The 25 Best Graphic Design Books of All Time
The 25 Best Graphic Design Books to Read in 2023
such as Before & After, An Illustrated Life, Simple and Usable, Emotional Design, Run Studio Run etc
Today we will share The 25 Best Graphic Design Books of All Time. With the rise of the graphic design industry, more and more people are beginning to come into contact with graphic design, so what is graphic design? What is included?
Let's briefly introduce what graphic design is and what aspects it includes. And what industries it has been designed for, and what you can do with graphic design.
The definition of graphic design generally refers to art and professionalism, using "visual" as a means of communication and expression. Create and combine symbols, pictures, and words in a variety of ways to create visual expressions that convey ideas or messages.
Graphic designers may use professional skills in typography, visual art, page layout, etc. to achieve the purpose of the creative plan. Graphic design usually refers to the process of production (design) and the final work.
1. Before & After: How to Design Cool Stuff
by John McWade
There are only a few pages in this part of the color wheel, but I read it many times, and then I drew the primary colors, secondary colors, and complex colors, and made a color spectrum book by myself based on the color wheel, and proceeded according to the color matching rules described in the book. Color matching exercises. I found that after I did it myself, my understanding of color was greatly enhanced. For those who are confused by color, I really recommend it.
"Before & After: How to Design Cool Stuff" is the second book on graphic design by the famous American graphic designer John McWade.
"Before & After How to Design Cool Stuff" is divided into three parts: basic knowledge of graphic design, graphic application design skills, and wonderful graphic design cases. John McWade first fully explained the basic knowledge of graphic design to readers and then shared practical design methods and skills. Finally, he led the readers to explain in detail many complete design cases-including brochures, news bulletins, web pages, slides, etc.
This "Before & After: How to Design Cool Stuff" is written for every graphic designer who needs inspiration and guidance. You can apply the skills in the book to different design projects such as planes and web pages to improve yourself. The graphic design ability makes elegant, practical, and extraordinary layouts.
2. An Illustrated Life
by Danny Gregory
The middle pages of the book are layered with colors, and the blank spaces contain many shopping lists and phone numbers; on the cover are imprints that have been weather-beaten by travel, they have been carried in rucksacks, pockets, and have been dropped in the rain.
The book shows you an art form that cannot be seen in a golden frame in an art gallery or museum. This is an art form that needs to be appreciated as long as it exists. Everyone, when they open these sketchbooks, will bury their heads deep in them, completely attracted by the sketches and the little records, and then turn to the next page.
Every time you read it will bring endless surprises. These opened drawing papers are like a story, a diary, or even a life. Every sketchbook is the epitome of life. The author will show you the experience of weeks, months, or even years according to his own preferences and the thickness of the book.
Turning through the sheets of drawing paper, you can see the passing of time, the creativity that flashes in it, and the adventures, lessons, ideas, mistakes, and dreams of the author, everything is turned into ink, and it looks like a flower in front of the reader. bloom.
No matter whether you are an artist, designer, writer, musician, or certified public accountant, I hope you can gain knowledge and endless artistic wealth in the adventure of painting life.
3. Simple and Usable: Web, Mobile, and Interaction Design
by Giles Colborne
In "Simplicity First: Four Strategies for Interactive Design", author Gilesto explores and practices interactive design for more than 20 years. Four ultimate strategies for achieving simplicity, including reasonable deletion, hierarchical organization, timely hiding, and clever transfer, are proposed.
They explain why we should stand on the side of mainstream users, and how to start from their real needs and expectations, simplify design, and improve ease of use. Usability. Create a unique, time-honored user experience.
4. Emotional Design
by Don Norman
And the manager of a distance education company. The people-oriented principle of grave setting he clarified has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and his "Design Psychology" has become an essential classic for designers.
5. The Graphic Design Idea Book
by Steven Heller (Author), Gail Anderson (Author)
"Graphic Design Idea Book: Inspirations from 50 Masters" covers all the key elements of outstanding design and features pioneering works by famous designers such as Paul Brand, Neville Brody, and Stefan Sagmeister. It will definitely inspire inspiration and make these ideas continuous.
