Graphic designers are always looking to improve their skills and stay up-to-date on the latest trends. The best way to do this is by reading books that teach you new techniques, provide inspiration, or offer a different perspective. In this article we will list 10 of our favorite graphic design books for graphic designers and explain why they are so important for your library!
1) The Non-Designer’s Design Book
This book is perfect for beginners! It covers everything from typography, color theory and layout to design principles. The author provides a foundation that will help you understand how all these concepts work together. This thorough introduction to graphic design contains plenty of exercises at the end of each chapter so you can practice what you’ve learned. If your library doesn’t have this one yet, be sure to include it in your next order!
The Non-Designer’s Design Book by Robin Williams has sold over two million copies since its first publication in 1988 because it offers an accessible explanation on how designers create their layouts and graphics with basic tools like shapes and fonts (and even scissors!).
2) The Elements of Typographic Style
The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst is a comprehensive guide to typography. It covers everything from the history and theory of type to specific methods for improving your layouts or working on your own fonts.
3) Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
Scott McCloud’s “Understanding Comics” was first published in 1993, but it is just as relevant today as when he originally wrote the book. The comic-book author and theorist tries to teach how comics works through a series of 24 lectures on various topics like time, space, images vs words and panels. He also talks about what makes us laugh or cry with comics – something that designers need to understand if they want their message to be conveyed effectively
4) The Design of Everyday Things, by Don Norman
If you want to understand the design process behind a product or service in order to better use them, this is the book for you. It’s full of great insights into how things are designed and why they’re designed that way. You’ll be able to make sense out of many everyday situations with more clarity than ever before!
In addition, it’s a fascinating look at the history of industrialization and its effects on our society as well as our understanding of technology itself.”Don Norman has written an insightful analysis, not only describing what he sees wrong with today’s products but also identifying their strengths. He draws specific attention to those cases where designers’ objectives have been thwarted because people misunderstand how their minds work.
5) The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman
This book is a classic and should be on every designer’s bookshelf. It explores the design process as well as how to make things that people will find easy to use, even if they are not designers themselves. This book also talks about human behavior—how we think, feel, perceive, remember–and explains why some designs work better than others in certain contexts or for different users. One thing this book makes clear is that good design requires giving thought from the start about who will actually be using it and what their needs might be–regardless of whether you’re designing clothes, spaceships, or software programs!
6) The Art of Looking Sideways
The art of looking sideways is a book about the history and theory behind optical illusions. It introduces readers to some basic concepts in perceptual psychology, such as Gestalt principles, camouflage and depth cues that help create our three-dimensional understanding of a scene. The author’s illustrations are often amusing or surprising. This would be an interesting read for those who want to learn more about how people see things differently from one another, which should benefit graphic designers in their work with color blindness and visual impairments.
7) The Principles of Beautiful Web Design
This is another book by Jason Beresnick that provides insights into the design process. It covers typography, grid systems, and how to use Photoshop for web graphics. This would be a great read if you want to explore other disciplines in graphic design. The time invested may pay off with increased creativity on your end as well!
8) Designing Brand Identity by Alina Wheeler
This is a great book for those who are thinking about starting their own brand, but might not know where to start. Branding can be quite daunting when you first think about it. There’s the logo, there’s the website design, and that all needs something else…Designing Brand Identity breaks down what branding actually means in layman’s terms and then offers practical tools for implementing your new identity on everything from business cards to websites.
9) Logo Modernism by Jens Muller
This is a great book for those who are looking to learn more about the importance of logos. As designers, we often think that our job ends with slapping some text and an icon on top of a photo. This book goes back to basics and talks about what’s behind every logo: typography. It also takes you through various elements in logo design from color theory, grid layout, grids, shapes and how they all come together as one cohesive whole.
10) Work for Money, Design for Love David Airey
Although it may sound like this book would be all business, make no mistake: there’s plenty of design inspiration as well. If you’re thinking about turning your hobby into a career or are just looking to find out more about how graphic designers can work with companies and not against them, then this is the perfect read for you.
Conclusion
I hope this list of books was helpful! Check back soon for more blogs about graphic design trends and inspirational designers.