100 Best Typography Books of All Time

We've ranked the best typography books using expert recommendations, sales data, and millions of reader ratings. At Shortform, we know books. Our book guides are the best in the world. Learn why.

Thinking With Type book cover1

Thinking With Type

Ellen Lupton

5.0
Our all time best selling book is now available in a revised and expanded second edition. Thinking with Type is the definitive guide to using typography in visual communication, from the printed page to the computer screen. This revised edition includes forty-eight pages of new content, including the latest information on style sheets for print and the web, the use of ornaments and captions, linin
David Kadavy portraitKimberly Gloria Choi portraitMarius Ciuchete Paun portrait Recommended by David Kadavy, Kimberly Gloria Choi, Marius Ciuchete Paun, and 1 others.
Kimberly Gloria Choi portrait
Kimberly Gloria Choi

When asked what books she would recommend to youngsters interested in her professional path, Kimberly mentioned Thinking with Type. [source]

Marius Ciuchete Paun portrait
Marius Ciuchete Paun

Question: What books would you recommend to young people interested in your career path? Answer: “Just My Type” by Simon Garfield “Thinking with Type” by Ellen Lupton “Don't Make Me Think” by Steve Krug “Geometry of Design” by Kimberly Elam “Grid Systems in Graphic Design” by Josef Müller-Brockmann “ReWork” by Jason Fried These titles should be a good start, I think. [source]

2

The Elements of Typographic Style: Version 4.0

Robert Bringhurst

5.0
Renowned typographer and poet Robert Bringhurst brings clarity to the art of typography with this masterful style guide. Combining the practical, theoretical, and historical, this edition is completely updated, with a thorough revision and updating of the longest chapter, "Prowling the Specimen Books," and many other small but important updates based on things that are continually changing in the
David Kadavy portrait Recommended by David Kadavy.
Just My Type: A Book About Fonts book cover3

Just My Type: A Book About Fonts

Simon Garfield

4.8
What’s your type? Suddenly everyone’s obsessed with fonts. Whether you’re enraged by Ikea’s Verdanagate, want to know what the Beach Boys have in common with easy Jet or why it’s okay to like Comic Sans, Just My Type will have the answer. Learn why using upper case got a New Zealand health worker sacked. Refer to Prince in the Tafkap years as a Dingbat (that works on many levels). Spot where movie
Marius Ciuchete Paun portrait Recommended by Marius Ciuchete Paun.
4

Stop Stealing Sheep & Find Out How Type Works

Erik Spiekermann, E.M Ginger

4.6
A guide to typography. It draws in the reader with its design and layout, making use of more than 200 illustrations and photographs. It explains in everyday layman's terms what type is and how you can use it to enhance legibility, meaning, and aesthetic enjoyment. It also includes chapters on Web typography and other forms of online text display.
Seth Godin portraitDebbie Millman portrait Recommended by Seth Godin and Debbie Millman.
Seth Godin portrait
Seth Godin

Author, Marketer, Entrepreneur

This book helped me see design differently. Good design costs just as much as bad design, but it breaks through all sorts of clutter. [source]

Debbie Millman portrait
Debbie Millman

The great typographer Eric Spiekermann’s book. [source]

5

Typography Sketchbooks

Steven Heller, Lita Talarico

4.6
Typography is an obsession for most designers. It's at the heart of all visual communication and is one of the purest forms of design, one that can always be improved and refined. Typography Sketchbooks gets into the minds of designers who create typefaces, word images and logos through their private sketchbooks. The result of these wide-ranging typographic musings provide fascinating insights int
The Anatomy of Type book cover6

The Anatomy of Type

Stephen Coles, Erik Spiekermann

4.5
Students and professionals in any creative field can benefit from a good typographic eye. The Anatomy of Type (The Geometry of Type in the UK) is all about looking more closely at letters. Through visual diagrams and practical descriptions, you’ll learn how to distinguish between related typefaces and see how the attributes of letterforms (such as contrast, detail, and proportion) affect the mood,
Fabio Sasso portrait Recommended by Fabio Sasso.
Designing with Type: The Essential Guide to Typography book cover7

Designing with Type: The Essential Guide to Typography

James Craig and Irene Korol Scala

4.5
The classic Designing with Type has been completely redesigned, with an updated format and full color throughout. New information and new images make this perennial best-seller an even more valuable tool for anyone interested in learning about typography. The fifth edition has been integrated with a convenient website, www.designingwithtype.com, where students and teachers can examine hundreds of
8

The New Typography

Jan Tschichold, Ruari McLean, Robin Kinross

4.5
Since its initial publication in Berlin in 1928, Jan Tschichold's The New Typography has been recognized as the definitive treatise on book and graphic design in the machine age. At once a key theoretical document of Central European modernism between the world wars and an invaluable source of working principles for the practicing designer, this classic work enjoys the reputation among book artist
David Kadavy portrait Recommended by David Kadavy.
9

