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The Books Every Designer Must Read

What books have influenced you most as a designer? Lay out all of the classics here

By Core Jr - February 16, 2017

in Forum Frenzy

Today's topic is a common but important one: what's one of the books that got you interested in pursuing design? What's a book that continues to inspire and influence your work? On the Core77 discussion boards, maehoosadie asked the experts in our design community: what are the best and brightest books out there for designers?

"I was curious what books have influenced your creative or design processes. Two of my professors have stressed the importance of curating a design library and gave several suggestions on getting started...I was hoping to hear what others in the industry enjoy reading on design, or any other topic. I've got a few on minimalism and sustainability I'm hoping to read as well, and I'd love to hear your recommendations and discuss your thoughts!"

(Editor's Note: maehoosadie also includes a great list below her question of must-read design books worth checking out!)

Here are a few responses to this reader's question straight from our audience—

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Aircraft by Le Corbusier

"It is a funky short book, presumable about aircraft but really about how he saw technology could reshape culture. It can be read in about 30 minutes." — yo

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The Best Interface is No Interface by Golden Krishna

"This book was recommended by a friend, and we both work in the furniture industry. Although the book talks a lot about the digital world, its been incredibly inspiring and changed the way I think about interfacing with products." — AVClub

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"Currently reading Designing Design by Kenya Hara which has some interesting perspectives.

I also like:
Super Normal by Naoto Fukasawa & Jasper Morrison
Okala Practitioner by iDSA
The Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton Christiansen"

—Brian_Donlin

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"I could also recommend a couple books from IDEO's Tom Kelley:
The Art of Innovation and The Ten Faces of Innovation." — Architorture

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So tell us—what's missing from this list? Share your must-reads with the Core77 audience in the comment feed below or in the original discussion board thread!

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Kostas Syrtariotis

7 years ago

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The books of Don Norman and Bruno Munari are always a good start

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Sandor Steinhardt

7 years ago

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Analog and Digital by Otl Aicher
How objects are born by Bruno Munari
Both books are old, but have a great insight into design and how to approach new projects.

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Ricardo Sosa

7 years ago

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The Cave is a novel by José Saramago that should be a core reading for all designers. Will change the way to think about consumption.

Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire will also help designers locate their practice and question the colonising mentality of Western design ideology.

Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation by Steve Johnson will introduce designers to popular science books.

Please stop reading what every other designer reads. Read about culture, business, anthropology, translated novels... open your mind!

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George Mokray

7 years ago

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Viktor Paranek's The Green Imperative is probably still useful reading considering how far ahead he was of the design curve. I have a digitized copy of a lecture of his at Mass College of Art back in the 1990s that I videotaped and still have in my library. At some point, I'll have to look at it again.

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