Top Graphic 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 favouriteGraphic Design books – and here are the answers.

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

Understanding the concepts of Graphic 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.

Graphic Design Rules: 365 Essential Design Dos and Don'ts

Graphic Design Rules: 365 Essential Design Dos and Don'ts

Packed with practical advice, this spirited collection of design dos and don'ts takes readers through 365 rules like knowing when to use a modular grid-and when to throw the grid out the window.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Thinking with Type

Thinking with Type

The best-selling Thinking with Type in a revised and expanded second edition:Thinking with Type is the definitive guide to using typography in visual communication. Ellen Lupton provides clear and focused guidance on how letters, words, and paragraphs should be aligned, spaced, ordered, and shap…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Oh Sh*t... What Now?

Oh Sh*t... What Now?

Of all the men you’d consider to be insecure, Craig Oldham is not one of them. Having graduated just under a decade ago, he boasts not only an impressive CV, but a joyfully formed reputation for being the most forthright, potty-mouthed speakers around, with the well-informed opinions to back it …

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

How to Draw Anything for kids: 300 Cute Step-by-Step Drawing Stuff: Amazing Food, Animals, Kawaii, Gifts and Other (How to draw books for kids)

How to Draw Anything for kids: 300 Cute Step-by-Step Drawing Stuff: Amazing Food, Animals, Kawaii, Gifts and Other (How to draw books for kids)

Unlock your child's artistic potential with How to Draw Anything for Kids: 300 Cute Step-by-Step Drawing Stuff, Amazing Animals, Food, Gifts and Other, the perfect guide for nurturing the imaginative young artist in your home! This book offers an exciting collection tailored to capture and devel…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Designing News: Changing the World of Editorial Design and Information Graphics

Designing News: Changing the World of Editorial Design and Information Graphics

Francesco Franchi's perceptive book about the design of media and information graphics. In it, Franchi also envisions the future of news reporting by publishing companies and on the internet. Francesco Franchi is one of the most exceptional talents working in information graphics today.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

100 Years of Swiss Graphic Design

100 Years of Swiss Graphic Design

100 Years of Swiss Graphic Design takes a fresh look at Swiss typography and photo-graphics, posters, corporate image design, book design, journalism and typefaces over the past hundred years.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Additional Graphic Design Reading

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

Graphic Design For Everyone: Understand the Building Blocks So You Can Do It Yourself

Graphic Design For Everyone: Understand the Building Blocks So You Can Do It Yourself

Graphic Design for Everyone shows you how to define your brand and your message, then takes you through the basic principles of design. Find out how to create a brand plan, discover how a typeface sets the mood, and learn how to use colour theory for maximum impact.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

How Design Makes Us Think: And Feel and Do Things

How Design Makes Us Think: And Feel and Do Things

How Design Makes Us Think collects hundreds of examples across graphic design, product design, industrial design, and architecture to illustrate how design can inspire, provoke, amuse, anger, or reassure us. Graphic designer Sean Adams walks us through the power of design to attract attention an…

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.

Work for Money, Design for Love: Answers to the Most Frequently Asked Questions About Starting and Running a Successful Design Business

Work for Money, Design for Love: Answers to the Most Frequently Asked Questions About Starting and Running a Successful Design Business

Unlike other dry business books, this refreshing, straightforward guide from Logo Design Love author and international designer David Airey answers the questions all designers have when first starting out on their own. In fact, the book was inspired by the many questions David receives every day…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Why Fonts Matter

Why Fonts Matter

This book opens up the science and the art behind how fonts influence you. It explains why certain fonts or styles evoke particular experiences and associations. Fonts have different personalities that can create trust, mistrust, give you confidence, make things seem easier to do or make a produ…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

How to Be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul

How to Be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul

How to Be a Graphic Designer offers clear, concise guidance along with focused, no-nonsense strategies for setting up, running, and promoting a studio; finding work; and collaborating with clients.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

This list is curated by MentorCruise and can include Amazon affiliate links. Have any other suggestions? Add here.

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