As far as I remember, reading, for me, is the most boring thing. Everyone I know in my circle hates to read books. Maybe it's because I am from India (a 90s kid), where we were not taught to read books; instead, we were in a race to win the rank I hated. I always chose my passion over rank, despite the circumstances. However, this generation (Gen Z) embraces books even as the digital world grows like never before. So, there is something important I must say: information in books, without distractions, could lead to becoming a good designer and provide insights that the web or any digital platform can't give.
I have personal experience with this. The information shared by some top designers, who may have left us in the 21st century, is amazing. I am not surprised to see people like myself, who initially hated reading, starting to read because the information in these books is mind-blowing. While you may find information over the internet in bits and pieces, the information and examples from well-known brands can create some of the best case studies you will ever find—especially if you are a new designer or a student who has just started the design life.
Like the other top 10 series in this article, I will share the top 10 books I have finished and found to be the best in class. There is a chance that you may or may not like these books, depending on the interest you are looking for. However, I can ensure that you will discover some points you will never find online, even if you spend ten years consuming video content.
Even before diving into a book, I'm more curious about the author – where they're from, what they're passionate about, and the experiences that shaped them. It's kind of like getting a sneak peek behind the scenes. But here's the tricky part: finding this info can be a bit of a challenge. It's not just sitting there on the internet, waiting for you. If you're lucky enough to find it, you might end up scrolling through social media feeds for ages. The older crowd might have some insights into the author, especially if they've read the same book. But for newbie designers like me, having a background on the author in each book can be pretty helpful.
I will also share the index for each book to give you an idea of the chapters you will find inside. All the index content is © copyright of the respective authors.
Let's Start 👇
01. How to Use Graphic Design to Sell Things, Explain Things, Make Things Look Better, Make People Laugh, Make People Cry, and (Every Once in a While) Change the World
→ By Michael Bierut
How to be a graphic designer in the middle of nowhere
In this book, Michael Bierut covers pretty much everything a designer needs to know about the topics in the index. There are many cool pictures and graphics so you won't get bored. I've included some of my favourite pictures in the gallery.
Michael Bierut takes us on a journey into the world of graphic design. In simple terms, the book explores how pictures, layouts, and designs can do many different jobs in our lives.
Bierut shares stories and examples to show how graphic design is like a superhero (AI is laughing) that can help sell products, tell stories, improve how things look, and even make us feel different emotions. Whether creating an eye-catching advertisement, designing a beautiful poster, or making a funny cartoon, graphic design influences our choices and feelings everywhere.
" Inspiration is for amateurs.
— Chuck Close
The rest o f us just show up and get to work. "
The author also emphasizes that graphic design isn't just about making things pretty; it's a powerful tool that can bring about positive changes in the world.
At this stage, my thoughts about India (my country) have completely changed. 100 things can change people's lives—graphics like street signs, names over shops, symbols for railway stations and bus stands, the correct signs on the road, aids for the visually impaired, and even the design of manhole covers. The basic design can improve people's lives in crowded countries like India. (But… it's not a priority.)
About the Author of ‘How to Use Graphic Design’
Michael Bierut, a highly accomplished graphic designer, graduated with top honours in graphic design from the University of Cincinnati in 1980. After a decade at Vignelli Associates, he partnered at Pentagram in 1990, working with prestigious clients such as The New York Times and Mastercard. Bierut's influence extends beyond design practice; he volunteered for Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign, creating the iconic H logo. He was president of the New York Chapter of AIGA, is a Yale School of Art senior critic, and co-founded Design Observer. Bierut's numerous accolades include the AIGA Medal and Art Directors Club Hall of Fame induction.
