Best design history & criticism books according to redditors
We found 116 Reddit comments discussing the best design history & criticism books. We ranked the 53 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 116 Reddit comments discussing the best design history & criticism books. We ranked the 53 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
Oh man I have a few favorites. Here's a list of several that I can remember. These may or may not be papers but they are all academic in nature. I could go into more detail if you'd like.
Applied Sciences at its best. Before I read this article the idea of research still seemed sterile to me. Reading this was fun because the whole idea is kind of goofy but the paper demonstrates phenomenal methodology in observation and analysis of human behavior.
Really truly fantastic read about metaphysics, computers, AI, and cog sci. Basically an edict proclaiming the superiority of the underlying principles in UX today before they were established. Can't recommend this enough.
Okay so I only read Chapters 2 and 4 in this book and it's a lot like The Design of Everyday Things but with a more human narrative. Very well written. Another book I think is an essential read and I'm glad you asked about this because it reminded me that I need to get my hands on a copy and finish reading the whole thing.
A comprehensive look at why fields like HCI, UX, Human Factors, Human-Centered Computing, etc all exist. (Actually, I don't think he specifically talks about UX here, but I've always seen UX as applied HCI). He talks about where they came from, what prompted their existence, and what they hope to accomplish. I didn't read this until the second year in my Master's and I was blown away at how, until I read this, I didn't really have a good overall look at this field.
I was busy studying all the trees and the leaves and had never seen what the whole forest looked like. This article is great for that.
Wayyy back in the day, travelling workers (real deal hobos) would put these up.
This looks like it was copied out of this book...
I'll double check once I scrounge my copy.
EDIT: link fix
I feel like you've been hammered here because of the amateurish nature of your work. Honestly though, I'm pretty sure that's why you came here, knowing that it wasn't up to par, and wanting to know how to change that. Here are some things that I would focus on if I were you:
Typography: By this, I don't mean using different typefaces, but rather the study of how to structure information in a legible manner. I work as a wireframer right now, and everything that I do is Arial. Because of that, I have a maniacal focus on size, leading, value, and block shapes to create a hierarchical system on a grid. A lot of it comes from practice, but I can also recommend some books, Thinking with Type, Designing with Type, Making and Breaking the Grid, and The Mac is Not a Typewriter. Typography is one of the most requested skills by design directors because it is hard and can be very bland, but it is absolutely vital for successful work.
Balance and Rhythm: When you are designing pieces, one of the important things to consider is the structure of negative and positive space. This structure influences the way that the piece is read, and the way that people move through the information. You seem to rely on center aligning things a lot, which is dangerous because it creates no action or movement. This topic isn't as advanced as typography so it's harder to give specific resources, but you can find information on this in any basic design text. I enjoyed Alex White's fundamentals book.
Style and Illustration: The type is amateurish, but what makes the work feel dated is the illustration style. When digital illustration was younger and the tools were rougher, the sort of illustration that I see in your portfolio was very common. The most recent trend has been "Flat", but honestly, anything that can complement or hide the digital nature of its creation can work. If you really would like illustration to be a continued part of your work, I would find some tutorials to really strengthen your Illustrator and Photoshop skills, perhaps stuff from Skillshare or Lynda, or even just internet tutorials.
In General: So to be blunt, you do have a long way to go, I'm not going to sugar coat that. That being said, you do have 2 things extremely in your favor right now.
Ira Glass has a really incredible short piece about creative work that describes the place where you are caught right now. Your taste is not aligning with your skills. You have taken the first step in the right direction, so now you need to go study more and keep seeking critique (Not criticism). Whether that is on design_critiques, or from a colleague or friend doesn't matter. Find a place where someone who is better than you can tell you what isn't working and challenge your status quo.
Good luck, and keep at it!
Not quite on the same par, but a bloody good book none the less https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neuro-Design-Neuromarketing-Engagement-Profitability/dp/0749478888 or i’d recommend this one https://www.amazon.co.uk/Design-Everyday-Things-revised-expanded/dp/0262525674 (probably closer to what you are looking for)
haha, the link is already purple for me. Got really into the history of fonts after watching the Helvetica documentary. Also read a book called Just My Type which is perfect for anyone who enjoyed reading this.
First of all, shoutouts to /u/rcsAlex for spearheading the feedback thread last night! It's awesome that the mods want to continue improving this community by asking what the people want.
I've been reading this book. It's pretty interesting, but I'm not too deep into it yet. And I got a blister on my middle finger from pulling weeds today :C
I can't give suggestions on hand-lettering books yet as the few I have read weren't good...so I'm trying to find better ones. But check out Louise Fili and Jessica Hische for inspiration and of course Paula Scher and Sagmeister.
