15 Best Graphic Design Books for Beginners — Recommended 2021

Speaking of “Best Graphic Design Books for Beginners” is indeed a classic work, it summarizes the obscure design theory into the four design principles of “repetition, alignment, contrast, and intimacy”. My practice in graphic design In the process, I benefited a lot from it. At the same time, I have made some notes in the article “Four Design Principles for Self-Taught Graphic Design Very Useful”, which can be used as a reference for students who are new to graphic design.

For a detailed introduction to the books shared in this article: You can go to the Graphic Design Learning Diary Network (a learning platform for publishing and sharing high-quality design tutorials and sharing design experiences and books).

There is a large wave of excellent books coming, please prepare to collect and like them.

Graphic design, also known as visual communication design, uses “visual” as a means of communication and expression. It uses a variety of ways to create and combine symbols, pictures, and words to convey ideas or messages. Visual performance.

Graphic designers may use professional skills in typography, visual art, page layout, computer software, etc., to achieve the purpose of the creative plan. Graphic design usually refers to the process of production (design) and the final work.

The following recommendations are the best graphic design books. The details are as follows:

Table Of Contents

• 1. Graphic Design For Everyone
• 2. Grid systems in graphic design
• 3. The Design of Everyday Things
• 4. Paul Rand: Conversations with Students
• 5. Designing Design
• 6. Typographic Systems of Design
• 7. Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited
• 8. The Story of Art
• 9. The Non-Designer’s Design Book
• 10. Logo, Font & Lettering Bible
• 11. How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer
• 12. Basics Design 02: Layout: Second Edition
• 13. The Essential Principles Of Graphic Design
• 14. Design Elements
• 15. What is Graphic Design?
• Where to start learning graphic design
• How to learn graphic design for beginners
• Required Learning Materials
• How can I learn graphic design quickly?
• Tips for beginners to master when designing

1. Graphic Design For Everyone

by Cath Caldwell

Through this book, ordinary readers will soon be able to confidently design professional-level works, and professional designers will also get inspiration and solutions to problems.

This book is written by a world-class designer. The complex design principles are condensed into the four basic principles of intimacy, alignment, repetition, and contrast in the book. With its concise and lively style, the author presents these four basic principles and the principles behind them to readers in an easy-to-understand manner.

This book contains a lot of examples to let you know how to design beautiful and content-rich products in your own way. This book is suitable for readers who need to engage in design work in all walks of life, as well as experienced designers.

2. Grid systems in graphic design

by Josef Müller-Brockmann

The grid system is a design awareness and ability that a graphic designer must-have.” This shows the importance of the grid system.

In the book “Graphic Artists and Design Issues” published in 1961, Joseph Miller-Brockman explained grid design, which made him a pioneer in the history of graphic design. The grid system is also part of the Objective Typography and Design movement that originated in Switzerland. It is incredible that it was not until twenty years later that a special book was published-this is “Grid System in Graphic Design”.

The book has been selling well since its publication, which is quite reasonable. In fact, most designers do not know or understand why an order system such as a grid is to be established. Therefore, if you want to use the grid system reasonably and functionally, you must carefully study all the principles of the grid.

The beginning of “Grid System in Graphic Design” introduces the theoretical basis and purpose of the grid system, and then the detailed steps to build the grid system. After discussing paper size, font selection, column width, line spacing, page margins, and page numbers, Brookman further elaborated on the many detailed elements of the grid system.

The chapter on the application of the grid system includes the works of graphic designers from many countries, including the page design works of Wim Crowell, Paul Rand, Otto Escher, and Massimo Veneri, And make it a one-to-one comparison with the related grid system. As long as it is not too troublesome, anyone who studies the grid will find that with the help of the grid system, he can solve the problems in the design faster and make the design more functional, logical, and visually beautiful.

3. The Design of Everyday Things

by Donald A. Norman

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Dr. Norman’s “Design Psychology” emphasizes the user-centered design philosophy, reminding consumers that the items they choose must be convenient and easy to use, and easy to understand. I hope that designers will not ignore the design while paying attention to the aesthetics of the design. Some necessary factors, because for product design, safety and ease of use are always the keys to competition.

Dr. Norman used humorous language to describe many of the frustrations and dangers that we often encounter in daily life and helped us find the key to these problems, that is, product design ignores the real needs of users in a certain situation, and even violates Principles of Cognitive Science.

4. Paul Rand: Conversations with Students

by Michael Kroeger

As one of the most influential and inspirational graphic designers of the twentieth century, Paul Rand defined modern American graphic design. His iconic logo designs for IBM, UPS and the ABC television network distilled the essences of modernity for his corporate patrons. His body of work includes advertising, poster, magazine, and book designs characterized by simplicity and a wit uniquely his own.

His ability to discuss the design with insight and humor made him one of the most revered design educators of our time. This latest volume of the popular Conversations with Students series presents Rand’s last interview, recorded at Arizona State University one year before his death in 1996. Beginners and seasoned design professionals alike will be informed by Rand’s words and thoughts on varied topics ranging from design philosophy to design education.

5. Designing Design

by Kenya Hara

What exactly is design? The internationally renowned designer Kenya Hara once asked himself such a question. In order to give himself an answer, he conducted a long exploration. “The job of a designer is not just design practice.

In the current environment, finding a suitable place for design and reconfiguring the design field may be a more important job for the designer.” In this book In the last chapter of the article, Kenya Hara elaborated on the issue of “reconfiguration in the field of design”.

6. Typographic Systems of Design

by Kimberly Elam

Text layout design is a complicated process, and many factors such as level, reading order, readability, and contrast must be considered. However, in the typography system, Taiwan and Asian graphic design academia and the industry have put too much emphasis on the “grid system” in the past, ignoring the existence of other systems.

The “Typographic Design System” book is a complete introduction to the eight major systems so that relevant readers can fully understand the typographic system, and further enhance the designer’s design ability and expand design possibilities.

Elam is the author of many best-selling books such as Geometry Design and Grid Systems. In this book, he leads readers to explore the eight major systems of structural frameworks — — In addition to the grid format system, there is random, radial, modular, and bilateral symmetry, and so on. The author leads readers to practice and observe the works of students and professional designers and proposes many design solutions to help readers escape the boring design stereotypes.

This book fully introduces the eight major systems. Very suitable for getting started. A lot of typical cases are listed in it to help you understand the principles of typesetting more practically through analysis.

7. Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited

by Steve Krug

Usability design is the most important and most difficult task in web design. Based on his years of experience in the industry, the author of “Dianshichengjin” analyzed the psychology of users, and put forward many unique viewpoints on the user’s usage patterns, design for browsing, navigation design, homepage layout, usability testing, etc., and gave A lot of suggestions for simple and easy usability design.

The book is short and concise, and the language is relaxed and humorous. The book is interspersed with a large number of colorful screenshots, funny cartoon illustrations, and charts containing a lot of information, making the boring design principles approachable.

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This book is suitable for technical personnel who are engaged in Web design and Web development and is especially suitable for website/webpage designers who are worried about how to retain visitors.

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