This graphic design book collection has been hand selected by experienced professional designers. We only add the top books to our list, making it easier for you to find what you're looking for. Our collection expands on such graphic design topics such as; graphic design history, typography, logo design, business card design, principles of graphic design, elements of design, designing great layouts, and much more. These books are written by well known authors and designers such as; Meggs, Friedl, Felici, Lupton, Muller-Brockmann, Krause, Weingart, Rand, and others.

Have you purchased a great graphics book and don't see it listed here? Please let us know. We're always looking for suggestions to help make this the best graphic design book collection online. Enjoy!

Thinking With Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students (Design Briefs)

by Ellen Lupton

The organization of letters on a blank sheet -- or screen -- is the most basic challenge facing anyone who practices design. What type of font to use? How big? How should those letters, words, and paragraphs be aligned, spaced, ordered, shaped, and otherwise manipulated? In this groundbreaking new primer, leading design educator and historian Ellen Lupton provides clear and concise guidance for anyone learning or brushing up on their typographic skills. Thinking with Type is divided into three sections: letter, text, and grid. Each section begins with an easy-to-grasp essay that reviews historical, technological, and theoretical concepts, and is then followed by a set of practical exercises that bring the material covered to life. Sections conclude with examples of work by leading practitioners that demonstrate creative possibilities (along with some classic no-no's to avoid).

Grid Systems in Graphic Design

by Josef Muller-Brockmann

Product Description: From a professional for professionals, here is the definitive word on using grid systems in graphic design. Though Muller-Brockman first presented hi interpretation of grid in 1961, this text is still useful today for anyone working in the latest computer-assisted design. With examples on how to work correctly at a conceptual level and exact instructions for using all of the systems (8 to 32 fields), this guidebook provides a crystal-clear framework for problem-solving. Dimension: 81/2 x 113/4 inches, English & German Text, 357 b&w examples and illustrations.

My Way to Typography

by Wolfgang Weingart

Wolfgang is one of the most important designers of our day. He studied at Baslel under Ruder and Hoffmann and then broke all the rules, paving a path for modern design. This book is large in size, content and price but worth every penny.

Otto Treumann

by Treuman

Product Description: One of the pioneering forces of modernism in European graphic design, Treumann could be heralded as a patron saint of functionality. His whole oeuvre - from posters to his famous postage stamps - is included in this comprehensive and designed creatively (by Irma Boom) retrospective. A jewel of a book. Texts includes reprints of Treumann's typed letters to the 'Groene Amsterdammer' weekly, and Hajo Rose. The dust jacket folds out into a Treumannesque poster on beautifully crafted paper.

Paul Rand

by Steven Heller

Amazon.com Review:
IBM, UPS, ABC. If these acronyms ring a bell, their ubiquitous logos springing instantly to mind, then you know the work of Paul Rand (1914-1996), the Picasso of Graphic Design. A pioneer in the field of visual communication, Rand developed a fresh and individual design language drawn from European art movements including Russian constructivism, de Stijl, and the Bauhaus. His career as an art director, teacher, writer, and design consultant to major corporations spanned almost seven decades. Rand arguably got his start at the tender of 3 when he first began to secretly copy pictures of the attractive Palmolive models pictured in advertising displays in his father's grocery store in Brooklyn, New York. He later modeled his aesthetic on avant-garde artists like Paul Klee, El Lissitzky, and architect Le Corbusier, each of whom advocated a timeless spirit in design. Rand began his career in an era when working by hand was a given, a reality that would change before his eyes as the mass media, entertainment, an d consumer industries were revolutionized by increasingly technical equipment, and ultimately the computer.