There are many other books so I welcome others to chime in and add their suggestions.
WHAT?!
Is this for real?!
I haven't figured out yet how to tell who gave me these flattering awards. But when I do, I'm going to thank you shamelessly... extravagantly... to the point of embarrassment!
And thanks to everyone who gave me a uv! It's really gratifying to get a tangible response that tells you that you help flip on that mental lightswitch belonging to something that feels good to their brain. It is a pay-forward - someone else opened my eyes to the neuro side of art, design, and architecture. Now I dig it so much that it feels like a win to share it, and know that the share makes the recipient happy. I'll stop now before I gush.
Here are my best answers to the questions y'all asked.
u/dumpy_potato, asking for resources about this. YES! It's actually been kind of having a moment for a few years. You can find articles in all the places where neuroscientists, and neuropsychologists are likely to talk about designers; which are the same places where designer would never in a hundred years see them. Ain't science great like that?!
At the bottom of this comment, u/magneto_ms, I'm sharing some links to excellent books and articles on the fundamental principles of neuro-visual yada yada, and the way the brain instinctively responds to the sight of various lines, shapes, depictions of depty/height/mass, particular specific objects or things that resemble them, color combinations and contrasts, etc. (Spoiler alert: The instinctive brain really really responds to babies, faces, and genitalia including boobies. After that comes water, then food.)
Killer examples of designs that epitomize these principles - ones that make my eyes pop, and my brain feel good - is the work of Alexa Hamilton. For example, this cover on her book, The Language of Interior Design. Is that not an eye magnet?! Read her brilliant intro, about how good design makes they viewer's eye travel a particular path around the room. (I'm not a fan of her traditional, ornate style. But her composition is bomb.)
The Neuroscience of Design, Psychology Today
Design on the brain: Combining neuroscience and architecture
Evidence Based Design: When Neuroscience, Psychology, and Interior Design Meet
The Integration of Interior Design and Neuroscience: Towards a Methodology to Apply Neuroscience in Interior Spaces (pdf)
This one particularly rocks!
Picture This: How Pictures Work
Universal Principles of Design, Revised and Updated: 125 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach through Design
I hope some of these deliver on what you're looking for. HMU anytime if I can offer more.
My big advice to you is to take a step back and work on studies from life. It's much better looking than my first digital landscape, so props to that. But there's a lot of work that needs to be done here so I'll try to point stuff out as succinctly as possible (I wish I could do a live crit. It would be so much easier) but here goes.
That's all I got for now. If you have any questions I'll try to reply as soon as I see it. Otherwise, hope this helps and pushes you to improve. I do see potential here, if you commit your time and work hard. Cheers
Timothy Samara books are good for beginners - Making and Breaking the Grid was the book that finally helped me understand grid systems, while Design Elements: A Graphic Style Manual was my Freshman year design textbook. The Story of Graphic Design by Patrick Cramsie is also a great GD History book.
In terms of things that are less textbook and more actual books about graphic design, I enjoyed Just My Type a lot. Design Is A Job gives some great advice on the business side of being a designer - pitching to clients, dealing with contracts, etc. How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer has some really interesting interviews with some of the best designers in our field.
And I would be terribly remiss if I didn't mention two of my absolute favorite novels, which happen to be about graphic design. The Cheese Monkeys and its sequel The Learners are fantastic stories about a design student and his experiences both in school and in his first job. Plus, they're written by Chip Kidd, who is an absolutely amazing designer (imho).
But, in case that wasn't enough, I'll also leave you with this link to a previous thread on this subreddit about great GD books.
Good luck and happy reading!
If i'm going to be completely honest, I would suggest you quit and find work as something you actually know how to do. If they depend on you for something and you can't deliver you're not just screwing yourself over, but also everyone on the team.
If you are determined to stick it out however, i would suggest to start reading like a mofo. Just start with tutorials in photoshop, illustrator and inDesign. learn about printing and how to prep documents. Finally if you want to be a good designer and not just a human photoshop/illustrator/indesign machine, learn about the foundations of graphic design. I would suggest a book like Elements of design or something similar.
Ecco la mia lista/elenco disordinato.
Mi piacerebbe spiegare il perché su ogni libro letto ma sarebbe troppo lungo. Se sei interessato ad un feedback in particolare, fammi sapere in un commento.
In generale: in questo periodo si trova molta letteratura; io consiglio i classici, perché in giro c'è molta bullshit e ho elencato anche tutta una serie di libri per acquisire conoscenza su skills complementari (es. negoziazione, persuasione).
Ho elencato i libri di Codice Edizioni a parte perché uno dei pochi editori che pubblica saggi su argomenti contemporanei come tecnologia e media.
