The 21 Graphic Design Books You Should Have on Your Reading List for 2026

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a novice graphic designer or a seasoned expert—you should continuously be seeking to learn, grow, and expand your horizons.

The Internet tends to be our first port of call when it comes to learning new things, while a graphic design course might be a close second. Books, however, are another rich source of knowledge and insight. So, take a break from your screen and check out any one of these awesome graphic design books:

Contents:

• 1) The History of Graphic Design by Jens Müller
• 2) Graphic Design Rules: 365 Essential Design Dos and Don'ts by Sean Adams
• 3) Graphic Design For Everyone: Understand the Building Blocks so You can Do It Yourself by Cath Caldwell
• 4) The Designer’s Dictionary of Color by Sean Adams
• 5) Drawing Type: An Introduction to Illustrating Letterforms by Alex Fowkes
• 6) The Graphic Design Idea Book: Inspiration from 50 Masters by Steven Heller & Gail Anderson
• 7) Logo Design Love: A Guide to Creating Iconic Brand Identities by David Airey
• 8) Extra Bold: A Feminist, Inclusive, Anti-racist, Nonbinary Field Guide for Graphic Designers by Ellen Lupton et al.
• 9) The Black Experience in Design: Identity, Expression & Reflection by Kelly Walters, Anne H. Berry et al.
• 10) The Graphic Design Reference & Specification Book: Everything Graphic Designers Need to Know Every Day by Poppy Evans, Aaris Sherin & Irina Lee
• 11) Graphic Design Thinking: Beyond Brainstorming by Ellen Lupton & Jennifer Cole Phillips
• 12) Layout Essentials: 100 Design Principles for Using Grids by Beth Tondreau
• 13) Designing for Print: The Art & Science by Marina Poropat Joyce
• 14) Thinking with Type by Ellen Lupton
• 15) Black, Brown + Latinx Design Educators: Conversations on Design and Race by Kelly Walters
• 16) 100 Ideas that Changed Graphic Design by Steven Heller & Véronique Vienne
• 17) Design(h)ers: A Celebration of Women in Design Today by Victionary
• 18) Graphic Design for the 21st Century: 100 of the World’s Best Graphic Designers by Charlotte Fiell & Peter Fiell
• 19) Design: The Definitive Visual History by The Smithsonian Institution
• 20) Book of Branding by Radim Malinic
• 21) Designing Type by Karen Cheng

Those are the titles—now let’s dive into the details of your ultimate graphic design reading list!

1. The History of Graphic Design, 40th edition by Jens Müller

To truly understand the fascinating field of graphic design , it’s helpful to learn where graphic design has come from and how it’s evolved over time. In the 40th edition of The History of Graphic Design, Jens Müller curates the standout designs for each year from 1890 up to the present day. As such, the book is both a collection of important graphic design works and a showcase of how graphic design, and the factors that influence it, have changed throughout history.

2. Graphic Design Rules: 365 Essential Design Dos and Don'ts by Sean Adams

Consider this your practical handbook full of expert guidance that you can apply to your own work. The author, Sean Adams, has been cited as one of the top forty most influential people shaping the design field internationally, so you can bet that his graphic design dos and don’ts are worth paying attention to! Be it layout, typography, composition, colour, or anything else in between, Adams’ principles and guidelines have got you covered.

3. Graphic Design For Everyone: Understand the Building Blocks so You can Do It Yourself by Cath Caldwell

Graphic design is a hands-on field, so learning by doing is a must. Whether you’re a novice designer or an entrepreneur looking to carve out your brand identity, Cath Caldwell’s Graphic Design For Everyone is a great place to start. Full of how-to guides, hands-on workshops, inspirational galleries showcasing awesome examples of graphic design, and step-by-step projects, brace yourself for a highly practical education in the basics of graphic design.

4. The Designer’s Dictionary of Color by Sean Adams

Colour is one of the fundamental principles of graphic design . It helps to develop a strong brand identity and evoke certain emotions and associations in the viewer. All designers—graphic designers, interior designers, web designers, and more—must understand the power of colour and know how to choose the right colour palettes for their projects. In The Designer’s Dictionary of Color , Sean Adams explores 30 key colours in depth, organising them by spectrum and delving into the creative history and cultural associations of each.

5. Drawing Type: An Introduction to Illustrating Letterforms by Alex Fowkes

You can’t consider yourself a bona fide designer until you’ve mastered the art of type—that is, the style and appearance of text within your designs. In Alex Fowkes’ Drawing Type , you’ll find an informative and practical introduction to the topic. The book provides inspiration in the form of examples and interviews with well-known type designers. It also includes exercises and step-by-step instructions to help you get going with creating your own letterforms. This is a must-read graphic design book that promises to spark your curiosity and get your creative juices flowing.