Steven Hiller (Still Hiller) and Gail Anderson (Gail Anderson) use this expertise to help everyone expand their knowledge of color, narrative, illusion, humor, simplicity, decorations, etc.
6. Steal Like an Artist
by Austin Kleon
The title of the book is very eye-catching, and the content focuses on some self-inspired methods for getting creative.
This book is also a best seller in the New York Times.
Author Austin Kleon often talks about creativity in the digital age for organizations such as Pixar, Google, SXSW, TEDx, and The Economist.
His work has been published in NPR's "Morning News", PBS Newshour, the "New York Times" and "Wall Street Journal". He is very good at conveying the meaning he wants to express in an easy-to-understand way, and it reads very smoothly.
7. How to Be a Graphic Designer without Losing Your Soul
by Adrian Shaughnessy
Design consultant and writer Adrian Shaughnessy draws on a wealth of experience to provide such manuals to address the concerns of young designers.
It provides advice on how to build your design career, as well as advice for successfully launching your business, covering professional skills, creative processes, and global trends, including green design issues, ethics, and the rise of digital culture. This knowledge about the graphic design profession is usually not learned in college.
8. Run Studio Run
by Eli Altman
This book written by Eli Altman is excellent. This book is beautifully designed. As an independent designer, Eli is helping you with valuable suggestions on increasing the number of customers, how to bill, how to deal with customers how to manage them in the future, and other creative aspects.
9. Work for Money, Design for Love
by David Airey
There are many words in the book, that require a certain level of reading, but it is not obscure. It is recommended that students with a basic English foundation read it.
The author is the international designer David Airey. This book describes his basic requirements for starting his own design business. It touches everything from the way of thinking required to become a designer to the first step of how to become your own boss, to the basics of business.
How do I find new customers? How much should I cost for my design? When should I say no to the customer? How to deal with difficult customers? What should I make sure to include in the contract? This is a must-read for anyone who wants to act alone.
10. Two-Dimensional Man
by Paul Sahre
"Two-Dimensional Man" is partly a monograph, partly an autobiography, partly an art book, and partly a reflection on creativity. Combined with personal articles, the author discusses the reality of life created in the author's 30-year career.
The author Paul Sahre is a very influential graphic designer who has been running his own design consulting company since 1997. While working in the New York City office, his clients included the New York Times, Google, and Marvel Comics, and he gave lectures on graphic design around the world.
11. Graphic Design For Everyone
by Cath Caldwell
The system is relatively complete. From fonts to colors to images, it basically allows you to train the skills that you should have in the entire graphic designer training process step by step.
There are also some knowledge points that domestic graphic designers are very lacking, such as the understanding of various paper materials, and some small knowledge of art history trends (especially the history of fonts and some knowledge about Art Deco), the perspective is very Western.
Another surprise is that some things in it are keeping pace with the times, such as the browsing logic of the website and wireframe drawing. The book makes me feel full of sincerity.
However, there are at least two intellectual errors in this book. One is about purity and lightness, which are obviously written backward. The other is that the notes on the woodblock prints are wrong. I hope to check it again when there is a reprint.
I sort out all the miscellaneous knowledge or experience, and it is also a handy book that can be consulted at any time. For everyone's graphic design, you can do it yourself if you understand the building blocks.
I feel that this book can be read by beginners, and it may take more time to do various searches. It is very useful for designers or customers who need to entrust designers to do projects.
12. Grid systems in graphic design
by Josef Müller-Brockmann
This book mainly introduces the function and usage of the grid, aiming to provide graphic and space designers with a practical tool, so that they can deal with and solve visual problems more effectively and confidently from concept, organization structure, and design.
At the same time, this book also provides help for design educators, so that they can better solve practical problems in teaching.
On the one hand, teachers can provide students with a good opportunity to understand and be familiar with the main points and methods of grid design through teaching; on the other hand, students can also learn how to use it through self-training.
