Six books every design aspirant must read

Learning plays a very important role in our life. We unlearn and learn many things in our day-to-day environment and one can never stop learning! The moment you think you know it all - it is the doom of your career. Now there are tons of resources to learn from, right from our nature and our peers to the internet and the movies, right? But the one resource that you can never get rid of are books. Books are the authentic way of learning new things. Even if the world is high on technological advancement, nothing can beat the way our brain processes and collects information from books. As a designer or design aspirant we tend to use search engines like youtube, pinterest and google a lot. And I’m not going to lie, those are definitely some amazing sources for inspiration but along with this also comes problems like plagiarism and comparison. To avoid this, reading books for inspiration and ideas will definitely take you a long way. In this blog we are going to look at 6 books that every design aspirant must read so continue reading!

The Design of Everyday Things

Source: Amazon

The design of everyday things is a book which explains why and how some products satisfy customer needs, whereas how some frustrate them. The book focuses on the perspective of the user experience and the end goal of this book is to guide the consumer to make right choices when making a purchase. The author of the book, cognitive scientist Don Norman, uses his knowledge and experience to convey the audience that design plays a huge role in influencing consumer behaviour. He also places emphasis that good design enables a brand to gain competitive advantage over the others in the market. This book is rated 4.2 / 5 and has many great reviews. So if you are someone who has a keen interest to learn more about the user experience then this book is the right fit for you.

Steal like an Artist

Source: Amazon

Steal like an artist by Austin Kleon, is a book on creative thinking. The author of the book presents himself as a young artist who emphasises that creativity is everywhere. The author quoted, “ You don’t need to be a genius, you just need to be yourself” which I think is one of the best quotes I have ever come across. We as creative individuals tend to lose ourselves and our essence when being creative. We do things just for the sake of it and not because we love doing it. I believe this book will definitely boost our creative juice and will also help us enjoy the process of creating. This book is rated 4.5 / 5 and is the New York Times Bestseller. So what are you waiting for? Go give this one a read!

The Secret Lives of Color

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The secret lives of color by Kassia St.Clair is a non-fiction book which explores the cultural and social history of colors. This book breaks the usual and tells the stories of seventy five mind-blowing shades, dyes and hues. Right from the color white which represents peace to the color black which represents mystery and grace, this book has it all. This book is again rated 4.7 /5 and has a plethora of positive reviews. So if you are someone who is into the history of colors then this book is for you.

The Little Dictionary of Fashion

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The little dictionary of fashion by Christian Dior is a classic and a casual read which reveals the secrets of style. This book covers everything, right from what to wear to how to carry yourself and walk with grace. Not only does this book give us tips on how to dress but also teaches us different fashion jargons. This book is a complete package for everyone and anyone who loves fashion making it a great present! This book is rated 4.7/5 and is definitely worth it’s hype. So go grab this bundle of joy right away.

The Art of Looking Sideways

Source: Amazon

The art of looking sideways is a very interesting read. This book is full of wisdom and insight collected from all over the world and is an ultimate guide to visual awareness. This book will definitely transport you into a different world full of quotes and anecdotes on design and art. You don’t learn one or two things, you learn a plethora of things on life, aesthetics, art, design and general human experience. This book is rated 4.6/5 so if you think you are into quotes and anecdotes on design then this book will be your favourite.

The Shape of Design

Source: Amazon

The final book that we are going to look into today is “The shape of design”. This book focuses on the technical aspects of design and instead of talking about typography, logos and grids, this book focuses on story-telling and cohesiveness. This book addresses two important questions - how to make things for other people? And how can we do it in a meaningful way? So people who are interested to know more about the technical aspect of design will love this book. It is rated 4.3 /5 and is definitely a great read.

To conclude..

There are more such amazing books that will help you understand so much more about the design industry. These books are some of our favourites and we really hope it will be yours as well. Give these books a read and don’t stop! Learn and learn and learn because one can never stop learning. Hope you found this blog helpful.

Written by DS Student,

Sanjana.