Design Books You’ll Actually Use (2025)

A tight, no-fluff shelf for branding, typography, creative business, and portfolio growth. I update this page monthly as I test new titles in the studio.

Last updated: Sept 9, 2025
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Branding fast-track: The Brand Gap

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Typography fundamentals: Thinking with Type

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Freelance pricing & ops: Creative Strategy & the Business of Design

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Featured 6 (2025)

Thinking with Type (3rd ed.) — Ellen Lupton cover

Thinking with Type (3rd ed.) — Ellen Lupton

Clear typography rules with fast visual examples. Use it on your next layout.

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How to Use Graphic Design to Sell Things — Michael Bierut cover

How to Use Graphic Design to Sell Things — Michael Bierut

Real client work and reasoning—excellent idea-to-execution thinking.

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Creative Strategy & the Business of Design — Douglas Davis cover

Creative Strategy & the Business of Design — Douglas Davis

Strategy, briefs, language for pitching and pricing as a creative.

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The Brand Gap — Marty Neumeier cover

The Brand Gap (Updated) — Marty Neumeier

Brand fundamentals in an hour—useful for clients and teams.

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Grid Systems in Graphic Design — Josef Müller-Brockmann cover

Grid Systems in Graphic Design — Josef Müller-Brockmann

Layout discipline that improves everything you make.

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Don’t Make Me Think (Revisited) — Steve Krug cover

Don’t Make Me Think (Revisited) — Steve Krug

UX common sense for web and product—short, practical, evergreen.

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Prefer a single page? See the full list with all picks:

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Curated Lists

A wider, women-led view of art history.

Criticism, memoir, and industry history.

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Design Books You’ll Actually Use (2025) — Ladies Who Design

Questions or a specific challenge? Tell me what you’re working on—I’ll add a book that fits.

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