Una parola in più la spendo per i libri di Mari e Munari: sono dei classici che vanno letti. Punto.
LIBRI
UX
Design e comunicazione
Sul retro del tovagliolo. Come risolvere problemi e vendere idee con le immagini
Data visualization
Usabilità
Tipografia
Negoziazione
Codice edizioni
LINKS
Community
Aggregatori
Ispirazione
Essenziali
Guru e pionieri
Tipografia
SEO
Data Visualization
Interaction design, hacking
Design generale
Serie TV
Black Mirror
Didn't realize that. The Brooklyn Museum station has a lot of original elements (molded trims, gargoyles, etc) that were re-mounted in different ways after the big station rehab , so I figured the mosaic above the stairs was the same.
Great article. I saw his presentation of his Helvetica/Subway research at the TDC a few years ago.:) Have you seen Paul Shaw's book?
The Bringhurst Bible
James Victore's book is amazing. It's a quick read but is packed with inspiration.
Envisioning Information is great for info design.
Megg's History of Graphic Design
The rest of these I haven't read yet, but here is a list of things I currently have on my amazon wish list:
Some People Can't Surf by Art Chantry
Saul Bass: A Life in Film and Design by Jennifer Bass
Seventy-Nine Short Essays on Design by Michael Bierut
Damn Good Advice by George Lois
How To Be A Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul by Adrian Shaughnessy
How To Think Like A Great Graphic Designer by Debbie Millman
The Design of Dissent by Milton Glaser and Mirko Ilic
Iron Fists: Branding the 20th Century Totalitarian State by Steven Heller
Thinking With Type by Ellen Lupton is a great resource on typography, especially for beginners.
Just My Type is another one, it's basically an incredibly entertaining history book on typography. Knowing the history of type and how it evolved is very helpful on how to use type in design work. Personally I feel like knowing type history, even just a bit, is necessary in becoming a good designer.
The "per se"/"by itself" is meant to signify that it's a character that is also, by itself, a word, such as "A" and "I". So you can say and write "A" and "I" whether you're referring to the word or the character by itself.
But you couldn't do that with the ampersand. The word "and" could be spoken out loud, or written down as the three characters a, n, and d. The "&" is spoken as "and," but written as the single character "&."
Since the character "&" was considered part of the alphabet that was taught to children, to distinguish it from the three character word "and" they said, "and, per se, and," to mean "the word 'and' represented by a single character."
Source: from what I remember reading in Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols, and Other Typographical Marks
(I hope what I wrote is coherent.)
Interaction Design
Interior Design
Landscape Architecture
Lighting Design
Product Design
Product Design
Sound Design
Urban Design
* Cities for People by Jan Gehl
Web Design
What's worked for me really well was learning about the different roles that a UX oriented person can do. There are a lot of various hats you can wear under the UX umbrella like Interaction Designer, Information Architecture, User Research, and a few more from there.
I'd suggest doing your research, learning as much as you can whether that be reading the latest posts on blogs, reading books or even jumping on twitter and contacting some really great ux'ers out there right now.
I'm a designer that's slowly making the transition too, and this is what worked out really well for me, not saying it's going to be your answer but hopefully some of it helps!
I use www.uxmag.com to just read some articles and keep up to date on what people think within the field.
The best learning that I've had so far though would be from books that I've had suggested to me from various UX designers within the industry right now:
Emotional Design
Project Guide To UX Design
If you want to keep chatting about it feel free to PM me and I'll help out as much as I can! :)
In the end an art director directs the art, you will end up in a position in your career where you pick the illustrator, the photographer, etc who then execute your vision, instead of you being the creator of the vision.
These days it's very important for AD's to be able to show their vision fast, and when starting out you will have to be able to execute your work yourself. This doesn't mean that you have to be a great photographer and illustrator or even a super skilled designer, but you need to understand what good design is and when design is important. You can work on becoming good at all of that. Pick up some books like advertising design and typography, bookmark all the sites that can help you execute clean presentations of your ideas like graphic burger and keep practicing. Worst thing that can happen is that you get better at designing your ideas. You def have to take classes on using programs like inDesign, Photoshop etc because these are your tools but you can find online classes for that.
yeah it will change the way you physically see things, too. the decision making process of what items to start with, when you put them back, will be very telling. please update us on how it goes, i'd really like to hear!
and two links for you:
wabi sabi
arranging things: a rhetoric of object placement
This probably isn't the most helpful answer, but any resources I might have used to learn the fundamentals myself are probably pretty outdated now. Honestly I'd just try to find highly rated books on Amazon that are reasonably priced. I haven't read this one for psych research methods, but looking through the table of contents, it covers a lot of what I'd expect (ethics, validity and reliability, study design and common methods) and according to the reviews it's clear, concise, and has good stats info in the appendix. I had a similar "handbook" style textbook in undergrad that I liked. For practicing stats, I'm personally more of a learn-by-doing kind of person, and there are some free courses out there like this one from Khan Academy that covers the basics fairly well.
