Design & Typography
Introduction to Graphic Design
- Williams, Robin. The Non-Designer’s Design Book, 4th edition. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press, 2014.
- Williams, Robin. The Mac is Not a Typewriter, 2nd ed. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press, 2003.
- Williams, Robin. The PC is Not a Typewriter. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press, 1995.
- Williams, Robin. The Non-Designer’s Presentation Book: Principles for Effective PresentationDesign (2nd edition). Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press, 2017.
- Williams, Robin and John Tollett. The Non-Designer’s Web Book, 3rd Edition. CA: Peachpit Press, 2006.
- Williams Robin and John Tollett. J. Robin Williams Design Workshop, 2nd ed. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press, 2007.
Typography Animated Tutorial
Robert Bringhurst
- Bringhurst, Robert. The Elements of Typographic Style. Vancouver, BC: Hartley & Marks Publishers, 1992, 1996, 2001 (v2.4), 2002 (v2.5), 2004 (v3.0), 2005 (v3.1), 2008 (v3.2), and 2012 (v4.0).
- Bringhurst, Robert. A Story as Sharp as a Knife: The Classical Haida Mythtellers and Their World (Masterworks of the Classical Haida Mythtellers. Vancouver, BC: D&M Publishers, Inc., 1999, 2011.
- Bringhurst, Robert. What is Reading For? Rochester, NY: RIT Cary Graphic Arts, 2011.
- Bringhurst, Robert. The Tree of Meaning: Language, Mind and Ecology. Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint Press, 2006, 2008.
- Bringhurst, Robert. Everywhere Being Is Dancing: Twenty Pieces of Thinking. Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint Press, 2008.
- Bringhurst, Robert. The Surface of Meaning: Books and Book Design in Canada. University of Michigan: CCSP Press, 2008.
- Bringhurst, Robert. The Solid Form of Language: An Essay on Writing And Meaning. “Drop a word in the ocean of meaning and concentric ripples form. To define a single word means to try to catch those ripples. No one’s hands are fast enough.” Kentville, Nova Scotia: Gaspereau Press, 2004.
- Bringhurst, Robert. “These Poems She Said.” The Beauty of the Weapons: Selected Poems 1972-1982. Canyon Press, 1982. (poem accessed 9/20/2020 on the Robert Bringhurst page, Poetry Foundation.)
———————-Self-love is an ending, she said,
Robert Bringhurst
and not a beginning. Love means love
of the thing sung, not of the song or the singing.
These poems, she said . . .
You are, he said,
beautiful.
That is not love, she said rightly.8
Graphic Design & Typography
- Bantjes, Marian. I Wonder. New York: The Monacelli Press, 2010.
- Barrett-Forrest, Ben. The History of Typography: Animated Short. Forrest Media: forrestmedia.org, 2013.
- Bringhurst Robert. The Elements of Typographic Style (4). Vancouver: Hartley & Marks, 2012.
- Craig, James. Basic Typography: A Design Manual. New York: Watson-Guptill, 1990.
- Coles, Stephen. The Anatomy of Type: A Graphic Guide to 100 Typefaces. NY: Harper Design, 2012.
- Cullen Kristen. Layout Workbook: A Real-World Guide to Building Pages in Graphic Design. Beverly, Maine: Rockport Publishers, 2007.
- Cullen, Kristen. Design Elements, Typography Fundamentals: A Graphic Style Manual for Understanding How Typography Affects Design. Beverly, Maine: Rockport Publishers, 2012.
- Elam, Kimberly. Typographic Systems: Principles of Organizing Type. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2007.
- Felici J. The Complete Manual of Typography: A Guide to Setting Perfect Type. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press, 2003.
- Fili, Louise. Elegantissima: The Design and Typography of Louise Fili. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2012.
- Heller, Stephen and Veronique Vienne. 100 Ideas that Changed Graphic Design. London, U.K.: Laurence King Publishing, 2012.
- Heller, Stephen. The Education of a Typographer. New York: Allworth Press, 2004.
- Heller, Stephen and Louise Fili. Vintage Graphic Design: Type, Typography, Monograms & Decorative Design from the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries. New York: Allworth Press, 2020.