6. The Graphic Design Idea Book: Inspiration from 50 Masters by Steven Heller & Gail Anderson

Graphic designers, both new and seasoned, have so much to learn from others in the field, and this collection of iconic works is rich in inspiration and insight. Featuring key works from fifty acclaimed designers, The Graphic Design Idea Book demonstrates how some of the best designers approach concepts such as form, narrative, colour, type, and imagery. This reader-friendly, accessible guide will leave you with a good understanding of the key elements of effective design—and inspire you to apply them in your own work.

7. Logo Design Love: A Guide to Creating Iconic Brand Identities by David Airey

A consistent bestseller in Amazon’s branding and logo design category, Logo Design Love deserves a spot on every graphic designer’s bookshelf. Using real client case studies, David Airey shows you how to develop an iconic brand identity from start to finish—covering everything from how to create effective briefs and generate ideas, to collaborating effectively with clients, and even how to charge for your work. Even if you’re not working with clients just yet, this jargon-free read will provide invaluable insight into the branding process.

8. Extra Bold: A Feminist, Inclusive, Anti-racist, Nonbinary Field Guide for Graphic Designers by Ellen Lupton et al.

This is the ultimate inclusive, practical, and informative career guide for designers. Navigating the workplace is challenging, and especially so for those who may be marginalised by sexism, racism, and ableism. Written collectively by a diverse group of authors—Ella Lupton, Farah Kafei, Jennifer Tobias, Josh A. Halstead, Kaleena Sales, Leslie Xia, and Valentina Vergara—Extra Bold explores power structures in the workplace and provides practical advice on how to navigate them. Featuring interviews, biographical sketches, practical guides, critical essays, and projects, this is a powerful—and extremely important—career guide like no other.

9. The Black Experience in Design: Identity, Expression & Reflection by Kelly Walters, Anne H. Berry et al.

Discourse and education around the history of graphic design has traditionally focused heavily on European modernist influences while overlooking the work, experiences, and contributions of Black designers. The Black Experience in Design: Identity, Expression & Reflection provides a much-needed shift, exploring teaching practices, research, stories, and conversations through a Black/African diasporic lens. This powerful anthology presents the work of six editors and over 70 designers, artists, curators, educators, students, and researchers who represent a wide cross-section of Black diasporic identities and multidisciplinary practices—an enlightening and inspirational read.

10. The Graphic Design Reference & Specification Book: Everything Graphic Designers Need to Know Every Day by Poppy Evans, Aaris Sherin & Irina Lee

Beyond the overarching theory of graphic design and all its key principles and techniques, there are also the much finer details that can make or break a project. Keep a copy of The Graphic Design Reference & Specification Book at hand and you’ll be equipped to navigate any potential stumbling blocks—whether it’s figuring out how much space to leave in the gutter when designing barrel folds or getting stuck with ratios. Full of immediately actionable advice and expert knowledge of small but important technical details, this is a practical and accessible guidebook for everyday reference.

11. Graphic Design Thinking: Beyond Brainstorming by Ellen Lupton & Jennifer Cole Phillips

Brainstorming is an essential part of a graphic designer’s work. It’s how you formulate ideas and arrive at solutions that will inform your designs. But Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Cole Phillips want designers to go beyond traditional brainstorming methods and tap into a variety of fresh techniques, which they outline in their book. Graphic Design Thinking: Beyond Brainstorming offers a wide range of problem-solving and ideation methods that can be applied to different scenarios, and features discussions with leading designers who share how they come up with ideas and overcome creative blocks.

12. Layout Essentials: 100 Design Principles for Using Grids by Beth Tondreau

Grids form the basis of all design projects—whether brochures, websites, books, or posters. Beth Tondreau’s Layout Essentials sets out all the principles and guidelines you need to effectively work with grids across a range of project types, complete with real-world examples. Not only that: Tondreau also explores when it’s possible, or even necessary, to break the rules to create grids that work in your favour. The original was published in 2009, but we recommend the revised and updated version published in 2019.

13. Designing for Print: The Art & Science by Marina Poropat Joyce

If you’re interested in applying your graphic design skills to print, you’ll want to take this opportunity to learn from Marina Poropat Joyce. She founded one of the first design-to-print companies in Los Angeles, and she’s compiled her expert knowledge of the industry into this beautifully designed, reader-friendly book. Rich with photography, illustrations, and charts to showcase different printing techniques, Designing for Print addresses all the decisions a designer must make that affect printing quality and price—invaluable on-the-job knowledge that all designers for print must possess.

14. Thinking with Type by Ellen Lupton

Another top graphic design book by Ellen Lupton, Thinking with Type provides essential guidance for how letters, words, and paragraphs should be aligned, spaced, ordered, and shaped. With the help of visual examples, you’ll learn the essentials of typography—from typefaces and type families to kerning, tracking, and using grids. Written for designers, writers, editors, and students, this book will teach you how to both apply, and break, the rules of typography in graphic design.