But if you can, take courses in college as electives! Chances are you'll have a few to fill (or maybe audit some if you can't get credit), so go outside of HCDE's offerings to get some complementary skills in research or design. I usually find classrooms to be more engaging than trying to get through a textbook at home on my own, and especially for psych research methods, you'll probably have a project that gives you hands-on experience doing research with human subjects (most likely your peers). There are lots of free online courses out there as well if you aren't able to take them for credit.
You guys are making me miss school.
Getting specifically into UX self-study, in addition to a UX-specific research methods book (this is a newer version of one I read in school) I'd also go through the UX classics like Don Norman's The Design of Everyday Things and Emotional Design, Krug's Don't Make Me Think, and Casey's Set Phasers on Stun (this last one being more of a fun read than a practical one).
I haven't vetted this book yet, but feel like it has relevance/potential.
This is a great way to explain composition. I purchased a book awhile ago that gets into these topics in a really cool way, picturing little red riding hood with basic shapes. here
I recommend this book
It's also interesting to read about the Japanese tea ceremony, the wabi-cha
Read https://www.amazon.com/Emotional-Design-Love-Everyday-Things/dp/0465051367 it was recommended in the audiobook that talks about apple and how they approach design called Design Like Apple
First, congratulations!
I'm a Design Studies grad student, so the ethics of objects is something that I might be able to help with. It sounds to me like you've got a flurry of concerns, and could use a compass to point you in the right direction.
Here's a miniature framework:
Your answer might differ, but for me, the answer to #1 is something along the lines of, "Evoke the emotions you feel for each other." There is no blueprint for designing sentimental-on-the-shelf objects, but there is literature on how to design objects that encourage owners to make them sentimental. Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things by Don Norman is respected and accessible. Engagement rings certainly aren't everyday objects, but I think it'll help reveal what qualities of the object will facilitate the intended emotional purpose of the object. My gut feeling is that for you and your significant other, a diamond would be a counterproductive choice because the diamond itself would evoke values that you know your partner finds abhorrent. A simpler example might be that if you know your partner is allergic to mint, then buying them mint ice cream can easily be hurtful because the object (mint ice cream) evokes negative emotions (not listening, or not caring).
As for #2, it sounds like you already know some things that you find ethically intolerable. The solution must not be environmentally unfriendly, support unfair labor practices, or otherwise be unsustainable. I'm also sure that there are non-ethical considerations as well (budget, your partner hates the color red, etc).
Once you've pinned down some clear goals and showstoppers, you can begin imagining and comparing possible solutions. What if you sourced the material components during a trip? What if you and your partner went to a workshop and made the rings for each other by hand? What if the rings didn't have a centerpiece gem at all? You can come up with a whole bunch of idea that will achieve the goals while avoiding the showstoppers, but first you have to identify the goals and showstoppers. You already skipped ahead to the generative phase, so after you get them written down, I think you'll be fine.
And since this is /r/ethics, I'd absolutely encourage you to pick up a book like Normative Ethics by Shelly Kagan. Ethics is one of those fields where everybody thinks they're an expert because they're confident in their collection of opinions, but it really is helpful to get away from "Is it ethical?" and toward "Is it ethical according to utliatarianism/deontologicalism/virtue ethics/egoism/whatever?" Different ethical theories will give you different answers to any question, so asking "Is it ethical?" without defining an ethical theory is sort of a trick question in a forum devoted to the academic field of ethics. In the context of your original question, I think knowing which specific ethical theory you subscribe to will hell you pinpoint what are and aren't requirements for your solution.
Good luck!
I like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Starting-Freelance-Illustrator-Graphic-Designer/dp/1581151993/ref=cm_lmf_img_2
annnnnd
http://www.amazon.com/2013-Artists-Graphic-Designers-Market/dp/159963614X/ref=pd_sim_b_6
That series (they put out a new one every year) is pretty valuable.
I have similar ethical concerns in regards to ID, I am a student in my junior year currently and I struggle daily against my less ecologically concerned classmates. I encourage you to pursue ID, the more tree huggers the better!
My outlook is this: If I give up and drop out of school because of my ethical concerns, my place in the corporate/design will be taken by an equally talented designer. However it is not guaranteed that said designer will have the same environmentally/socially responsible opinions as me. Even if I end up at a shit company right out of school, if I can do even the tiniest bit to make their practices more ethical then I will have succeeded.
