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100 most popular books about graphic design

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Here are 100 of the most popular books on graphic design. Some are old and some are really old. The great thing about the fundamentals of graphic design is that they never change. How many of these books are in your personal libray? Enjoy!

100 of the most popular books on graphic design

  1. Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students (Design Briefs)
  2. The Non-Designer’s Design Book: Design and Typographic Principles for the Visual Novice
  3. Meggs’ History of Graphic Design
  4. Graphic Design Solutions, Third Edition
  5. Graphic Design: The New Basics
  6. The Elements of Color: A Treatise on the Color System of Johannes Itten Based on His Book the Art of Color (A Basic color library)
  7. Envisioning Information
  8. Universal Principles of Design
  9. Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines (Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines)
  10. Designing with Type: A Basic Course in Typography
  11. Design Elements: A Graphic Style Manual
  12. Making and Breaking the Grid: A Graphic Design Layout Workshop
  13. An Illustrated Life: Drawing Inspiration from the Private Sketchbooks of Artists, Illustrators and Designers
  14. Typography Workbook: A Real-World Guide to Using Type in Graphic Design
  15. Designing Brand Identity: An Essential Guide for the Whole Branding Team
  16. Layout Workbook: A Real-World Guide to Building Pages in Graphic Design
  17. Designing Brand Identity: A Complete Guide to Creating, Building, and Maintaining Strong Brands
  18. Graphic Design: A New History
  19. Interaction of Color
  20. Grid Systems: Principles of Organizing Type (Design Briefs)
  21. Geometry of Design: Studies in Proportion and Composition
  22. Picture This: How Pictures Work
  23. Stop Stealing Sheep & Find Out How Type Works (2nd Edition)
  24. The Elements of Graphic Design: Space, Unity, Page Architecture, and Type
  25. Design Basics Index (Index Series)
  26. How To Be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul
  27. The Laws of Simplicity (Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life)
  28. Forms, Folds and Sizes, Second Edition: All the Details Graphic Designers Need to Know but Can Never Find
  29. Designer’s Color Manual: The Complete Guide to Color Theory and Application
  30. Graphic Design History: A Critical Guide
  31. Fingerprint: The Art of Using Hand-Made Elements in Graphic Design
  32. Pantone Guide to Communicating with Color
  33. Logo Design Workbook: A Hands-On Guide to Creating Logos
  34. Design Language
  35. Graphic Design Basics
  36. Getting It Printed: How to Work With Printers and Graphic Imaging Services to Assure Quality, Stay on Schedule and Control Costs
  37. Understanding Color: An Introduction for Designers (Design & Graphic Design)
  38. Exploring the Elements of Design (Design Exploration Series)
  39. Elements of Design: Rowena Reed Kostellow and the Structure of Visual Relationships
  40. Exploring Typography (Design Exploration Series)
  41. Caffeine for the Creative Mind: 250 Exercises to Wake Up Your Brain
  42. Graphic Design School, Third Edition
  43. Graphic Communications Today, 4E
  44. Basics of Design
  45. Building Design Portfolios: Innovative Concepts for Presenting Your Work (Design Field Guide)
  46. The Designer’s Guide To Marketing And Pricing: How To Win Clients And What To Charge Them
  47. Color Index: Over 1100 Color Combinations, CMYK and RGB Formulas, for Print and Web Media
  48. Type: A Visual History of Typefaces and Graphic Styles, Vol. 1
  49. Becoming a Graphic Designer: A Guide to Careers in Design
  50. Introduction to Design (2nd Edition)
  51. Publication Design Workbook
  52. 1,000 Type Treatments: From Script to Serif, Letterforms Used to Perfection
  53. Data Flow: Visualising Information in Graphic Design
  54. A Guide to Graphic Print Production
  55. Layout Essentials: 100 Design Principles for Using Grids
  56. Layout Index: Brochure, Web Design, Poster, Flyer, Advertising, Page Layout, Newsletter, Stationery Index
  57. Picturing Texts
  58. Marks of Excellence
  59. Principles of Form and Design
  60. The Information Design Handbook
  61. Business and Legal Forms for Graphic Designers (3rd Edition)
  62. What is Graphic Design? (Essential Design Handbooks)
  63. The Designers Complete Index (Boxed Set)
  64. D.I.Y.: Design It Yourself (Design Handbooks)
  65. A Designer’s Research Manual: Succeed in Design by Knowing Your Clients and What They Really Need (Design Field Guide)
  66. Logo, Font & Lettering Bible
  67. Typographic Systems of Design
  68. The Wayfinding Handbook: Information Design for Public Places
  69. Visual Literacy: A Conceptual Approach to Graphic Problem Solving
  70. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Graphic Design
  71. The Business Side of Creativity: The Complete Guide to Running a Small Graphics Design or Communications Business (Third UpdatedEdition)
  72. How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer
  73. The Designer’s Desktop Manual
  74. Graphic Design: A Concise History, Second Edition (World of Art)
  75. Package Design Workbook: The Art and Science of Successful Packaging
  76. Starting Your Career as a Freelance Illustrator or Graphic Designer
  77. Letterhead and Logo Design 9 (Letterhead & LOGO Design (Quality)) (v. 9)
  78. Type Idea Index: The Designer’s Ultimate Tool for Choosing and Using Fonts Creatively
  79. The Design of Dissent: Socially and Politically Driven Graphics
  80. 1,000 Graphic Elements: Details for Distinctive Designs
  81. Decoding Design: Understanding and Using Symbols in Visual Communication
  82. Looking Good in Print
  83. The Graphic Designer’s Guide to Portfolio Design
  84. Idea Index: Graphic Effects and Typographic Treatments
  85. Creativity for Graphic Designers
  86. Designing Type
  87. Type Rules!
  88. The Creative Business Guide to Running a Graphic Design Business (Revised)
  89. Make It Bigger
  90. Design Matters: Logos 01: An Essential Primer for Today’s Competitive Market (v. 1)
  91. New Vintage Type: Classic Fonts for the Digital Age
  92. Design for Communication: Conceptual Graphic Design Basics
  93. Green Graphic Design
  94. Creative Sparks: An Index of 150+ Concepts, Images and Exercises to Ignite Your Design Ingenuity
  95. Process Color Manual: 24,000 CMYK combinations for design, prepress, and printing
  96. The Designer’s Guide to Color Combinations
  97. AIGA Professional Practices in Graphic Design, Second Edition
  98. Designing Brand Experience: Creating Powerful Integrated Brand Solutions
  99. Information Design Workbook: Graphic approaches, solutions, and inspiration plus 30 case studies
  100. Vector Graphics and Illustration: A Master Class in Digital Image-making

