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Claim offer20 essential books for graphic designers
Brush up skills, find fresh inspiration, or take some advice from your fellow designers.
Adobe Express
07/13/2025
Whether you're new to graphic design or are a seasoned pro, reading books about graphic design is a great way to continuously refresh your skills on your own. Reading helps you expand on new ideas, gain a fresh perspective, and get inspiration for your next project. These are the top 20 books on color, brand identity, typography, and the like that all graphic designers should read (and own).
Summary
1. Graphic Design for Everyone by Cath Caldwell
Great for beginners who want the basics
This book offers a project-based approach with 10 step-by-step guides for creating a variety of designs. You can create websites, newsletters, e-commerce, invitations, posters, sales materials, and more just by reading this book. It’s intended to inspire confidence in designers with applicable skills for visual communication.
2. The Graphic Design Bible by Theo Inglis
Great for those with a special interest in the history of design
Designer, writer, and lecturer Theo Inglis covers the story, theory, and practice of graphic design. Inglis presents digestible chapters on elements such as typography and mediums and explores how each has been revolutionized through the years.
3. Graphic Design Rules: 365 Essential Do’s and Don’ts of Design by Peter Dawson, John Foster, Tony Seddon, Sean Adams, and Stefan G Butcher
Great for beginners who want lighthearted design advice
This book covers design mantras from four industry experts, providing valuable do’s and don'ts for every day of the year. Covering topics such as typography, color, layout, imagery, production, and creative thinking, this book delivers guidance and advice in a fun and relatable way.
4. Designing Brand Identity: A Comprehensive Guide to The World of Brands and Branding by Alina Wheeler and Rob Meyerson
Great for those interested in branding and brand identity
Wheeler and Meyerson demystify the world of branding, explain brand fundamentals, and celebrate great design in this book. It’s split into three sections, focusing on brand fundamentals, process basics, and case studies.
5. Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon
Great for inspiration-seekers, beginners, and experts
“Steal Like an Artist” teaches readers how to use their surroundings and creativity to discover and develop their own artistic paths. With infographics and words of wisdom, this book is a great addition for all designers who want to reignite their passion for design.
6. Logos that Last: How to Create Iconic Visual Branding by Allan Peters
Great for those with a special interest in logo design
“Logos that Last” reveals Peters’ own step-by-step strategy for logo creation. It includes case studies that follow designs from concept to completion, tips for turning ideas into logos, strategies for extending a logo into a brand system, and advice for turning your passion project into a profession.
7. Draplin Design Co: Pretty Much Everything by Aaron James Draplin
Great for inspiration seekers
As one of the new schools of influential graphic design, this book covers a mid-career survey of Draplin’s work. It includes case studies, inspiration, road stories, lists, maps, how-to's, and advice.
8. Burn Your Portfolio: Stuff They Don’t Teach You in Design School but Should by Michael Janda
Great for intermediate designers looking for a fresh perspective
“Burn Your Portfolio” is the ultimate behind-the-scenes guide for graphic designers. It teaches real-world practices, do’s and don'ts, and unwritten rules of business that most designers, photographers, web designers, copywriters, programmers, and architects only learn after years on the job.
9. Palette Perfect for Graphic Designers and Illustrators by Sarah Caldas
Great for those who want to explore the depths of color
There’s more to color than meets the eye — from evoking specific emotions to different cultural perceptions. This book is divided into 24 chapters, each covering an hour of the day, visually represented in color with innovative palettes and unexpected color combinations for each included color.
Further reading: 101 brilliant color combinations
10. The Fundamentals of Graphic Design by Gavin Ambrose, Paul Harris, and Nigel Ball
Great for new and beginner designers
“The Fundamentals of Graphic Design” is the ideal foundational resource. Perfect for students of design, this book offers practical advice, inspiration, and an insight into how graphic designers work, historical influences on the field, and coverage of design thinking.
11. Principles of Logo Design: A Practical Guide to Creating Effective Signs, Symbols, and Icons by George Bokhua
Great for those with a special interest in logo design
Noted logo designer, George Bokhua, shares his process for creating logos with designers of all skill levels. His examples apply the principles of classic texts on grid system by Josef Muller-Brockmann and on form and design by Wucius Wong. Bokhua demonstrates how to design logos using simple and monochromatic shapes that evoke a sense of perfection.
12. Why Fonts Matter by Sarah Hyndman
Great for those with a special interest in typography
Discover the science and art behind how fonts influence you, why particular fonts evoke certain experiences and associations, and the different personalities associated with specific fonts. This book includes immersive and interactive elements, including quizzes, tests, and case studies.
Further reading: 10 font pairings for maximum impact
13. Graphic Design School: A Foundation Course for Graphic Designers Working in Print, Moving Image, and Digital Media by David Dabner
Great for beginners interested in print, moving image, and digital media
Organized into two sections, “Graphic Design School” covers the fundamentals of design. It includes composition, hierarchy, layout, typography, grid structure, and color, while also explaining how to put these basics into practice with information around studio technique and production.
14. 1890 – Today Graphic Design by Jens Müller
Great for those who have a special interest in the development of graphic design
This book is a curated collection of standout designs for each year from 1890 to 2022, providing a reflection on the development of the creative field over time. Each piece highlighted in this book acts as a milestone through contemporary history, allowing us to see how graphic design influences our daily lives.
15. How to be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul by Adrian Shaughnessy
Great for those who want practical advice for working as a designer
Written by designers for designers, “How to be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul” gives practical advice for budding designers. It covers how to find work, how much to charge clients, and what to do when you encounter difficult situations. Filled with practical advice and philosophical guidance, it’s a great book for those who want to know how to successfully navigate their career in design.
16. 100 Ideas that Changed Graphic Design by Steven Heller and Veronique Heller
Great for inspiration seekers
“100 Ideas that Changed Graphic Design” details the 100 ideas, in chronological order, that have manifested themselves in objects of design. Ranging from technical (such as overprinting and rub-on designs) to stylistic (such as swashes on caps and white space), to objects (such as dust jackets and design handbooks), and methods (such as paper cut-outs and pixelation), each idea offers insight and inspiration for what lies ahead.
17. How To Think Like a Great Graphic Designer by Debbie Millman
Great for those who want advice straight from the experts
Millman collates interviews carried out with 19 designers including Stefan Sagmeister, Michael Beirut, David Carson, and Milton Glaser. Here, each designer shares their approaches, processes, opinions, and thoughts about their work.
18. The Designers Dictionary of Color by Sean Adams
Great for those who want a deep dive into color
“The Designers Dictionary of Color” provides an in-depth look at 30 colors key to art and graphic design. It includes charts that show color range and palette variations, as well as each color’s creative history and cultural associations.
19. Know Your Onions: Graphic Design by Drew De Soto
Great for beginners who want an easy-to-understand guide to design
To know one’s onions is an english saying meaning that you are experienced or know alot about a particular subject. Without being overly technical or condescending, this book offers practical and immediate advice. Readers will learn how to come up with ideas, develop concepts, and implement them in an engaging way. It includes all essential techniques of graphic design and digital implementation, perfect for those who want to ‘know their onions’ when it comes to graphic design.
20. Design Is Storytelling by Ellen Lupton
Great for those with an interest in how design impacts emotion and behavior
“Design Is Storytelling” is a guide to thinking and making, perfect for those working in the fields of graphic design, product design, service design, and user experience. Using 250 illustrations, this book covers grounding concepts and concrete examples and provides demonstrations to help designers understand how to shape behavior and engage users.
