Book List of the Week

The Books That Inspire Five Speakers at the 2014 DesignThinkers Conference

Canada’s Association of Registered Graphic Designers holds it annual conference featuring five of our book list contributors

October 27, 2014

DesignThinkers, Canada’s largest conference for visual communicators, hosted by the Canadian Association of Registered Graphic Designers (RGD) and now in its 15th year, has a history of inspiring speakers from a range of communications-related disciplines, including graphic design, user experience, advertising, branding, consumer engagement, film, social media and entrepreneurship.

The 2014 DesignThinkers Conference, which takes place this November 6 and 7 at Toronto’s Sony Centre, will feature—along with graphic designers Irma Boom and Jessica Walsh, and Kickstarter founder Charles Adler, among many others—five designers who have sent us book lists: Ellen Lupton, Abbott Miller, Debbie Millman, Paula Scher, and Erik Spiekermann. To mark the occasion, here are the book lists.

Ellen Lupton’s Book List

I’m a designer who writes and a writer who likes to fuss with fonts, formats, and the techniques of publishing. Typography and writing are deeply connected. Writing makes thought exterior, converting fleeting notions into concrete things—indelible patterns of ink or pixels. My reading list includes in equal measure books that study (and exemplify) design processes and those that explore (and demonstrate) the qualities of strong writing.

Abbott Miller's Book List

For Designers & Books I decided to focus on books that were influential on me as a student: as I get older, I realize that they continue to influence the way I think about art, architecture, and design.

Debbie Millman's Book List

When I was a kid there were lots of rules in my house. One of the most horrific for me at the time was the (very) limited amount of television I was allowed to watch. As a result, I read. And I read a lot. I read books, magazines, newspapers, encyclopedias, and comic books; I even borrowed my mother’s Redbook and Ladies Home Journal, and snuck into my father’s library to read the steamy sections of The Godfather when I was sure that no one would catch me.

Paula Scher's Book List

The following books have inspired me and influenced my design thinking—especially my typography.

Erik Spiekermann's Book List

This list was in my head, and I was thinking that getting the details and writing a few lines for each title would take a leisurely Sunday afternoon. It turned out to be a busy Friday morning instead. I’ve made this list from all the books I could reach from my desk at home without getting onto ladders. I have about 3,000 books, so there could easily be many more. As there is intelligent life outside the U.S., I have included some of my favorite books in German as well.

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