In order for readers to understand and master the principles of grid design more easily, I will explain the grid system in as much detail as possible in the book, and analyze the key steps in grid design step by step.
In fact, the vast majority of designers do not know or understand why such an order system should be established.
Therefore, if you want to use the grid system reasonably and functionally, you must carefully study all the principles of the grid.
As long as it is not too much trouble, anyone who studies the grid will find that with the help of the grid system, he can solve the problems in the design faster and make the design more functional, logical, and visually beautiful.
13. The Design of Everyday Things
by Donald A. Norman
After reading the book "The Design of Everyday Things", I never blame myself when I encounter this kind of problem.
According to the truth in the book, I am always right, and the manufacturer's design is always wrong.
For more on this fallacy, see this popular science article about sleep and beds.
In the past few days, I have been installing a video surveillance system, and I found that this manual is not enough.
In short, I disassembled and reassembled it according to its instructions, and it was tossed out anyway, but until now, I don't know where the two extra screws came from.
In the past, when we looked at products, everyone looked at functions and performance.
Now, we all pay attention to design and user experience. Nowhere is this more evident than in the mobile phone wars, from the BlackBerry to the iPhone to Microsoft's Windows Mobile, where the battle is now over design.
The design is getting more and more idiotic. There is a saying among young students: I don’t know how to use products that can only be used after reading the manual.
No wonder Edison said this: Necessity is the father of invention, and laziness is the mother of invention.
14. Paul Rand: Conversations with Students
by Michael Kroeger
Design is the relational expression of form and content. Content is the idea, and form is what you do with the idea, and how you do it. What color should I use? Or in black and white? bigger? smaller? 3D or 2D? With trendy or serious material?
Design is relationships. Design is a relational system. Relationships here cover all aspects of a problem, including your relationship to the canvas, your relationship to the box knife, eraser, or drawing pen, and the relationship between design elements.
Design is also a system of proportion, referring to the relationship between scales and sizes.
This is the starting point for designing. You have to create a relationship, you have to relate to something in some way so that you can get a clue from it.
Everything is connected, and that's always the problem. The moment you put something down, you create a relationship.
There is no end to these relationships, which is one of the reasons why design is so difficult to perfect. Because with every movement you make, there are endless possibilities for mistakes.
Paul's definition of design embodies the qualities of a graphic designer. As a graphic designer, content is always the central object of design.
Graphic design focuses on dealing with the relationship of various elements in the graphic system: attribute relationship, proportional relationship, distance relationship, and so on.
Interlaced relationships will be derived between any elements appearing in the plane, and how to deal with these relationships is the key to excellent work.
Is this idea applicable if it is migrated to other design fields?
If you replace the carrier of the plane with the user interface, you will find that there are more planes.
There are different "planes" in different scenarios and time points, and you need to deal with the "relationships" between more elements, and you also need to deal with users.
Relationships with elements - Because elements are no longer static, they are likely to be triggered by the user's actions, taking on different forms according to the user's actions and choices.
In this premise, design is the definition of the relationship still works. However, it is more complex.
It needs to deal with changing situations at any time, and it needs to deal with more dimensions and complex intertwined relationships between elements.
According to Paul's definition, it is increasingly difficult for designers to cope with the complexity of the problem, or in other words, it is difficult to meet the characteristics of the interaction.
15. Designing Design
by Kenya Hara
The book "Design in Design" is a proposal written by Kenya Hara for those who have just entered the design industry. In the book, he clearly pointed out the function of the designer - the communication of information.
"Design is not a skill, but the ability to perceive and perceive the essence of things." - Kenya Hara
Finished reading "Design in Design" by Hara Kenya in his spare time on weekends, and he wanted to read it during the winter vacation a book.
According to my understanding, the first "design" refers to the design products in the eyes of the public, while the second refers to the ideological motivation behind the design behavior.
Of course, I am interested in Kenya Hara because of the Muji he designed. We have read a lot of introductions about HaraKenya and the products he designed in magazines and on the Internet. Through these, we can clearly see that this design not only provides new possibilities for daily necessities but also contains a kind of attitude towards life.
