It’s a good thing the design industry has a lot of generous hearts that are willing to share their design knowledge with little to no cost. The Big Book of Font Combinations is a fun, inspirational read. Design’s Iron Fist is a great collection of one design wisdom after another. : A seminal design book that’s also a great read, The Elements of Typographic Style is a book you’ll return to time and time again. Rand’s Thoughts on Design is, for many, the granddaddy of design books. Nov 5, 2019 - Explore sarah adelman's board "book design", followed by 628 people on Pinterest. As well as giving more structure to your reading, you’ll make new friends and find new networking connections. Every designer has his or her own way of doing things, so the designers who created these resources know that there are things they do differently that could probably benefit your greatly. In short: Lord of the Logos has novelty and creative value. Szpajdel takes inspiration from a wide and creative variety of sources, including. If you want to succeed, you need to know what they’re saying. In short: This unassuming book is great for introducing some creative introspection to the process of working with seemingly mundane and basic shapes. , is also a book about color, but takes a completely different approach and, as such, deserves a spot on your reading list. If you’ve read one too many dense, tech design books recently, Why Fonts Matter might be the breath of fresh air you need to keep moving forward on your learning journey. Compiled From 13 “Best Graphic Design Books” Articles. If you’re not familiar with Jarman, he was a hugely creative artist and filmmaker who wrote the book as he was dying of AIDs and, sadly, losing his eyesight.Â. It is from these case studies that Square Circle Triangle emerged. They can help you make your work more organized. That’s what this e-book talks about. Even if you’ve never heard of The Hundreds (it’s a streetwear brand), it’s the story of the brand’s evolution, told by co-founder Bobby Kim, aka Bobby Hundreds.Â. Life has a habit of expanding to occupy the space you offer it. Graphic Design for Non-profit Organisations [Image: AisleOne] Graphic Design for Non-profit Organisations focuses mainly on design and best prac­tices for non-profit orga­ni­sa­tions, but the con­tent is a great resource in gen­eral and the teach­ings can be applied pretty much any­where. Read it to better understand the graphic design industry’s history and major players. Are you even sure that you’re maximizing its full potential? It’s an insightful and complex dialogue between her and her interviewee, their thoughts guided by her experienced designer’s sensibility. If you want to dive into branding in an imaginative, creative way, then it’s essential to mix up your reading and ensure you’re digesting a variety of sources and inspiration. It opens opportunities for further learning. In short: It’s a brave new world for designers willing to lead. Let this book guide you through the pitfalls. You’ll learn some of the most basic rules in design in some of these e-books. As an advertising exec, Hugh MacLeod has seen a lot of creative people bring to the table whatever they can give at the moment, but he sees that they could have given so much more. A physically large book of over 6,000 trademarks, this catalog runs through the most important and stylish corporate logos created in the period of 1940-1980, when, attitudes had a major effect on corporate identity. Â. In short: A seminal design book that’s also a great read, The Elements of Typographic Style is a book you’ll return to time and time again. Grid systems aren’t really a design topic you can skip, so do yourself a favour, and read this when you can. “But I’m already creative!” This is probably what a lot of you would say, after which, you would probably just go on and continue doing whatever you’ve been doing. In short: Designers love Logo Modernism as an inspirational deep-dive into modernist logos. In short: Unlike anything else out there on the subject, The Big Book of Font Combinations also offers apps and online tools to expand the ways you can use the book. That means you probably spend a lot of time reading snippets, summaries, blog posts, and articles. After all, you can’t stick to the same thing over and over again. Master designer Massimo Vignelli may have been one of the greatest in the field, but that doesn’t mean he kept all his secrets to himself. Yes, designers are allowed to break the rules every so often. Never before in history has business been so visually and aesthetically-focused, meaning that the need for graphic designers is more urgent than ever. He founded Paper! It’s happened to every designer out there. If you’ve spent any time studying graphic design, you’ll have come across grid systems as a tool for organising layout and content. This unassuming book is great for introducing some creative introspection to the process of working with seemingly mundane and basic shapes. Instead of dealing with the how’s and the what’s, The Shape of Design tells you WHY you’re creating your design. From optimizing screen spaces to choosing the right fonts for your design, it’s a treasure trove of knowledge that you can get for free. As a designer, you’re in the heartland of tech. It’s a jewel of the 70’s and well worth tracking down.