Books on professional subjects are unlikely to turn you into a designer on their own. But they are certainly essential for laying the foundations of your practice and helping you avoid the mistakes your predecessors had to learn the hard way. Books for designers won't give you a detailed manual on how to become a professional, but they will open up new perspectives and expand the boundaries of your knowledge.
Rather than rely on personal taste alone, we have put together this selection drawing on the opinions of experts as well. Open it up and add to your must-read lists.
1. Erik Spiekermann, Stop Stealing Sheep & Find Out How Type Works
A book for anyone who wants to understand the tone of voice that type carries and to grasp the finer points of typography.
Through simple, everyday examples, this book demonstrates that typography is not an art form reserved for the few, but a powerful tool available to anyone who has something to say. Type surrounds us everywhere: on product packaging, signage, television screens and smartphones. Spiekermann makes the case that type is tone of voice — a visual language that connects author and reader.
The author traces the history of different typefaces, discusses how to use them well, and answers the question of why more and more of them are needed with each passing day.
'A book of rare practical power. Its value lies in the depth with which it explores the concept of type — not only from the perspective of design, but also in terms of the functions of typography,' says Andrei Kozhanov, brand consultant, curator of the Brand Design master's programme at the Higher School of Branding, and head of the agency FRONT:DESIGN.
About the author:
Erik Spiekermann is a designer, professor at the Bremen University of the Arts, member of the German Design Council, and president of the International Society of Typographic Designers.
If you have ever been to Germany and travelled on its trains, the lettering, maps and signage you saw at stops, platforms and stations were set in the Deutsche Bahn typeface — designed by Erik Spiekermann. And that is far from his only achievement: he also created the typeface for the German Audi brand and redesigned The Economist magazine.
2. Jan Tschichold, The New Typography: A Handbook for Modern Designers
A book for anyone interested in the history of graphic and type design.
Jan Tschichold's book is a classic. Although the standards it describes are now outdated and no longer in use, and Tschichold himself later abandoned many of the ideas he expressed, the book remains a manifesto of modern typography.
It is a thorough and detailed study covering a broad range of topics — from theories of social criticism and art history to the growing importance of photography in graphic design.
Tschichold traces the transformation of graphic design in the modernist era, examines the emergence of new convictions about typography, and sets out exceptionally clear and precise rules for the layout of printed materials.
"A person who understands the deep inner affinity between typography and architecture, who has been able to grasp the essence of the new architecture, has no doubt that the future belongs to the New Typography, not the old."
About the author:
Jan Tschichold was a German typographer, designer and teacher who made an immense contribution to the development of graphic design and typography in the twentieth century. His work is at once practical and aesthetic. Tschichold worked extensively in book design, producing the layouts for a substantial number of German, Swiss and English publications.
3. Paul Rand, Design: Form and Chaos
A book for those who consider themselves designers.
This book by a legend should be read by everyone connected with the field of design. Its author does not merely address the everyday problems designers face — he turns to fundamental values and speaks about the role of thinking in the act of creation. In other words, Rand has written a book that will never lose its relevance: it is timeless, even as it speaks to the condition of contemporary design.
The author exposes unprofessionalism and fleeting trends, reflects on the nature of creative work and the professional passion from which good design is born. He illustrates his arguments with his own work, as well as with pieces by artists and designers whose practice he admires.
"The quality of design is perceived as something abstract; one person assumes that others know what is meant, though no one is entirely sure."
About the author:
"He is a very clever, very cantankerous, very perceptive old man who is a hundred years ahead of his time — perhaps even three hundred, but we won't find that out in our lifetimes" — those are the words with which Artemy Lebedev describes Paul Rand, calling him his teacher.
An American art director and designer celebrated for his corporate logos(IBM, Inc., Westinghouse, ABC and Steve Jobs's NeXT), he tied the work of the graphic designer to business and turned it into a powerful commercial instrument, stripping it of its status as modest decoration.
4. Oliver Sacks, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat
A book for those who want to understand the relationship between the brain and the mind.
This is a book about people who perceive the world differently — about the complexity of the human body and mind. The author tells the stories of several individuals struggling to cope with serious and unusual neurological disorders, fighting to survive in conditions wholly unimaginable to healthy people. Sacks explains the elusive relationship between brain and mind in a way that is accessible, vivid and engaging.
