Books for Designers
Discover essential design books that dive deep into generative AI, UI and product design, UX, branding, graphic design, creativity, psychology, marketing and more. This curated collection highlights influential titles that help designers expand their skills and thinking.
Prompt Engineering & Generative AI Design Books
Books on prompt engineering and generative AI in design and content work, from beginner primers to UX-specific prompting guides and image prompting techniques.
Generative AI Essentials For Beginners: Boost Your Artificial Intelligence Skills With Innovative Tools To Write, Create, And Edit Content With EaseAffiliate Partner
JS CollinsPaid
Prompt Engineering for UX - Mastering Generative AI for Design Excellence: Elevate your UX design skills to new heightsAffiliate Partner
MedaviPaid
AI Prompt Engineering Bible: Beginner-to-Pro System to Master ChatGPT and Generative AI for Powerful Results and Real IncomeAffiliate Partner
Tomasz DylikPaid
Generative AI for Creators: Creating Content that converts: Unlocking the Power of AI-Driven Content ProductionAffiliate Partner
James AdlerPaid
UX+AI DESIGN WITH PROMPTS: How to Create Exceptional Experiences with Generative AIAffiliate Partner
Hegel GonzalezPaid
Image Context Engineering: Master Creating Amazing Detailed Images Through Example Stories (Generative AI Mastery)Affiliate Partner
David Gillette Paid
Branding, Logo & Identity Design Books
Branding books and logo design books on brand strategy, visual identity systems and logo marks that last, from classic strategy texts to visual histories of modernist logos.
Logos that Last: How to Create Iconic Visual BrandingAffiliate Partner
Allan PetersPaid
Logo Design Love: A Guide to Creating Iconic Brand IdentitiesAffiliate Partner
David AireyPaid
The Brand Gap: How to Bridge the Distance Between Business Strategy and DesignAffiliate Partner
Marty NeumeierPaid
Identity Designed: The Definitive Guide to Visual BrandingAffiliate Partner
David AireyPaid
Zag: The Number One Strategy of High-Performance BrandsAffiliate Partner
Marty NeumeierPaid
Designing Brand Identity: A Comprehensive Guide to the World of Brands and BrandingAffiliate Partner
Alina Wheeler, Rob MeyersonPaid
Branding: In Five and a Half StepsAffiliate Partner
Michael JohnsonPaid
Logo ModernismAffiliate Partner
Jens Müller, Julius Wiedemann, R. Roger RemingtonPaid
Visual & Graphic Design Books
Graphic design books on typography, grid systems, color, composition and graphic design history, from foundational manuals to visual surveys of type.
Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, and StudentsAffiliate Partner
Ellen LuptonPaid
Grid systems in graphic design: A visual communication manualAffiliate Partner
Josef Müller-BrockmannPaid
Interaction of ColorAffiliate Partner
Josef AlbersPaid
The Elements of Typographic StyleAffiliate Partner
Robert BringhurstPaid
Meggs' History of Graphic DesignAffiliate Partner
Philip B. Meggs, Alston W. PurvisPaid
The Graphic Design Idea Book: Inspiration from 50 MastersAffiliate Partner
Steven Heller, Gail AndersonPaid
How to Use Graphic Design to Sell Things, Explain Things, Make Things Look Better, ...Affiliate Partner
Michael BierutPaid
The Visual History of Type: A visual survey of 320 typefacesAffiliate Partner
Paul McNeilPaid
100 Ideas that Changed Graphic DesignAffiliate Partner
Steven Heller, Veronique ViennePaid
Palette Perfect for Graphic Designers and Illustrators: Colour Combinations, Meanings and Cultural ReferencesAffiliate Partner
Sara CaldasPaid
Graphic Design For Everyone: Understand the Building Blocks so You can Do It YourselfAffiliate Partner
Cath CaldwellPaid
User Interface & Digital Product Design Books
UI design books and product design books on usability, interface patterns, product thinking and growth, from web usability classics to modern guides on interface craft.
Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web UsabilityAffiliate Partner
Steve KrugPaid
Refactoring UI
Adam Wathan, Steve SchogerPaid
Designing Interfaces: Patterns for Effective Interaction DesignAffiliate Partner
Jenifer Tidwell, Charles Brewer, Aynne ValenciaPaid
Laws of UX: Using Psychology to Design Better Products & ServicesAffiliate Partner
Jon YablonskiPaid
The Best Interface Is No Interface: The simple path to brilliant technologyAffiliate Partner
Golden KrishnaPaid
INSPIRED: How to Create Tech Products Customers LoveAffiliate Partner
Marty CaganPaid
The Laws of Simplicity (Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life)Affiliate Partner
John MaedaPaid
Well-Designed: How to Use Empathy to Create Products People LoveAffiliate Partner
Jon KolkoPaid
Designing Products People Love: How Great Designers Create Successful ProductsAffiliate Partner
Scott HurffPaid
Value Proposition Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers WantAffiliate Partner
A. Osterwalder, Y. Pigneur, G. Bernarda, A. SmithPaid
The Digital Product Handbook
3steban - Product CraftersFree
Atomic DesignAffiliate Partner
Brad FrostPaid
The Path to Senior Product Designer: An Actionable Growth Plan for a UX Design CareerAffiliate Partner
Artiom DashinskyPaid
Solving Product Design Exercises: Questions & AnswersAffiliate Partner
Artiom DashinskyPaid
Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming ProductsAffiliate Partner
Nir EyalPaid
Wireframing for EveryoneAffiliate Partner
Michael Angeles, Leon Barnard, and Billy CarlsonPaid
Generating Product Ideas: Actionable Techniques for Finding New Business IdeasAffiliate Partner
Artiom DashinskyPaid
Hacking Growth: How Today's Fastest-Growing Companies Drive Breakout SuccessAffiliate Partner
Sean Ellis and Morgan BrownPaid
UX Design, User Behavior & Psychology Books
The psychology behind product decisions and user behavior, starting with a free online book on how people perceive and use digital products.
The Design of Everyday ThingsAffiliate Partner
Don NormanPaid
User Friendly: How the Hidden Rules of Design Are Changing the Way We Live, Work, and PlayAffiliate Partner
Cliff Kuang, Robert FabricantPaid
How to design intuitive, user centered interfaces by focusing on effective communicationAffiliate Partner
Everett McKayPaid
UX Strategy: How to Devise Innovative Digital Products that People WantAffiliate Partner
Jaime LevyPaid
Thinking, Fast and SlowAffiliate Partner
Daniel KahnemanPaid
100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About PeopleAffiliate Partner
Susan WeinschenkPaid
Lean UX: Applying Lean Principles to Improve User ExperienceAffiliate Partner
Jeff Gothelf, Josh SeidenPaid
Click! How to encourage clicks without shady tricks.
Paul BoagFree Trial
Product Design Psychology
Free online book on the psychology behind product design and user behavior.Free
Web Design Books
Web design books covering layout, visual aesthetics, HTML and CSS fundamentals, and turning design mockups into working products with AI.
Vibe Coding for Designers: Turn Your Figma Mockups into Working Products Using AIAffiliate Partner
Nova ImpactPaid
Design for Hackers: Reverse Engineering BeautyAffiliate Partner
David KadavyPaid
The Principles of Beautiful Web DesignAffiliate Partner
Jason Beaird, Alex Walker, James GeorgePaid
HTML and CSS: Design and Build WebsitesAffiliate Partner
Jon DuckettPaid
Every Layout: Relearn CSS layout, by example
Heydon Pickering and Andy BellPaid
Creativity, Ideation & Design Thinking Books
Creativity books and design thinking books on creative practice, idea generation, design sprints and building creative confidence.
