INNOVATION

BY DESIGN

35 Books Every
Designer
Should Read
WE ASKED SOME OF THE WORLD'S TOP
DESIGN SCHOOLS TO SHARE THEIR
FAVORITE BOOKS. HERE'S WHAT THEY
RECOMMEND FOR YOUR SUMMER
READING LIST.

It doesnt matter if youre a student of

design, or just someone who hears the
term "design thinking" and stays quiet at
meetings while noting to Google it later.
Theres always more you can learn about
design to benefit whatever you do.
So we reached out to professors at seven
of the worlds top design schools to ask
what books they recommend for getting
your feet wet in design. Each school
submitted five books that span design
disciplines, from industrial design to
graphic design to interior design and
more. We combined them into this
reading list, links to Amazon and all. Let
your summer beach reading start here.

SAVANNAH COLLEGE OF ART AND

DESIGN

SCAD

Thinkertoys (Michael Michalko)

A workbook for better brainstorming.

Design Basics (S. Pentak and A. Lauer)

A textbook to teach you the fundamentals
of 2-D graphic design.
The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for
Life (Twyla Tharp with Mark Reiter)
Choreographer and creative Twyla Tharp
explains how to develop and hone
creativity.
Visual Notes for Architects and Designers
(Norman Crowe and Paul Laseau)
Learn how sketching like an architect can
sharpen your thinking (and make for some
awesome Moleskines).
Geometry of Design: Studies in
Proportion and Composition (Kimberly
Elam)
Why is a Braun blender or Barcelona chair
beautiful? The geometry. This paperback
breaks it down.

PARSONS SCHOOL OF DESIGN

Parsons

The Industrial Design Reader (Carma

Gorman)
A paperback history on the origins of
industrial design.
Design in the USA (Jeffrey Meikle)
Where do hit products meet necessary
products in American culture? A history
book and design philosophy book in one.
History of Modern Design (David
Raizman)
Strap in. This history textbook spans the

evolution of decorative arts, industrial

design, and graphic design from the 18th
to 20th century.

Design Studies: A Reader (Hazel Clark

and David Brody)
A collection of essays examining the
"history, methods, theory, visuality,
identity, consumption, labor,
industrialization, new technology,
sustainability, and globalization" of design.
Design as Future-Making (Susan Yelavich
and Barbara Adams)
How will design shape our future? (Youve
gotta buy the book to find out.)

PRATT INSTITUTE

Pratt

Product Design (Rodgers and Milton)

An explanation of what product designers
really do, from concept to manufacture.
The Design Process (Karl Aspelund)
A thesis breaking down the seven
universal stages of design: identification;
conceptualization; exploration and
refinement; definition and modeling; and
communication on the way to
production.
Toward a New Interior: An Anthology of
Interior Design Theory (Lois Weinthal)
Interior design, presented through the
lens of essays on architecture, film, and
fashion.
Graphic Design: Now in Production (Ian

Albinson and Rob Giampietro)

The field of modern day graphic design,
explored in work published since the year
2000.

The New Basics (Ellen Lupton and

Jennifer Cole Phillips)
Learn graphic design with a focus on
visual clarity and information hierarchy.

CALIFORNIA COLLEGE OF THE ARTS

CCA

Thoughts on Design (Paul Rand)

Originally published as an essay in 1947,
Thoughts on Design is still fiercely
relevant to today's designers.
Tibor Kalman: Perverse Optimist (Peter
Hall and Michael Bierut)
This joint work designed by Pentagram
partner Michael Bierut and edited by
writer Peter Hall pays tribute to the
graphic design of Tibor Kalman. It appears
to be out of print.
Design as Art (Bruno Munari)
A highly readable paperback by 20thcentury icon Bruno Munari, exploring the
designs all around us.
Thinking With Type (Ellen Lupton)
Master typographic layouts with this
instructional book filled with dos and
donts.
The Visual Display of Quantitative
Information (Edward Tufte)
From the godfather of data visualization,

this book features 250 graphics and

charts, complete with Tuftes explanations
of why visual ideas work or dont.

SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS

SVA

Drawing is Thinking (Milton Glaser)

Explore 180 pages of drawings without
words by one of the most famed graphic
designers of all time.
Graphic Design: A Concise History
(Richard Hollis)
This affordable paperback charts the
history of graphic design with plenty of
pretty pictures to illustrate it.
Type and Image: The Language of
Graphic Design Paperback (Philip B.
Meggs)
An annotated argument that graphic
design isnt just part of the way we
communicate, but a unique language
unto itself.
Meggs' History of Graphic Design (Philip
B. Meggs, Alston W. Purvis)
From the creation of written language to
the rise of interactive design, this textbook
takes you through the history of graphic
design and includes 1,500 illustrative
photos.
Anatomy of Design: Uncovering the
Influences and Inspiration in Modern
Graphic Design (Steven Heller and Mirko
Ilic)

Everything is derivative. This paperback

examines 50 graphic designs, breaking
down what influenced each project.

