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 consider myself a minimalist in terms of ‘stuff’ and like to edit and keep it simple and not cluttered. Those qualities go out the window though when it comes to design books… I just love them. They’re artful, beautiful vessels of thought, intention, story, and history. I have been teaching design history this semester and have had the pleasure to re-discover some of my favorites that I’ve collected over the years. I’ve had several students ask “Where should I start my design book collection?” Well, you really can’t go wrong and my advice is to simply start with what you enjoy. Is it a designer? A career help book? A style? Or perhaps a way of thinking? So, instead of recommending anything specific, here are some of my favorites to potentially get the book collection started—each with a brief writeup so you can choose what speaks to you.

It’s been a few months since I took on the 100 day project, but I wanted to write about it and share my thoughts on Artificial Intelligence. AI is a hot (and touchy) topic. I have many mixed emotions and questions to further try to understand, and decided to share my top 5 thoughts related to 100 days of experimentation with the tool Midjourney.

I took on the 100 Day Project during a very busy time — working full time, selling a home, buying a home, training for a marathon, getting married, working on several freelance design projects, and making the best of a long distance relationship with monthly trips to Philadelphia.