The Creative Act: A Way of BeingAffiliate Partner
Rick RubinPaid
Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires InnovationAffiliate Partner
Tim BrownPaid
Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us AllAffiliate Partner
Tom Kelley, David KelleyPaid
The Art of Innovation: Lessons in Creativity from IDEOAffiliate Partner
Tom KelleyPaid
Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five DaysAffiliate Partner
Jake KnappPaid
Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being CreativeAffiliate Partner
Austin KleonPaid
The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for LifeAffiliate Partner
Twyla TharpPaid
Creative Acts for Curious People: How to Think, Create, and Lead in Unconventional WaysAffiliate Partner
Sarah Stein Greenberg, Stanford d.school Paid
Drawing & Illustration Books
Drawing books and illustration books on drawing fundamentals, figure drawing, digital illustration on the iPad and building a career as an illustrator.
Illustration Now!Affiliate Partner
Julius WiedemannPaid
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain: The DefinitiveAffiliate Partner
Betty Edwards Paid
The Illustrator's Guide To Procreate: How to make digital art on your iPadAffiliate Partner
Ruth BurrowsPaid
Draw to Win: A Crash Course on How to Lead, Sell, and Innovate With Your Visual MindAffiliate Partner
Dan RoamPaid
How to be an IllustratorAffiliate Partner
Darrel ReesPaid
Figure Drawing for All It's WorthAffiliate Partner
Andrew LoomisPaid
Creative IllustrationAffiliate Partner
Andrew LoomisPaid
The Art of Whimsical LetteringAffiliate Partner
Joanne SharpePaid
Motion Design & Visual Storytelling Books
Animation books and motion design books on animation principles, motion graphics technique, visual storytelling and the craft of the moving image.
The Animator's Survival Kit: A Manual of Methods, Principles and FormulasAffiliate Partner
Richard WilliamsPaid
The Illusion of Life: Disney AnimationAffiliate Partner
Ollie Johnston, Frank ThomasPaid
Design for Motion: Fundamentals and Techniques of Motion DesignAffiliate Partner
Austin ShawPaid
Motion Design Toolkit: Principles, Practice, and TechniquesAffiliate Partner
Austin Shaw, John ColettePaid
Animated Storytelling: Simple Steps for Creating Animation & Motion GraphicsAffiliate Partner
Liz BlazerPaid
Motion Graphics: Principles and Practices from the Ground UpAffiliate Partner
Ian Crook, Peter BearePaid
The Visual Story: Creating the Visual Structure of Film, TV, and Digital MediaAffiliate Partner
Bruce BlockPaid
The Moving Image Workshop: Introducing animation, motion graphics and visual effects in 45 practical projectsAffiliate Partner
Heather D. FreemanPaid
Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True InspirationAffiliate Partner
Ed Catmull, Amy Wallace Paid
Animation For Beginners: Getting Started with Animation FilmmakingAffiliate Partner
Morr MerozPaid
Understanding Comics: The Invisible ArtAffiliate Partner
Scott McCloudPaid
Marketing & Personal Branding
Marketing books and personal branding books on positioning, messaging, persuasion and building a visible career, including portfolio advice for product designers.