From Lascaux to Brooklyn

by Paul Rand

From Library Journal Back to basics is Rand's refrain in this latest volume of his Yale series (e.g., Design, Form and Chaos, 1993; A Designer's Art, 1985). Visually and verbally arresting, the present title successfully distills major tenets from Rand's critically acclaimed career in graphic design, advertising, and academia. The first half is a primer, complete with large type, of fundamental aesthetic and design principles as appropriate for children, according to the author, as it is for adults. The second half connects elements of quality design to real-world problems through conceptual studies of logo designs, a typographic debate, and an appraisal and elaboration of Henry Petroski's The Evolution of Useful Things (LJ 12/92). Discriminating, erudite, and eclectic in its examples, this work clearly and convincingly communicates Rand's commonsense approach to the pursuit of quality in design theory and process. Highly recommended for all academic libraries. Russell T. Clement, Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Becoming a Graphic Designer: A Guide to Careers in Design

by Steven D. Heller, Teresa Fernandes
A revision of the bestselling visual guide to becoming a graphic designer Becoming a Graphic Designer provides a comprehensive survey of the graphic design market, including complete coverage of print and electronic media and the evolving digital design disciplines that offer today's most sought-after jobs. Featuring 65 interviews with today's leading designers, this visual guide has more than 600 illustrations and covers everything from education and training, design specialties, and work settings to preparing an effective portfolio and finding a job. The book offers profiles of major industries and key design disciplines, including all-new coverage of careers in exhibition design and illustration.

Rethink Redesign Reconstruct: How Top Designers Create Bold New Work by Re:Interpreting Original Designs

by Mark Wasserman

This book is a powerful reminder that there's more than one solution to every creative problem. Author Mark Wasserman has created a unique experiment in design that is much like the process of remixing music. Top designers were given the source files to one of 37 original designs and asked to reinterpret the original art into new creations. Ultimately, the project was not about making a design better, but about different visual approaches. Besides being a visual treat, these remixes can also serve as a creative jolt for those inevitable times when designers need a little extra inspiration.

Each section starts with an original design and detailed Q&A-style captions that explain the concept and process behind the design. The following redesigns--ranging from wild freeform creations to more subtle changes--are paired with insightful interviews that give readers a rare glimpse into the creative thought process.

Pantone Guide to Communicating with Color

by Leatrice Eiseman

Use the PANTONE Guide to Communicating with Color to make your color choices credible, predictable and effective. Filled with hundreds of color combinations and illustrations, this book is based on consultant Leatrice Eiseman's popular seminars on the psychology of color. Apply these essential guidelines and illustrations to all your projects- branding, packaging, point-of-purchase, advertising, signage, logos, web sites and more!

With this useful guide, you'll find everything you need to make color work in your designs - from valuable color terms to a chart for converting PANTONE spot colors to Hexachrome® and process formats. Created especially for anyone interested in the psychology of color and meaningful color combinations, this guide uses Pantone's universally utilized color systems to ensure that color comes out just the way you like - No surprises.

Typographic Design: Form and Communication

by Rob Carter, Ben Day, Philip Meggs

From Book News, Inc.
Begins with a survey of the fundamental concepts of typographical design including the evolution of typography, letterform anatomy, visual organization, and the interplay of form and meaning. Of interest to both students and practitioners is discussion of legibility factors, technology, issues in theory and structure, and case studies. Includes glossary, and five appendices of related information. Elegantly illustrated. Changes (if any) for the 2nd edition are not noted. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Layout Index: Brochure, Web Design, Poster, Flyer, Advertising, Page Layout, Newsletter, Stationery Index

by Jim Krause

Idea Index kick-started a revolution in graphic design books, unique in size, feel--and most important--wealth of ideas. Layout Index is the next step, a compendium of layout idea-generators that will help designers explore multiple possibilities for visual treatments each time they turn the page. The visual and textual suggestions are divided into eight major areas, including newsletters, flyers, posters, brochures, advertising, stationery, page layout, and Web pages.

Each of these examples are designed to inspire effective solutions in the viewer's mind, rather than simply give specific answers to design problems. The tone and temperament of the design problems, as well as their solutions, vary from traditional to cutting-edge, from corporate to crazy. Designers will learn to solve their design problems, produce fantastic work and become better, more creative thinkers.

Idea Index: Graphic Effects and Typographic Treatments

by Jim Krause

This handy little reference book lists hundreds of great ideas for visual artists -- whether you're a graphic designer, font designer, or web designer, or even just an amateur artist. Divided into two big sections, Graphic Effects and Typographic Treatments, The Idea Index offers new perspectives on shading, spacing, photo effects, and much more. No studio or workspace is complete without this book of helpful hints.