Designing Type

Karen Cheng

4.4
An indispensable new guide for developing and designing typefaces

One of the most essential tools of graphic design, typography influences the appearance of visual print materials perhaps more than any other component. This essential book explains the processes behind creating and designing type. Author Karen Cheng discusses issues of structure, optical compensation, and legibility, with special e
10

Detail In Typography

Jost Hochuli

4.4
How is it that text can be set perfectly and yet look insufferably dull? How do you achieve perfect congruence between the type itself and its meaning? In Detail in Typography Jost Hochuli, master book designer and author of the seminal Designing Books, addresses the finer points of setting text. Hochuli begins with a consideration of how human beings read, moving on incrementally to consideration
11

In Progress: See Inside a Lettering Artist's Sketchbook and Process, from Pencil to Vector (Hand Lettering Books, Learn to Draw Books, Calligraphy Workbook for Beginners)

Jessica Hische, Louise Fili

4.4
This show-all romp through design-world darling Jessica Hische's sketchbook reveals the creative and technical process behind making award-winning hand lettering. See everything, from Hische's rough sketches to her polished finals for major clients such as Wes Anderson, NPR, and Starbucks. The result is a well of inspiration and brass tacks information for designers who want to sketch distinctive
Jason Santa Maria portraitJessica Hische portrait Recommended by Jason Santa Maria, Jessica Hische, and 2 others.
12

The Complete Manual of Typography: A Guide to Setting Perfect Type

james felici

4.4
Note to customers: The print version of this book is highly formatted, and many pages contain examples that use a variety of approaches to text layout including the use of multiple fonts. The subtleties of this layout would be lost when converted to ePub, so we have chosen to offer this ebook only in PDF format, which keeps the page layout intact.

Beautifully designed and richly illustrated The Co
13

Type Matters!

Jim Williams, Ben Casey

4.3
Once upon a time, only typesetters needed to know about kerning, leading, ligatures, and hanging punctuation. Today, however, most of us work on computers, with access to hundreds of fonts, and we’d all like our letters, reports and other documents to look as good – and as readable – as possible. But what does all the confusing terminology about ink traps, letter spacing, and visual centring mean,
Grid Systems in Graphic Design/Raster Systeme Fur Die Visuele Gestaltung (German and English Edition) book cover14

Grid Systems in Graphic Design/Raster Systeme Fur Die Visuele Gestaltung (German and English Edition)

Josef Müller-Brockmann

4.3
Marius Ciuchete Paun portrait Recommended by Marius Ciuchete Paun.
15

Typographic Systems of Design: Frameworks for Type Beyond the Grid (Graphic Design Book on Typography Layouts and Fundamentals)

Kimberly Elam

4.3
Typographic organization has always been a complex system in that there are so many elements at play, such as hierarchy, order of reading, legibility, and contrast. In Typographic Systems, Kim Elam, author of our bestselling books, Geometry of Design and Grid Systems, explores eight major structural frameworks beyond the gridincluding random, radial, modular, and bilateralsystems. By taking the re
16

Type: A Visual History of Typefaces and Graphic Styles (Volume 1, 1628-1900)

Jan Tholenaar, Cees De Jong

4.3
This book offers a novel overview of typeface design, exploring the most beautiful and remarkable examples of font catalogs from the history of publishing, with a special emphasis on the period from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century, when color catalogs were at their height. Taken from a Dutch collection, this exuberant selection traverses the evolution of the printed letter in all its
17

A Type Primer

John Kane

4.3
Practical and hands-on in approach, this book/exercise manual speaks clearly to beginning graphic designers and others involved with type about the complex meeting of message, image, and history surrounding typography.
18

Typographic Design: Form and Communication

Rob Carter, Ben Day, Philip B. Meggs

4.3
For more than two decades, the type book of choice for design professionals and students

Typographic design has been a field in constant motion since Gutenberg first invented movable type. Staying abreast of recent developments in the field is imperative for both design professionals and students. Thoroughly updated to maintain its relevancy in today's digital world, Typographic Design: Form and C
19

Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols & Other Typographical Marks

Keith Houston

4.3
From ancient Greece to the Internet—via the Renaissance, Gutenberg, and Madison Avenue—Shady Characters exposes the secret history of punctuation.

A charming and indispensable tour of two thousand years of the written word, Shady Characters weaves a fascinating trail across the parallel histories of language and typography. Whether investigating the asterisk (*) and dagger (†)--which alternately il
20

On Web Typography

Jason Santa Maria

4.3
Achieving a thorough grasp of typography can take a lifetime, but moving beyond the basics is within your reach right now. In this book, we’ll learn how to look at typefaces with a discerning eye, different approaches to typographic planning, how typography impacts the act of reading, and how to choose and combine appropriate typefaces from an aesthetic and technical point of view. Through an unde
Jason Santa Maria portraitVeerle Pieters portrait Recommended by Jason Santa Maria and Veerle Pieters.
21

The Non-Designer's Design Book (Non Designer's Design Book)

