Designa: Technical Secrets of the Visual Arts (Wooden Books) by Adam Tetlow - Perfect for Artists, Designers & Creative Professionals - Ideal for Studio, Classroom & Home Inspiration

I thought this would be one of those large-format books, like a magazine with better covers. But it's 8 inches by 6 inches and 1.5 inches thick with 410 pages including a 5-page Index at the back for cross-reference.DESIGNA is packed with examples from thousands of years: Graphics and Architectural styles from around the world as well as Scientific examples of ideas like symmetry and repetitive examples from Nature. All sorts of patterns, from strict order to random fields. An arcane tour of relationships compiled for those who can take advantage of this information and not have to reinvent the wheel. It's fascinating reading, and going through the illustrations there are Artistic designs you may have seen (for example in works by M.C. Escher) that are broken down into their elements to show how they work, both visually to massage the brain through the optical cortex, and aesthetically, as they show you WHY they are beautiful. You could view this as someone seeking a specific solution to a problem or as a tourist who just wants to explore where they've never been before. There are carved pieces from 200,000 years ago that are just as modern-looking as Art made yesterday, using the same designs for the same reasons, proving that early humans were more like we are now (and maybe even more, because considering the difficultly level of those pieces, the nameless creators were geniuses.)I wasn't quite sure what this book would contain and now I'm pleased (and amazed) at the depth and scale of the resources that were assembled to inform as well as entertain.