As designers we can’t resist the look and feel of a good piece of print, from coveted hardbacks to faithful resource guides they are the cornerstone of our creative tool kit. After eagerly sharing 50 Essential Books Every Graphic Designer Should Read we wanted to find out exactly what our teaching team have in their own personal libraries.
So, this year we launched Shillington Book Club, a chance for our global team to share their favourite design books. From typography based books to monographs showcasing design legends there’s something for everyone in 2017’s round up.
Part-time London teacher Emma Stokes kicked off our Shillington Book Club with ‘Lance Wyman: The Monograph’, a hardback piece of beauty by Unit Editions.
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Sometimes you just need a book which covers an entire theme and what better theme to choose than ‘ideas’. Full-time London teacher Fiona Martin sang her praises for Steven Heller’s ‘The Graphic Design Idea Book’ for the second edition of our Book Club.
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“Are women today judged solely on their work? Why is there still a wage gap?”—New York Full-time teacher Shanti Sparrow addressed a pertinent topic on female pay in the design industry with ‘Women in Graphic Design’.
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Now for something a little different. Full-time Manchester Teacher Ed Baptist showed us his inner fan boy with this share of House Industries’ process led book, ‘House’.
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The one book every graphic designer must have in their library. Full-time New York Teacher Adam Dudd shared this classic design bible from Alan Fletcher.
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It wouldn’t be a graphic design book club without featuring a typography legend. UK Director Sarah McHugh chose Wolfgang Weingart’s ‘My Way to Typography’ as her favourite book.
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More typography appreciation from Full-time London teacher Amy Prus as she reviewed French Typographer Philip Apeloig’s book.
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Full-time New York Teacher Nikita Prokhorov showed us some truly breath taking calligraphy with Doyald Young’s Dangerous Curves.
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Visual paradise in the form of Aaron Draplin’s Pretty Much Everything. Unsurprisingly packed full of literally everything, logos, patches, thumbnails—you name it. Props to Full-time London teacher Andy Judd for sharing this one.
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To round up this year’s book club we had an extra special feature from London Part-Time teacher Jen Dennis. Following a guest lecture from Alan Kitching at Shillington London Jen shared ‘A Life in Letterpress’ along with an interview with the letterpress god himself.
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So there you have it, our 10 favourite design books of 2017 from the Shillington Book Club. Are there any books we should have featured? Tweet us your thoughts and we will keep it in mind for when we return with more inspiring reads in 2018.
If you’re big into books check our other book related posts; 50 Essential Books Every Graphic Designer Should Read or Sketchbook Advice for Designers.
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