Robin Williams

4.3
A lot has happened in the world of digital design since the first edition of this title was published, but one thing remains true: There is an ever-growing number of people attempting to design everything from newsletters to advertisements with no formal training. This book is the one place they can turn to find quick, non-intimidating, excellent design help from trusted design instructor Robin Wi
David Kadavy portrait Recommended by David Kadavy.
22

Hand Job: A Catalog of Type

Michael Perry

4.3
In this digital age of computer-generated graphics and typography, it's refreshing to find typographers who still believe in working by hand. No longer relegated to designer's sketchbooks, hand-drawn type has emerged from the underground as a dynamic vehicle for visual communicationfrom magazine, book, and album covers to movie credits and NFL advertisements. As the practice and appreciation of ha
23

Letter Fountain

Joep Pohlen, Geert Setola

4.3
Everything you could ever want to know about printing letters and numbers

Looking back as far as man's first efforts to communicate with visual signs and drawings, Letter Fountain is a completely unique typeface handbook: in addition to examining the form and anatomy of every letter in the alphabet (as well as punctuation marks and special characters), the book cross-references type designs with i
24

Anatomy of a Typeface

Alexander S. Lawson

4.3
An analysis of letter forms, from Garamond and Bembo to the design and manufacture of sans-serif and newspaper type.
25

Typography: Macro and Microaesthetics: Fundamentals of Typographic Design

Willi Kunz

4.3
26

Typography for Lawyers

Matthew Butterick, Bryan A. Garner

4.3
27

Essay on Typography

Eric Gill, Christopher Skelton

4.2
Born in 1882, Eric Gill was an artist, letter carver, polemicist, and social reformer. In 1925, he had started drawing alphabets and printing books, and in 1931, this plainspoken little book was a fustian and forceful argument for common sense in design, composed for anyone remotely interested in the subtle and evolving challenge of the typographic arts. Set rag right, with tight word spacing, it
28

Counterpunch: making type in the sixteenth century, designing typefaces now

Fred Smeijers

4.2
Counterpunch is both an explanation of the 16th-century method ofcutting metal type and an impassioned plea for contemporary designers to incorporate the lessons of history as a means of creating typography in our digital age. Smeijers sees the counterpunch technique as essential for ensuring the regularity of form, repeatability, and speed of production necessary for rational design.Smeijers trac
29

Elegantissima: The Design and Typography of Louise Fili

Louise Fili, Steven Heller

4.2
Louise Fili has been an inspiration for designers around the world since the 1980s, when she raised the bar on book cover design, creating close to two thousand jackets as art director for Pantheon Books. In 1989 Fili founded her own graphic design studio, Louise Fili Ltd, and branched out into the fields of restaurant and food packaging design. Her lavish and elegant typography, often hand drawn,
30

Typography Essentials Revised and Updated: 100 Design Principles for Working with Type

Ina Saltz

4.2
Typography Essentials: 100 Design Principles for Working with Type is a practical, hands-on resource that distills and organizes the many complex issues surrounding the effective use of typography. An essential reference for designers since 2009, Typography Essentials is now completely refreshed with updated text, new graphics and photos, and a whole new look.

Divided into four sections—The Let
31

Inside Paragraphs: typographic fundamentals

Cyrus Highsmith

4.2
An manual for typographers seasoned and green alike. This book goes in depth on setting tracts of text for long reading, with a strong emphasis on print.
32

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore (Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, #1)

Robin Sloan

4.2
The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon away from life as a San Francisco web-design drone and into the aisles of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, but after a few days on the job, Clay discovers that the store is more curious than either its name or its gnomic owner might suggest. The customers are few, and they never seem to buy anything; instead, they "check out" large, obscure volumes fro
Brad Feld portrait Recommended by Brad Feld.
33

The Fundamentals of Typography

Gavin Ambrose, Paul Harris

4.2
The Fundamentals of Typography offers an overview plus incisive insight into the use of type and stunning examples sure to inspire typographers and designers in the field. A comprehensive introduction to the history of typography, typographic detailing in practice, and font generation for print and the web, this book covers type in the past and the present--and speculates on the future. Basic prin
34

Type and Typography

Phil Baines, Andrew Haslam

4.2
• Includes 2 extensive timecharts, one on type designers, one on the evolution of writing and printing—reference at a glance


• Newly revised and expanded


• Hundreds of remarkable photographs
and illustrations


From the history of language and writing systems, to the development of letterforms and movable type, to the evolution of today’s digital systems, Type and Typography offers an overview of the t
The Visual History of Type: A visual survey of 320 typefaces book cover35

The Visual History of Type: A visual survey of 320 typefaces

Paul McNeil

4.2
The Visual History of Type is a comprehensive, detailed survey of the major typefaces produced since the advent of printing with movable type in the mid–fifteenth century to the present day. Arranged chronologically to provide context, more than 320 typefaces are displayed in the form of their original type specimens or earliest printing. Each entry is supported by a brief history and descriptio
36