02. Work for Money, Design for Love
→ By David Airey
Answers to the Most Frequently Asked Questions About Starting and Running a Successful Design Business
Are you a designer thinking about being your boss? If yes, David Airey has a book for you. It covers all the basic questions you might be wondering about before leaving your current job or while sitting at the same company, reading this article on the company laptop, desktop, or some fancy device they provided 🙂 Questions like: How do I find new clients? How much should I charge for my design work? When should I say no to a project? How do I handle difficult clients? These are some basic questions every designer has probably thought about at least once. Whether you've had disagreements with your boss, you like your company's culture, work-life balance, or anything else you can think of, this book might have the answers for you.
About the Author of ‘Work for Money, Design for Love’
David Airey is a cool graphic designer, writer, and brand expert. Since starting his business in 2005, he's been the go-to guy for crafting awesome logos and visual styles for clients worldwide. He's all about ensuring a company's look stays consistent and trustworthy. As a consultant, he shares smart ideas to make designs even better. David is also the brain behind famous design websites like Logo Design Love & Identity Designed. And guess what? He wrote great books, like Logo Design Love in 2009 and Identity Designed in 2019, and he is loved by design nerds everywhere!
03. Thinking with Type
→ By Ellen Lupton
A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students
Ellen Lupton, a typography instructor at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) since 1997, explains that the inspiration for the first edition of her book stemmed from the lack of a suitable textbook for her type classes. Striving for a balance between classical and comprehensive approaches, Ellen aimed to create a serene and intelligible book that seamlessly collaborates with design and text. Desiring a compact yet comprehensive handbook reflecting the diversity of typographic life, the author emphasizes the book's relevance across various visual design media. Failing to find an alternative, she took it upon herself to write the book.
The book covers many typographic principles and practices, providing detailed insights into kerning, small capitals, non-lining numerals, punctuation, alignment, and baseline grids. The updated edition expands on these topics and introduces new ones, including styling drop capitals, understanding optical sizes, and clarifying terminology, such as the difference between "typeface" and "font."
Save yourself some embarrassment and learn to use these commonly abused terms correctly.
- Typeface or font?
- Character or glyph?
- Roman or Roman?
You will find answers to all questions in this book.
Switching to the early days of the internet, designers were initially limited to using only the fonts already installed on users' computers. However, advancements have allowed the inclusion of new fonts on websites. A robust solution is necessary to prevent font theft and ensure uniform appearance across all screens.
I have conducted hundreds of interviews in India, assigning numerous tasks to the candidates. I have rarely encountered designers who can achieve a hierarchy in typography and make it visually appealing. Both new and experienced designers tend to use multiple fonts, employ ten different font sizes in a single piece, and disregard proper spacing between headings and paragraphs. The line height and overall arrangement are often completely out of place. It's worth mentioning that some new agencies in the Indian market are making commendable progress, excelling in typography, fonts, and overall visual aesthetics. However, for designers, I would highly recommend this book to Indian designers who can learn a lot from it, especially when starting with the basics.
About the Author of ‘Thinking with Type’
In addition to her notable work on "Thinking with Type," Ellen Lupton is a prolific author and co-author in graphic design. Her extensive bibliography includes titles such as "Design Is Storytelling," "Graphic Design Thinking," "Health Design Thinking," and "Extra Bold: A Feminist, Inclusive, Anti-Racist, Nonbinary Field Guide for Graphic Designers." Lupton is actively involved in education, teaching in the Graphic Design MFA program at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), where she holds the Betty Cooke and William O. Steinmetz Design Chair.
04. Designing Brand Identity
→ By Alina Wheeler
An Essential Guide for the Whole Branding Team
Brands are built over time. I've been the head of design at the luxury brand Ethos Watch Boutiques for over 13 years in India. Ethos specializes in luxury watches as a retailer, with more than 60+ physical stores (and counting), dealing with some of the oldest Swiss brands such as Rolex, Omega, Jacob & Co, Zenith, and many more. One thing I have learned in my life is the importance of Brand Identity. Working closely with these brands, I've had the opportunity to delve into their brand guidelines, and the details they provide are truly impressive. I wish I could share, but I can't due to the nature of the business and privacy concerns.