That being said, if you're interested in the practice of design for social change, I highly recommend Design for the Real World by Victor Papanek. Very eye opening read.
I'm thinking about buying like $300 dollars worth of coffee table books.
Initial picks are looking like -
logobook
top gear
star wars cross sections
Suggestions?
I just finished reading Wabi-Sabi: for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers where the author clearly summarises the similarities and difference between wabi sabi and modernist minimalism. It's a short but good read.
I really liked this book, although I thought the title was misleading. If anything this book showed me that even the best designers have the same worries and go through the same process as I do. http://www.amazon.com/Think-Like-Great-Graphic-Designer/dp/1581154968
On typography:
On grids:
On colour:
On usability:
On information design:
On inspiration:
On theory:
On history:
Monographs:
Where is this information about Hobo from? Sounds like a wealth of information about the history of fonts.
edit
Never mind! I found it. Mac McGrew's American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century.
related: I read a book on the history of punctuation and it was rather interesting.
link: http://www.amazon.com/Shady-Characters-Punctuation-Symbols-Typographical/dp/0393064425
I really do not go into books (opt for the internet) but I've heard that these came out to be really helpful :
The Elements of Graphic Design : www.amazon.com/gp/product/1581157622
The Big Brand Theory :
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1584234458.
Hope this helped !
I'm delighted to see this kind of topic here, as flow is one of my main design goals when designing anything. I might go so far as say it is part of my core game design philosophy.
That said, there are several subjects that other users have covered very well here, that I think you should look into, but...
>I realized that RPGs very rarely, if ever, come into a state of flow.
I think the thing to look out for here, is that RPGs are a complex activity, highly idiosyncratic and, because of that, flow can happen within different aspects of it.
A flow in narrative immersion is what I aim for but, as players tend to focus on different parts of the activity, it is perfectly possible to create a game focused on achieving flow through, i.e. combat strategy and knowledge of the system on a reflective level¹.
To achieve flow, therefore, you need, I believe, certain things to be in agreement:
¹ I'd recommend you reading Norman's Emotional Design, as it has some pretty direct parallels to concepts used by the SRK Model that /u/Brokugan mentioned.
An awesome book to get if you want something about typography is Just My Type by Simon Garfield. It's a semi-history about typefaces and their relevance and importance in our society. Plus, the writing style is funny and easy to read.
Here's a link to it on amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1592406521
Hmm, off the top of my head...
You may also find some useful stuff over at hackdesign.org.
And as for programming, Learn Python the Hard Way is a good place to start.
These are all really great books:
Grid Systems in Graphic Design
Grid Systems: Principles of Organizing Type
Thinking With Type
Meggs' History of Graphic Design
Brand Thinking and Other Noble Pursuits
Don't Make Me Think
The Design of Everyday Things
How To Be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul
Two sides to this (put very simply)...
User Experience (UX): What are user's goals? How to make these goals as easy as possible.
Visual/Interaction design: Make it an elegant and impactful experience fit for the brand.
A few of books I'm reading:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mobile-Book-Smashing-Magazine-ebook/dp/B00AMM4QWY/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425335377&sr=1-1&keywords=mobile+book+smashing
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brand-Thinking-Other-Noble-Pursuits/dp/162153247X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425335415&sr=8-1&keywords=brand+thinking+and+other+noble+pursuits
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Users-Not-Customers-Determines-Business/dp/0670920975/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425335447&sr=1-1&keywords=users+not+customers
> I'll never meet a guy that will love me back. There's no one that's remotely interested in me. I'm too awkward. Even if I did find a guy, he'd probably leave me anyway.
I lived in SF for a long time and I can tell you that people of all stripes and levels of awkwardness find love, I saw it all the time.
The people at Pixar say things get better:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a4MR8oI_B8
As for your parents, people find comfort in having scapegoats and people who are followers tend to listen to leaders who are happy to supply scapegoats - in the past (US) it was the Irish, Italians, Chinese, Polish, etc nowadays for rednecks it is the immigrants, for flag wavers it is ISIS, for Mormons it is the gays. One way to think of these people is morally immature and easily lead astray by the authority figures they rely on to tune their moral compass. You have to be the bigger man. In this case, yes they are torturing you but it is because they think it is what they are supposed to do. Success is your best revenge.