Type: A Visual History of Typefaces and Graphic Styles (Volume 2, 1901-1938)

Alston W Purvis, Cees De Jong

4.2
37

Pioneers of Modern Typography

Herbert Spencer

4.2
Graphic designers, typophiles, and students of the Modern Movement will welcome the reissue of this important source book. Since it was first published in 1969, it has served as the standard guide to the impact of twentieth century avant-garde movements on graphic design and typography. This revised edition has a more compact format and incorporates new materials and illustrations.Spencer's substa
38

Grid Systems: Principles of Organizing Type

Kimberly Elam

4.2
Although grid systems are the foundation for almost all typographic design, they are often associated with rigid, formulaic solutions. However, the belief that all great design is nonetheless based on grid systems (even if only subverted ones) suggests that few designers truly understand the complexities and potential riches of grid composition.
In her best-selling Geometry of Design, Elam shows ho
39

Typography Workbook: A Real-World Guide to Using Type in Graphic Design

Timothy Samara

4.2
New in paperback, The Typography Workbook provides an at-a-glance reference book for designers on all aspects of type.The book is part of Rockport's popular Workbook series of practical and inspirational workbooks that cover all the fundamental areas of the graphic design business. This book presents an abundance of information on type - the cornerstone of graphic design - succinctly and to the po
40

Type Rules!: The Designer's Guide to Professional Typography

Ilene Strizver

4.2
Type Rules!, Fourth Edition is an up-to-date, thorough introduction to the principles and practices of typography. From the fundamentals to cutting-edge applications, this edition has everything today's serious designer needs to use type effectively. Dozens of exercises reinforce authoritative coverage on such topics as how to select the appropriate type for the job, how to set type like a pro, an
41

Scripts: Elegant Lettering from Design's Golden Age

Steven Heller, Louise Fili

4.1
From wedding announcements to IOUs, there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of scripts—some “classic,” others eccentric. Derived from handwriting, these are typefaces that are stylized to suggest, imply, or symbolize certain traits linked to writing. Their fundamental characteristic is that all the letters, more or less, touch each other.


Scripts tend to fall in and out of fashion, but they are most
42

Book Typography: A Designer's Manual

Michael and Susan Wightman Mitchell

4.1
43

Digital Typography

Donald E. Knuth

4.1
In this collection, the second in the series, Knuth explores the relationship between computers and typography. The present volume, in the words of the author, is a legacy to all the work he has done on typography. When he thought he would take a few years' leave from his main work on the art of computer programming, as is well known, the short typographic detour lasted more than a decade. When ty
44

The Mac is Not a Typewriter

Robin Williams

4.1
One of the most popular Macintosh books ever written, The Mac is not a typewriter has been called the "Strunk and White of typography." Best-selling author Robin Williams's simple, logical principles for using type to produce beautiful, professional documents are as true now as they were when the original edition was published in 1989. This updated edition includes new examples and expanded inform
45

Logo, Font & Lettering Bible: A Comprehensive Guide to the Design, Construction and Usage of Alphabets and Symbols

Leslie Cabarga

4.1
Put the power to design logos and type in your own hands!

Why be a designer who must rely upon preexisting typefaces and clip art when you can become the kind of designer who creates logos, fonts and lettering of your own? Leslie Cabarga, author of the bestselling "Designer's Guide to Color Combinations," has created a textbook of type for the experienced graphics professional as well as the beginn
46

Better Web Typography for a Better Web

Matej Lati

4.1
Better Web Typography for a Better Web is a book is based on a top-rated online course explaining typography to people who build web sites—web designers and web developers. The author, Matej Latin, takes complex concepts such as vertical rhythm, modular scale and page composition, and explains them in a simple way. The content of the book is accompanied by live code examples and the readers design
47

I Wonder

Marian Bantjes

4.1
Quirky, poignant, astute, funny—this beautiful book presents a compelling collection of observations on visual culture and design, written and illuminated by world-renowned typographic illustrator Marian Bantjes. In Stefan Sagmeister's telling words, Bantjes's work is his "favorite example of beauty facilitating the communication of meaning."
48

Type on Screen

Ellen Lupton, Maryland Institute College of Art

4.1
The long awaited follow-up to our all-time bestseller Thinking with Type is here. Type on Screen is the definitive guide to using classic typographic concepts of form and structure to make dynamic compositions for screen-based applications. Covering a broad range of technologies—from electronic publications and websites to videos and mobile devices—this hands-on primer presents the latest informat
Ellen Lupton portrait Recommended by Ellen Lupton.
Why Fonts Matter book cover49

Why Fonts Matter

Sarah Hyndman

4.1
We all constantly interact with type in almost every aspect of our lives. But how do fonts affect what we read and influence the choices we make?

