: What is the single most influential book every designer should read? What is the single most influential book every designer should read?

@Ravi4787994

Robert Bringhurst: The Elements of Typographic Style (already listed, but not to be missed)
Jost Hochuli: Detail In Typography (to complement the first one)
Adrian Shaughnessy: How to Be a Graphic Designer without Losing Your Soul

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@Miguel516

E. F. Schumacher, A Guide For The Perplexed.

It has nothing to do with your work, and yet, it will affect everything that you do.

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@Shelley591

How Buildings Learn is literally about architecture, but conceptually fits into a lot of concepts--especially in the context of web design and software design in general. It's one I've recommended for a long time.

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@Lee3735518

Any of the books that Jason Santa Maria has on his recommended reading list for designers, such as:


Making and Breaking the Grid by Timothy Samara
Graphics Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines by Graphic Artists Guild
And of course as mentioned above, The Elements of Typographic Style
by Robert Bringhurst

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@Turnbaugh909

I have to go with a classic in this case:



Müller-Brockmann, Josef: Grid Systems in Graphic Design.

It predates the web -- but everything is still pretty applicable.

Many contemporary remixes and revisitations are available to adapt Mr. Müller-Brockmann's practical opus of pragmatic design to the internet era, should the reader want or need such a thing.

Srsly kids, get one today. You won't regret it.

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@Mendez620

On the psychological side, i'd like too add :

Colin Ware : Visual Thinking for design

Stephen Kosslyn : Graph design for the eye and the mind.

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@Caterina889

I'll promote it till i am blue in the face. Logo Design Love is a great book. Everyone should own it. Given it is pretty limited to logo design but ideas from it can be useful for any graphic design job.

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@Alves566

Universal Principles of Design

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@Sims5801359

The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst is generally considered the definitive guide to typography.

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@Moriarity648

The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman.

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@Gonzalez368

From the standpoint of a designer that must display technical information, there is no better bible than the series of books by Edward Tufte:


The Visual Display of Quantitative
Information
Envisioning Information
Visual Explanations: Images and
Quantities, Evidence and Narrative
Beautiful Evidence


I re-read these books (or page through them) every time I'm stuck with a tricky design problem.

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@Sims5801359

I'd certainly recommend Problem Solved: A Primer in Design and Communication by Michael Johnson. It's a good introduction, with real case studies of client briefs. The problem - solution format is likely to be quite appealing to users of this and other SE sites, too.

The johnson banks website and especially blog might give you a bit of a taster.

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@Fox8063795

I know that we are talking about graphic, but as an Architect I feel the obligation of recommend to everybody Notes on the Synthesis of Form by Christopher Alexander, a book about the process of general design.

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@Goswami567

Don't Make Me Think, by Steven Krug.

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