Top Design books curated by experts

At MentorCruise, we are all about making the most out of the experience of others. As part of that, we have connected and asked dozens of experts and professionals about their favourite Design books – and here are the answers.

  • Curated by industry experts
  • Proven learning resources
  • Updated annually
Top Design books recommended by experts
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Fundamentals of Design

Understanding the concepts of Design starts with understanding the fundamentals. On your way to mastery, it's crucial for you to understand how certain concepts were derived, and why things work like they do. Starting with these resources is the best way to do so.

How to Michael Bierut

How to Michael Bierut

Michael Bierut (born 1957) is a graphic designer, design critic and educator, who has been a partner at design firm Pentagram since 1990. He designed the logo for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Logo Modernism

Logo Modernism

This unprecedented TASCHEN publication, authored by Jens Müller, brings together approximately 6,000 trademarks, focused on the period 1940–1980, to examine how modernist attitudes and imperatives gave birth to corporate identity. Ranging from media outfits to retail giants, airlines to art gall…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

What Design Can't Do: Essays on Design and Disillusion

What Design Can't Do: Essays on Design and Disillusion

A new book released by Set Margins press, titled What Design Can’t Do: Essays on Design and Delusion by Lisbon-based designer and writer Silvio Lorusso expresses the broken nature of design, gives a platform to represent the frustrations of designers and creatives, and elaborates on why good des…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

The Design of Everyday Things

The Design of Everyday Things

The Design of Everyday Things is a best-selling book by cognitive scientist and usability engineer Donald Norman about how design serves as the communication between object and user, and how to optimize that conduit of communication in order to make the experience of using the object pleasurable…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

How To Draw Everything in 3D: Fun Step-By-Step Guides with Instructions for Drawing Three Dimensions for Beginners

How To Draw Everything in 3D: Fun Step-By-Step Guides with Instructions for Drawing Three Dimensions for Beginners

"How to Draw Everything in 3D" offers simple, step-by-step guides to help artists of all levels master the art of three-dimensional drawing. Learn how drawing in 3D can enhance your skills and enable you to create beautiful, realistic artwork.
Dive in and discover:
Tips for maximizing your…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Know Your Onions: Graphic Design

Know Your Onions: Graphic Design

It is like having a graphic design mentor who will help you come up with ideas, develop your concepts, and implement them in a way that is engaging and humorous. It gives readers the experience and ability that normally comes from years of on-the-job training.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Additional Design Reading

These books are not required for you to learn Design, but they are highly recommended for you to deepen your knowledge.

Designing design

Designing design

A good design description works as a convincing add-on for your entries. It convinces your clients and improves your chances of winning the contest. In addition, explaining your entry or design clarifies the hidden meaning behind it and its purpose.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Feminist Designer: On the Personal and the Political in Design

Feminist Designer: On the Personal and the Political in Design

A bold and timely collection that brings feminist theory and critical thinking to life through vital, approachable design methods and practices. Feminist Designer brings together a constellation of voices and perspectives to examine the intersection of design and feminist theory.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Designing Type

Designing Type

Designing Type is a comprehensive guide to type design is hailed as a 'must-have' for typographers, graphic designers and students. Now fully refreshed and updated with the introduction of more contemporary typefaces and diagrams!

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

The Elements of Typographic Style

The Elements of Typographic Style

The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst (Book Summary) This book contains more than I've ever wanted to know about typography. It describes not only how to use fonts, but also how to create them, explaining the math and science involved in font design.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Designing Brand Identity: An Essential Guide for the Whole Branding Team

Designing Brand Identity: An Essential Guide for the Whole Branding Team

From research and analysis through brand strategy, design development through application design, and identity standards through launch and governance, Designing Brand Identity, Fourth Edition offers brand managers, marketers, and designers a proven, universal five-phase process for creating and…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Centered: People and Ideas Diversifying Design

Centered: People and Ideas Diversifying Design

As the design industry reexamines its emphasis on Eurocentric ideologies and wrestles with its conventional practices, Centered advocates for highlighting and giving a voice to the people, places, methods, ideas, and beliefs that have been eclipsed or excluded by dominant design movements.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

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