At our studio we started a book club for everyone who loves design — and a fine pile of tips came up. We picked books that changed how we see the craft, or that helped us directly in our work. You might own some already; others may inspire you.

No shop links this time — where you buy is entirely up to you. Let’s dive in; we’ve sorted the tips into a few areas.

Fundamentals & principles

The Non-Designer’s Design Book — Robin Williams. A perfect start for newcomers and a great refresher for the experienced.

Grid Systems in Graphic Design — Josef Müller-Brockmann. A handbook on grids — the foundation of every clean layout.

The Vignelli Canon — Massimo Vignelli. The world and principles of design through the eyes of the famous Italian designer.

Typography

Thinking with Type — Ellen Lupton. A typographic bible for anyone who loves type.

Eseje o typografii — František Štorm. For beginners and pros alike, from the most celebrated Czech type designer.

Knihy a typografie — Martin Pecina. A relaxed read about the whole process of making books.

Helvetica — Lars Müller. A book showing how a single typeface changed the modern world.

Branding, strategy & creativity

The Brand Gap — Marty Neumeier. On brand-building theory and why strategy and creativity must play together.

Pocket Full of Do — Chris Do. Advice, tips and the philosophy of the founder of The Futur.

Book of Ideas — Radim Malinic. Exactly what it promises — ideas from the creative director of London’s Brand Nu.

Ogilvy on Advertising — David Ogilvy. A classic from the “father of advertising”.

Start Your Own F*cking Brand — Maria Erixon. The story of building Swedish brand Nudie Jeans, straight from its founder.

Logos, data & infographics

Logo Modernism — Jens Müller & R. Roger Remington. 6,000 modernist logos in their purest form.

Designing News — Francesco Franchi. A look at the future of media and information design.

Information Graphics — Julius Wiedemann, Sandra Rendgen. A book full of great infographics for data nerds.

National Geographic Infographics — Julius Wiedemann. The best Nat Geo infographics in one place.

AIGA Graphic Design USA — collective. The yearbook published by the American Institute of Graphic Arts.

A tip for Affinity users

Workbook Designer / Photo / Publisher — collective. A great handbook not just for the software itself, but for working with graphics in the digital world.

Bonus

For lovers of beautiful typesetting — and as a source of gift ideas for a designer — be sure to check out standardsmanual.com.

That’s all from us for now. Long live design!