The 1-Page Marketing Plan: Get New Customers, Make More Money, And Stand out From The CrowdAffiliate Partner
Allan DibPaid
The Essential Guide to the Psychology of Influence and Persuasion in Everyday LifeAffiliate Partner
Robert B. CialdiniPaid
The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Them at Your Own Risk!Affiliate Partner
Al Ries, Jack Trout Paid
Lean Marketing: More leads. More profit. Less marketing.Affiliate Partner
Allan DibPaid
Wealthy and Well-Known: Build Your Personal Brand and Turn Your Reputation into RevenueAffiliate Partner
Rory Vaden, AJ VadenPaid
Market Eminence: 22 Strategies to Build a Bold Personal Brand, Become a Business Celebrity, and Drive Unstoppable GrowthAffiliate Partner
David NewmanPaid
Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will ListenAffiliate Partner
Donald MillerPaid
Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the InternetAffiliate Partner
Taylor LorenzPaid
Influencer: Building Your Personal Brand in the Age of Social MediaAffiliate Partner
Brittany HennessyPaid
Positioning: The Battle for Your MindAffiliate Partner
Al Ries, Jack TroutPaid
Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream CustomersAffiliate Partner
Geoffrey A. MoorePaid
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take ActionAffiliate Partner
Simon SinekPaid
This is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn To SeeAffiliate Partner
Seth GodinPaid
Loveworks: How the world's top marketers make emotional connections to win in the marketplaceAffiliate Partner
Brian SheehanPaid
Contagious: Why Things Catch OnAffiliate Partner
Jonah BergerPaid
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others DieAffiliate Partner
Chip Heath, Dan HeathPaid
Click Here: The Art and Science of Digital Marketing and AdvertisingAffiliate Partner
Alex SchultzPaid
Product Design Portfolio Final Final: Make a product design portfolio that lands dream jobsAffiliate Partner
Fedor ShkliarauPaid
Money in Check: The Principles of Wealth
Óscar Pérez (Founder Awwwards)Free Trial
Advertising & Copywriting Books
Advertising books and copywriting books on creative strategy, writing copy that sells and the craft of communication design.
Copywriting: Successful Writing for Design, Advertising and MarketingAffiliate Partner
Mark Shaw, Gyles LingwoodPaid
Ogilvy on AdvertisingAffiliate Partner
David OgilvyPaid
Advertising by Design: Generating and Designing Creative IdeasAffiliate Partner
Robin LandaPaid
Cashvertising: How to Use More Than 100 Secrets of Ad-Agency PsychologyAffiliate Partner
Drew Eric WhitmanPaid
Integrated Marketing CommunicationAffiliate Partner
Robyn BlakemanPaid
Advertising Creative: Strategy, Copy, and DesignAffiliate Partner
Tom Altstiel, Jean M. Grow, Dan Augustine, Joanna L. JenkinsPaid
Hey Whipple, Squeeze This: The Classic Guide to Creating Great AdvertisingAffiliate Partner
Luke SullivanPaid
The Copywriter's Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Copy That SellsAffiliate Partner
Robert W. BlyPaid
Reality in AdvertisingAffiliate Partner
Rosser ReevesPaid
Ethical, Inclusive & Sustainable Design Books
Books on ethical design, inclusive design, accessibility and sustainability, for more responsible and equitable design decisions.
Design for Real LifeAffiliate Partner
Eric A Meyer, Sara Wachter-BoettcherPaid
Ruined by Design: How Designers Destroyed the World, and What We Can Do to Fix ItAffiliate Partner
Mike MonteiroPaid
Technically Wrong: Sexist Apps, Biased Algorithms, and Other Threats of Toxic TechAffiliate Partner
Sara Wachter-BoettcherPaid
Mismatch: How Inclusion Shapes Design (Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life)Affiliate Partner
Kat HolmesPaid
Inclusive Design for a Digital World: Designing with Accessibility in MindAffiliate Partner
Reginé M. GilbertPaid
Design Justice: Community-Led Practices to Build the Worlds We NeedAffiliate Partner
Sasha Costanza-ChockPaid
The Future of the Responsible Company: What We've Learned from Patagonia's First 50 YearsAffiliate Partner
Vincent Stanley, Yvon ChouinardPaid
Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make ThingsAffiliate Partner
William McDonough, Michael BraungartPaid
Accessibility for Everyone
Free web accessibility book by Laura Kalbag from 2017.Free
AI Books
AI books on the big picture: how artificial intelligence changes work, power and society, written by researchers, founders and journalists.
The Coming Wave: AI, Power, and Our FutureAffiliate Partner
Mustafa SuleymanPaid
Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AIAffiliate Partner
Ethan MollickPaid
Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAIAffiliate Partner
Karen HaoPaid
The Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge with AIAffiliate Partner
Ray KurzweilPaid
Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AIAffiliate Partner
Yuval Noah HarariPaid