How to Start Your Design Book Collection
I have been a collector of design books for more than fifteen years. I don’t ‘collect’ many things. As a matter of fact, I try to keep my life organized and uncluttered (easier said than done).
Those qualities go out the window when it comes to design books—I just love them. They’re artful, beautiful vessels of thought, intention, story, and history. They contradict one another, inspire, provoke curiosity, and encourage. I am teaching design history this semester and several students have asked “Where should I start my design book collection?”
Start at the library. If you’re a student, take advantage of your university’s library. They’re usually stocked with beautiful design books. Grab a coffee, and hole up in the library for an afternoon someday with no particular agenda. Grab whatever interests you. This will help you figure out what you might like first without over-investing. Design books aren't cheap, so it's a slow process to build up your collection. If you really want books sooner than later, ask for them for your birthday, or graduation or a holiday too.
Ask yourself: What do I enjoy? You really can’t go wrong, but my advice is to simply start with topics and designers that you enjoy or want to learn more about. Do you like a specific designer or movement? Design philosophy and lifestyle? A specific subject like typography or packaging? Or perhaps something not specifically design related, but cool (like mountain biking, or Wes Anderson?). Or perhaps you want to learn a new way of thinking? Or do you just want a damn good coffee table book?
Instead of recommending a specific book for you (because we all have different tastes, skills, and desires), I am sharing some best hits in the following categories.
Design Career Books
Business of Design Books
Specific Areas of Design Interest
Damn Good Coffee Table Books
Design History Books
Books by Specific Designers
I’ll keep adding to this. I’ll try to get back into regularly sharing books and thoughts on my Instagram too.
P.S. Have a book you love that isn’t listed? DM or email me! casey@limbic.studio.
Design Career Books
You might enjoy these if you’re a design student or new professional.
Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life by James Victore
Great for helping us get through our insecurities and uncertainties. I always share this resources with designers just starting out.
How to Be a Graphic Designer without Losing Your Soul by Adrian Shaughnessy
Practical advice and philosophical guidance to help young pros as they embark on their career.
Oh Sh*t What Now? Honest Advice for New Graphic Designers by Craig Oldham
Beautiful and honest. The best book hands down as you embark into the world of design. A bit small for a coffee table book, but its overall look and tactile, screenprinted, chunky vibe is a real treat for your fingers and eyes.
How to Be a Design Student (And How to Teach Them) by Mitch Goldstein
A great book that breaks down important takeaways and questions to consider as you go through school (and teach students if you teach!)
Show your Work! by Austin Kleon
10 ways to share your creativity and get discovered.
Business of Design Books
Want to run a creative team, own your own business, or freelance?
Pricing; Running a Business
The Psychology of Graphic Design Pricing by Michael Janda
Not sure how to price your work? Start here. Practical and applicable.
Persuasion; Winning Work; Pricing; Pitching Ideas
The Win Without Pitching Manifesto by Blair Enns
Ever wonder how some creatives “get” more work than others? This book is great
Brand Strategy & Positioning
Creative Strategy and the Business of Design by Douglas Davis
Thinking of owning your own business? Not sure how to approach work? This is a good one for anyone who wants to work directly with clients and businesses.
Brand Strategy & Positioning
The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier
How to bridge the distance between business strategy and design.
Brand Strategy & Positioning
Find Your Why by Simon Sinek
Interested in branding? Strategy and brand positioning are the key to a strong visual identity and brand that connects with the right people at the right time. This book will absolutely help you add value to your design process and be able to better communicate and articulate the importance of the legwork that is brand positioning before making someone the tangible stuff like logos and websites.
Brand Identity
Designing Brand Identity, 6th Edition by Wheeler
Addresses the challenges faced by branding professionals today, featuring more than 50 case studies and insights from CEOS, branding experts, and designers. (Added by suggestion from Michelle Mierzwa, thanks!)
Design Thinking
46 Rules of Genius by Marty Neumeier
A concise guide on actionable ways to add value, think differently, and bring out your genius. (Added by suggestion from Michelle Mierzwa, thanks!)
Marketing
This is Marketing by Seth Godin
Helpful book in understanding what “good” marketing truly is.
Specific Design Areas of Interest
These are limited to areas I’ve been focusing on. If you’re into something specific, just search for “design books on ____.” Or ask a mentor who is an expert in a certain topic. You’ll find some great stuff!
Typography
Thinking with Type by Ellen Lupton
One of the best foundational typography fundamentals book.
Design Principles; Layout; Typography
Grid Systems in Graphic Design by Josef Muller-Brockmann
A classic book on design foundations, providing guidelines and rules for the function and use for grid systems. (Added by suggestion from Michelle Mierzwa, thanks!)
UX; Design Leadership
Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days by Jake Knapp
The BEST book for getting stuff done. For UX designers, and designers with brand strategy and project management skills and processes. A tried and true approach that Google Ventures uses to tackle hard problems in a short time, while empowering and exploring many ideas.
Environmental Design
Graphicfest: Identities for Festivals & Fairs by Victionary
Love environmental design? Festival and event branding? This dynamic book is packed with event identities from around the world.
