Being big bibliophiles here at InVision, we asked some of our favorite designers to recommend the book that inspired them the most this past year. Check out the 75 most popular answers and the top designers who recommend them, plus 5 inspiring periodicals.
Inspired by Typography
Decorative Logo DesignThis image-heavy book explores the marks and logos of charming brands.
Yoga Perdana
Coordinator Designer at Volcom Indonesia
David Cran
Illustrator, Designer and Photographer
Dangerous Curves: Mastering Logotype Design by Doyald YoungThis book exhibits Young's amazing collection of typography by focusing on the form and curves of the letters.
Ryan Hamrick
Owner of Baselime LTD
Ken Barber
Chief Letterer and Typeface Design Director at House Industries
Joseph Alessio
Freelance Designer and Lettering Artist
"Doyald Young's 'Dangerous Curves' showcases his own work and is an incredible study tool and reference book for lettering work."
Joseph Alessio, Freelance Designer and Lettering Artist
The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert BringhurstThis manual travels between art, history and technical knowledge, serving both as a reference book and a readable story.
Simon Gustavsson
Freelance Graphic Designer
Sven Read
Designer at BörseGo AG
Matt Yow
Designer at Focus Lab
Eddie Wilson
Software Designer
Jackson Alves
Owner of Custom Types
The Ten Commandments of Typography/Type Heresy by Paul FeltonFelton playfully relates typography to religion in this cheeky book that includes "commandments" and "sacrilege."
Vadim Sherbakov
Founder and Owner of Madebyvadim
Type Matters! by Jim WilliamsThis book is a well-structured answer to modern problems of layout design on computers.
Nick Kumbari
Independent Art Director/Graphic Designer
Pete Orme
Founder of Supereight Studio Ltd.
Gert Tzafa
Art Director at OgilvyOne Worldwide Athens
Thinking with Type by Ellen LuptonThis best-seller serves as a guide to typography from digital to print, explaining the rules and how exactly to break them.
Matt Johnston
Co-Founder and Head of Product at Boatbound
Fabio Benedetti
Visual Designer and Illustrator
Jesus Cardenas
Senior Designer at Brand Apart
Benn Raistrick
Co-Founder of Gravita
Jakub Kejha
Freelancer
Tyler Anthony
Designer at O&H Brand Design
"I love the examples featured in 'Thinking with Type' and the process behind them. It’s a must-have book for every typeface geek."
Fabio Benedetti, Lead Visual Designer and Illustrator at Artscode
Inspired by Product Design
Designing for the Digital Age by Kim GoodwinThis book serves as a roadmap to create useable, helpful products, from team-building to iteration.
Alex Vanderzon
UI / UX Designer at Alcidion and Freelancer
Living with Complexity by Donald A. NormanNorman picks apart the argument for simplicity and vouches for complex (but well-designed) products that shadow our rich lives.
Pete Lacey
Product Design Lead at Podio
The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A. NormanNorman delves into product design from the scientific viewpoint of a cognitive psychologist to explain why some products work and others frustrate.
Michal Vasko
Senior Product Designer at Voxer
Matt Daniels
Member of the Strategy Team at Undercurrent
Dmitry Novikov
Senior Designer at MacPaw Inc.
Manoela Ilic
Web Designer and Developer at Codrops
Joshua Corliss
Digital Design Director at The Martin Agency
Didi Medina
Experience Designer at Mixbook
Logan Faerber
Lead Visual Designer at DockYard
Christian Baroni
Freelance Designer
Inspired by People
Damn Good Advice (For People with Talent!) by George LoisLois, the original "Mad Man" offers witty advice on life and business.
Andrew Littmann
Senior Art Director at IMM
Herb Lubalin American Graphic Designer by Adrian ShaughnessyThis biography chronicles the life and career of Lubalin, arguably the world's most influential typographer and graphic designer.
Eric Nyffeler
Owner/Designer/Janitor at Doe Eyed
Jon Contino
Principal of Jon Contino Studio
"Herb Lubalin is one of my idols, and this book is just a giant collection of his work. If you want good design, it's all in there!"
Jon Contino, Principal of Jon Contino Studio
George Nelson: Architect / Writer / Designer / Teacher by Stanley AbercrombieThis illustrated biography explores Nelson's classic mid-century modern designs.
Aaron Eiland
Senior Graphic Designer at Fossil
Saul Bass: A Life in Film and Design Hardcover Jennifer BassWorking in graphic design, corporate identity, and even short film, Bass created some of the most recognizable imagery of the 20th century.
Zach Graham
Illustrator and Designer at Dropbox
Dieter Rams: As Little Design as Possible by Sophie LovellThis exploration of Ram's life includes photographs, sketches, and other archival material to explain why we still use products he designed a half century ago.
Andree Blixt
UI/ Visual Designer and Owner of Blixt Design
Ray Sison
Design Director at R/GA
Kern and Burn by Tim HooverThis book includes interviews with 30 designers detailing their failures and successes as they created careers for themselves.