Graphic Design For The 21st Century: 100 Of The Worlds Best Graphic Designers

by Charlotte Fiell, Peter Fiell

Covering a vast range of cutting-edge graphics, with politically charged anti-commercial work placed in the same context as Nike's latest ads, this book presents a sweeping look at today's most progressive graphic currents - from signage at packaging to branding and web design.

History of the Poster

by Josef Muller-Brockmann, Shizuko Muller-Brockmann

History of the Poster, co-written by Josef and Shizuko Müller-Brockmann, is a landmark account of one of the most prolific visual traditions of our culture. Originally published in 1971, this seminal study is clearly written and richly illustrated. Now reprinted by Phaidon Press, History of the Poster is an essential read for anyone intrigued by this most modern medium.

Euro Deco: Graphic Design Between The Wars

by Steven Heller, Louise Fili

A sprawling compendium of Art Deco design from across Europe, Euro Deco features a broad range of exemplary graphic ephemera. Culled from Steven Heller and Louise Fili's popular International Deco series of inspirational reference books, the material in Euro Deco comes from Italy, Spain, the UK, Germany, France, and the Netherlands, primarily between WWI and WWII -- the time when the continent gave birth to modern graphic design. Well over a thousand images from posters, packaging, advertisements, menus, and brochures display the elegant geometry and harmonious marriage of typography and illustration that make deco a popular style to this day. A generous package at an attractive price, Euro Deco is poised to be a standard graphic resource for designers, collectors, and aesthetes alike.

Patterns and Palette Sourcebook: A Complete Guide to Choosing the Perfect Color and Pattern in Design

by Anvil Graphic Design Inc

Book Description
This hardworking reference book is an invaluable tool for art directors, designers, and students working in the fashion, product, and graphic design fields, as well as anyone in the business of visual communication.

The Pattern and Palette Sourcebook is a desktop library of colors and patterns that addresses the professional's real-world needs in working with harmonies and contrasts. Divided into six unique style sections, the book provides readers with 15 appropriate colors for each section, which are then incorporated into 25 different patterns shown in six or eight color variations each. This enables readers to see the dramatic effect colors have in design and helps them better understand how to use color effectively. The book also demonstrates ways of creating designs that are distinctly unique from one another yet hold together in a group. This book is a must have for designers of all disciplines and experience levels.

A History of Graphic Design

by Philip Meggs

Amazon.com Editorial Review
After a decade of research by the author, the first edition of A History of Graphic Design was heralded as a publishing landmark by the Association of American Publishers, who awarded it a coveted award for publishing excellence. Now, after fifteen years of development in graphic design, this expanded and updated Third Edition includes hundreds of full-color images and new material in many areas, including alphabets, Japanese and Dutch graphics, and the computer revolution which has impacted all aspects of contemporary design and communications. With its approximately 1,200 illustrations, lucid text, and interpretive captions, the book reveals a saga of creative innovators, breakthrough technologies, and important design innovations.

A History of Graphic Design is recognized as a seminal work; this Third Edition surpasses in detail and breadth the content, design, and color reproduction of previous editions. It is required reading for professionals, students, and everyone who works with or loves the world of graphic design. This comprehensive reference tool is an invaluable visual survey that you will turn to again and again.

Best of Business Card Design 6

by Blackcoffee Design Inc.

Book Description
The latest edition of Rockport's best-selling The Best of Business Card Design series features a high-end collection of the most recent and best work by top designers around the world. Organized in a visually focused presentation, this comprehensive collection contains approximately 800 images, selected from thousands of entries from around the globe. Essentially an art collection of today?s most innovative business card designs, this high-quality resource will be sought by both professional designers and marketers whose clients stem from every kind of business.

Business Cards: The Art of Saying Hello

by Mike Dorrian, Liz Farrelly

Product Description:
Business Cards: The Art of Saying Hello is the ultimate business card book, bringing together the best examples of cards created by designers around the world. Business cards are a major design challenge; creating successful cards is all about the clever use of space; but just a little space. And that's not all. A design needs to make a splash, stand out from the crowd or announce you as part of a team; and how do you solve the problem of creating a universally understood message while catering to cultural differences and multiple languages? Materials are also important; not all cards are machine printed, and this book features cards on punched metal, stitched fabric, cards with heat-sealed cut-outs, or made from recycled subway tickets, plus clever examples of best-practice using "make-your-own" business-card machines.