Looking back to the 2010s, I didn't take branding seriously because not many people in India discussed it. It was a challenging time when everything was designed in Photoshop. Oh, man! Save me!
This experience with Ethos has grown my interest in brand identity, prompting me to read more books on the subject. If you work in the luxury industry, reading books about brand identity is essential. Have you ever wondered who creates the branding for these big brands? It's fascinating! I love branding, and I hope you do too. Try it
In the book Designing Brand Identity, Alina discusses how branding can make a big difference. Companies try to connect with customers emotionally, be unique, and build long-lasting relationships when there are many choices. A strong brand stands out in a busy market. People fall in love with brands, trust them, and believe in their superiority. How a brand is perceived affects its success—whether it’s a start-up, a nonprofit, or a product.
The book covers many different topics, such as brand touchpoints, personal branding, deliberate differentiation in branding, brand governance, principles of brand stewardship, the visible organization and the invisible community, customer experience, commitment to brand ideals, the difference between branding and marketing, and essence.
About the Author of ‘Designing Brand Identity’
Alina Wheeler is a big name in branding and design. She helps companies build their brands and encourages the entire branding team to create awesome customer experiences. Wheeler's key questions are: "Who are you? Who needs to know? Why should they care? How will they find out?" Her book makes branding less confusing and gives a clear path to making successful brands.
Wheeler is not just a writer; she's also a popular speaker at global conferences, sharing smart ideas about branding. Her career has shaped how designers, marketers, and business leaders think about brand identity. Overall, Alina Wheeler is a well-respected authority in branding and strategy.
05. 100 Things - Every Designer Needs to Know About People
→ By Susan Weinschenk
How people focus their attention.
The book written by Susan Weinschenk has completely different thoughts. I admire her after reading this book. It's not just about design; it's about how to perceive the world and how what you see isn't necessarily what your brain interprets. Beliefs play a crucial role in the design approval process, and even simple things can make a significant difference, especially considering the cultural context from x country to x. How a person from x sees versus how a person from y sees things can be perplexing, but in the end, both perspectives are valid in their own right.
By sharing extensive research, including readings of numerous books and research articles, and merging them with her years of experience in designing technology interfaces, she aims to provide you with valuable knowledge. Consider this book as a guide that has already handled much of the challenging work for you, helping you design with greater proficiency. It will make you think a little better as a designer when dealing with clients and people, what you see and believe, and a lot more information about the brain and eyes and how to perceive things. If you are a UX designer and need data or important numbers, you should always know that this book can be helpful. It will enhance your understanding as a designer, especially in interactions with clients and people. It will provide insights into perception, belief, and how the brain and eyes interpret things.
There are a lot of important facts you will discover in '100 Things.' For instance, nine per cent of men and one-half per cent of women are colour-blind. Additionally, colours have different meanings in different cultures. People tend to remember only four items at once, and their minds wander 30 per cent of the time. Sustained attention lasts about 10 minutes, and the 'strong tie' group size limit is 150 people, among other insights. These facts will prompt you to consider various factors before designing any component, whether it's for offline or digital use.
About the Author of ‘100 Things’
Susan Weinschenk is a behavioural psychologist, author, and speaker known for her work in human behaviour and user experience. She has a Ph.D. in Psychology and is an expert in applying psychological principles to design, particularly in technology interfaces, websites, and software.
Her expertise is understanding how people think, decide, and interact with technology. She often combines her academic background with real-world experience to provide actionable advice for design and user experience professionals. Susan Weinschenk has also consulted and taught, sharing her knowledge with organizations and educational institutions.
06. The Design of Everyday Things
→ By Don Norman
The Psychopathology of Everyday Things
This book is for everyone, not just designers. It's for everyday people and technical folks too. I want to let you know upfront before you begin reading, that there aren't many graphics in this book. So, if you just like to read and are looking for specific points related to everyday challenges, 'The Design of Everyday Things' is the perfect choice for you. You'll likely start noticing many truths after reading this book.
