Must Reads for Graphic Designers
These are books I have read and firmly believe have helped shape my creative thought process and learn more about the world of design through others' eyes. Some of these I read in college, and some have been post-college. I believe any type of creator can find something beneficial in these books.
Steal Like An Artist By: Austin Kleon
10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative is a book on coming up with creative ideas written by Austin Kleon and published in 2012 by Workman Publishing. The book has since then become a New York Times Bestseller.
Thinking with Type By: Ellen Lupton
The best-selling Thinking with Type is a revised and expanded second edition: Thinking with Type is the definitive guide to using typography in visual communication. Ellen Lupton provides clear and focused guidance on how letters, words, and paragraphs should be aligned, spaced, ordered, and shaped.
I Love Helvetica (07)- I love type series By: Viction:ary
Celebrated in recent years in a retrospective exhibition at NY MOMA and in Gary Hustwit's 2007 documentary Helvetica, the sans-serif typeface Helvetica was designed in 1957 by Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffman at the Haas Type Foundry in Switzerland. Arguably the most loved type family ever, Helvetica has legions of devoted fans - from city governments and transit agencies worldwide, universities and museums, influential corporations and broadcast agencies, to a wide swath of contemporary designers and artists.
The Artist Way By: Julia Cameron
This book was written to help people with artistic creative recovery, which teaches techniques and exercises to assist people in gaining self-confidence in harnessing their creative talents and skills. Correlation and emphasis is used by the author to show a connection between artistic creativity and a spiritual connection with God.
The ideas in creative personal development outlined in the book, which were felt to be new at the time of the publication, are said to have become a phenomenon and spawned into many meetups and support groups throughout the world. The group meetings are based on a 12-week creativity course designed for people to work through and gain artistic inspiration, as outlined in the book. The program is focused on supporting relationships in removing artistic blocks and fostering confidence.
Branding: In Five and a Half Steps By: Michael Johnson
The ultimate step-by-step visual guide to creating a successful brand, using contemporary brand identities as prototypes
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Michael Johnson is one of the world’s leading graphic designers and brand consultants. His studio, johnson banks, is responsible for the rebranding of many notable clients, including Virgin Atlantic, Think London, BFI, Christian Aid, and MORE TH>N, and he has garnered a plethora of awards in the process.
In Branding, Johnson strips everyday brands down to their basic components, with case studies that enable us to understand why we select one product or service over another and allow us to comprehend how seemingly subtle influences can affect key life decisions. The first part of the book shows how the birth of a brand begins not with finding a solution but rather with identifying the correct question―the missing gap in the market―to which an answer is needed. Johnson proceeds to unveil hidden elements involved in creating a successful brand―from the strapline that gives the brand a narrative and a purpose to clever uses of typography that unite design and language.
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With more than 1,000 vibrant illustrations showcasing the world’s most successful corporate identities, as well as generic templates enabling you to create your own brand or ad with ease, Branding explores every step of the development process required to create the simplest and most immediately compelling brands.
Don't Make Me Think By: Steve Krug
Since Don’t Make Me Think was first published in 2000, hundreds of thousands of Web designers and developers have relied on usability guru Steve Krug’s guide to help them understand the principles of intuitive navigation and information design. Witty, commonsensical, and eminently practical, it’s one of the best-loved and most recommended books on the subject.
Social Media: Enduring Principles By: Ashlee Humphreys
Social Media: Enduring Principles offers a comprehensive overview of topics in social media, from interpersonal communication to the role of social media in culture and society. It covers not only cultural issues like online identity and community, but also tackles more analytical topics like social media measurement, network analysis, and social media economics at an introductory level. Each chapter is based on a set of core social science theories and concepts rather than platform-specific frameworks and findings. Rather than providing the final word or predictions, it aims to open a well-structured, well-grounded conversation about media transition and its effects.Filling the need for a standard academic text in the field, Social Media: Enduring Principles summarizes both foundational and state-of-the-art research and also presents a coherent framework for future research. It draws from longstanding theories in communication, journalism, sociology, and marketing, but also includes a number of contemporary case examples, making it a foundational text in the area.
Non-Designer's Design Book, The 4th Edition By: Robin Willliams
For nearly 20 years, designers and non-designers alike have been introduced to the fundamental principles of great design by author Robin Williams. Through her straightforward and light-hearted style, Robin has taught hundreds of thousands of people how to make their designs look professional using four surprisingly simple principles. Now in its fourth edition, The Non-Designer’s Design Book offers even more practical design advice, including a new chapter on the fundamentals of typography, more quizzes and exercises to train your Designer Eye, updated projects for you to try, and new visual and typographic examples to inspire your creativity.