Over 300 cards are grouped into sections reflecting different design approaches: Typography, Photography, Materials, Illustration and Found Objects. Proving just how inventive you can be with a limited space, this book is a rich source of ideas and inspiration both for designers and anyone wishing to make a statement with their business card.

The Complete Manual of Typography

by James Felici

This book is about how type should look and how to make it look that way; in other words, how to set type like a professional. It releases the craft knowledge that used to reside almost exclusively in the heads of people working in type shops. The shops are gone, the technologies have changed, but the goal remains the same. This book explains in very practical terms how to use today's computerized tools to achieve that secret of good design: well-set type.

Beautifully designed and richly illustrated, The Complete Manual of Typography is an essential reference for anyone who works with type. Designers, print production professionals, and corporate communications managers can go straight to the index to find focused answers to specific questions, while educators and students can read it as a textbook from cover to cover. You'll find: History, basic concepts, and anatomy of good typography, concisely presented and indexed for quick reference by busy professionals.

Typography - an encyclopedic survey of type design and techniques throughout history.

by Friedrich Friedl

From the publisher
This book is the most detailed and comprehensive survey and history of typography and alphabets ever undertaken. It delineates an alphabetic history of our world civilization.

Packed with information and 3,500 illustrations in full-color and black-&-white, it surveys the history of type design, type development and techniques, and chronicles the styles and fashions of letters on a page, from the origins of writing to the present day.

It presents and reviews over 1,000 different typographers, designers, calligraphers, and artists as well as inventors, scholars, and theorists who have left their distinctive mark.

SYNOPSIS This reference surveys the Western world's alphabetic culture and demonstrates the interaction between craft and technology, theory and practice, and functional and experimental ideas. Friedl (typography, College of Design in Offenbach am Main), and graphic designers Nicholaus Ott and Bernard Stein chronicle in detail the story of type design, development, fashions, and techniques starting with the present day and going back to the origins of the written word. They also describe the development of the tools from the hand-ax to the computer, and present about 700 typographers, type designers, calligraphers and artists, as well as schools, institutions, teachers, and theorists. The volume contains 2,000 color and b&w illustrations. Text is presented in English, French, and German. Oversize: 9.5x12". Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Marks of Excellence

by Per Mollerup

Finding the roots of trademarks in heraldry, potter's marks, monograms, and other such ancient devices, this book traces the history of the corporate visual lexicon and produces a taxonomy of the commercial age. An alphabetical section covers motifs from animals to waves, with short definitions and analyses beautifully complemented by daringly cropped and crisply photographed images. Pictures of this quality and interest would steal the show in most volumes, but the text stands up well to the challenge of images that gain force because of the familiarity of their subjects (corporate trademarks), and the unusual sense that the book's context lends to them. Marks of Excellence is a worthwhile exploration at the modern language of ownership.

Universal Principles of Design

by William Lidwell, Kritina Holden, Jill Butler

Whether a marketing campaign or a museum exhibit, a video game or a complex control system, the design we see is the culmination of many concepts and practices brought together from a variety of disciplines. Because no one can be an expert on everything, designers have always had to scramble to find the information and know-how required to make a design work until now.

Universal Principles of Design is the first comprehensive, cross-disciplinary encyclopedia of design. Richly illustrated and easy to navigate, it pairs clear explanations of every design concept with visual examples of the concepts applied in practice. From the "80/20 rule to chunking, from baby-face bias to Ockham's razor, and from self-similarity to storytelling, every major design concept is defined and illustrated for readers to expand their knowledge.

The Best of Brochure Design 8

by Ann Willoughby

Book Description
Rockport's Best of Brochure Design series is a perennial best seller worldwide. This eighth installment is not unlike its predecessors. It, too, looks at the latest of the best and the brightest brochures produced by leading designers around the world.

Brochure design is a very important and common area of design yet it often poses unique challenges for graphic designers. When stalled for ideas or grappling for a solution to a problem, designers routinely turn to their peers for advice and inspiration. This book is like having your peers at your desktop-inspiration and advice at your fingertips. It provides a wealth of ideas for choosing type, layout, photo treatments, and much more. It is a problem-solving, brainstorming, high-quality resource that is sure to spark the creativity in any reader.