The main aim is to help readers become good at noticing silly or poorly designed things that cause a lot of the problems we face today, especially with modern technology. It also teaches them to notice the good stuff, where smart designers have made our lives easier. Sometimes, it's hard to see good design because it fits so well with what we need that we don't even notice it. It quietly helps us without making a big show of itself. On the other hand, bad design is really obvious because it loudly shows its problems and shortcomings.
In The Design of Everyday Things journey, the author explains the basic ideas needed to solve problems and make everyday things enjoyable, giving us pleasure and satisfaction. Learning to observe well and understand good design principles is a powerful tool, and anyone can use it, not just professionals. Why? Because we all design things in our lives – how our rooms look, how we do things – we can also find ways to fix things that don't work well. So, one big goal of this book is to give you control over your life: to help you choose things that work well and understand how to fix things that don't.
About the Author of ‘The Design of Everyday Things’
Don Norman, born December 25, 1935, is a well-known designer, cognitive scientist, and author. His work emphasizes creating products that are functional, enjoyable, and easy for users to understand. Don Norman has held prominent roles in academia and industry. He served as a professor of cognitive science at the University of California, San Diego, and as a co-founder of the Nielsen Norman Group, a consulting firm focusing on usability, human-computer interaction, and user experience.
07. Steal Like an Artist
→ By Austin Kleon
"Art is theft"
Pablo Picasso
I can say that every designer worldwide must have, at the start of their career, felt admiration for some designs. They might have even gone to social media for inspiration, taking a complete design and showcasing it to clients. I see you 🙂. As a kid from the '90s, I checked out designs on Dribbble and couldn't help but wonder how they were created. Almost every week, I spent a lot of time on Dribbble, mostly to draw inspiration—or let's call it "Steal Like an Artist," shall we? 😉 By the way, those Dribbble designs that seem too perfect are often impractical. If you're a new designer, it's better not to rely too much on Dribbble for inspiration.
"What is originality? Undetected plagiarism."
William Ralph Inge
We often ask ourselves questions like: Is it worth Stealing design? How can I create something like this? Wow! People may also ask us, "Where do you get your ideas?" and the honest answer is, "we steal them." Yes, you heard it right.
The book's title, "Steal Like an Artist," tells the story of a designer having an honest conversation with themselves. The idea that 'nothing is original' is quite satisfying, especially for experienced designers who know that everyone draws 'inspiration' from various sources, be it brands from X to Y, regardless of age or size.
As writer Jonathan Lethem once said, when people call something "original," nine out of ten times, they don't know the references or the sources involved.
I love this book, and you might too because it's short and to the point, addressing basic questions you might ask yourself daily. Even if you don't ‘Steal Like an Artist****’**** or seek inspiration, it's still worth checking out.
About the Author of ‘Steal Like an Artist ’
Austin Kleon, a New York Times bestselling author and, also the author of "Newspaper Blackout," a collection of poems created by redacting newspapers with a marker and translated into numerous languages. Kleon has been featured in NPR, PBS, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Praised by New York Magazine and The Atlantic, he's a sought-after speaker for organizations like Pixar, Google, and TEDx. Formerly a librarian, web designer, and copywriter, he resides with his wife and sons in Austin, Texas.
08. The Fundamentals of Graphic Design
→ By Gavin Ambrose
This book is about graphic design rather than being a book of graphic design.
Honestly, I hardly heard about this book on the internet. Once I found it, I loved it. Since there are 100 job designations in the design field and it's difficult to find a specific book on them, this book is about graphic design rather than just being a book about graphic design.
This book is about graphic design, but it's not just full of pretty pictures. It dives into the graphic design industry and how designers do their work. It's not just something to look at like a coffee-table book. Sure, it has cool examples from talented designers, but they're there to help explain the important ideas and methods that graphic designers use daily.
