This book introduces The Design Code ®, an idea-generating system developed by Northwest artist and educator, Fred Griffin. It is a remedy for the artist's equivalent of writer's block, those times when the well of ideas runs dry. This system makes it possible to find fresh ideas and execute great designs on deadline. Through many years of teaching design principles, Griffin found that if students worked first in black and white their grasp of basic design principles was much clearer than if they were dealing with the confusion of colour. Colour, a study unto itself, introduces an element of distraction -- hence the title, "Learning First in Black & White". Each lesson is explained with geometric shapes, followed by illustrations of an apple visually repeating the concepts. At the end of the book is a section that gives tips on how to dig deeper for better ideas. It's an answer to the question, "Where do ideas come from?" The other two books in the series (Tossing Around Ideas and Putting It All Together) reinforce the concepts covered in the first book. The Design Code® series provides an in-depth course in art composition and idea-generation. The Design Code® is to the visual arts what music theory is to music -- a type of DNA for visual composition. For instructors, it's educational content that can work for students of any age. Defined and refined over many years of classroom testing, The Design Code® is the brainchild of Northwest artist and educator Fred Griffin whose interest in the logical side of art grew during his student days at the influential Chouinard Art Institute of Los Angeles (now California Institute of the Arts). The Design Code ® is for two types of readers: those with an understanding of design and experience in the field -- and those with interest and entry level skills who have never studied design. For experienced artists and designers, this book is a tool to lift oneself out of a creative dry spell. For those who are new to thinking to design, it also serves as a primer in the basics of composition. For either type of reader, these are books that you can return to again and again for inspiration and practical guidance.