It is little wonder that designers have come to rely upon and look forward the Best of Brochure Design series year after year.

The Design Of Dissent

by Milton Glaser, Mirko Ilic, Tony Kushner

Book Description
Milton Glaser, Mirko Iilic & Tjony Kusner have assembled a visually powerful book for all to enjoy. The posters are selected from individuals and groups around the world. This book encompasses artwork from the 1960's to the present. They express a broad spectrum of concerns from many viewpoints.

Milton. Glaser has stated in an interview "the general perception I have is that design can function in culture and has a social role that cannot be only about selling goods". This is certainly true of the design art found in this book.

Logo Design Workbook : A Hands-On Guide to Creating Logos

by Noreen Morioka, Terry Stone Sean Adams

Book Description
This book will be the first in a series of practical and inspirational workbooks that will cover all the fundamental areas of the graphic design business. Each book will provide the reader with a range of content about the featured subject providing a number of tools to help them make better designs. This series will go beyond our traditional showcase books yet remain succinct and to the point so designers are able to get the information they need quickly and easily.

This book/series will offer the reader ideas and inspiration by featuring hundreds of real life logos from around the world that have succeeded for their clients, as well as hardworking content focused on the basics including: - Choosing colors - Choosing the right typeface - Size matters - How to incorporate logos on products and collateral - Common mistakes in logo design - What makes a logo successful.

Basics Design: Format

by Gavin Ambrose, Paul Harris

Reviewed by Todd Bertsch ~ Design Dump
This is truly one of the BEST design books I've seen in a good while. AVA publishing has put together an awesome series of Basic design books that are a must for students, as well as, a great refresher course for those seasoned designers. The content, size, layout, design, and breakdown of information is executed perfectly. And the price is right. For under $20 you can BUY this book today. The other 4 titles from this series (Layout, Typography, Image, Colour) should be available to the U.S. in the next few months. We'll keep you posted.

Book Description Introducing the brand-new, extremely visual BASICS series, which will eventually incorporate 5 titles, each representing a fundamental aspect of graphic design. Format, the first entry, concerns the physical dimensions of a product and the space one has to present the graphic elements of a design: the size of a book, the scale of a poster, the folds in a brochure. This instructive handbook examines in detail books, magazines, posters, direct mail, brochures, and Web pages to see how effectively they communicate, how appealing they look, and how strong an impact they make on the user. The original ideas showcased throughout are inspirational.

LogoLounge 2: 2,000 International Identities by Leading Designers

by Bill Gardner, Cathy Fishel

About the Author Catharine Fishel runs Catharine & Sons, a full-service editorial company that specializes in working with designers and related industries. She frequently writes for Step-by-Step Graphics, PRINT, ID magazine, DesignNet, and other trade publications. She is the author of Designing for Children, Minimal Graphic, and Paper Graphics. Catharine lives in Morton, Illinois. Bill Gardner is president of Gardner Design and has produced work for Learjet, Thermos, Nissan, Pepsi, Pizza Hut, Coleman Outdoor, Excel, Cargill Corporation, and the 2004 Athens Olympics, His work has been featured in many national and international design exhibitions, including Communication Arts, PRINT, Graphis, and the Museum of Modern Art.

Product Description: If you don't have a subscription but would still like to see the best logos on the site created by top designers who often maintain low profiles, then LogoLounge II is for you.

The first portion of the book profiles 10 top designers and spotlights their biggest, newest campaigns. A handful of their smaller projects are also featured, including some that have never before been seen. The second half of the book contains almost 2,000 logos organized by client type.

Identity Crisis: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities into Successful Brands (Hardcover)

by Jeff Fisher

What a great book! If you're a graphic designer, and love logo/identity design, then you'll indeed enjoy this book. Who doesn't love to see the "Before and After", then perform their own critiques. This book is also a great resource for getting new fresh ideas for successful identity systems. And wait...Yes, it's hardbound. A nice touch. Another great book by Jeff Fisher of Logo Motives. You can learn more about Jeff at his websites:
http://www.jfisherlogomotives.com/
http://blog-omotives.blogspot.com/