Five Typography Books Every Graphic Designer Needs to Read
Typography is an important foundation of graphic design. It is one of the first principles students new to graphic design learn. It is vital to the practice and there is so much to learn about it. From the design of the characters, their purposes, the types of typefaces, and using them in layouts. There is no doubt that it takes lots of time, practice, and experience before any designer can call themself a typographic master. Reading books on typography can help speed up that process just a bit. Here is the list of typography books every graphic design student needs to read:
Thinking with Type | Ellen Lupton | Publisher Info
Thinking with Type is one of the quintessential books on typography. Lupton covers a wide range of topics from the basics, like the difference between a font and a typeface, to the differences between type classifications. As with Lupton’s other books, this one is full of timeless visual examples that follow along with the principles she writes about. Although this book focuses on the practical uses of typography the book does include examples of experimental type. Thinking with Type is a great beginner book because Lupton offers a multitude of typographic tricks and tips that are invaluable to those who are just starting.
Designing with Type: The Essential Guide to Typography | James Craig & Irene Korol Scala
Designing with Type is the ultimate beginner's guide to typography. Craig and Korol Scala break down each principle of typography, like usable font sizes, formatting paragraphs, and basic type layouts. This book walks new designers through all of the basics of typography that a lot of other books skim through. Designing with Type is the also best visual reference guide. It uses lots of visuals to diagram ways to style, format, and layout text, create different levels of typographic hierarchy, and how to pair different types of fonts. Although this book is for novices I still find myself flipping through it for inspiration.
Designers Dictionary of Type | Sean Adams
The companion book to Sean Adams, Designers Dictionary of Color, Designers Dictionary of Type follows a similar format in using specimens to highlight the historical and cultural significance of different typefaces. This book primarily focuses on the use of various typefaces like Helvetica, Garamond, and Cooper and how their designs convey different emotions, moods, and feelings. Although Designers Dictionary of Type is not a reference guide it does provide readers an important lesson: all typography is contextual. Understanding the context of the typefaces we use is vital and not many books discuss those contexts. This one does.
Just My Type | Simon Garfield
Speaking of books that discuss the context of typefaces, Just My Type also focuses on this, but much more in-depth than the Designers Dictionary of type. It’s also much less visual. I added this book to the list because Simon Garfield discusses how the designs of a few specific typefaces influenced the ways they’re used and how they’re perceived. One specific typeface he discusses is the infamous Comic Sans, and no, he does not hate it.
Elements of Typographic Style | Robert Bringhurst
Another quintessential typography book is Bringhurt’s Elements of Style. This is the Holy Grail of books on Typography as Bringhurst goes into depth about the practical, theoretical, and historical applications of typography. Whenever I have a specific typography question this is the book I refer to because I know Bringhurst has the answer. He discusses the purposes of niched characters like the interrobang, maximizing usability and readability of text in print and on screens, and even how to format type on screen. Although this book is the most intimidating, it is one of the most valuable books a graphic designer can have in their collection.
Although there are plenty of books on typography for graphic designers these are my top five recommendations that I think every graphic designer needs to read. Have you read any of these books? If so, which was your favorite? If not, which book would you add to the list?