I’ve been asked a few times to recommend books to people in the creative profession, so I’ve compiled this easy to find list for your perusal.
If you have book suggestions I’d love to hear them, send me a tweet or an email. I’ll keep this list up to date, and you should also follow me on Goodreads. Most of these books are available on Bookshop.org, an alternative to other book selling giants. I urge you to borrow these from your local library or buy them from a local bookstore instead.
Books on Design
- A Type Primer (Buy)
- Vignelli Canon (Buy)
- Thinking With Type (Buy)
- Universal Principles of Design (Buy)
- Microinteractions (Buy)
- Interaction of Color (Buy)
- Designing Brand Identity (Buy)
- Logo Design Love (Buy)
- Steal Like An Artist (Buy)
- The Design of Everyday Things (Buy)
- The Ethical Design Handbook (Buy)
- Ruined by Design (Buy)
- Refactoring UI (Buy)
Books on Process & Research
- Graphic Design Thinking (Buy)
- Don’t Make Me Think (Buy)
- Rocket Surgery Made Easy (Buy)
- Moments of Impact (Buy)
- Design for Real Life (Buy)
- Sprint (Buy)
- Shape Up (Buy/Read)
Books on Writing
- Politics and the English Language (Read)
- The Elements of Style (Buy)
- On Writing Well (Buy)
- The Chicago Manual of Style (Read)
Books on Leadership
- Resilient Management (Buy)
- The Making of a Manager (Buy)
- Creativity, Inc (Buy)
- Rework (Buy)
- The Culture Code (Buy)
- Start with Why (Buy)
Books on Understanding People & Yourself
- Mastery (Buy)
- Outliers (Buy)
- The Tipping Point (Buy)
- Atomic Habits (Buy)
- Sapiens (Buy)
- Man’s Search For Meaning (Buy)
Spend more time reading fiction and topics that interest you
Non-fiction tends to delve into a small numbers of subjects very deeply without much room for interpretation or imagination. Fiction forces you into your own imagination. A good author will create a world that excites you, a world that you never imagined could exist. It forces you to empathize with characters and put yourself in other peoples’ shoes; it forces you to read a description and picture it in your mind – these skills may prove more valuable to you than reading dozens of books about how to draw rectangles more effectively.
I like to read to wind down after a long day at work, so the last thing I want to do is sit down and open a book about what I’ve been doing all day. If I want to feel inspired, I read about things that inspire me – books about screenwriting, music, and standup, or biographies about filmmakers. These subjects aren’t directly related to my day job, but they fuel my enthusiasm and help me understand how people think. Don’t back yourself into a corner by only reading text books about your job. Broaden your horizons instead.