Top Graphic Design books recommended by experts

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

Table of Contents

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.

Start Me Up! New Branding for Businesses

This work allows for the brands to distinguish themselves from the rest and attract their targed audience's attention. More than ever before, businesses are defining themselves through carefully coordinated communications. Start Me Up! is a comprehensive compendium of innovative corporate design for a new generation.

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Branding

What is branding? Branding is the process of creating a distinct identity for a business in the minds of your target audience and the general population. At its core, branding consists of a company's name and logo, visual identity design, mission, values, and tone of voice.

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How to Draw Cool Stuff: A Drawing Guide for Teachers and Students

How to Draw Cool Stuff shows simple step-by-step illustrations that make it easy for anyone to draw cool stuff with precision and confidence. These pages will guide you through the basic principles of illustration by concentrating on easy-to-learn shapes that build into complex drawings. With the step-by-step guidelines provided, anything can become easy to draw.
This book contains a series…

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Bob's Burgers 2025 Wall Calendar

Centering on patriarch Bob (Archer’s H. Jon Benjamin) who runs his business with his wife, porcelain baby collector and dinner-theatre enthusiast Linda (voiced by John Roberts), the series also features teenage daughter Tina (Dan Mintz), who is obsessed with boys and horses; son Gene (Eugen Mirman), who is only afraid of snakes; and youngest daughter Louise (30 Rock’s Kristen Schaal), who neve…

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Logo Modernism

Examine the distillation of modernism in graphic design with this vast collection of approximately 6,000 logos from 1940–1980. Ranging from media outfits to retail giants, airlines to art galleries, these clean, clear visual concepts may be seen as the visual birth of corporate identity.

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Caps Lock: How Capitalism Took Hold of Graphic Design, and how to Escape it

CAPS LOCK uses clear language and visual examples to show how graphic design and capitalism are inextricably linked. The book features designed objects, and also examines how the study, work, and professional practice of designers supports the market economy.

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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.

How to Use Graphic Design to Sell Things, Explain Things, Make Things Look Better, Make People Laugh, Make People Cry, and (every Once in a While) Change the World

The first monograph, design manual, and manifesto by Michael Bierut, one of the world's most renowned graphic designers—a career retrospective that showcases more than thirty-five of his most notable projects for clients such as the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Yale School of Architecture, the New York Times , Saks Fifth Avenue, and the New York Jets, and reflects eclectic enthusiasm and acc…

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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 and convey meaning.

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Design(h)ers: A Celebration of Women in Design Today

DESIGN(H)ERS is a stunning showcase of up-and-coming talent spanning across a variety of design mediums to highlight the distinction and diversity that women bring to their respective fields.

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Grid Systems in Graphic Design

In visual design, a grid system helps you align screen elements based on sequenced columns and rows. Like making a map, you apply the column-based structure of a grid system to guide your design, structuring your text, images and functions consistently throughout it so they can appear instantly recognizable elsewhere.

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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 from the more than 600,000 designers who visit his three blogs (Logo Design Love, Identity Designed…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

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

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

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Hi there! Thank you for visiting my profile. With 15 years of design experience across different tech sectors and various company sizes, I've coached designers to help them acquire fundamental product design skills, land their dream jobs, and advance their careers. Whether you’re transitioning into design or aiming for your …

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Hello, I'm Chris Ellinas and I love solving business problems, through design thinking! 😊 I believe in good people. Good work is secondary. I had the opportunity to work with engaging clients and brands around the world. My main client right now are Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime, designing logos …

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Miklos is a seasoned Lead UX/Product Designer with over 18 years of experience. He is also an accomplished speaker, writer, and mentor, boasting over 10,000 followers across Medium, LinkedIn, and Twitter. With a seven-year track record in mentoring, Miklos has successfully guided over 50 mentees through MentorCruise, DesignLab, and Springboard …

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Hey, i'm Matt an experienced senior UX and Product Designer based in the UK. I've worked on projects for B2C and B2B and have in-depth experience working on complex products for the finance industry. I've been mentoring and teaching for over 5 years, and have written and delivered courses on …

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Multi-disciplinary global UX leader with a track record of building diverse and high performing teams and delivering successful software and hardware products at scale at large, intermediate and small companies in a variety of industries (both enterprise and consumer). UX/Product Designer by heart with a passion for starting and building …

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