21 Must Read Books on Design, Branding, and Business
We all want to become better designers, build our design businesses, and deliver more value to our clients. But with so much content out there, how can you ever get through it all? It’s my mission to help you filter through thousands of options and offer you my reading picks. So here’s a list of my top design, business, productivity, branding and strategy book recommendations for design and the business of design.
Design Books
Logotypes & Letterforms: Handlettered Logotypes and Typographic Considerations
Fonts & Logos: Font Analysis, Logotype Design, Typography, Type Comparison
Stop Stealing Sheep & Find Out How Type Works
Identity Designed: The Definitive Guide to Visual Branding
Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative
The Power of Limits: Proportional Harmonies in Nature, Art, and Architecture
My #1 Design Pick
The Power of Limits: Proportional Harmonies in Nature, Art, and Architecture
Although I wasn't taught how to design using the Golden Ratio when I was in school, this book gave me a crash course in what it’s all about. It was worth the purchase for chapter 1 alone. It was all I needed to understand the basic premise of the Golden Ratio and proportional harmonies in nature that I could apply to my design work.
Business Books
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It
Run Studio Run: How to operate and grow a small creative studio
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It
101 Things I Learned in Business School
A Win Without Pitching Manifesto
My #1 Business Pick
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It
It was a hard decision to pick my favorite business book, as they all are really good. But Never Split the Difference is probably my favorite book I’ve read in the last 2 years. I can’t recommend it enough. It’s by a former FBI hostage negotiator. He teaches the negotiating skills he used in extreme hostage negotiations as well as how to apply it in business situations. If you don’t read any of the other books, read this. If you want to get a taste if it, then watch some of his interviews, like this one.
Productivity Books
18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done
The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results
Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less
My #1 Productivity Pick
18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done
I have never been as productive in my life as I was after reading this book and implementing it’s techniques. I now know what to say “no” to and where to put my focus. Before reading this book I was really scattered and didn’t know where to put my energy and effort, but now I have clarity.
Branding and Strategy Books
Archetypes in Branding: A Toolkit for Creatives and Strategists
Designing Brand Identity: An Essential Guide for the Whole Branding Team
Creative Strategy and the Business of Design
Zag: The Number One Strategy of High-Performance Brands
The Brand Gap: How to Bridge the Distance Between Business Strategy and Design
Bigger Than This: How to turn any venture into an admired brand
My #1 Branding and Strategy Pick
The Brand Gap: How to Bridge the Distance Between Business Strategy and Design
I have a tendency to only use the branding and strategy books as reference books when I need them versus leisurely reading. The Brand Gap is short and sweet and to the point. So many quotes about branding come from this book like “A brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product, service, or organization.” and “Your brand isn’t what you say it is, it’s what THEY say it is.” I appreciate the focus, impact, and brevity of the book.
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