10 Best Graphic Design Books for Begginers
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1. Now You See It and Other Essays on Design by Michael Bierut
“Design is a way to engage with real content, real experience,” writes celebrated essayist Michael Bierut in this follow-up to his best-selling Seventy-Nine Short Essays on Design (2007). In more than fifty smart and accessible short pieces from the past decade, Bierut engages with a fascinating and diverse array of subjects. Essays range across design history, practice, and process; urban design and architecture; design hoaxes; pop culture; Hydrox cookies, Peggy Noonan, baseball, The Sopranos; and an inside look at his experience creating the “forward” logo for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. Other writings celebrate such legendary figures as Jerry della Femina, Alan Fletcher, Charley Harper, and his own mentor, Massimo Vignelli. Bierut’s longtime work in the trenches of graphic design informs everything he writes, lending depth, insight, and humor to this important and engrossing collection.
2. The Language of Graphic Design by Richard Poulin
The Language of Graphic Design provides design students and practitioners with an in-depth understanding of the fundamental elements and principles of their language, graphic design: what they are, why they are important, and how to use them effectively.
3. The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman
Design doesn’t have to complicated, which is why this guide to human-centered design shows that usability is just as important as aesthetics.
The Design of Everyday Things shows that good, usable design is possible. The rules are simple: make things visible, exploit natural relationships that couple function and control, and make intelligent use of constraints. The goal: guide the user effortlessly to the right action on the right control at the right time.
The Design of Everyday Things is a powerful primer on how — and why — some products satisfy customers while others only frustrate them.
4. Go by Chip Kidd
A curious kid’s guide to graphic design, covering form, function, color, typography, and much more, plus 10 hands-on design projects. Written by Chip Kidd, “the closest thing to a rock star” in the design world (USA Today).
Design is all around you. And whether you realize it or not, you are already a designer.
5. The Non-Designer’s Design Book by Robin Williams
For nearly 20 years, designers and non-designers alike have been introduced to the fundamental principles of great design by author Robin Williams. Through her straightforward and light-hearted style, Robin has taught hundreds of thousands of people how to make their designs look professional using four surprisingly simple principles. Now in its fourth edition, The Non-Designer’s Design Book offers even more practical design advice, including a new chapter on the fundamentals of typography, more quizzes and exercises to train your Designer Eye, updated projects for you to try, and new visual and typographic examples to inspire your creativity.
6. The Logo Design Toolbox by Alexander Tibelius
With this toolbox of practical logo templates à la Neubau Welt, Alexander Tibelius provides designers with useful groundwork for implementing their own ideas. All designers are familiar with this problem: one element is still missing and a deadline is fast approaching. They can imagine the suitable component, but since it isn’t at hand, it first has to be created in a time-consuming process. What could help simplify and shorten typical design processes? Which tools would one always like to have available? With his 900+ templates for contemporary graphic and logo design, Alexander Tibelius provides designers with the right basic materials for further processing and tuning.
7. A Graphic Design Student’s Guide to Freelance by Ben Hannam
A complete guide to freelance graphic design―created specifically for design students
Why wait until you graduate? Freelancing is a great way to jumpstart your career in graphic design. It lets you apply what you’ve been learning in school, close the gaps in your education with real-world experience, enhance your portfolio―and make a little money at the same time.
A Graphic Design Student’s Guide to Freelance: Practice Makes Perfect covers everything you need to know to begin successfully freelancing as a designer, including how to set up your business, deal with legal and financial issues, find clients, and work with them effectively.
8. Powered by Design by Renée Stevens
A truly up to date and thoughtful approach to an introduction to graphic design!
The design industry has evolved rapidly over the past decade. Effective and successful designers no longer need to just “make things,” they need to be curious thinkers who understand how to solve problems that have a true impact on the world we live in and how to show the power of designing for social good. Now more than ever, the graphic design industry needs a book that teaches the foundations and theories of design while simultaneously speaking to the topics of history, ethics, and accessibility in order to make designs that are the most effective for all people.
9. Information Graphics by Sandra Rendgen and Julius Wiedemann
“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”
―Albert Einstein
Our everyday lives are filled with a massive flow of information that we must interpret in order to understand the world we live in. Considering the complex variety of data floating around us, sometimes the best―or even only―way to communicate is visually. This unique book presents a fascinating perspective on the subject, highlighting the work of the masters of the profession, creators of breakthroughs that have changed the way we communicate. Information Graphics has been conceived and designed not just for graphics professionals, but for anyone interested in the history and practice of communicating visually.
10. Photoshop by Edward Bailey
“The Best Secrets of Color Grading and The 20 Best Photo Editing Techniques for Beginners! In one book!”
Thanks for reading!
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