The book prompts you to consider where exactly the boundaries lie beyond which identity dissolves. What is it that defines the self? In short, it encourages you to ask yourself a great many worthwhile questions.
About the author:
Oliver Sacks was a distinguished British neurologist and neuropsychologist, and the author of several widely read books recounting the clinical histories of his patients. A remarkably erudite man, he combined sharp analytical ability with philosophical and religious inclinations.
5. Hermann Zapf, Hermann Zapf & His Design Philosophy
A book for those who wish to develop their taste and absorb the experience of an outstanding designer.
The one drawback of this book is that it does not read as a unified whole, being composed of individual essays and lectures. Even so, this does nothing to diminish the wealth of knowledge it offers or its power to sharpen one's own thinking about design. In selected essays, Zapf shares his expertise on matters relating to calligraphy, typography and typeface design.
The volume is beautifully illustrated with the author's own work and is addressed to type designers, graphic designers, book artists and illustrators.
About the author:
Hermann Zapf was an outstanding German type designer, calligrapher and book artist, and the author of numerous essays on contemporary technologies in typography and publishing. Zapf designed hundreds of typefaces for metal typesetting, Linotype, phototypesetting and digital printing, among them faces now regarded as classics of type design.
6. Yuri Gordon, A Book About Letters from A to Ya
A book for those who wish to think independently within the realm of typography and calligraphy.
This substantial volume offers a journey through the history of typography and a deep exploration of the nature of type — so thorough, in fact, that the author carefully analyses every letter of the Russian alphabet.
A great deal of attention is given to the elements of typography and visual communication. Through concrete examples, the author shows why some logotypes and inscriptions work and others do not. The book will therefore appeal not only to type designers and typographers, but to a broad range of designers and visual communicators. Every line is alive with warmth, a love of the reader and a genuine desire to make the world more beautiful.
A refined sense of the beautiful is, as we know, one of the hallmarks of a free person.
About the author:
Yuri Gordon is a type designer, graphic designer, illustrator and engraver. He possesses an exceptionally broad creative range — working simultaneously across text typefaces, display and novelty faces, lettering, calligraphy, typographic illustration and visual poetry, realising artistic projects rooted in typography, and developing software for working with type.
Over recent years he has created or adapted to commission more than 300 typeface designs for a variety of clients, among them Gazprombank, McDonald's, Procter & Gamble, and the magazines Rolling Stone, Esquire, Ogonyok and others.
7. Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel
A book for those who want to understand why, in the modern world, some societies live in prosperity while others live in poverty.
This book became an international bestseller and earned its author the prestigious Pulitzer Prize. At its heart lies the question of why different regions of our planet have developed so unevenly. The answer is— a detailed, sweeping study backed by rigorous argument.
Drawing on evidence from geography, botany, zoology, microbiology, linguistics and other disciplines, Diamond makes a compelling case that the asymmetry in the development of different parts of the world is no accident, and rests on a multitude of natural factors. Yet the book is nothing like a dry academic report. On the contrary, the wealth of fascinating examples drawn from Diamond's rich experience of observing human societies makes his work vivid, alive and, without question, worthy of the finest literary prize.
About the author:
An American evolutionary biologist, physiologist and author of several works of popular science spanning anthropology, biology, linguistics, genetics and history.
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for the book Guns, Germs, and Steel, which was adapted into a documentary film produced by National Geographic in 2005.
8. Josef Müller-Brockmann — Grid Systems in Graphic Design
A book for aspiring graphic designers, typographers and exhibition designers.
This book is a paradise for perfectionists. It is a detailed manual that is essential reading even for those who know the rules of layout by heart. It not only demonstrates the universality of the modular method in thorough and convincing terms, but organises all that knowledge into a coherent system.
Through worked examples, the author explains how to apply the modular grid to book design, periodical publishing, corporate print materials and exhibition spaces.
"If the margins are too narrow, <...> fingers touch the columns of text and illustrations, provoking an instinctive negative reaction"
About the author:
Josef Müller-Brockmann was a graphic designer and educator, and one of the most celebrated and distinctive figures of the Swiss design school. His creative outlook was shaped by artistic movements such as Constructivism, De Stijl, Suprematism and the Bauhaus. The last of these is also associated with the name of Le Corbusier, about whom we wrote recently.
Müller-Brockmann's graphic work is a widely recognised model of simplicity in design and the subtle use of typography, form and colour.
