Visual Grammar
Christian Leborg

Life in the image world has made us all voracious, if not always deliberate, consumers of visual messages. Easy access to computer graphic tools has turned many of us into either amateur or professional image producers. But without a basic understanding of visual language, a productive dialogue between producers and consumers of visual communication is impossible. Visual Grammar can help you speak and write about visual objects and their creative potential, and better understand the graphics that bombard you 24/7. It is both a primer on visual language and a visual dictionary of the fundamental aspects of graphic design.

Dealing with every imaginable visual concept—from abstractions such as dimension, format, and volume; to concrete objects such as form, size, color, and saturation; to activities such as repetition, mirroring, movement, and displacement; to relations such as symmetry, balance, diffusion, direction, and variation—this book is an indispensable reference for beginners and seasoned visual thinkers alike. Whether you simply want to familiarize yourself with visual concepts or whether you're an experienced designer looking for new ways to convey your ideas to a client, Visual Grammar is the clear and concise manual that you've been looking for.


Christian Leborg is a designer and design educator. He is founding partner of K, a knowledge and communications consultancy in Oslo, Norway.
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Editorial Reviews

Dwell:
"For those of us who learned terms like 'Negative/postive space' and 'visual weight' the hard way--in classroom art critiques--Christian Leborg's new book will bring back painful memories. For those who have an interest but lack the language, however, this book elucidates the lexicon of visual grammar, from angles to opacity, and is replete with helpful infographics." (September 2006)

On The Subject of Design 2, Jason Santa Maria:
"A slim and simple tome, but visually stunning in its description of the basic principles of objects on a page and how they interact with one another. Visual Grammar serves as both a visual dictionary and a straightforward introduction to the visual language of graphic design." — Christian Leborg (January 29, 2010)

Dynamic Graphics:
"Christian Leborg decodes concepts associated with abstract and concrete objects and structures, activities, and relations. Includes a glossary of terms every designer should know." (July 2006)

Architecture Magazine:
"Required reading. " (September 2006)

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