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
50

Little Book of Lettering

Emily Gregory

4.1
Typography is always one of the designer's first considerations when it comes to making a statement, and in recent years the world of lettering and type has exploded in an unprecedented wave of creative discovery. Contemporary artists, typesetters, and designers of all kinds are exploring new horizons in illustrated and hand-drawn lettering, digitally rendered lettering, and 3D lettering. This col
Fabio Sasso portrait Recommended by Fabio Sasso.
51

New Vintage Type: Classic Fonts for the Digital Age

Steven Heller, Gail Anderson

4.1
Choose, use, and understand great vintage type with this authoritative guide. Retro is the new modern. And nowhere is that fact more evident than in typography, which today uses vintage type in ads, book and magazine design, movies, and everywhere words convey meaning. Viewers may not even realize that the type itself conveys mood, information, and a sense of style, but graphic designers know the
52

Lettering & Type: Creating Letters and Designing Typefaces

Bruce Willen, Nolen Strals

4.1
No component of graphic design has attracted as much interest or inspired as much innovation in recent years as lettering and type. These fundamentals of design, once the exclusive domain of professional typographers, have become an essential starting point for anyone looking for a fresh way to communicate. Practical information about creating letters and type often amounts to a series of guidelin
53

Computers & Typesetting, Volume A: The TeXBook

Donald E. Knuth

4.1
TeX represents the state-of-the-art in computer typesetting. It is particularly valuable where the document, article, or book to be produced contains a lot of mathematics, and where the user is concerned about typographic quality. TeX software offers both writers and publishers the opportunity to produce technical text of all kinds, in an attractive form, with the speed and efficiency of a compute
54

Helvetica and the New York City Subway System: The True (Maybe) Story

Paul Shaw

4.1
How New York City subways signage evolved from a "visual mess" to a uniform system with Helvetica triumphant.

For years, the signs in the New York City subway system were a bewildering hodge-podge of lettering styles, sizes, shapes, materials, colors, and messages. The original mosaics (dating from as early as 1904), displaying a variety of serif and sans serif letters and decorative elements, were
Alexandra Horowitz portrait Recommended by Alexandra Horowitz.
Envisioning Information book cover55

Envisioning Information

Edward R. Tufte

4.1
The celebrated design professor here tackles the question of how best to communicate real-life experience in a two-degree format, whether on the printed page or the computer screen. The Whole Earth Review called Envisioning Information a "passionate, elegant revelation."
Kevin Rose portraitJeff Atwood portraitBret Victor portrait Recommended by Kevin Rose, Jeff Atwood, Bret Victor, and 1 others.
Sign Painters book cover56

Sign Painters

Faythe Levine, Sam Macon, Ed Ruscha

4.1
There was a time-as recently as the 1980s-when storefronts, murals, banners, barn signs, billboards, and even street signs were all hand-lettered with brush and paint. But, like many skilled trades, the sign industry has been overrun by the techno-fueled promise of quicker and cheaper. The resulting proliferation of computer-designed, die-cut vinyl lettering and inkjet printers has ushered a creep
57

Mastering Type: The Essential Guide to Typography for Print and Web Design

Denise Bosler

4.1
Good Design, Down to the Letter

Packages on store shelves, posters on building walls, pages of a website—all contain information that needs to be communicated. And at the heart of that communication is type: visually interesting, interactive, expressive and captivating. Each letter must come alive; therefore, each letter must be carefully crafted or chosen. A solid foundation in typography, as well
58

Type: The Secret History of Letters

Simon Loxley

4.1

If you've ever wondered exactly what a Zapf is, or if Baskerville has anything to do with Sherlock Holmes, Type is the answer to these questions and more. This is the story of the passions, and obsessions of the creator of type; of the influences of wars, persecution, and political upheaval, and the effects of business and technological breakthroughs on fonts and typography. From Gutenberg's first

59

Herb Lubalin: Art Director, Graphic Designer and Typographer

Gertrude Snyder, Alan Peckolick

4.1
Logos that Last: How to Create Iconic Visual Branding book cover60

Logos that Last: How to Create Iconic Visual Branding

Allan Peters

4.1

Learn how to create iconic visual branding that stands the test of time with the innovative tools and inspiration in Logos That Last.*Winner of the 2023 American Graphic Design Award for Book Design from Graphic Design USA**One of the “top 20 books that all graphic designers should read (and own),” according to Adobe.com*Author Allan Peters is an award-winning graphic designer whose expertise in l

61

Typographically Speaking: The Art of Matthew Carter

Margaret Re, Johanna Drucker and James Mosley

4.1
In a career that has spanned more than forty years, Matthew Carter has designed many of the typefaces that we see every day in and on publications, books, signs, and screens. Carter's celebrated typefaces include such stalwarts as Galliard, Mantinia, and Verdana. In 1975, he created the now-pervasive Bell Centennial specifically for use in phone books. Publications including Sports Illustrated, th
62

The Non-Designer's Type Book

Robin Williams

4.1
Seven years is a long time in any industry, but when it comes to the worlds of design and technology (and particularly the point at which the two merge), it's an eternity! No wonder, then, that you (and about a million other readers!) have been eagerly awaiting this latest update to Robin Williams' enormously popular Non-Designer's series. In these pages, Robin defines the principles that govern t
63

Helvetica: Homage to a Typeface

Lars Muller

4.1
Helvetica is a sans-serif typeface. It is simple and clean, and commonly seen in advertising, signage, and literature. The R has a curved leg, and the i and j have square dots. The Q has a straight angled tail, and the counterforms inside the O, Q, and C are oval. It is an all-purpose type design that can deliver practically any message clearly and efficiently. It is one of the most popular typefa
64

While You're Reading

Gerard Unger

4.1
This book is about everything that happens while you’re reading – in front of your eyes and inside your head – and about what type designers, typographers and graphic designers bring to a page to make it happen.