Kenya Hara's designs have been seen in magazines before, so I am not surprised by the cases in this book, but the author has clearly explained his design concept in this book. Some of the fragments related to it in the past have also been able to establish some connections.
In Kenya Hara's design thinking, there is a reflection of the influence of modernism.
16. Typographic Systems of Design
by Kimberly Elam
The typographic organization has always been a complex system in that there are so many elements at play, such as hierarchy, order of reading, legibility, and contrast.
In Typographic Systems, Kim Elam, author of our bestselling book, Geometry of Design and Grid Systems, explores eight major structural frameworks beyond the grid including random, radial, modular, and bilateral systems.
By taking the reader through exercises, student work, and professional examples, Elam offers a broad range of design solutions.
Once essential visual organization systems are understood the designer can fluidly organize words or images within a structure, a combination of structures, or a variation of a structure.
With clarity and substance, each system from the structured axis to the nonhierarchical radial array is explained and explored so that the reader comes away with a better understanding of these intricate complex arrangements.
Typographic Systems is the seventh title in our bestselling Design Briefs series, which has sold more than 100,000 copies worldwide.
17. Don't Make Me Think, Revisited
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.
Now Steve returns with a fresh perspective to reexamine the principles that made Don't Make Me Think a classic–with updated examples and a new chapter on mobile usability. And it's still short, profusely illustrated…and best of all–fun to read.
If you've read it before, you'll rediscover what made Don't Make Me Think so essential to Web designers and developers around the world.
If you've never read it, you'll see why so many people have said it should be required reading for anyone working on Web sites.
“After reading it over a couple of hours and putting its ideas to work for the past five years, I can say it has done more to improve my abilities as a Web designer than any other book.” –Jeffrey Zeldman, author of Designing with Web Standards
Steve Krug is best known as the author of Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, now in its second edition with over 350,000 copies in print.
Ten years later, he finally gathered enough energy to write another one: the usability testing handbook Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems.
The books were based on the 20+ years he's spent as a usability consultant for a wide variety of c clients like Apple, Bloomberg.com, Lexus.com, NPR, the International Monetary Fund, and many others.
18. The Story of Art
by E.H. Gombrich
Art Stories are the most famous and popular works in art books. It outlines the development from the earliest cave paintings to the experimental art of today and has been the unrivaled primer in the field for more than 50 years.
Readers of different ages and backgrounds all over the world have come to know this true master through Gombrich's narration.
He combines knowledge and wisdom, and with his unique talent, he directly spreads his deep love for artwork.
"The Story of Art" has received lasting acclaim for its plain and simple brushwork and clear narrative techniques.
Gombrich said that his purpose of writing is to "find an easy-to-understand order for the rich names, periods and styles in a large number of dazzling works."
He injects psychological insight into visual art, and he makes Us know that the history of art is "a history of constant detours and changes of various traditions, in which each work looks back to the past and leads to the future";
it is "a vivid chain that connects our era with ancient Egypt connected with time". This classic, rejuvenated by its new editions, remains the first choice for newcomers to the art world.
19. The Non-Designer's Design Book
by Robin Williams
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.
Whether you’re a Mac user or a Windows user, a type novice, or an aspiring graphic designer, you will find the instruction and inspiration to approach any design project with confidence.
This essential guide to design will teach you:
- The four principles of design that underlie every design project
- How to design with color
- How to design with type
- How to combine typefaces for maximum effect
- How to see and think like a professional designer
- Specific tips on designing newsletters, brochures, flyers, and other projects.
20. Logo, Font & Lettering Bible
by Leslie Cabarga
As a graphic designer, why do you have to rely on existing fonts and use other people's graphics - if you can create your own logo, font, and writing?
Leslie Kebaga, the author of the bestselling Design Color Combination Guide, has created this typography textbook for experienced graphic design professionals as well as novice designers.
In this book you will learn: Draw creative logo designs using traditional methods and computer software A keen eye for high-quality typography and logo design;
Design your own custom fonts; Create profitable logos, fonts, and scripts The Design Career; is the most comprehensive treatise yet on logos, typography, and writing!
