The most recommended typography books

What's so compelling and important about this book not only for educators but for all designers and creative professionals, is gaining insights into the multitude of experiences of Black, Brown, and Latinx design educators whose essays are included in this volume. The narratives of the educators included are powerful, offering rarely heard perspectives.

On a personal note, I had the pleasure and honor of working with Professors Kelly Walters and Anne H. Berry in the Design Incubation Fellowship; and, I'm proud to say Professor Jason Alejandro was my student. I love Walters' design of Black, Brown + Latinx Design Educators. It's a special treat for readers when the author is the designer because the design of words on the pages flow in a more purposeful way. That's the case with several of the books on my list!

This book has everything – a charming bookshop with an even more charming and mysterious owner. A secret society. An every-person type who gets drawn into a strange and dangerous world of bookish legacy. The book is twisty and cryptic while also being absolutely accessible and fascinating, and I want to now read everything Robin Sloan has ever written.  

You can find the latest international advertising news and views at Contagious.com and you can find what makes advertising contagious in this book. Contagious is a global resource for the marketing industry and this book encapsulates their secrets. It’s a must-read for any strategist, creative, producer, or marketing pro. What I admire about The Contagious Commandments' approach is they emphasize thinking about the intersection of creativity, technology, and behavioral psychology, and never forgetting that the ideas you generate should not only positively impact the brand but society as well. 

A hugely ambitious mix of text and graphic design, in which typography is used in bold and disarming ways. It is also a genuinely compelling sci-fi novel about very, very, big ideas. Filled with meta-narratives, in-jokes, artistic references, and mixed media, it’s an interesting alternative to that other oft-cited cult classic House of Leaves. As someone who has worked as both designer and editor, I was blown away by Hughes’s ability to combine a good story with such avant-garde design. The themes communicated will give you much to contemplate – or ramble on about to any friends you successfully corner. A staggering achievement destined to be a future cult classic.

From brand strategy to design, from validation to cultivation, Marty’s delightful read will make you not only understand what branding is, but you will turn into a design advocate along the way. And, more importantly, it will make you understand what’s at the heart of any great brand: Customer experience. Marty further has a captivating style of storytelling. I promise you won’t be putting this book down once you started. Large typography and fun design make it a quick ‘airplane read,’ which is a format that definitely inspired me as an author.

Tom Corbett, Space Cadet remains my favorite young adult series. What’s not to like? Fights ending in fellowship, villains, and perils defeated, all in a dazzling 24th-century world of atomic spaceflight, electric wristwatches, high-speed slidewalks, hard-nosed Solar Guard officers with hearts of gold, and – remember this was written 70 years ago – brilliant women who are full professors of astrophysics at Space Academy (I’ll always love you, Dr. Joan Dale). Oh yes, and the Paralo-Ray: a weapon that immobilizes but does not kill. Of the eight Corbett books, The Revolt on Venus is the best: tense and thrilling, full of great characters, and politically astute.

This book is an object of art. Beyond reading this book for all the information on the history of letterforms, the anatomy of letterforms, how to distinguish typefaces, and all the key concepts about typographic design you need to know, any reader will become a viewer—gazing at the beautiful illustrations for hours on end.

Leave it to the brilliant artist Rose Gonnella to turn a typography book into a masterpiece that belongs not in the museum gift shop but in the museum proper. Run don’t walk to your device or nearest bookseller to get this treasure. This book is one of three in a series on design fundamentals by the same authors.

This large-format book has been my firm favourite for over forty years. I love it because it encompasses every aspect of the Christmas season.

It is my handbook on how to enjoy the season. Bookended with festive boardgames, it is wonderfully illustrated with many full-page original illustrations highlighting the text. It includes classic stories alongside explanations and histories of the many Christmas traditions, carol lyrics, poetry, craft ideas, recipes, and much more.

I can’t imagine celebrating Christmas without it. It truly is Christmas in a book.

This classic rumination on the nature of mathematics is perhaps the most famous book ever written by a mathematician.

I’ve read it several times, and each time, it brings up another facet of the subject in some new light. Portions of what Hardy says ring eerily true, and seem to be part of the identity, the very DNA, that all mathematicians must surely share. Other parts seem so alien to be almost repugnant – such as his contention that most mathematics we classify as useful is ugly and inelegant.

I’d love to argue face-to-face with Hardy about this highly opinionated work of his. In the end, I suspect we’d find lots of common ground, since intrinsically, we both love mathematics so much.

Even though Reggie, Kid Penguin isn’t in the Ready-To-Read graphics series, it’s a very sweet book with a lovable main character, Reggie.

This is a longer book, but is separated into short tales… Readers will be able to read as much as they want, or take the book one small chunk at a time. Jen’s art and colors are so delightful to navigate, and I adore her typography. I’m sure that Reggie will become a favorite of your household!