Â. Color Inspirations is designed to be used professionally and practically – it offers accurate CMYK, RGB and HEX values for every color combination, and the physical copy of the book includes a CD so you can import the palette in the book into whatever project you’re currently working on. A physically large book of over 6,000 trademarks, this catalog runs through the most important and stylish corporate logos created in the period of 1940-1980, when modernist attitudes had a major effect on corporate identity. Â. It’s a great education in passion and graft, and makes for an interesting read, no matter your understanding of streetwear. So are we. In short: A visually appealing and educationally relevant deep-dive into color and font, this book looks at a subtopic no designer will regret specialising in. But this chaos can also be causing a lot of your design problems. Thinking With Type is the latest edition of a classic, book designed to help anyone who works with type – designers, but also. This best selling book is the definitive guide to using typography in visual communication, from the printed page to the computer screen. Below, we’ll be presenting 20 e-books that will take your design expertise to the next level. It shows you what’s essential, what’s not, and where you can safely cut corners and reduce work.Â. Master those rules, then start thinking of creative ways on how you can tweak them, and eventually, break them. This also proves to be helpful for designers who have been in the field for so long, they feel the need to mix things up and introduce something new to the fold. "Graphic Design School: The Principles and Practice of Graphic Design David Dabner #DTL# The essential introduction to graphic design for the digital eraGraphic Design School provides a comprehensive introduction to visual design for modern These resources can help you put a little order into your routine. Using ancient history and (relatively) modern designers like Le Corbusier as examples, Munari believed the basic and timeless shapes to possess unique qualities – the square represents safety, the circle signifies the divine, and the triangle is a key connector.Â. If you find it on your travels, nab it – it’s rare and very cool, but be warned, it has a lofty price tag when you buy it new! Keep things fresh by reading books that aren’t necessarily academic or instructional. . The title alone should tell you how useful this could be for you and your freelance practice. Don’t look at the description and dismiss them as something you probably know already. This also affects the way your audience sees your design. For a lot of designers, chaos is their comfort zone. Originally a translator, she decided she needed fewer dictionaries and more SEO, so moved to Barcelona to break into content and marketing. It tells you how to market your business, how to license your work, how to effectively communicate with clients, and other things that could help establish you as a real professional. This e-book tells you how to create this hierarchy properly. Every great designer never stopped learning. In short: While not a fun or exhilarating read, Grid Systems will teach you everything you need to know about grid systems and their use, and is easily available to download free in PDF. Let us know, 75 Of The Coolest Color Combinations For 2020, Graphic Design Trends: Predictions for 2021, Types of Graphic Design: The 8 Most Common, Understanding Visual Hierarchy In Design: What Every Designer Should Know. If you want to read, you need to plan for it, so sketch out time in your schedule and treat it as seriously as any other appointment you have in there. Robert Bringhurst was also a translator and poet, so it’s no surprise he managed to combine form and function in this enjoyable read. It should also contain samples of experienced artists’ work for easier grasping of design fundamentals. It’s thanks to this illustrious career that she’s been able to round up the branding insights of 22 branding ‘celebrities’, including. This e-book gives you all the info you need on how to make all your designs print-worthy, especially if you made them using Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Acrobat or InDesign. It’s an insightful and complex dialogue between her and her interviewee, their thoughts guided by her experienced designer’s sensibility. The Ultimate Guide to Modern Calligraphy & Hand Lettering for Beginners: Learn to Letter: A Hand Lettering Workbook with Tips Techniques Practice Pages and Projects [June & Luc It’s a brave new world for designers willing to lead. Fans of Darius Monsef’s Color Inspirations regard it to be an essential resource for designers, rather than ‘just’ a good read. The Vignelli Canon gives you a wide spectrum of knowledge that will help you not only in terms of graphic design, but in product design, corporate design, and other aspects of the field as well. Published in 1974, Graphis Diagrams is Herdeg Walter’s book on the graphic representation of data. Rather than a study on color theory, this book is a journey into Jarman’s experience of color and all the fascinating color-related information and theory he picked up during his lifetime. Book clubs are not dead – they’ve just moved online! A good book for beginners, learn some basics of graphic design as well as parts of the history. If you find it on your travels, nab it – it’s rare and very cool, but be warned, it has a lofty price tag when you buy it new! © 2020 Inspirationfeed. The book will even clue you in as to why you don’t actually need to kill any dragons to get your hands on dragon’s blood (a vibrant dark red).