Easy to read, fun to navigate, and rich in illustrations, this book makes learning typography a joy. It provides all the start-to-finish information you need to succeed in today's competitive design marketplace.
This book talks about the history of LOGO development and the evolution of production technology and even teaches you how to use AI's pen tool
21. How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer
by Debbie Millman
Every designer introduced in the book is a positive, they want to change their life and really do it. They wanted to help others, and they did.
Even as humble as I am, when I fold a paper flower for myself, I am changing myself, changing my spring.
When we're cranky, we just laugh. But children are trying to achieve it. Our intelligence and ability are stronger than children.
But we can't change ourselves, but children can. The children tried bravely to enjoy the joy of the process.
But we wait, watch, learn, and wait for others to tell us what is happiness and what is happiness.
I hope that you will read this book and try to make your life better before you become a zombie.
I want to refer to this book to learn what design thinking is. I only learned that thinking is also an important thing in the eyes of designers, and designers themselves think that design is not equal to art, but it contains both science and art.
22. Basics Design 02: Layout: Second Edition
by Gavin Ambrose
Basics Design 02: Layout (2nd edition) provides a guide to the effective arrangement of text and image elements within a design scheme, enabling students to learn how to create powerful forms of visual communication in both print and electronic media.
The second edition includes considerable new and revised content from the authors, and it will prove indispensable to anyone wishing to acquire a thorough knowledge of the principles of layout as used in modern design.
This title addresses both practical and aesthetic considerations, including the arrangement of graphic elements within a design scheme and what happens when the grid is abandoned. Essential design concepts are explored with illustrative examples taken from contemporary practice.
23. The Essential Principles Of Graphic Design
by Debbie Millman
Guaranteed to give creatives a thorough grounding in designing and producing their own work, this one-stop resource book for students of graphic design is structured around five progressive sections--principles, elements, process, applications, and employment.
From the basic principles of good design and the specific building blocks of graphic design to research methods and best practices in project management, readers will learn about the wide-ranging areas of design, and find out about options for employment that are out there.
The book includes chapters on illustrations and photographs, including advice about sourcing images and the vital issues of usage and copyright.
24. Design Elements
by Timothy Samara
This book is the most compact and lucid Handbook available outlining the basic principles of layout, typography, color usage, and Space.
Being a creation designer Igner is often about coming up with unique design solutions. Unfortunately, when the basic run, effort to be distinctive, design becomes useless.
In language, a departure from the rules is only appreciated as great literature if recognition of the rules underlying the text.
Graphic design is a 'visual language' and brilliance is recognized in designers whose work seems to break all the rules, yet communicates its messages clearly.
This is a fun and accessible handbook that presents the fundamentals of design in lists, tips, brief text, and examples.
The chapters include Graphic Design: What It Is; What Are They and What Do They Do?, Choosing and Using Type, and Breaking the Rules: When and Why to Challenge All the Rules of this Book.
25. What is Graphic Design?
by Quentin Newark
What first impressed me was the cover design of this book. When I read the content, I felt that the graphics, text, and information were relatively new, and because of the credibility of the publishing house, I bought a copy.
When I read it carefully, I feel that this book is not an ordinary reference book, but more like a book on the comprehensive literacy of graphic design.
In the book, the concept of design is softened into actual design, which is easier to understand and learn from.
This book briefly introduces the basic theory of graphic design and the problems of applied design.
Some books are like treasures in the sea. Only by slowly searching in the sea can you truly taste the preciousness. The meaning of the treasures lies in this. When I read it, I saw the whole graphic design from another angle.
Just like a doctor's comprehensive diagnosis, only with a comprehensive understanding can you truly fall in love with her and fall in love with this touch. Falling in love with the touch in your heart means that she is worthy of your taste.
The scope of typical case analysis is relatively broad because the definition of graphic design is constantly updated and flowing.
Text without pictures. Make Moholy-Nagy's prophecy finally come true - "From now on, 'imagination' will be more and more inclined to the ability to visualize."
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