8 books to help you make better design decisions
Every creator faces a design challenge at some point.
How can I make this design look like it wasn't designed with MS Paint?
If you feel handicapped in your design decision-making, here are 8 books I would recommend reading to level up your design eye.
The most important thing to learn about design is how to make your text sing. 95% of the web is text, and there are helpful guidelines to make your text readable and legible.
Have you landed on a website where the text stretched from one side of the browser to the other? It’s tiring to read, no matter how great the story is. And that feeling affects the brand equity of the person who wrote it.
“Thinking with Type” is one of the most approachable books on typography. It covers some of the technical aspects in a simple way, but this book will level up your thinking after one read.
It’s filled with great illustrations, and writers will love this because many of the examples are directed at making sure your writing looks great.
“The Non-Designer’s Design Book” is a great introduction to design for non-designers. The book covers the basics of design, including layout, color, and typography. The book is written in a friendly and accessible style, making it easy to understand for anyone.
My only knock is how dated the examples are, as it was originally written in the late 80s when it was cool to have overly designed business cards because desktop publishing was entirely new.
That said, it covers the fundamentals well, and it’s a great reference book on the four basic design principles.
Chip Kidd has designed more than 1,500 book covers, including the cover of Michael Crieghton’s Jurassic Park, which was later licensed to Universal Studios for the movie.
Personally, I believe you can learn a lot about design from the way books are created to grab our attention. This book by Chip simplifies the basic ideas of design into content, form, typography, and concepts.
The book also includes 10 mini design projects in the back, which make the concepts incredibly easy to apply.
This is a classic book on design exploring how everyday objects are designed and used.
Good design should be intuitive and easy to use, and the book provides examples of both good and bad design in everyday life. The book is less about how to apply design, but instead how to build your curiosity of design in the world you live in.
Some books are great reference material when you're starting a new project. This book pulls newspapers from around the world, showcasing different layouts and ways to design a lot of information. Even if you’re designing a personal site, skimming through newspapers can be a great way to see what you can do with beautiful typography.
I have kept this on my shelf for almost 10 years, and whenever I’m feeling uninspired, this is my go-to resource to better understand different ways to combine type, images, and spacing.
6. Refactoring UI by Adam Wathan and Steve Schoger
While this one is helpful for developers, it’s a great resource for understanding how to simplify and bring your software ideas to life. It focuses on the fundamentals of design, and how to take clunky user interface ideas and make them feel much cleaner.
While this isn’t about design, it’s about taking the best of what exists and making it yours. Making good design decisions comes down to having confidence in your own taste, and this book will help you skillfully pull from the world around you.
This is focused on web design, but it's a great guide to making better design decisions on the web.
The definitive manual on typography. It can be a bit dense, and much of what you’ll learn is in Ellen Lupton’s book above. But, if you want the Bible of typography, this is it.
This covers everything from the history of typography to the basics of typography design. The book is filled with examples of good typography, making it easy to understand the principles of typography design.
Now, if you ever want to get better at learning the tools and skills to create your own design and visual style, check out my Creator Design Kit.
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See you next Sunday,