Designers spend hours on end staring at a computer screen learning the ins and outs of every Adobe program, practicing the rules of pairing fonts, and perfecting their craft. But once in awhile, we all need to step away from the computer screen and regroup; we need to give our eyes a rest and feed our brains with some knowledge and inspiration. What’s the best way to do this? Might we suggest going old school, as in, picking up a few paperback design books? Give yourself the opportunity to delve into the heads of some of the world’s greatest designers, or learn how to effectively sell design, or get some incite on what others consider to be “good” design all by means of some beautifully constructed print pieces . To help you do so, we’ve rounded up five of our favorite must-read design books for millennial creatives. Now, check out the list below and unplug yourself for a bit:
How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer by Debbie Millman
Take a peek inside the heads of some of the world’s greatest living graphic designers. How do they think, how do they connect to others, what special skills do they have? In honest and revealing interviews, nineteen designers, including Stefan Sagmeister, Michael Beirut, David Carson, and Milton Glaser, share their approaches, processes, opinions, and thoughts about their work with noted brand designer Debbie Millman. The internet radio talk host of Design Matters, Millman persuades the greatest graphic designers of our time to speak frankly and openly about their work. How to Think Like a Great GraphicDesigners offers a rare opportunity to observe and understand the giants of the industry. Designers interviewed include: Milton Glaser, Stefan Sagmeister, David Carson, Paula Scher, Abbott Miler, Lucille Tenazas, Paul Sahre, Emily Oberman and Bonnie Siegler, Chip Kidd, James Victore, Carin Goldberg, Michael Beirut, Seymour Chwast, Jessica Helfand and William Drenttel, Steff Geissbuhler, John Maeda
Design is a Job by Mike Monteiro
In the words of Mike Monteiro, “I wrote a small book about selling design and confidence. It’s pretty good. You’d like it.” We must say, out of all the design books we’ve read, this one was a favorite.
The Vignelli Canon by Massimo Vignelli
The famous Italian designer Massimo Vignelli allows us a glimpse of his understanding of good design in this book, its rules and criteria. He uses numerous examples to convey applications in practice – from product design via signaletics and graphic design to Corporate Design. By doing this he is making an important manual available to young designers that in its clarity both in terms of subject matter and visually is entirely committed to Vignelli’s modern design
The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurs
Renowned typographer and poet Robert Bringhurst brings clarity to the art of typography with this masterful style guide. Combining the practical, theoretical, and historical, this edition is completely updated, with a thorough revision and updating of the longest chapter, “Prowling the Specimen Books,” and many other small but important updates based on things that are continually changing in the field.
Just My Type by Simon Garfield
Fonts surround us every day, on street signs and buildings, on movie posters and books, and on just about every product we buy. But where do fonts come from, and why do we need so many? Beginning in the early days of Gutenberg and ending with the most adventurous digital fonts, Simon Garfield explores the rich history and subtle powers of type. He goes on to investigate a range of modern mysteries, including how Helvetica took over the world, what inspires the seeming ubiquitous use of Trajan on bad movie posters, and exactly why the all-type cover of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus was so effective. It also examines why the “T” in the Beatles logo is longer than the other letters and how Gotham helped Barack Obama into the White House. A must-have book for the design conscious.