Keep Going By: Austin Kleon
Keep Working. Keep Playing. Keep Creating.
In his previous books Steal Like an Artist and Show Your Work!, both New York Times bestsellers, Austin Kleon gave readers the keys to unlock their creativity and showed them how to become known. Now he offers his most inspiring work yet, with ten simple rules for how to stay creative, focused, and true to yourself—for life.
The creative life is not a linear journey to a finish line, it’s a loop—so find a daily routine, because today is the only day that matters. Disconnect from the world to connect with yourself—sometimes you just have to switch into airplane mode. Keep Going celebrates getting outdoors and taking a walk (as director Ingmar Bergman told his daughter, ”The demons hate fresh air”). Pay attention, and especially pay attention to what you pay attention to. Worry less about getting things done, and more about the worth of what you’re doing. Instead of focusing on making your mark, work to leave things better than you found them.
Keep Going and its timeless, practical, and ethical principles are for anyone trying to sustain a meaningful and productive life.
How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer By: Debbie Millman
Take a peek inside the heads of some of the world’s greatest living graphic designers. How do they think, how do they connect to others, what special skills do they have? In honest and revealing interviews, nineteen designers, including Stefan Sagmeister, Michael Beirut, David Carson, and Milton Glaser, share their approaches, processes, opinions, and thoughts about their work with noted brand designer Debbie Millman. The internet radio talk host of Design Matters, Millman persuades the greatest graphic designers of our time to speak frankly and openly about their work. How to Think Like a Great GraphicDesigners offers a rare opportunity to observe and understand the giants of the industry.
Future Reads
I am hoping to read by the end of this year... or next....eventually
Robin Williams Design Workshop, 2nd Edition 2nd Edition
Presented in Robin and John's signature style—writing that is so crystal clear, it's accessible to absolutely anyone—and illustrated with hundreds of full-color design examples, the ideas in this book tackle design theory, visual puns, and layout and graphics strategies for real-world projects. Developing designers will appreciate the authors' imaginative approach and well-chosen examples.
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Discover practical and effective design principles and concepts—and how to apply them to virtually any project.
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Learn why some designs are attention-getting and others are not.
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Learn how to choose just the right look—corporate or casual, classic or trendy—for specific types of projects, such as business cards, letterhead and envelopes, newsletters and brochures, logos, advertising, and more.
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Test your design acumen by comparing before-and-after examples.
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Find a wealth of inspiration for your own design projects.
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Gain insight into the design process by studying the work of guest designers, who offer their personal commentary and insights.
A Kidd's Guide to Graphic Design By: Chip Kidd
“An excellent introduction to graphic design through [the author’s] own excellent work. Anyone interested in the subject, including most practitioners, will find it delightful.”—Milton Glaser
Kids love to express themselves, and are designers by nature—whether making posters for school, deciding what to hang in their rooms, or creating personalized notebook covers. Go, by the award-winning graphic designer Chip Kidd, is a stunning introduction to the ways in which a designer communicates his or her ideas to the world. It’s written and designed just for those curious kids, not to mention their savvy parents, who want to learn the secret of how to make things dynamic and interesting.
Find Your Artistic Voice By: Lisa Congdon
Bestselling author, artist, and illustrator Lisa Congdon brings her expertise to this guide to the process of artistic self-discovery.
Find Your Artistic Voice helps artists and creatives identify and nurture their own visual identity.
This one-of-a-kind book helps artists navigate the influence of creators they admire, while simultaneously appreciating the value of their personal journey.
• Features down-to-earth and encouraging advice from Congdon herself
• Filled with interviews with established artists, illustrators, and creatives
• Answers the question "how do I develop a unique artistic style?"
An artist's voice is their calling card—it's what makes each of their works vital and particular, but developing such singular artistry requires effort and persistence.Find Your Artistic Voice offers everyday strategies, inspirational anecdotes, and practical advice to push through fear and insecurity in your artistic practice.
• Makes a perfect gift for aspiring artists and creatives, serious hobbyists, art students, makers, teachers, budding creative professionals, and fans of Lisa Congdon
• A self-help creativity book for those looking for artistic guidance
• Great for those who enjoyed reading The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, and Art/Work: Everything You Need to Know (and Do) As You Pursue Your Art Career by Heather Darcy Bhandari and Jonathan Melber