It explores different things in graphic design. Each chapter shows many examples from top design studios today, and they're explained to help you understand how they fit into the design process. You might wonder, "What is graphic design?" or "What does a graphic designer do?" The book covers topics like how design teams work, what inspires them, the steps in graphic design, solving design problems, thinking creatively, adding humour and cleverness, finding deeper meanings, and much more. Reading this book will teach you a bunch of stuff!
About the Author of ‘The Fundamentals of Graphic Design ’
Gavin Ambrose is really into making Graphic Design easier to learn. He knows much about typography, printing, editorial design, and graphic systems. Gavin is curious about how Graphic Design is changing nowadays, the different jobs designers do, and how writing and design are influenced by what's happening in the world. He's happy to help with research on things like how Graphic Design can make a difference, communication in design, industry rules, and new ways of teaching.
09. Design is a Job
→ By Mike Monteiro
A designer solves problems within a set of constraints.
The author of this book, Mike Monteiro, shares his own experiences and insights from his company. As a co-founder, he talks about practical stuff and addresses some basic questions you might have before opening your studio or that are always on your mind.
Mike mostly discusses client services and web design because that's his expertise. But this book has something for you no matter what job you're in—whether you're a freelancer, work at a startup or a big company. You don't even have to be a designer to find it useful. Whether you're into visual design, graphic design, web design, interaction design, photography, blogging, or even modern dance, this book provides tips to improve your performance.
Web design is like being good at many things and focusing super hard. That's what the ‘Design is a Job‘ short books are all about – they're for people who make websites. It talks about the important stuff in web design and development in a cool and clear way, and most importantly, they kept it short. Why? Because designers and developers like you don't have time to waste. The goal of every book we have is to explain tricky things easily and do it quickly so you can get back to your work.
About the Author of ‘Design is a Job’
Mike Monteiro, the co-founder and design director of Mule Design in San Francisco, is known for his 'delightfully hostile' design approach. He frequently shares insights on design and business through his blog on muledesign.com and as the co-host of Let's Make Mistakes on muleradio.net. Outside of work, you'll find him collecting vinyl, reading comics, and playing Mario Kart with his son Henry.
10. Logo Design Love
→ By David Airey
A Guide to Creating Iconic Brand Identities
The logo marks the beginning of any project; it's like the project's superhero. Since day one, you've connected memories to logos and brand identity. They are ever-present parts of our daily routine from the moment you wake up until you go to sleep. Whether you're just starting out or already experienced, it's crucial to reconsider the significance of brand identity as a student or a designer.
In the book Logo Design Love, Mr. David, the author of Work for Money, Design for Love, mentioned earlier, dives into the world of brand identity, unpacking the logos and branding that surround us. With three parts and 12 chapters, he covers the design process, navigating challenges, logo pricing, the art of conversation, staying motivated, communication breakdowns, and more. It's a one-stop guide that helps me set prices and understand the design process.
David also used case studies to show you how to make a cool brand. He tells you how designers start, from the beginning to the end, how designers make good plans, get ideas, decide how much to charge, and work with clients. Airey is not just talking about his own experiences with projects — he also shows you the work of famous designers like Paula Scher, who did logos for Citi and Microsoft Windows, and Lindon Leader, who made the FedEx logo. Plus, you'll see stuff from other top design places like Moving Brands, Pentagram, MetaDesign, Sagmeister & Walsh, and many more.
About the Author of ‘Logo Design Love’
David Airey is a cool graphic designer, writer, and brand expert. Since starting his business in 2005, he's been the go-to guy for crafting awesome logos and visual styles for clients worldwide. He's all about ensuring a company's look stays consistent and trustworthy. As a consultant, he shares smart ideas to make designs even better. David is also the brain behind famous design websites like Logo Design Love & Identity Designed. And guess what? He wrote some great books too, like 'Logo Design Love' in 2009 and 'Identity Designed' in 2019, loved by design nerds everywhere!