Further reading:

About Douglas Bonneville

Douglas has been a graphic designer since 1992, in addition to software developer and author. He is a member of Smashing Magazine's "Panel of Experts" and has contributed to over 100 articles. He is the author of "The Big Book of Font Combinations", loves cats, and plays guitar.

Comments

  1. Kevin Cullis says

    Wow, it’s overwhelming. Can you give me one or two books for beginning business people that will help me understand your business better? Needs to cover web, print, etc. so I can talk with my graphic artists at least somewhat intelligently. Thanks

  2. Douglas Bonneville says

    Hi Kevin: The best book on this list for beginning business people looking to work with graphic designers is likely:

    The Non-Designer’s Design Book: Design and Typographic Principles for the Visual Novice

    It’s #2 up there.

    A better one by the same author, which is the first in the series, is:

    Non-Designer’s Design Book

    http://www.amazon.com/Non-Designers-Design-Book-Robin-Williams/dp/0321534042/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268113313&sr=8-1

    This book is a perennial classic with information so fundamental it doesn’t really get old. They are on the third edition (I have the first) which probably includes a bit more info about the web. But, all the basic terms and principles are covered in this GREAT book…

    It’s also a very friendly, user-oriented book. You are in good hands if you get it :).

  3. Kevin Cullis says

    Just got my ordered copy today!! Love the endorsement of it. Next book to get after this one? I’m not looking for a full library to get, but just a couple more that will add to my knowledge base. Thanks for all you’re doing, it’s been VERY helpful for me.

    Just as a note, I’m not trying to do the job of a graphic artist, just getting a little bit educated about the process.

    KC

    P.S. I had an email conversation with Robin about an incident with her book and that incident is in my upcoming book. 🙂

  4. Douglas Bonneville says

    @ Kevin: What a great coincidence. And you have corresponded with her! Small world, I must say.

    I say if you digest Robin’s book, you are ready for some heavier material. I really like this book a lot, #8 on the list:

    Universal Principles of Design

    http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Principles-Design-William-Lidwell/dp/1592530079/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252681833&sr=1-9#reader_1592530079

    Each page of this book is almost a launch pad into another topic you could spend hours on. It takes all the fundamentals of Robin’s book and gets a bit more technical, has a bit more lingo, and gives you some meaty visuals you’ll have to give more than a casual glance. Highly recommended…

    Happy reading!

  5. Kevin Cullis says

    Doug, not done with Robin’s book just did a quick read today, but will digest it more fully over the next few weeks. The only weakness is that she does not cover book design other than a quick discussion about table of contents. While I know that I can use the rest of the info, there should be something in there about book design, but I understand her shortness of this subject.

    KC

  6. Douglas Bonneville says

    Kevin: Ah, yes, book design is an art form all by itself. Should couldn’t possibly touch on it in such a small, niche tome. However, the Universal Principles of Design touch on many aspects of book design. The book itself is a case study – incredibly well done. One of my favorite books on the shelf!

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