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.

How To Draw Adorable And Easy: 500 Drawings Of Animals, Cars, Food, Gifts And Cute Stuff For Kids (Gift Ideas For Kids)

The Ultimate Drawing Book for Kids of All Ages!
With this drawing book you get:
Learn to draw everything -500 easy-to-follow illustrations
Simple & easy step-by-step clear instructions for each drawing
Drawings of different difficulty to help your little ones get better at drawing
Bonus activity all images can be colored, adding an extra layer of engagement
This book is an aw…

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

Now You See It and Other Essays on Design

"Design is a way to engage with real content, real experience," writes celebrated essayist Michael Bierut in this follow-up to his best-selling Seventy-Nine Short Essays on Design (2007). In more than fifty smart and accessible short pieces from the past decade, Bierut engages with a fascinating and diverse array of subjects. Essays range across design history, practice, and process; urban des…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Princess, Unicorn, Fairy, and Mermaid: Cute Coloring Book For Kids Ages 4-8 (Stocking Stuffers For Kids)

Let your kids’ imagination soar as they bring to life charming, easy-to-color illustrations designed to spark creativity and joy.
With This Magical Coloring Book, you will:
Enjoy hours of fun and creative expression.
Each page is single-sided to prevent marker bleed-through.
The designs feature thick lines for easy coloring.
Sized at 8.5 x 8.5 inches, the square design offers a …

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Interaction of color

Interaction of Color is a handbook and teaching resource for artists and designers that shares Albers' theory of color. Originally printed in 1963, the text outlines a set of principles and teaching methods for understanding and perceiving color in different ways.

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.

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 implementing effective brand identity. Enriched by new case studies showcasing successful world-cla…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

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 up. Politically and socially engaged—in 2013 he produced In Loving Memory of Work, a hard-hitting ac…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

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 shaped. The book covers all typography essentials, from typefaces and type families, to kerning and trac…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Mid-Century Modern Graphic Design

Mid-century modern graphic design has a similar aesthetic to flat design, using geometric shapes, clean lines, bright hues and earthly palettes to create bold, reductive images.

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)

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 develop the artistic talents of children and beginners, ideal for ages 5-12 and beyond.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

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.

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.

Augment your Graphic Design books

There is no better source of accountability and motivation than having a personal mentor. What used to be impossible to find is now just two clicks away! All mentors are vetted & hands-on!


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 …

$50 / month


👋 I am Prateek. I am a Senior Engineer at Doist, working on the Todoist mobile apps, and a published author of several books on mobile design & software development. In my tenure of over seven years, I have worked on several verticals, which include building native mobile apps for …

$120 / month

Only 1 Spot Left

Hello, I'm Callan! I'm from the UK, and I currently work as a Senior Digital Designer in the creative industry. I've been involved in the creative technology field for over 10 years now, with a specific focus on learning and finding creative and innovative ways to present information. At this …

$120 / month

Only 5 Spot Left

Hi! I am a technology (EdTech) founder with a background as an award-winning UI/UX and visual designer with experience working at Fortune 500 companies and top creative agencies. Following a decade-long corporate career, I took on an entrepreneurial path and founded Path Unbound, a UI/UX design school dedicated to training …

$220 / month

Only 1 Spot Left

Hi mate! I'm Addy, I'm a software engineer @Booking.com and an interview engineer @Karat. I'm an ex software engineer @Amazon, @Microsoft, and @Wise. I have conducted over 2500 interviews for different companies on Karat, and I have been interviewed by over 500 companies in the last 10 years. I have …

$240 / month

Only 1 Spot Left

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 …

$120 / month

Browse all Graphic Design mentors

Still not convinced? Don't just take our word for it

We've already delivered 1-on-1 mentorship to thousands of students, professionals, managers and executives. Even better, they've left an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 for our mentors.

Find a Graphic Design mentor
  • "Naz is an amazing person and a wonderful mentor. She is supportive and knowledgeable with extensive practical experience. Having been a manager at Netflix, she also knows a ton about working with teams at scale. Highly recommended."

  • "Brandon has been supporting me with a software engineering job hunt and has provided amazing value with his industry knowledge, tips unique to my situation and support as I prepared for my interviews and applications."

  • "Sandrina helped me improve as an engineer. Looking back, I took a huge step, beyond my expectations."