As far as jobs or education here is a secret - being a middle manager or something is not necessarily more rewarding than being a barista. Honor and fulfillment come from how you conduct your life and how you treat others. Chop wood, carry water there is much to be said for humility and simplicity. You can learn more for free from the best schools in the world on iTunes University than you could at BYU.
https://diyscholar.wordpress.com/guide-to-itunesu/
"Do not let yourself be guided by the authority of the sacred texts, nor by simple logic, nor by appearance or opinion, nor even by the teachings of your master; when you know in yourself that something is bad, then give it up, and accept the good and follow it." -Buddha
You are stuck in a place where people live in a very small bubble and they all believe it is real, it is not and there are many amazing and fulfilling things out there that you should try out before you kill yourself. Here are just three books with alternative ideas about spirituality, philosophy and jobs - you can stop living live exclusively from the POV of the Mormon bubble without letting anyone else know that you are doing it - for now while you are still in prison, once you are out you can be your own man.
http://www.amazon.com/Chop-Wood-Carry-Water-Fulfillment/dp/0874772095
http://www.amazon.com/Wabi-Sabi-Artists-Designers-Poets-Philosophers/dp/0981484603
http://www.amazon.com/Vagabonding-Uncommon-Guide-Long-Term-Travel/dp/0812992180
Helvetica and the New York Subway System is a good book if you are fan of this
In addition to the fine critique others have given you, I have a core list of books that i adore and highly recommend.
Basic tips on working with type I like this book because half of it lays out all the "rules" and then the other half breaks them all - in a good way. Really laid back, easy to read, and good advice.
A good book on just some basics and a little history of typefaces This one's a little more in depth, but still a great book on type.
If you're interested in learning a little history
More history
And also, a wonderful book that reads a little more like a novel than a text book: Just My Type I absolutely love this book. It shows you some history, but at the same time everything is in layman's' terms and very easy to understand. Simon Garfield is a colorful writer and goes through lots of effort to show you all the things about type you might not ever notice.
As far as your type site goes, parts of it are really slick, parts are a little awkward. As others have said, legibility is (for the most part) king when working with type. I've made a couple of critiques on some screen shots for you.
Anyhow, you've got a lot of great advice from everyone here to work with. Just keep practicing and of course looking at examples type and analyzing why it's good or bad. Best of luck!
Perhaps newer, better ones have come along, but several years ago, these would have been my top 2:
Cerebral:
Marks of Excellence: The Development and Taxonomy of Trademarks
Tactical:
Designing Brand Identity: A Complete Guide to Creating, Building, and Maintaining Strong Brands
Honestly. Grab some books from Amazon. (you can pick them up fairly cheaply 2nd hand)
Logo Design Love - First edition is the same as the 2nd edition, except you can pick it up for a quid.
Brand Thinking and Other Noble Pursuits
A Smile In The Mind
Thinking with Type
LDL and A Smile are two books I still find myself going back and reading through + referencing even after 5 years as a professional.
They're most branding based, but the fundamentals they speak about absolutely translate to other facets of design.
Don't Make Me Think
The Design Of Everyday Things
Designing Interfaces
Gotcha, very cool, thanks for elaborating.
Based on what you said, you might be interested in Just My Type.
Make a contract between the three of you. I know you are friends, but business is business and you should never confuse the two. Whose taking care of what, what's getting put into it, what happens if someone wants to bail, etc. I suggest reading a book or two on it: this one is pretty decent, although I am only 1/2 way through, it gives a great overview of all the things you need to think of to start your own thing.
This seems like nothing more than a summarized version of what Victor Papanek preached for many years. Much of Papanek's book "Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change" is a more in depth commentary of the same issue with more examples.
I was really hoping for something more before reading this article/site.
http://www.amazon.com/Design-Real-World-Ecology-Social/dp/0897331532/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398635742&sr=1-1&keywords=victor+papanek
Uncategorized:
Thoughts On Design: Paul Rand
Saul Bass: A Life in Film and Design
How to Be a Graphic Designer without Losing Your Soul
100 Ideas that Changed Graphic Design
Paul Rand
Paul Rand: Conversations with Students
Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design
Bauhaus
The Vignelli Canon
Vignelli From A to Z
Dieter Rams: As Little Design as Possible
It's Not How Good You Are, Its How Good You Want to Be: The World's Best Selling Book
Damn Good Advice (For People with Talent!)
Josef Muller-Brockmann: Pioneer of Swiss Graphic Design
Popular Lies About Graphic Design
100 Ideas that Changed Art
100 Diagrams That Changed the World
Basics Design 08: Design Thinking
Swiss Graphic Design: The Origins and Growth of an International Style, 1920-1965
Lella and Massimo Vignelli (Design is One)
The Accidental Creative: How to Be Brilliant at a Moment's Notice
History of the Poster
How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer
The Design of Dissent: Socially and Politically Driven Graphics
George Lois: On His Creation of the Big Idea
Milton Glaser: Graphic Design
Sagmeister: Made You Look
Victore or, Who Died and Made You Boss?
