patch: Is this book for everyone or just those in the field of design?
BEN:  Because of the level of detail the book gets into, it is really more tailored to designers and design academics than anyone else. Not to say that someone else can't read it and get something out of it, though.

Patch: When you discuss the best practices for page layouts, are you talking about print pages? How does the layout for a print page differ from a web page?
AMY:  It's not just for print. The approach to design that we look at in the book applies to the layout of information and explains communication practices across most — if not all — mediums. There are websites, packaging, mobile devices and even event design case studies in the book. We really tried to cover every medium possible.

Patch: How could you sum up what good design is for the common person?
BEN:  The simple answer to that complicated question is if the result achieves the goals that it was intended to achieve and communicates effectively, then it is good design.

AMY:  In the words of my design hero, the world famous Milton Glaser (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Glaser), good design will "inform and delight". We try to keep that in mind with whatever we do.

Patch: How can someone looking to get into design benefit from this book? How about someone already working in the field?
AMY:  It is a book about some universal principles about layout of information. Earl Gee, one of the contributors noted that it "clearly demonstrates the value of the grid as a universal principle of design to provide structure, organization, and clarity for information." We worked hard to show great examples of the use of grids in every situation that a designer might face. 

Patch: Can you name one recent piece of pop culture art that you think is designed beautifully?
We limited our selection of examples to ones from the book since there are so many great examples out there, we needed to narrow!
AMY:  Uppercase Magazine (page 48 of the book) has always been one of my favorites. I've had a subscription since the very first issue and I keep them all. They are just beautifully laid out and designed.

BEN:  There were so many great examples in the book that do the job masterfully. If I had to choose one of my favs it would be the materials for the Science Museum by Johnson Banks (page 42 of the book).

Patch: We are getting into election season; what political campaign poster is the best designed? Favorite political campaign poster of all time?
We decided to take a pass on getting into politics — suggested read: Campaign Font War in Salon.com.

Patch: What’s your favorite color?
AMY: Neither Ben or I have a favorite typeface, color or even a layout style or grid, for that matter. We determine our likes based on each specific project at hand. We will have a favorite color if it works with a particular design — but the color will be limited as our favorite to that particular piece. As a designer, I probably view colors, fonts, layouts, images, text and so forth differently than most because it is my job to do so. I look at how each of those decisions contributed positively or negatively to the overall message and design. If something works well on every single level — and succeeds in informing and delighting its intended audience —  then it is my favorite.

About the Authors:

Amy Graver is the owner and creative director of Elements, a graphic design and creative communications agency she started in 1999. Since then, she has grown Elements from a one person, dining room table operation to a respected and award-winning firm with an impressive roster of regional, national and international clients. She is the co-founder and immediate past Vice President of the Connecticut AIGA Chapter and is a past president of the Connecticut Art Director’s Club.

Ben Jura is the Senior Designer at Elements. He possesses a unique balance of creativity and project leadership skills. After graduating from The School of Visual Arts with a BA in graphic design, Ben developed his diverse set of skills working within the fields of advertising, branding and design in New York and Connecticut for clients such as Hinckley Yachts, Stanley Tools, PepsiCo and Bradley Airport.

www.elementsdesign.com