Picture This

A children’s picture book might seem out of place on this list. I certainly would have never come across it if it wasn’t for Karen Cheng’s blog post. But as far as “learning how to see” goes, this is a quality resource.

Molly Bang uses the story of The Little Red Riding Hood and simple, flat shapes to teach the principles of visual perception. You learn why different shapes and their combination evoke different feelings. You learn about gestalt, contrast, color, shape, and other elements and principles of design.

I love that this book doesn’t just tell you, but shows you. It encourages you to cut up your own construction paper and try the exercises yourself. In my experience, nothing is a better teacher than this.