A Smile in the Mind Paperback – August 13, 1998

A classic from the early 90's for ad designers, and it holds true right up until this very moment. Picture concept after concept, delivered in small images, some with microscopic type - but concepts that can put you over in any visual field. A Smile in the Mind is a crazy wonderland of ideas for doing faster and maybe better what we already do as artists: synthesizing ideas from the raw material of basic conceptual matter. It's a great book to pore over for hours, and also to keep handy for those times when deadlines loom and you're feeling stuck.So bring your most up-to-date eyeglasses and/or a magnifying tool of some kind and hunker down for a slightly gruelling schooling that will help you be the one ruling the next time you're duelling. No fooling!

I bought this on recommendation from a peer who thought it would help me push through a stagnate creative period I was having. It was a great insight into what is the missing link in some of today's advertising. Wit. It certainly made me reassess my designs, define what they lacked, and understand why they missed the mark. I'm really looking forward to utilising the new found knowledge - which is old school knowledge.

Even though this book is now 20 years old, the designs work just as well today. Some are brilliant. I also love the designer's thoughts on what he/she was trying to convey--very insightful. This book should be in every designer's hands!

It's a great book with plenty of good examples for each witty style od design. It's super easy to read through and understand for class, as well.

Great book.If you're into graphic design, this book is a must.The book showcases some of the best designers out there, although it's not up to date, it's still great.Analysing and not only showcasing good design is always good.

Nice book full of examples. It gives you a deep understanding of intention behind graphic design. When it was used to inspire, awe and provoke.

This is the book you read in order to think like a designer. A MUST HAVE.

A nice design book. But what the authors describe as wit is simply design with a message in it. I mean, they classify the Shell logo as visual wit!The best genuine wit is on page 56; the front cover of "Designer" magazine's Money Issue. A bank manager, pictured behind his desk with Thurberesque simplicity of line, tells a pen-and-copperplate-engraved image of a designer that he's "ridiculously overdrawn".If you're interested in visual wit look at advertising, not design. Get a British D&AD annual from the 80's or 90's.