Chosen Books

Invited designers and commentators have chosen these as the books that inspire them and that have shaped their worldview or their ideas about design.
71 books
Notes on the Synthesis of Form Alexander, Christopher Comments:
Makers: The New Industrial Revolution Anderson, Chris
Mid-Course Correction: Toward a Sustainable Enterprise, The Interface Model Anderson, Ray C.
Image/Music/Text Barthes, Roland
Le système des objets (The System of Objects) Baudrillard, Jean
The System of Objects Baudrillard, Jean
Ugly: The Aesthetics of Everything Bayley, Stephen
Biomimicry Benyus, Janine M.
Stone and Steel Billout, Guy
Cleopatra’s Nose Boorstin, Daniel J.
Whole Earth Catalog Brand, Stewart
The Hot House Branzi, Andrea
The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms (vols. 1–3) Cassirer, Ernst
The Practice of Everyday Life de Certeau, Michel
Diderot Encyclopedia Diderot, Denis
Kitsch Dorfles, Gillo
A Grammar of Chinese Lattice Dye, Daniel Sheets
Meine Lieblings-Flops, gefolgt von einem Ideen-Magazin Enzensberger, Hans Magnus
Design Now! Fiell, Charlotte et al.
The Rise of the Creative Class Florida, Richard
The Shape of Things Flusser, Vilém
Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth Fuller, R. Buckminster
I Seem To Be a Verb Fuller, R. Buckminster et al.
Outliers Gladwell, Malcolm
The Modern Ideal Greenhalgh, Paul
Design and Truth Grudin, Robert
The Hidden Dimension Hall, Edward T.
Elements of Design Hannah, Gail Greet
Verf Hartog Jager, Hans den
From Atoms to Patterns Jackson, Lesley
The Dream Society Jensen, Rolf
Creating with Paper Johnson, Pauline
Interface Culture Johnson, Steven
Module, Proportion, Symmetry, Rhythm (Vision + Value Series) Kepes, Gyorgy
Language of Vision Kepes, Gyorgy
Pedagogical Sketchbook Klee, Paul
Arranging Things: A Rhetoric of Object Placement Koren, Leonard et al.
Wabi-Sabi: For Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers Koren, Leonard
Pasta by Design Legendre, George L. et al.
The Laws of Simplicity Maeda, John
Marinetti: Selected Writings Marinetti, F. T. et al.
McMaster-Carr Catalog McMaster-Carr Company,
Thinking in Systems Meadows, Donella et al.
Setting the Table Meyer, Danny
Fantasia Munari, Bruno
Nella Notte Buia (In the Darkness of the Night) Munari, Bruno
Nella Nebbia di Milano (In the Fog of Milan) Munari, Bruno
How to See Nelson, George
How to See: A Guide to Reading Our Manmade Environment Nelson, George
Heraldry Neubecker, Ottfried
Creative Intelligence Nussbaum, Bruce
Design for the Real World Papanek, Victor
Design Revolution Pilloton, Emily
The Substance of Style Postrel, Virginia
The War of Art Pressfield, Steven
Design fai da te Recession Design,
Grammatica della Fantasia (The Grammar of Fantasy) Rodari, Gianni
The Kimono Mind Rudofsky, Bernard
Nature Design Sachs, Angeli
Wiener Werkstätte: Kunst und Handwerk, 1903–1932 Schweiger, Werner
The Craftsman Sennett, Richard
Design Process: Olivetti 1908-1978 Shapira, Nathan H. et al.
Masterpieces from the House of Fabergé Solodkoff, Alexander von
Personal Space Sommer, Robert
The Laws of Form Spencer-Brown, G.
The Decline of the West Spengler, Oswald
Shaping Things Sterling, Bruce
In Praise of Shadows Tanizaki, Jun’ichiro
Chocolates on the Pillow Aren’t Enough Tisch, Jonathan M. et al.
Smart Cities: Big Data, Civic Hackers, and the Quest for a New Utopia Townsend, Anthony M.
Ai Weiwei’s Blog: Writings, Interviews, and Digital Rants, 2006–2009 Weiwei, Ai
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