15. Black, Brown + Latinx Design Educators: Conversations on Design and Race by Kelly Walters

Kelly Walters is an artist, designer, educator, and researcher—and the founder of Bright Polka Dot design studio. Much of her writing, teaching, and publishing focuses on race and representation in design, and Black, Brown + Latinx Design Educators is just one of her many outstanding works.

This must-read graphic design book comprises a collection of twelve deeply personal interviews with graphic design educators of colour who teach at universities and colleges across the US and Canada. Walters centres the stories, experiences, and perspectives of Black, Brown, and Latinx design educators who represent a cross-section of ethnic and multiracial backgrounds—African American, Jamaican, Indian, Pakistani, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Mexican, and Brazilian. Black, Brown + Latinx Design Educators offers invaluable insight into the multitude of experiences of Black, Brown, and Latinx design educators working in the field.

16. 100 Ideas that Changed Graphic Design by Steven Heller & Véronique Vienne

100 Ideas that Changed Graphic Design explores the evolution of graphic design throughout history, outlining 100 influential ideas and concepts. From the invention of typography to the emergence of different printing techniques, momentous design movements, and the ever-growing influence of technology, 100 Ideas takes you on a fascinating, visually captivating journey through the history of graphic design.

17. Design(h)ers: A Celebration of Women in Design Today by Victionary

This stunning graphic design book does exactly what it says on the tin: celebrates the talent and contributions of women in the field of design. Prepare to feel inspired and personally empowered as you read through this powerful collection of interviews with remarkable women designers and take in the rich, vibrant visuals of some of their most iconic projects.

18. Graphic Design for the 21st Century: 100 of the World’s Best Graphic Designers by Charlotte Fiell & Peter Fiell

Whether you’re looking for inspiration for your own work, insight into who has shaped the world of graphic design as we know it, or both, you’ll want to get your hands on a copy of Graphic Design for the 21st Century. Explore this fascinating showcase of 100 graphic designers, complete with biographies and visual examples for each. We love the breadth and depth of this book—it covers everything from packaging and editorial design to branding, web design, and more.

19. Design: The Definitive Visual History by The Smithsonian Institution

The history of graphic design is truly fascinating, and what better way to explore it than through imagery? This rich visual guide takes you through all the major design movements over the last 150 years, focusing on how these movements have influenced the look and functionality of everyday objects such as telephones, cameras, toys, and clothes. You’ll find chapters covering Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Modern and Postmodern aesthetics, as well as profiles of iconic designers from around the world.

20. Book of Branding by Radim Malinic

Visual identity is at the very heart of brand strategy, and that’s the premise of Radim Malinic’s Book of Branding. Discover a practical, step-by-step brand development process accompanied by case studies, tips, and best practices, as well as advice from the author on how to navigate some of the most common challenges associated with building a brand from scratch. A must-read for entrepreneurs, founders, visual designers, and anyone else wanting to understand the fascinating yet complex world of branding.

21. Designing Type by Karen Cheng

Are you looking for a complete and comprehensive introduction to all things type? Well, this is it. Now in its second edition, Designing Type by Karen Cheng explains the processes behind the art of creating and designing type. Learn about the key factors designers must consider when working with type, including accessibility and legibility, and explore a wide range of both classic and modern typefaces. Cheng also dives into the history of type and considers how new technology has impacted the field.

Learn more about graphic design

Books are an excellent resource for learning about the practicalities of graphic design, understanding the influences shaping the field, and gaining insight into a diverse variety of perspectives.

If you’re a newcomer to the field and want to learn more about graphic design, consider a graphic design course; we’ve rounded up the best graphic design courses here . You’ll also want to check out our practical guide which outlines a clear step-by-step process for learning graphic design, complete with useful resources and learning objectives.

We also recommend you refer to student projects by AND learners to get a deeper insight into the graphic design process. Here are some handpicked projects for your reference:

• Brochure Design Project by Priya Patel
• Brand Identity System Project by Akhil N
• Campaign Design Project by Sreya Sara Binoy

In case of further assistance, here are some additional resources you can consider:

1. Watch this session by design veteran and AND’s Academic Head, Prachi Mittal, and our Course Lead, Soumya Tiwari.
2. Talk to a course advisor to discuss how you can transform your career with one of our courses.
3. Pursue our Graphic Design courses - all courses are taught through live, interactive classes by industry experts, and some even offer a Job Guarantee.
4. Take advantage of the scholarship and funding options that come with our courses to overcome any financial hurdle on the path of your career transformation.

Note: All information and/or data from external sources is believed to be accurate as of the date of publication.