9. Johannes Itten — The Art of Color
A book for those who want to master colour harmony.
Johannes Itten speaks to the reader about the aspects of colour theory with boundless enthusiasm. Drawing on years of research and practical teaching, the book aims to liberate the artist's mind and shed light on a range of fundamental problems.
Reading The Art of Color is like a meditation — one that broadens the limits of understanding and cultivates an instinct for colour.
The book has been reprinted many times and has become part of the curricula of numerous art schools around the world. This comes as no surprise, for Itten was a remarkable teacher, as the clarity of his writing and the structure of his chapters readily attest. Happily, even today one can feel like a Bauhaus student simply by picking up Johannes Itten's book.
"If you, unknowing of the laws of colour, are able to create masterpieces, then your way lies in that unknowing. But if you, unknowing of these laws, are unable to create masterpieces, then you should endeavour to acquire the relevant knowledge"
About the author:
The biography of Johannes Itten deserves attention no less than the book he wrote. A Swiss artist and one of the leading teachers at the celebrated Bauhaus, he made an enormous contribution to art education.
Itten's system did not suppress the individual; rather, it helped artists find their own path without losing confidence in themselves. Nevertheless, in 1922 he left the school following a disagreement rooted in his advocacy of inner harmony, meditation and vegetarianism.
10. Steven Heller and Seymour Chwast — Graphic Style: From Victorian to New Century
A book for those who wish to explore the evolution of graphic design and beyond.
The history and evolution of graphic design will appeal to anyone who prefers depth over surface-level study and is genuinely curious about the origins of the discipline. This generously illustrated volume traces the emergence of commercial art, covering not only the major graphic styles but also singular phenomena such as the Polish poster.
Notably, the authors focus their attention on the works themselves rather than on their creators.
About the authors:
Steven Heller is a historian and critic of graphic design, and recipient of the American Institute of Graphic Arts medal. He is the author, co-author and editor of more than 130 books on design and popular culture. He served as art director of The New York Times and teaches and directs educational programmes at the School of Visual Arts.
Seymour Chwast is the director of the international design group "Pushpin". He is the author of numerous award-winning projects in publishing, corporate communications, packaging, advertising and animation.
11. Robert Bringhurst, The Elements of Typographic Style
A book for those who want to understand what quality typography looks like.
Since 1992 the book has been regarded as an authority acknowledged by both traditionalists and advocates of the avant-garde. Even the German typographer Hermann Zapf expressed his wish that this book become the Bible of typography.
It examines both the fundamental aims and principles of typography and the fine details of the microtypography of individual texts — justification, spacing, kerning, tracking and so on.
This is a textbook that will serve as your guide for years to come. It contains descriptions of nearly a hundred individual type characters, a glossary of typographic terms (110 entries), information on 83 type designers, and details on 54 type foundries and type manufacturers.
"All typographers working with desktop publishing systems should study this book. It is not simply another publication on typography, of which there are so many on the market. On the contrary, it is essential reading for everyone involved in graphic design." — Hermann Zapf.
About the author:
Robert Bringhurst is not only a typographer but also a poet — something that becomes immediately apparent when reading the original English text, where his remarkable literary voice gives him away.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Indiana University and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of British Columbia. He has taught literature, art history and the history of typography at several universities.
12. Chris Frith, Making Up the Mind: How the Brain Creates Our Mental World
A book for those who want to understand how the mental world works.
Any discussion of self-knowledge and the expansion of inner boundaries must engage with the work of neuroscientist Chris Frith. He is well known for his ability to speak plainly about the most complex problems in psychology — a field in which, alongside the study of how we perceive the world around us, act, make choices, remember and feel, a scientific revolution is currently under way, driven by the advent of neuroimaging techniques.
This book offers an accessible account of the world of our sensations, experiences and mental representations. The author explains clearly how psychological images and conceptions of physical reality are born, how they develop and how they persist.
About the author:
Chris Frith is a British neuroscientist and neuropsychologist. He is the author of more than 400 publications, including foundational works in neuroscience such as the classic The Cognitive Neuropsychology of Schizophrenia. He is also the author of the popular science book Making Up the Mind, which was longlisted for the Royal Society Prize.
If you are interested in graphic design, we recommend reading our interview with Tanya Yermolayeva — a designer, lecturer at the British Higher School of Art and Design, and junior art director at the Los Angeles brand Perfect Number.
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