Renowned type designer Gerard Unger distills decades of design experience into a playful, accessible text that reflects the range of his professional projects, from designing the fonts read
Jason Santa Maria portrait Recommended by Jason Santa Maria.
65

Making and Breaking the Grid: A Graphic Design Layout Workshop

Timothy Samara

4.1
For designers working in every medium, layout is arguably the most basic, and most important, element. Effective layout is essential to communication and enables the end user not only to be drawn in with an innovative design but to digest information easily. Making and Breaking the Grid is a comprehensive layout design workshop that assumes that in order to effectively break the rules of grid-base
66

Dutch Type

Jan Middendorp

4.1
Fake Love Letters, Forged Telegrams, and Prison Escape Maps: Designing Graphic Props for Filmmaking book cover67

Fake Love Letters, Forged Telegrams, and Prison Escape Maps: Designing Graphic Props for Filmmaking

Annie Atkins

4.1
A behind-the-scenes look at the extraordinary and meticulous design of graphic objects for film sets

Although graphic props such as invitations, letters, tickets, and packaging are rarely seen close-up by a cinema audience, they are designed in painstaking detail. Dublin-based designer Annie Atkins invites readers into the creative process behind her intricately designed, rigorously researched, and
Rick O'shea portrait Recommended by Rick O'shea.
68

ABC3D

Marion Bataille

4.1
"Easily the most innovative alpabet book of the year, if not the decade... Beyond clever."—The Washington Post

Prepare to be amazed. From the lenticular cover that changes with the angle of your hands all the way to the Z, ABC3D is as much a work of art as it is a pop-up book. Each of the 26 three-dimensional letters move and change before your eyes. C turns into D with a snap. M stands at attentio
69

Form of the Book: Essays on the Morality of Good Design

Jan Tschichold, Hajo Hadeler, Robert Bringhurst

4.1
The Ultimate Guide to Modern Calligraphy & Hand Lettering for Beginners: Learn to Letter: A Hand Lettering Workbook with Tips, Techniques, Practice Pages, and Projects book cover70

The Ultimate Guide to Modern Calligraphy & Hand Lettering for Beginners: Learn to Letter: A Hand Lettering Workbook with Tips, Techniques, Practice Pages, and Projects

June & Lucy

4.1
71

Typography: Formation and Transformation: Introduction to Typographic Process

Willi Kunz

4.0
Typographic design begins with a set of information and a concept. The designer, facing a blank sheet of paper or a computer screen, is anxious about the first step to take in developing a design. The elements of typography are an obvious starting point, but often do not get the attention they deserve. A thorough understanding of how letters, words, lines, paragraphs and columns are formed, what m
House of Leaves book cover72

House of Leaves

Mark Z. Danielewski

4.0
Years ago, when House of Leaves was first being passed around, it was nothing more than a badly bundled heap of paper, parts of which would occasionally surface on the Internet. No one could have anticipated the small but devoted following this terrifying story would soon command. Starting with an odd assortment of marginalized youth—musicians, tattoo artists, programmers, strippers, environmental
Amelia Boone portrait Recommended by Amelia Boone.
73

The Stroke: Theory of Writing

Gerrit Noordzij, Peter Enneson

4.0
The Ransom Note Sticker Book: Thousands of letters for your anonymous messages book cover74

The Ransom Note Sticker Book: Thousands of letters for your anonymous messages

Luke Herriott

4.0

Award-winning graphic designer and author Luke Herriott invites you to create uniquely idiosyncratic messages or decorate your stuff with these fun alphabets.Everyone loves the cool graphic look of the classic ransom note, and letters cut from newspapers make any message a little edgy yet playful. The Ransom Note Sticker Book makes it easy to spell out anything you like and capture that unique loo

Mastering Copperplate Calligraphy: A Step-by-Step Manual book cover75

Mastering Copperplate Calligraphy: A Step-by-Step Manual

Eleanor Winters

4.0
Developed by English handwriting masters in the 18th century, copperplate calligraphy is admired for its fluidity and beauty. It is the most popular style for social correspondence, invitations, and other communications requiring an elegant hand.
In this practical manual, a noted calligraphy teacher offers a comprehensive, step-by-step guide for the student. Beginning with a brief but fascinating
Lettering and Modern Calligraphy: A Beginner's Guide: Learn Hand Lettering and Brush Lettering book cover76

