Real World books are my favourites, and Mordy Golding’s Real World Adobe Illustrator CS2 is no exception. This book explains everything you could possibly want to know about Illustrator CS2, including why you would use it instead of, for example, Photoshop, what you use it for, and of course, how to make the best use of its many features. Every graphic designer should have this book.

Golding covers Illustrator CS2 as if he were lecturing an anatomy class. He covers everything from top to bottom. For example, Illustrator uses different “boxes” --the art box, the trim box, bleed box… It’s all there in the book, explained in a clear, no-nonsense way.

Of course, layers, effects, Live Paint and 3D effects are also covered in depth. Golding discusses advanced vectors as well. You will appreciate his discussion of these advanced vectors if you create fonts, for example. The book has enough white space not to look overloaded --like the Real World InDesign book does.

On the other hand, Real World Illustrator CS2 has notes in the margin, but these are carefully used and contain very valuable tips. The book has a complete chapter on outputting files for different applications.