Â. But it’s the way the product is designed that would turn these ideals into life. In anything you design, there’s one thing that you have to consider. He reads 20 pages of a book first thing every day. There’s strong scientific evidence that information you write down has a much better chance of sticking in your head. As you concentrate on the information in front of you, your brain is forced to make new connections between information it already knows and the new information you’re feeding it, because what a human brain craves more than anything is context and order. Â. And if you don’t understand why you’re doing what you’re doing, then I doubt you’ll be able to fully grasp what it is you should do to become a great designer. Concise, well-explained, and educational, this book was written with learning in mind. This type of reading is known as, This forces the brain to make new synapses and strengthen ones you already possess, which is why scientists think that deep reading can keep age-related brain degeneration at bay.  And if a new, improved brain wasn’t enough, reading has been proven to offer a whole other raft of benefits, from, The last word: advice for graphic designers who want to read more, Keep a list – but don’t be afraid to prune it, Make notes if there’s info you really want to remember, If a book contains information you really want to remember (which is quite likely with the more technical books), consider. Let this book guide you through the pitfalls. Is your design library ready for Logo Modernism? Designed as an open-source format to replace the proprietary GIF format, PNG is better, smaller, more extensible, and free. that accompanies the book – as you might expect, it’s absolutely gorgeous. Graphic design is the process of visual communication through the use of typography, photography, iconography and illustration.The field is considered a subset of visual communication and communication design, but sometimes the term "graphic design" is used synonymously.Graphic designers create and combine symbols, images and text to form visual representations of ideas and … Brand Thinking and Other Noble Pursuits is a series of interviews with people whose opinions on branding are what shapes the industry. Here’s the awesome thing about this download – you get not one, not two, but three e-books in the bundle! Dell XPS 15 2-in-1. Want to level up as a graphic designer in 2020? Throw This Is Not a T-Shirt into your reading list to keep things interesting. Flat design is something that has become more popular with this newfound love for simplicity. Müller-Brockmann’s handbook is considered by many to be a seminal work on the subject but, despite being both minutely detailed and a little dense (“definitely written by a German in the 1960s”, commented one reviewer wryly), it is actually pretty accessible even for inexperienced designers.Â. This much is necessary if you want to take advantage of your inborn creativity and ingenuity. It’s standard issue on many university reading lists and, for that reason, should also be on yours. Since it was designed with education in mind, it’s easy to read and clearly explained, with solid examples and challenging exercises. If that’s the case, this book will be your bible – buy it now. You could think of this book as his final attempt to distill and share his singular experience of color into a cohesive whole. . These basics, however, proved to be very useful to every designer that has come across it and downloaded it. This might sound unlikely, but once you see the logos he’s created for his black metal clients, you can see how these classic art forms fit in beautifully. Now who says you can’t get anything of value for free? Typography still proves to be one of the most crucial elements in design, especially if you want to make your message crystal clear. After writing the book, Rand went on to teach design at Yale until the 1990s, when he resigned in protest against postmodernism. It wasn’t about doing one thing, then doing that forever. In this book you’ll learn some key concepts of space, unity, page architecture, and typography. For reasons we’ll look into in a while, reading is one of the most effective ways to do this. A practical, easy-to-read handbook, Thinking With Type is the perfect blend between theory and practical application. 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