Lettering and Modern Calligraphy: A Beginner's Guide: Learn Hand Lettering and Brush Lettering

Paper Peony Press

4.0
77

The ABC of Custom Lettering: A Practical Guide to Drawing Letters

Ivan Castro

4.0
An authoritative resource for designers, typographers, signwriters, illustrators, pinstripers, and other creative professionals

Need to produce some flyers? Want to draw up a logo for a band? Does your local speed shop need a T-shirt design? Don't want to use the same old computer fonts? Well let graphic designer and typography teacher Ivan Castro show you The ABC of Custom Lettering. This practic
House Industries Lettering Manual book cover78

House Industries Lettering Manual

Ken Barber

4.0

Learn the history and techniques of hand lettering from a renowned design studio. This practical and visual guide features exercises, case studies, and typographic models for letter styles such as serif, sans serif, brush, and script.Known throughout the world for its eclectic typeface collections and far-reaching creative exploits, from fonts and fashion to ceramics and space technology, House In

79

Wolfgang Weingart: My Way to Typography

Wolfgang Weingart, K. Wolff, C. Schelbert

4.0
Both as a teacher and a designer, Wolfgang Weingart's influence on the development of typography since the 1970s is unparalleled. As the successor to Emil Ruder at the world-famous Schule fur Gestultung in Basel, he enhanced the rigor of Swiss Typography with experimental verve and creativity; he also put his innovative ideas to work for Typografische Monatsblutter. Countless designers in North Am
Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, and Students (3rd Edition, Revised and Expanded) book cover80

Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, and Students (3rd Edition, Revised and Expanded)

Ellen Lupton

4.0

The essential and bestselling guide to typography from beloved design educator Ellen Lupton—revised and expanded to include new and additional voices, examples, and principles, and a wider array of typefaces."Thinking with Type is to typography what Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time is to physics."—I Love Typography The bestselling Thinking with Type in a revised and expanded third edition

81

Modern Typography: An Essay in Critical History

Robin Kinross

4.0
Modern Typography, 2nd Edition is a completely updated and revised edition of Robin Kinross's classic survey of European and North American typography since 1700, first published in 1992. In addition to numerous new illustrations and revised text, Modern Typography has been re-scaled to a new, convenient pocket format. Kinross's overview breaks ground by focusing on the history of typography as an
82

The Designer's Dictionary of Type

Sean Adams

4.0
The Designer’s Dictionary of Type follows in the footsteps of The Designer’s Dictionary of Color, providing a vivid and highly accessible look at an even more important graphic design ingredient: typography. From classic fonts like Garamond and Helvetica, to modern-day digital fonts like OCR-A and Keedy Sans, author and designer Sean Adams demystifies 48 major typefaces, describing their history,
83

FontBook

Erik Spiekermann, Jurgen Siebert, et al.

4.0
Meggs' History of Graphic Design book cover84

Meggs' History of Graphic Design

Philip B. Meggs and Alston W. Purvis

4.0
The bestselling graphic design reference, updated for the digital ageMeggs' History of Graphic Design is the industry's unparalleled, award-winning reference. With over 1,400 high-quality images throughout, this visually stunning text guides you through a saga of artistic innovators, breakthrough technologies, and groundbreaking developments that define the graphic design field. The initial public
Bret Victor portrait Recommended by Bret Victor.
The Complete Book of Chalk Lettering: Create and Develop Your Own Style book cover85

The Complete Book of Chalk Lettering: Create and Develop Your Own Style

Valerie McKeehan

4.0
Say it with chalk! Learn the art of hand-drawn chalk lettering from an Etsy superstar in a book complete with chalkboards!

Ubiquitous at boutiques and cafés, on Etsy and Pinterest, in stationery and home decor, the art of chalk lettering is hotter than ever. Valerie McKeehan, an Etsy standout, teaches us everything we need to know to create gorgeous hand-drawn chalk designs.

In over 60 lessons, le
86

Shadow Type: Classic Three-Dimensional Lettering

Steven Heller, Louise Fili

4.0
Designers often look to the past for ways to enliven their projects. Letters with relief and shadow have long been an effective way to add spectacle or intrigue to otherwise mundane words. Introduced in metal type as early as 1815, shadow typefaces were a form of early experimentation among type founders. In the late nineteenth century, the form was adopted in wood type for use in posters and has
The Magic of MinaLima: Celebrating the Graphic Design Studio Behind the Harry Potter & Fantastic Beasts Films book cover87

The Magic of MinaLima: Celebrating the Graphic Design Studio Behind the Harry Potter & Fantastic Beasts Films

MinaLima, Nell Denton

4.0

A full-color illustrated compendium chronicling the magical twenty-year journey of acclaimed art and design studio, MinaLima, the creative genius behind the graphics for the Harry Potter film series.“It all started with a letter . . .” Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima began their extraordinary partnership in 2001 when Warner Bros. invited them to realize the imaginative visual universe of the Harry

