As to the potential and versatility that digital devices provide, there’s nothing like sitting down with a good book.
With all the various forms of printed media, it is an occasional relief to pick up something tactile once in a while to read. Nothing else compares to this print form. It sets out everything you need to know in an organized and complete way that ensures that nothing essential gets left out. Whether you’re interested in studying the fundamentals of graphic design or developing your existing skills, it’s worth investing in some excellent design books. Here are my favorites.
1) The Uncommon Life Of Common Objects: Essays on Design and the Everyday Hardcover – by Akiko Busch
A look at how design influences and responds to our changing lives, and a study of society and its values and the infusion of meaning into inanimate objects.
2) 4. Logo Modernism (Design) – Jens Muller, R. Roger Remington
When we start analyzing the aesthetics for architecture and art then apply them to product design we recognize a time of vast technological advance that affirms the power of human beings to reshape their environment and to break from the conventions or constraints of the past. From 1940-1980 this book takes a comprehensive look at the scope of post-modernism attitudes that gave birth to the concept of corporate identity.
3) Anatomy of Color: The Story of Heritage Paints & Pigments by Patrick Baty
Colour is a fundamental part of design, but knowing how to use it is also about learning its deep historical roots and how colour functions within a society as custom. I think all creatives should read this comprehensive and detailed book, focusing on the use of colour in decoration for over 300 years. Patrick Baty is a combination of skills such as historian, detective, and analyst. He traces the evolution of pigments and paint colours, and examines their impact on the colour palettes used in interiors. In doing so, he highlights the characteristic colour trends and styles of painting particular to each time period in interior design.