Jim Leszczynski
Principal at Good Behavior
Mads Burcharth
Designer/Illustrator
Amy Hood
Co-Founder and Designer at Hoodzpah Design Co.
David M. Smith
Maker/Designer/Entrepreneur, The BlkSmith Design Co.
Cameron Dearsley
Product Designer at Tab Payments
Jon Ashcroft
Freelance Designer and Illustrator
Eric R. Mortensen
Freelance Designer
Tim Boelaars
Independent Graphic Designer and Illustrator
Valerie Jar
Designer/Illustrator
Steve Jobs by Walter IsaacsonIsaacson writes an honest portrait of the iconic designer based on extensive interviews with Jobs himself as well as his family, friends, and colleagues.
James McDonald
Owner of Enthusiastic.co
Bart Ebbekink
Senior Web Designer at Blink Interactive
Meng To
Designer at Design+Code
Ales Nesetril
Freelance Web and UI/UX Designer
"'Steve Jobs' by Walter Isaacson inspired me so much. It changed the way I think and how I live my life right now. It really changed the way I look at designs these days, and how I want to be better at it everyday."
Bart Ebbekink, Senior Web Designer at Blink Interactive
Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple's Greatest Products by Leander KahneyThis biography explores the man behind design at Apple, from overcoming dyslexia to becoming the lead designer of his generation.
Dmitri Litvinov
Designer at Postach.io
Pierre Borodin
Product Designer at Giant Interactive
The Vignelli CanonVignelli himself describes what he considers good design and his process behind his work.
Jan Vu Nam
Freelance Product Designer
Eduardo Santos
Freelance User Interface Designer
The Manual - Issues 1-3 by variousEach issue contains six articles and six personal lessons from six different authors.
Jed Bridges
Senior Identity and Web Designer for Elevator
Joey Lomanto
Director of Design for Product at Salesforce
Jeremy Loyd
Creative Director at Sparkbox
Dominic Flask
Independent Designer and Illustrator at Dangerdom Studios
Inspired by the Future
Design Forward by Hartmut EsslingerEsslinger explores how design can have an impact on sustainability for the future in both the environment and the economy.
Miguel Oliva Márquez
UX Designer at Skype
Design Is the Problem by Nathan ShedroffShedroff calls designers to focus on sustainable products and solutions.
Jina Bolton
Senior Product Designer at Salesforce UX
Obey the Giant by Rick PoynorThis collection of essays by Poynor describes the increasing connectivity of commerce and culture.
David Sizemore
Art Director at MailChimp
World without Words by Michael EvamyEvamy shows how simple design can explain so much without words and how culture is moving toward a world without words.
Matt Lawson
Designer at Hubspot
Predictably Irrational by Dan ArielyThis book brings to light the hidden forces that shape our daily decisions in life.
Mig Reyes
Designer at Basecamp
Michael Smith
Designer at charity: water
Jon Patterson
Freelance Designer Specializing in UX/UI, Branding and Illustration
"I’ve shifted to books about how people work, how we write, how we live, business, sales. All of the things that good designers—and good people—should know about, but we often neglect because we’re so focused on our craft."
Mig Reyes, Designer at Basecamp
The Craft of Words By The StandardistasThis book uncovers the importance of words in design and why designers must think of words as an equally important design tool.
Tom Creighton
Product Designer at Heist
The Creative Habit by Twyla TharpTharp's books offers prescriptions and exercises to release your creativity from its often-stuck mindset.
Andrew Beck
Visual Designer at Edenspiekermann
Scott Dunlap
Designer and Co-Creator of Habit List
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel KahnemanNobel Prize-winning psychologist Kahneman differentiates between our quick, "gut" way of thinking and our other slower, more logical system.
Matt D. Smith
Design Director at Studio Mds
Inspired by Icons and Logos
Geek-Art: An Anthology by Thomas OlivriOlivri's anthology consists of almost 800 examples of "geek art."
Sebastien Gabriel
Visual Designer for Google Chrome
The Icon Handbook by Jon HicksHicks goes from the basics to the finished in seven steps, laying the roadwork for a predictable way to create an icon.
Jeff Broderick
Creative Director at ShopSavvy
Zach Roszczewski
Freelance Iconographer and Illustrator
Piotr Kwiatkowski
Visual Designer at Palantir
Nikolay Verin
Icon Designer
Eric Hoffman
Founder and Principle Designer of JellyJar Co
Mateusz Dembek
UI Designer at Motoeye
Kevin Andersson
Graphic Designer and Developer
Luboš Volkov
Lead Designer at Toptal
Kubilay Sapayer
Visual Designer
Nick Chamberlin
Freelance Illustrator
Logo Creed by Bill GardnerThis book goes from discovery to research to development to delivery and gives examples from lead designers about their own processes.
Jonas Söder
Freelancer for Web and Print
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