88

Typography

Friedrich Friedl

4.0
An Encyclopedic Survey of Type Design and Techniques Throughout History. The most detailed and comprehensive survey and history of typography and alphabets ever undertaken, packed with 2,000 illustrations.
89

Handstyle Lettering: From Calligraphy to Typography

Viction Workshop

4.0
In our increasingly digital age, the compass, eraser, pencil and pen may seem like archaic choices for cutting-edge typography design; enter Handstyle Lettering, the latest from industry leader Viction:ary. Handstyle Lettering puts the best in contemporary hand-lettering on display with artist profiles as well as broad surveys of handcrafted typographic projects used for signage, logos, invitation
90

About Face: Reviving the Rules of Typography

David Jury

4.0
91

Designing Books: Practice and Theory

Jost Hochuli, Robin Kinross

4.0
Now available in paper, this newly revised and expanded classic in book design argues for a non-dogmatic approach, one open to both traditional and modern, and symmetrical and asymmetrical, solutions. A survey of Jost Hochuli's own work as a book designer featuring pages from a career of over 30 years is shown, along with detailed comments by noted designer and critic Robin Kinross.
"Hochuli has a
92

Modern Calligraphy: A Beginner's Guide to Pointed Pen and Brush Pen Lettering PLUS BONUS Tombow Fudenosuke Hard Tip Brush Pen

Leslie Tieu

4.0
The Vignelli Canon book cover93

The Vignelli Canon

Massimo Vignelli

4.0
The famous Italian designer Massimo Vignelli allows us a glimpse of his understanding of good design in this book, its rules and criteria. He uses numerous examples to convey applications in practice - from product design via signaletics and graphic design to Corporate Design. By doing this he is making an important manual available to young designers that in its clarity both in terms of subject m
94

Thinking in Type: The Practical Philosophy of Typography

Alex W. White

4.0
With this visually stunning primer, designers will develop the skills and vision to produce truly innovative, eye-catching type design. All of the basics about type design are covered and in-depth information is provided on more advanced topics such as the differences between type applications, how typography creates identity, and what readers look for and respond to. Using more than 2,000 images
The Modern Calligraphy Workbook for Beginners: A No-Frustration Guide to Elegant Writing and Hand Lettering | 300+ Guided Drills, Step-by-Step Lessons, Traceable Alphabets, and Practice Sheets book cover95

The Modern Calligraphy Workbook for Beginners: A No-Frustration Guide to Elegant Writing and Hand Lettering | 300+ Guided Drills, Step-by-Step Lessons, Traceable Alphabets, and Practice Sheets

Nora Winslow

4.0

Turn Shaky Handwriting into Elegant Modern Calligraphy You'll Be Proud to Share!Struggling with confusing tutorials, expensive online classes, and wondering why your lettering never looks as smooth as everyone else's?You don't need years of artistic experience.And you don't need an expensive collection of brush pens.You simply need a workbook that teaches modern calligraphy the way beginners actua

The Lettering Workbook for Absolute Beginners: A Simple Guide to Hand Lettering & Modern Calligraphy book cover96

The Lettering Workbook for Absolute Beginners: A Simple Guide to Hand Lettering & Modern Calligraphy

Ricca's Garden

4.0

Learn the art of modern calligraphy & hand lettering with this comprehensive workbook, filled with multiple lettering styles and tips!Every creative person appreciates hand lettering as an artwork in and of itself.The beautiful strokes give a sense of satisfaction that everyone wants to emulate... if given the tools!Good thing there’s “The Lettering Workbook for Absolute Beginners” by Ricca's Gard

Calligraphy Practice Book for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide to Building Strong Letter Skills from Basic Strokes to Full Sentences book cover97

Calligraphy Practice Book for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide to Building Strong Letter Skills from Basic Strokes to Full Sentences

Grace Ruell

4.0

Learn Calligraphy the Way It Was Meant to Be LearnedCalligraphy is not about rushing through letters, it’s about understanding movement, rhythm, and control. This workbook guides you through a clear learning path, helping you build strong foundations before moving into words and sentences.Through structured practice and repetition, you’ll develop steady hand movement and confident letter formation

98

Fonts & Logos: Font Analysis, Logotype Design, Typography, Type Comparison, and History

Doyald Young

4.0
99

Typography: My Way to Typography

Wolfgang Weingart

4.0
Since the 1970s Wolfgang Weingart has exerted a decisive influence on the international development of typography. In the late 1960s he instilled creativity and a desire for experimentation into the ossified Swiss typographical industry and reflected this renewal in his own work. Countless designers have been inspired by his teaching at the Basle School of Design and by his lectures. In Typography
100

20th-Century Type

Lewis Blackwell

4.0
An updated and expanded edition of a classic book on 20th-century graphic design

Twentieth-Century Type surveysthe significant issues that have shaped the history and evolution of typography and graphic design, showing how current typographic trends are part of a continuously changing movement that can be plotted through the decades. Generously illustrated with over three hundred examples—more than