Whats the most inspirational Digital Design book you own?

[iGav]

I also had a book with loads of Letraset-style type in in it, and also used to spend hours tracing and drawing them.

It wasn't a Mecanorma book was it???

I spent hours labouring over the pages of this with a .1 and lots of patience.

 

[Lau]

It wasn't a Mecanorma book was it???

I spent hours labouring over the pages of this with a .1 and lots of patience.

No, it was this. I can't find a picture, but it was really fab and 80s and tacky, and looking back, had a good mix of Helvetica and the like, and Cooper Black and Microgramma Bold Extended. I rather liked Microgramma Bold Extended...

 

[CanadaRAM]

Ah, the perils of infontuation.

Many hours with calligraphy nibs & india ink practicing "Old English" and uncial styles.

 

[Lau]

Ah, the perils of infontuation.

Many hours with calligraphy nibs & india ink practicing "Old English" and uncial styles.

Ooh, I went through a phase of starting to learn calligraphy as well. Unfortunately, me and large quantities of black ink don't mix well.

 

[CanadaRAM]

Ooh, I went through a phase of starting to learn calligraphy as well. Unfortunately, me and large quantities of black ink don't mix well.

... your hair used to be blonde, right?

 

[Lau]

... your hair used to be blonde, right?

I know, I had to become a goth with a black painted room in my teenage years out of necessity...

 

[technicolor]

Dimensional Typography

well anything by Abbot Miller and Ellen Lupton

 

[primalman]

…well anything by Abbot Miller and Ellen Lupton

Second this

And the Print and Communication arts mags. As well, if you can find it, CMYK, Eye [UK], Novum [Germany I think] and Graphis [but not as good as 15 years ago]. But in t he US, Print and CA are the standard reads.

I would look at How occasionally, but I prefer the mags that concentrate on "Why". Much better focus.

 

[thevessels]

Wow, no one has mentioned Before & After magazine (www.bamagazine.com). As a person who has no formal design training, it's the ultimate design resource.

awwwesome link man . thanks !

 

[klymr]

Bringing back the dead...

Any other fantastic design books that you all pull inspiration from? I think I might be taking a trip to the book store after work today. Just wondering if there was anything else to look at/for while there.


EDIT:

Well, I ran across The Elements of Typographic Design at Border's and just about bought it. Then I decided to check out amazon.com on my iPhone and found it for a lot less. I'm going to see if my brother still has an amazon.com prime membership. Another book that I liked was Making and Breaking the Grid: A Graphic Design Layout Workshop by Timothy Samara. It seemed pretty informative. That is only like $16 on amazon, so I'll most likely order it as well.

I have also thought about ordering Sagmeister: Made You Look, but I'm not so sure. If someone would like to shed some light on how the book is, that'd be great. I think that might be a good start. What do you all say?

 

[bocomo]

ahhh, the good? old days!

letraset, ruling pens, non-repro blue pencils, proportion wheels, ruby lith, etc.

it's great to know how easy we have it these days...

 

[pcypert]

I was just about to post Making and Breaking the Grid by Timothy Samara. I love this book. Gonna check out his Type book too, just to see. He has another more "general" design book that has all the same grid stuff as the grid book but without multiple pages of examples.... could be nice for someone wanting more general info, or a go-to visual guide without tons of examples.

Paul

 

[unid]

The art of looking sideways by Alan Fletcher
Maeda @ media by John Maeda (http://www.maedastudio.com)
Hand Job: A catalog of type by Michael Perry
An essay on typography by Eric Gill
Stop stealing sheep and find out how type works by Erik Spiekermann
The elements of colour by Johannes Itten

 

[adameels]

Situating: Young Architects 7. I loved all the different drawing styles and collages presented and the level of work is not too far off what I should be aiming for next year. Of course I didn't pay that much shown on Amazon.

 

[primalman]

Sketchbooks: The Hidden Art of Designers, Illustrators and Creatives.