- Highsmith, Cyrus. Inside Paragraphs: typographic fundamentals. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2012, 2020.
- Hyndman, Sarah. Why Fonts Matter. Berkeley, CA: Gingko Press, 2019.
- Lupton, Ellen. Graphic Design: The New Basics. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2008.
- Lupton, Ellen. Graphic Design Thinking: Beyond Brainstorming. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2011.
- Lupton, Ellen. Thinking with Type. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2004.
- Lupton, Ellen and J C Phillips. Graphic Design: The New Basics. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2008.
- Mafundikwa, Saki. Afrikan Alphabets: The Story of Writing in Afrika. Brooklyn, NY: Mark Batty Publisher, 2006.
- Meggs Philip B. Type and Image: The Language of Graphic Design. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1992.
- Orangeseed Design. Bringing Graphic Design In-House: How and When to Design It Yourself. Beverly, Maine: Rockport Publishers, 2004.
- Mafundikwa, Saki. Afrikan Alphabets: The Story of Writing in Afrika. Brooklyn, NY: Mark Batty Publisher, 2006.
- McNeil, Paul. The Visual History of Type. London, U.K.: Laurence King Publishing, 2017.
- Meggs Philip B. Type and Image: The Language of Graphic Design. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1992. Orangeseed Design. Bringing Graphic Design In-House: How and When to Design It Yourself. Beverly, Maine: Rockport, 2004.
- Samara, Timothy. Design Elements: A Graphic Style Manual. Beverly, Maine: Rockport Publishers, 2004.
- Samara, Timothy. Design Evolution: Theory Into Practice. Beverly, Maine: Rockport Publishers, 2008.
- Samara, Timothy. Typography Workbook: A Real-World Guide to Using Type in Graphic Design. Beverly, Maine: Rockport Publishers, 2002.
- Scher, Paula. Make It Bigger. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2005.
- Thomas, David Dylan. Design for Cognitive Bias. A Book Apart: Brief Books for People Who Make Websites. Free download of first chapter in Design for Cognitive Bias available from A Book Apart.
- White, Alex H. The Elements of Graphic Design: Space, Unity, Page Architecture, and Type, 2nd ed. New York: Allworth, 2011.
- White, Alex H. Thinking in Type: The Practical Philosophy of Typography. New York: Allworth, 2005.
- White, J.V. Editing by Design: For Designers, Art Directors, and Editors, 3rd ed. New York: Allworth Press, 2003.
- Williams Robin and John Tollett. J. Robin Williams Design Workshop, 2nd ed. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press, 2007.
Grid Systems
- Bibliografik. Grid Systems Without Sound.
- Elam, Kimberly. Geometry of Design: Studies in Proportion and Composition. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2001. “At last, a mathematical explanation of how art works presented in a manner we can all understand.” (Google Books)
- Elam, Kimberly. Grid Systems: Principles of Organizing Type. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2004.
- Hass, Alex. “Chapter 3.4: Organizational Principles.” Graphic Design and Print Production Fundamentals. BC Campus Open Textbooks, 2015.
- Samara, Timothy. Making and Breaking the Grid: A Graphic Design Layout Workshop. Maine: Rockport Publishers, 2002.
- Tondreau, Beth. Layout Essentials: 100 Design Principles for Using Grids. Beverly, Maine: Rockport Publishers, 2019.
Grid Systems without SOund by Bibliografik
Color
- Adams-Morioka and Terry Stone. Color Design Workbook: A Real-World Guide to Using Color in Graphic Design. Beverly, Maine: Rockport Publishers, 2006.
- Albers, Josef. Interaction of Color, 50th Anniversary Edition. London, U.K.: Yale University Press, 1963, 2013.
- Itten, Johanes. .Trans: Ernst Van Hagen. The Elements of Color. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1961, 2003.
Presenting with & Without Slides
- French, Katy. “Eleven Tips for Beautiful Presentations.” Visage, November 24, 2016, accessed August 30, 2020. https://visage.co/11-design-tips-beautiful-presentations/.
- Reynolds, Garr. Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery, 4th edition. Berkeley, CA: New Riders, 2020.
- Reynold, Garr. The Naked Presenter: Delivering Powerful Presentations With or Without Slides. Berkeley, CA: New Riders, 2011.