Design Foundation; Principles
Graphic Design: The New Basics by Ellen Lupton
If you’re a new designer or want to get into design, this is hands-down the book I’d recommend to learn design principles. They’re all laid out in an orderly manner with exercises and examples to understand the importance of each principle. A must-have for a new designer’s shelf!
Ideation; Design Thinking
Graphic Design Thinking by Ellen Lupton
This book offers many different ways to ideate and explore your design process.
Color
The Secret Lives of Color by Kassia St. Clair
The story of 75 fascinating tints, dyes, and hues.
Color
Color Works by Eddie Opera and John Cantwell
A book about using color in design.
Color
Interaction of Color by Josef Albers
Likely the most influential color theory book in history.
Packaging
The Package Design Book by Taschen
A trove of inspiration for any packaging design project. The form factors, typography, and overall approach to the work in this book is exquisite.
Damn Good Coffee Table Books
Some of these are more design-relevant than others, but I love them for their production quality, the content, and the design. They spark curiosity and conversation when friends and family visit.
Accidentally Wes Anderson by Wally Koval
Discover the most interesting and idiosyncratic places on earth in Wes Anderson’s style.
Vintage Rock T-Shirts by Johan Kugelberg
Features artifacts of the original rock and roll era—featuring a time of simpler, less commercial, and more meaningful ephemera.
Altered States: The Library of Julio Santo Domingo by Peter Watts
Domingo was a collector who filled his homes with the world’s greatest collection of drugs, sex, magic, and rock and roll. A library of 50,000+ items featuring works by Warhol, Leary, Freud, the Rolling Stones, and many more. Beautiful slipcase makes this an easy coffee table book.
NIKE: Better is Temporary by Sam Grawe
A commemoration of Nike design over the years.
Hieronymous Bosch: The Complete Works by Stefan Fischer
Netherlandish painter HB was more than anomoly. His paintings are populated with grotesque scenes of fantastical creatures succumbing to all manner of human desire, fantasy, and angst.
Junk Type by Bill Rose
A project driven by the passion to document a disappearing aspect of American culture. He’s spent the past decade traveling across America looking through junkyards, yard sales, and antique stores.
Design History Books
A few overlap other categories here, but most are related to design history one way or the other. I love tapping into these for visual reference, historical context, and fodder for exploring styles and ideas that push the boundaries.
100 Ideas that Changed Graphic Design by Steven Heller
An inspirational book for dipping into when ideas are needed. Easy to flip through and gather inspiration.
Queer Design by Andy Campbell
The first ever illustrated history of iconic designs, symbols, and graphic art representing more than 5 decades of LGBTQ pride and activism.
Designhers by Victionary
A book that features and celebrates amazing contemporary female designers and creatives, and their amazing work.
Women Design: Pioneers from the twentieth century to today by Libby Sellers
Some of the female design-greats in this book.
Graphic: 500 Designs that Matter by Phaidon Editors
500 of the most iconic graphic designs of all times.
Chair: 500 Designs that Matter by Phaidon Editors
500 of the most innovative, stylish, and influential chairs.
Lubalin by Adrian Shaughnessy
A book on Herb Lubalin’s design and life. Beautiful, and in-depth writing and visuals. Beautifully designed too.
New York City Transit Authority Graphics Standards Manual by Massimo Vignelli & Bob Noorda
A beautiful and important piece of design history.
Meggs’ History of Graphic Design by Philip B. Meggs
If you want a survey of design history, get this book. The standard for learning design history as far back as prehistoric times up through present day.
A Smile in the Mind: Witty Thinking in Graphic Design by Beryl McAlhone & David Stuart, and Greg Quinton & Nick Asbury
Inspiration for ideas in actual design projects. Witty, funny, beautiful, smart thinking.
Books by Specific Designers
We all have our favorites. Some of these books are an autobio/career overview of sorts, some are philosophies and musings.
Beauty by Stefan Sagmeister & Jessica Walsh
A stunner of a book and coffee table worthy, this changed my perspectives on “What is beautiful”? The authors (also a few of my favorite designers) tackled their assumptions by polling a wide range of people on specific questions such as: Which shape is most beautiful? Which color is most beautiful? The answers are surprising and help us to appreciate different cultures, context, and approaches to design through time and place.
Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon
Things about being creative that noone told us.
How To Use Graphic Design to Sell Things, Explain Things… by Michael Bierut
A career retrospective on one of the most influential designers in history.
Now You See It and Other Essays on Design by Michael Bierut
50+ short essays on the past decade on a diverse array of subjects.
Rational Simplicity: Rudolph de Harak Graphic Designer by Richard Poulin
The first major publication on life and work of de Harak—an American modernist with conceptual content.
Make it Bigger by Paula Scher
A career retrospective on one of the most influential female postmodern designers in present day history.
The Vignelli Canon by Massimo Vignelli
Vignelli’s approach to design. Digs into form, function, pragmatics of modernism.
Pretty Much Everything by Aaron Draplin
A survey of his work.
Victore: Who Died and Made You Boss? by James Victore
A survey of Victore’s controversial, limit-pushing, beautifully imperfect work.
The End of Print: The Grafik Design of David Carson by Lewis Blackwell and David Carson
A beautiful book that shares Carson’s work.
Elegantissima by Louise Fili
A book that shares the design and typography of Louise Fili.
