Books about Graphic Design?

[Person]

I recently got accepted to Art Center College of Design for graphic design, and I'm starting in the Fall. I just want to dig a bit deeper before I start my term soon, any books that will generally help me learn more?

[bradlee]

http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Workshop-Challenges-Sharpen-Design/dp/1600617972/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330984353&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Design-Referenced-Language-Applications/dp/1592537421/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1330984353&sr=8-4

http://www.amazon.com/Layout-Workbook-Real-World-Building-Graphic/dp/1592533523/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1330984353&sr=8-6

http://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Designer-without-Losing-Expanded/dp/1568989830/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1330984353&sr=8-8

http://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Design-Exercise-Book/dp/1600614639/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1330984353&sr=8-7

The list could go on & on & on. I read a lot of forums & blogs as well. The internet is your friend in finding good design, shit design, how-to's, tips, tricks, ideas, etc.

Oh and congratulations on your acceptance to your college!

[Buda]

If you haven't already, check if your school has a reading list. If you're going to be buying books, they might as well be the books that you have to buy next year.

[jld]

Grab any decent art-history book.
Study up on life-drawings. Do what you can to build confidence with a pen and paper, even if you're just sketching.
Read up about the different colour systems (RGB, CMYK, Pantone etc.)

[garricks]

http://www.nga.gov/

Also search the internet for "national gallery" and "national museum." There are some awesome collections online.

[JohnParker]

You should read Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines.

[moh123wala]

Hi Friends,

Can anyone suggest some best books for layout design or playing with different shapes to improve the layout.

Before 2 years, I had seen a book which contains 1000 of different coloring layouts on each and every page. I didn't remember the book name.

Hope to hear from you all....

Thank you :)

[HaroldoNVU]

I was just about to look for a thread like this. I've got into Graphic Design recently and bought a few books:


Typography Essentials: 100 Design Principles for Working with Type by Ina Saltz
Retórica do Design Gráfico by Marcos Braga, Licinio de Almeida Junior and Vera Lúcia Nojima
Designing with the Mind in Mind: Simple Guide to Understanding User Interface Design Rules by Jeff Johnson
Creative Workshop: 80 Challenges to Sharpen Your Design Skills by David Sherwin
Layout Workbook: A Real-World Guide to Building Pages in Graphic Design by Kristin Cullen
Graphic Design Thinking (Design Briefs) by Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Cole Phillips
Designing Type by Karen Cheng
Meggs' History of Graphic Design by Philip B. Meggs and Alston W. Purvis
Thinking with Type, 2nd revised and expanded edition: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students by Ellen Lupton

Any essentials I'm missing? Any books about visual identity, digital painting, concept art and illustration in general that you think I should own? Also, I'd love a good book on how to design characters for comic strips and cartoons, I'm planning on making webcomics for hobby but I'm having a hard time adjusting my drawing style which is more like akin to super hero comics.

[<b>]

Can anyone suggest some best books for layout design or playing with different shapes to improve the layout.

Rather than concentrating on shapes, I'd suggest a more comprehensive book that explores the many fundamental elements of design and their interrelationships.

You might want to look into The Elements of Graphic Design (http://www.amazon.com/Elements-Graphic-Design-Second-Edition/dp/1581157622/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1331747621&sr=8-6). There's also the Universal Principles of Design (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Universal-Principles-of-Design-Revised-and-Updated/William-Lidwell/e/9781592535873?itm=2&usri=Universal+Principles+of+Design).

Just a side note: despite the great design information in them, these two books fall somewhat short of being well designed themselves. Really, that's sort of like some design instructors I've known — great teachers, but not such good designers.