Chosen Books

Invited designers and commentators have chosen these as the books that inspire them and that have shaped their worldview or their ideas about design.

title a–z

Nonfiction, Graphic Design

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202 books

Designing: Ivan Chermayeff et al. On Kit Hinrichs’s Book List On list of Books by Ivan Chermayeff On list of Books by Tom Geismar Add to My Reading List	The Dictionary of Visual Language Philip Thompson et al. On Angus Hyland’s Book List On Rick Poynor’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Don Quixote Gareth Long On Prem Krishnamurthy’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Dorfsman & CBS Dick Hess et al. On Kit Hinrichs’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Dutch Graphic Design Kees Broos et al. On Paula Scher’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Elements of Design Gail Greet Hannah On Tucker Viemeister’s Book List Add to My Reading List	The Elements of Style (illustrated) William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White et al. On Véronique Vienne’s Book List On Paul Marantz’s Book List On Barry Bergdoll’s Book List On Ellen Lupton’s Book List On list of Books by Maira Kalman On Gail Anderson’s Book List Add to My Reading List	The Elements of Typographic Style Robert Bringhurst On Ellen Lupton’s Book List Add to My Reading List
Else/Where Janet Abrams et al. On Zoë Ryan’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Enfolding Life (生活與承載) Freeman Lau On list of Books by Freeman Lau Add to My Reading List	Envisioning Information Edward R. Tufte On Richard Saul Wurman’s Book List On Jennifer Morla’s Book List On Kit Hinrichs’s Book List On Véronique Vienne’s Book List On Carola Zwick’s Book List Add to My Reading List	An Essay on Typography Eric Gill On Chris Bangle’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Everything Sings: Maps for a Narrative Atlas Denis Wood On Allison Arieff’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Film Posters of the Russian Avant-Garde Susan Pack On Kit Hinrichs’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Fonts & Logos Doyald Young On Kit Hinrichs’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Forget All the Rules You Ever Learned About Graphic Design, Including the Ones in This Book Bob Gill On Jules Fisher’s Book List On list of Books by Bob Gill Add to My Reading List
The Form of the Book Jan Tschichold On Massimo Pitis’s Book List Add to My Reading List	French Modern Louise Fili On list of Books by Steven Heller On list of Books by Louise Fili Add to My Reading List	From Cave Painting to Comic Strip Lancelot Hogben On Tom Geismar’s Book List Add to My Reading List	From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor Jerry Della Femina On Michael Bierut’s Book List Add to My Reading List	George, Be Careful George Lois On Michael Bierut’s Book List On list of Books by George Lois On Louise Fili’s Current Reading list Add to My Reading List	Grafika: Modern Design for Advertising and Printing Imre Reiner On George Tscherny’s Book List Add to My Reading List	A Grammar of Chinese Lattice Daniel Sheets Dye On Ed Ng’s Book List Add to My Reading List	The Graphic Artist and His Design Problems Josef-Müller Brockmann On Massimo Vignelli’s Book List Add to My Reading List
Graphic Design Leon Friend et al. On Tom Geismar’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Graphic Design History: A Critical Guide Johanna Drucker et al. On Rick Poynor’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Graphic Design in America Mildred Friedman et al. On Rick Poynor’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Graphic Design Manual Armin Hofmann On Michael Bierut’s Book List On Angus Hyland’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Graphic Design as a Second Language Bob Gill On Kit Hinrichs’s Book List On list of Books by Bob Gill Add to My Reading List	Graphic Design: A Concise History Richard Hollis On Ellen Lupton’s Book List On Massimo Pitis’s Book List Add to My Reading List	The Graphic Language of Neville Brody Jon Wozencroft et al. On Rick Poynor’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Graphic Style Steven Heller et al. On Gail Anderson’s Book List On list of Books by Steven Heller On list of Books by Seymour Chwast Add to My Reading List
Graphic Texts GRAPHIC team, eds. et al. Add to My Reading List	Handbook of Early Advertising Art Clarence Hornung On Carin Goldberg’s Book List Add to My Reading List	The Handy Book of Artistic Printing Doug Clouse et al. On Louise Fili’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Haptic Kenya Hara On Aldo Bakker’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Hidden Forms Franco Clivio On Fritz Frenkler’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Hirschfeld: Art and Recollections from Eight Decades Al Hirschfeld On Kit Hinrichs’s Book List Add to My Reading List	How Brands Become Icons Douglas B. Holt On Jens Martin Skibsted’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Identity Kits Germano Facetti et al. On Kit Hinrichs’s Book List Add to My Reading List

Announcements

Now is Better by Stefan Sagmeister

Now is Better

By Stefan Sagmeister
Publisher: Phaidon Press
Published: October 2023

Combining art, design, history, and quantitative analysis, transforms data sets into stunning artworks that underscore his positive view of human progress, inspiring us to think about the future with much-needed hope.

Order the book.

Design Emergency: Building a Better Future by Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli

Design Emergency: Building a Better Future

By Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli
Publisher: Phaidon Press
Published: May 2022

Rawsthorn and Antonelli tell the stories of the remarkable designers, architects, engineers, artists, scientists, and activists who are at the forefront of positive change worldwide. Focusing on four themes—Technology, Society, Communication, and Ecology—the authors present a unique portrait of how our great creative minds are developing new design solutions to the major challenges of our time, while helping us to benefit from advances in science and technology.

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Why Design Matters: Conversations with the World’s Most Creative People by Debbie Millman

Why Design Matters: Conversations with the World's Most Creative People

By Debbie Millman
Publisher: Harper Design
Published: February 22, 2022

Debbie Millman—author, educator, brand consultant, and host of the widely successful and award-winning podcast “Design Matters”—showcases dozens of her most exciting interviews, bringing together insights and reflections from today’s leading creative minds from across diverse fields.

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Milton Glaser: POP by Steven Heller, Mirko Ilić, and Beth Kleber

Milton Glaser: POP

By Steven Heller, Mirko Ilić, and Beth Kleber
Publisher: The Monacelli Press
Published: March 2023

This collection of work from graphci design legend Milton Glaser’s Pop period features hundreds of examples of the designer’s work that have not been seen since their original publication, demonstrating the graphic revolution that transformed design and popular culture.

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Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall by Alexandra Lange

Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall

By Alexandra Lange
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Published: June 2022

Chronicles postwar architects’ and merchants’ invention of the shopping mall, revealing how the design of these marketplaces played an integral role in their cultural ascent. Publishers Weekly writes, “Contending that malls answer ‘the basic human need’ of bringing people together, influential design critic Lange advocates for retrofitting abandoned shopping centers into college campuses, senior housing, and ‘ethnocentric marketplaces’ catering to immigrant communities. Lucid and well researched, this is an insightful study of an overlooked and undervalued architectural form.”

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Die Fläche: Design and Lettering of the Vienna Secession, 1902–1911 (Facsimile Edition) by Diane V. Silverthorne, Dan Reynolds, and Megan Brandow-Faller

Die Fläche: Design and Lettering of the Vienna Secession, 1902–1911 (Facsimile Edition)

By Diane V. Silverthorne, Dan Reynolds, and Megan Brandow-Faller
Publisher: Letterform Archives Books
Published: October 2023

This facsimile edition of Die Fläche, recreates every page of the formative design periodical in full color and at original size, accompanied by essays that contextualize the work, highlighting contributions by pathbreaking women, innovative lettering artists, and key practitioners of the new “surface art,” including Rudolf von Larisch, Alfred Roller, and Wiener Werkstätte founders Koloman Moser and Josef Hoffmann.

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