Things I have learned in my life so far
Covering the '60s: George Lois, the Esquire Era
Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite
Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative
[Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration]
(http://www.amazon.com/dp/0812993012/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=VEJ64Y4T0U6J&coliid=I1WMMNNLTRBQ9G)
Graphic Design Thinking (Design Briefs)
I Used to Be a Design Student: 50 Graphic Designers Then and Now
The Form of the Book: Essays on the Morality of Good Design
Creative Workshop: 80 Challenges to Sharpen Your Design Skills
Information Graphics: A Comprehensive Illustrated Reference
Semiology of Graphics: Diagrams, Networks, Maps
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
Envisioning Information
The elements of dynamic symmetry
The elements of content strategy
Corporate Diversity: Swiss graphic design and advertising
Book Design: a comprehensive guide
Meggs' History of Graphic Design
> Am I to infer that companies mostly care about it for PR reasons?
Legal, actually. If your work is an education, or heathcare, or any number of other things, the ADA can require you to be accessible. But, most consumer websites are pretty bad about accessibility. I consider usability and accessibility to be distinct, definitely similar, but usability is about patterns and accessibility is.. well, also about patterns, but has a lot more of a code component to it.
In theory, a website who's content is contained in well structured HTML should be fairly accessible by default, at least by technologies like screen readers. You run into trouble in style, things like colors in particular. Use colors to convey meaning in a way where the meaning is lost on a black and white color scheme? Inaccessible. Use text colors on backgrounds that don't have a high enough contrast ratio for things like buttons? Inaccessible. Those are the kinds of things someone who designs for some kinds of fields have to deal with, but the folks at Reddit don't really have to concern themselves with. If they do, it's out of PR, or ethics.
The 90/5/5 rule isn't a hard and fast one, but within the subject of accessibility it is just a reapplication. You might say accessibility targets the 90 percent of users in the middle of some imaginary impairment spectrum. The point of the 90/5/5 rule is really more philosophic than mathamatic: It is basically saying you will never design a system that works for literally everyone. Never.
On this second point, one thing I have to point out immediately is that usability studies are primarily industry-driven. Usability standards and research academically was big in the 1980s, but the academic side of HCI has moved on from "quaint" notions like usability. It is the industry, no academia, that drives that now. The sources I posted for instance, are industry sources, one of them, Nielson-Norman Group, gets paid ungodly sums of money to do usability audits of commercial websites.
The truth is people's preferences are not based on usability, they're based on affect. There's a great, groundbreaking book on this that if you're truly interested in you should read, called Emotional Design: Why we Love or Hate Everyday Things. The author, Don Norman, is the "Norman" in Nielson-Norman Group. Here's a big takeaway, if someone loves or hates software, or any tool, is often not based on how usable it is. People don't make those kinds of decisions on logic, they make them on emotion.
Good UX work should include the affective nature of design. It isn't pure science, it shouldn't treat people like robots, and it should acknowledge that people's preferences are non-scientific and should be accounted for in an emotional way. But, that's not usability. Usability is the more scientific side of UX, the part the measures how well something works. Probably the reason I've gotten so much flak for daring to stand up for any aspect of the reddit redesign is that I'm defending it's usability, which has nothing to do with its likeability. A distinction that is second nature to me, because I'm a professional in this field, but obviously is not to others.
My point is, and has been from the beginning, the new reddit design is not unusable. In fact, it likely is more usable than the original reddit design. People hating it is not based on its usability.
I got Shady Characters for Christmas and they have a lovely section about the octothorpe. I don't know if this is the full version from the book, but there's some info about it on their blog.
Octothorpe Part 1
Octothorpe Part 2
Don't know abuot him, but I don't work on those fields and learnt about affordances by reading The Design of Everyday Things. Author like too much giving names to things, but otherwise it's a pretty nifty book.
I'm also somewhere in the middle. I can never see myself working abstractly, but I don't want to be just another cog in the machine of disney's latest meatgrinder project.
The reason I brought up Piet Mondrian is because he went from very realistic down to the simplest shapes and primary colors. Perhaps shape design is something worth looking into for you.
There's a book.. Well.. I say book, it's more like a leaflet. By Molly Bang on composition and imagery.
https://www.amazon.com/Picture-This-How-Pictures-Work/dp/1452151997
And it's quite interesting in terms of shape design and "shape language". It's a great introduction to the many uses of shapes and perhaps you already know about it, in which case I'm sorry I can't help more. But if you don't want to get into too much on light and form, shapes are a good place to start.
You might be interested in this: http://www.amazon.com/Just-My-Type-About-Fonts/dp/1592407463
I got this book for my dad for Christmas, and now that he is done reading it, I am starting it. It's quite remarkable to read about the history and effects of typeface. Typeface is one of those subtle things that many people don't realize can have a huge effect.