- Reynolds, Garr. Presentation Zen Design: A Simple Visual Approach to Presenting in Today’s World. Berkeley, CA: New Riders, 2014.
- Reynolds, Garr. “Top Ten Slide Tips.”GarrReynolds.com (n.d.) accessed August 30, 2020. http://www.garrreynolds.com/preso-tips/design/.
- Rosling, Hans. Gapminder.org, accessed August 30, 2020.
- Williams, Robin. The Non-Designer’s Presentation Book: Principles for Effective PresentationDesign (2nd edition). Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press, 2017.
DIY: Design It Yourself
- Lupton, Ellen. (ed) D.I.Y.:Design It Yourself. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2006.
- Lutpon, Ellen. Indie Publishing: How to Design and Publish Your Own Book. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2008.
- Lupton, Ellen and Miller A. Design Writing Research. London: Phaidon, 2006.
- Shea A. Designing for Social Change: Strategies for Community-Based Graphic Design. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2012.
ALL CAPS & Readability
- Dehaene, Stanislas. Reading in the Brain: the Science and Evolution of a Human InDvention. New York: Viking, 2009.
- Enneson, Peter. “Bouma as Bounded Map.” Typophile. http://typophile.com/node/154329/29/2010 (accessed 3/8/2015).
- Enneson, Peter. “Bouma Slam.” Typophile, December 20, 2010. http://typophile.com/node/77618 (accessed 3/8/2015).
- Larson, Kevin. The Science of Word Recognition. Advanced Reading Technology, Microsoft Corporation 2004. http://www.microsoft.com/typography/ctfonts/WordRecognition.aspx (accessed 3/8/2015).
- Robb, Alice. “Netiquette of Capitalization: How Capital Letters Became Internet Code for Yelling.” New Republic. http://www.newrepublic.com/article/117390 (accessed 3/14/2015).
- Sacks, Oliver. The Mind’s Eye. The Mind’s Eye. New York: Random House, 2010.
- Saenger, Paul. Space between Words: The Origins of Silent Reading. California: Stanford University Press, 1997.
- White, Alex W. Thinking in Type: The Practical Philosophy of Typography. New York: Allworth Press, 2005.
- McCulloch, Gretchen. “The Meaning of All Caps in Texting and in Life.” Wired. July 23, 2019. Accessed January 17, 2021. https://www.wired.com/story/all-caps-because-internet-gretchen-mcculloch/
The Web: Design & Typography
- Chimero, Frank. The Shape of Design. New York: 2012, 2015, 2020.
Not about typography, grids, or logos, this small book is focused on storytelling and craft. It is a book about why and how great work is done, objectives, and big questions: How does it feel to make things for other people? And how can we do so in a meaningful, engaged way? (My favorite read for 2022) - Santa Maria, Jason. “How We Read” Chapter 1 of Jason Santa Maria’s book On Web Typography published at New York, New York: A List Apart: Brief Books for People Who Make Websites, August 05, 2014. Accessed October 8, 2020. https://alistapart.com/article/how-we-read/.
- Santa Maria, Jason. On Web Typography. New York, New York: A Book Apart: Brief Books for People Who Make Websites, 2014. Free download of first chapter available from A Book Apart website.
- Santa Maria, Jason. “On Web Typography.” A List Apart, November 17, 2009. Accessed October 8, 2020. https://alistapart.com/article/on-web-typography/.
- Thomas, David Dylan. Design for Cognitive Bias. New York, New York: A Book Apart: Brief Books for People Who Make Websites. Free download of first chapter in Design for Cognitive Bias available from A Book Apart.
Reviews
- Shoaf, Jeremiah. Review of the Best Typography Books for Designers. Typewolf. January 2020.
The Good Page 
Since my blog name is The Good Page, and this comes from the Robert Bringhurst quote, I should certainly have included his book in my first reading list. Thanks for making me aware of this oversight. His Elements of Typography is now in the list.
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This is a great list! Thanks for sharing.
If I can suggest an addition, Robert Bringhurt’s Elements of Typographic Style is helpful to writers and designers alike! It acts as a reference manual, but does contain a lot of history and rationale. It’s the book I continue to take off my shelves as I work in setting type.
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