INSTITUTE OF DESIGNILLINOIS
INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

IIT

The Design of Everyday Things (Don

Norman)
An industry classic explaining how to
design products for real human use.
Change by Design (Tim Brown)
A primer on the idea of "design thinking,"
and working from inspiration to
innovation.
Designing for Growth (Jeanne Liedtke)
Another book on design thinkingthis
one filled with question lists and exercises
to get you going.
Next Generation Business Strategies for
the Base of the Pyramid (Ted London and
Stu Hart)
An argument that businesses should
develop cheaper goods made for the
entire world, and how to make these
products catch on.
Vision in Motion (Laszlo Moholy-Nagy)
Part of the original Bauhaus school, Lszl
Moholy-Nagy illustrates where design, art,
and science meet. Currently out of print, it
can be a bit difficult to get your hands on.

RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN

RISD

World Changing: A Users Guide for the

21st Century (Alex Steffen)
A book spanning the world of
sustainability, from the locavore
movement to eco-friendly homes.
Humble Masterpieces: 100 Everyday
Marvels of Design (Paola Antonelli)
MoMA curator Paola Antonelli pays
homage to 100 pieces of design brilliance,
from Band-Aids to Post-Its.
In the Bubble: Designing in a Complex
World (John Thackara)
"We're filling up the world with
technology and devices, but we've lost
sight of an important question: What is
this stuff for? What value does it add to
our lives?"

Sustainable Design: Explanations in

Theory and Practice (Stuart Walker)
A call to think about design differently,
considering sustainability first and
foremost in the process.
Art and Visual Perception: A Psychology
of the Creative Eye (Rudolf Arnheim)
Originally published in 1974, this book
explores where art and psychology
collide.

MARK WILSON
Mark Wilson is a writer who started
Philanthroper.com, a simple way to give back every
day. Continued
Twitter

June 25, 2015 | 7:30

AM

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22 COMMENTS
BONGBONG

2 DAYS AGO

Speaking of design... You know those left-right

clickable arrows next to the photos in this article?
Why can't someone just put them in one consistent
location instead of having to reposition the mouse
at every click? THAT is bad UI design.

KNOW YOUR ONIONS

Link Reply

2 DAYS AGO

Try any of these:

http://www.articul8publishing.com/

SEOKAR

Link Reply

3 DAYS AGO

You're free to share your recommendations! tkanks

a lot http://seokar.com

CPSOLVER

Link Reply

7 DAYS AGO

"The Creative Problem Solver's Toolbox" has been

highly praised as a design book. It has been
published around the world in 10 languages, but
the U.S. English edition was self-published, so it's
not well-known in the United States. Disclosure: I
am the book's author, Richard Fobes

Link Reply

KEN PETERS

8 DAYS AGO

You don't become a great designer by only reading

about design. Try a few selections from this list:
http://www.nocturnaldesign.com/cm/content/bra
nding_bookshelf.asp
And, this list:
http://www.nocturnaldesign.com/blog/?p=64

MONIROM

Link Reply

8 DAYS AGO

Missing from this mix are the following requisites

Typographic Design: Form and Communication,

6th Edition
Crisp: Notes on Graphic Design and Visual
Communication
History of Graphic Design (Phil Meggs)

ROBERTO PEREIRA

Link Reply

8 DAYS AGO

The most important one (for me) is not cited:

Design for the Real World, Victor Papanek. It should
be the first book read by a designer.

CALLUM NASH

Link Reply

7 DAYS AGO

asif that's not cited. These guys are utterly

clueless.

Comment removed.

Link Reply

JENS OLIVER MEIERT

8 DAYS AGO

Little beats excellent literature.

Was Tufte among the duplicates? Im surprised that
Envisioning Information hasnt made it, which Id
deem primus inter pares.

BERTO ALVARO

Link Reply

8 DAYS AGO

Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud Not

directly about design but relevant.
http://scottmccloud.com/2-print/1-uc/

MONIROM

Link Reply

7 DAYS AGO

Definitely a good read and insight into how

people process images.

Link Reply

Comment removed.

MAG SHUM

8 DAYS AGO

https://www.facebook.com/StandardOfGood

MAG SHUM

Link Reply

8 DAYS AGO

https://www.facebook.com/StandardOfGood

PAUL J ENGEL

8 DAYS AGO

Link Reply

Victor Papanek should absolutely be on that list

1
PHAN

Link Reply

8 DAYS AGO

"We asked some of the worlds best design schools

..."
These schools are miraculously all based in the
USA. Is that US-chauvinism or just a case of punchy
writing? Either way - I think a more global
approach would have been good to diversify the
list.

INDD

Link Reply

8 DAYS AGO

(Telling comment below by JReinwand)

Interestingly, not one by Victor Papanek, nor any
books not specifically about design or design
theory. As a graduate instructor in design, I find that
just as much is often learned about design --and
the design process--from books outside the
definition of ' design book'..

MARK WILSON

Link Reply

8 DAYS AGO

You're free to share your recommendations!

JREINWAND

Link Reply

8 DAYS AGO

Is this list edited to exclude duplicate suggestions?

Interesting if they didn't overlap at all and curious if
they did.

Link Reply

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