A book about advertising in general. Its just worded so well and has great examples of every point it makes
http://www.amazon.com/Advertising-Design-Typography-Alex-White/dp/1581154658
Cradle to Cradle
Design for the Real World
I'll second Thinking With Type. Lots of great information, and it serves as a good reference book.
I'm also looking forward to the Smashing Book, if you're into Web stuff.
It doesn't really teach you anything, but one of my favorite books is The Design of Dissent
Lots of great poster designs in there.
Link for the lazy
https://smile.amazon.com/American-Typefaces-Twentieth-Century-Revised/dp/0938768395/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485807124&sr=8-1&keywords=american+metal+typefaces
https://smile.amazon.com/Encyclopaedia-Typefaces-Berry-Johnson-Jaspert/dp/1844036707/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485807144&sr=8-1&keywords=encyclopedia+of+typefaces
https://smile.amazon.com/Modern-Encyclopedia-Typefaces-1960-90-Lawrence/dp/0442308094/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485807162&sr=8-1&keywords=modern+encyclopedia+of+typefaces
https://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=an+a%E2%80%93z+of+type+designers
https://smile.amazon.com/American-Design-Designers-David-Consuegra/dp/1581153201/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485807215&sr=8-1&keywords=american+type+design+and+designers
https://smile.amazon.com/American-Wood-Type-1828-1900-Evolution/dp/0978588177/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485807240&sr=8-1&keywords=american+wood+type
https://smile.amazon.com/French-Renaissance-Printing-Types-Conspectus/dp/1584562714/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485807262&sr=8-1&keywords=french+renaissance+printing+types
https://smile.amazon.com/Nineteenth-Century-American-Designers-Engravers-Type/dp/1584562617/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485807283&sr=8-1&keywords=nineteenth+century+american+designers+and+engravers+of+type
I came here to say imposter syndrome as well, but seems like you already have some great advice above, so instead I'll recommend a book. Check out How to Think Like a Graphic Designer by Debbie Millman. It's filled with interviews of renowned designers, and you get to read about some of their personal struggles...yes, even these big name designers that seem to have everything figured out! Best of luck and work hard. You'll be fine!
If you're interested in logos and marks, I thought "Marks of Excellence" was a fantastic book. It's one that you need to read, though, not just flip through. For typography, I think "Stop Stealing Sheep & Find Out How Type Works" is a good read for an easy introduction to typography. For a little more serious dig, hit up "The Elements of Typographic Style".
I think everyone who does anything on the web should have a copy of Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug.
The Principles of Beautiful Web Design is a nice overview of how to make useful and aesthetically pleasing websites for those without a design background (like myself).
Design for the Real World by Victor Papanek gets really deep into the subject of design and how it impacts society.
There are a lot more out there, but these are the ones off the top of my head that I found especially helpful.
#2 You pretty much can have a go at any open source project. Alternatively try writing to someone non technical, like a partner or parent. Try to be concise.
#3 try to google the language + TDD you are working with as it will give you some examples. ex: Python TDD or Java TDD, also ask in the rellavant subreddits
#4 read "The design of everyday things", its easily read, concise and will most likely change your view of software development. Hold it up against chusk3's suggestion, you'll see that those successful OSS projects largly adhere to the tenants of The design of every day things.
I've only ever seen this book mentioned here.
:)
I've never seen the movie objectified, but I love this book:
Robin Williams, The Non-Designer's Design Book
edit: After a quick look at IMDB, you may want to try a Donald Norman book like:
edit2: WTF, I suck at formatting.
I'll check these out! this book also touches on some of this. I don't particularly love the title but it's a great quick read!
Are you Ludovic Houplain?
https://www.amazon.com/Logobook-Ludovic-Houplain/dp/3836534134
How odd. I was just looking at Helvetica and the New York Subway at the bookstore.
Good book on fonts
“Just My Type”
By Simon Garfield
Just My Type
Got it at MCA Sydney book store
Layout + Color
Picture This by Molly Bang
Typography
Second vote for Elements of Typographic Style, excellent book.
Drawing, honestly at the start the biggest key to growth is going to be drawing as much as you can. You're going to suck for a while so start getting those bad drawings out of you. There's a ton of great people to watch on YouTube (Sycra Yasin, Glenn Vilppu, Stan Prokopenko, Steve Huston). I've seen Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain recommended by many. I'm not crazy about it myself but I didn't read as a beginner artist so I probably didn't get as much out of it as I could have.
Get your mum to buy you this for Christmas https://www.amazon.co.uk/Design-Everyday-Things-MIT-Press/dp/0262525674