Notable Design Books of 2013

Our Book Board members–including designers, commentators, and specially invited guest contributors–have chosen these as the most notable design books of 2013. The recommendations are submitted throughout the calendar year.

Also see Notable Books: Reviews, Notable Design Books of 2012 and Notable Design Books of 2011.

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87 books

The Library James W. P. Campbell (text) et al. On Stanley Abercrombie’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Mapping Manhattan Becky Cooper On Allison Arieff’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Everything Sings: Maps for a Narrative Atlas Denis Wood On Allison Arieff’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Architecture on the Carpet Brenda Vale et al. On Allison Arieff’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Formica Forever Text by Alexandra Lange, Phil Patton, and Peter York On Allison Arieff’s Notable Books of 2013 list On list of Books by Alexandra Lange On list of Books by Phil Patton On list of Books by Abbott Miller Add to My Reading List	Graphic Icons John Clifford On Allison Arieff’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	100 Years of Architectural Drawing Neil Bingham On Allison Arieff’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Lolita—The Story of a Cover Girl: Vladimir Nabokov’s Novel in Art and Design John Bertram et al. On Allison Arieff’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List
The Invention of Craft Glenn Adamson On Zara Arshad’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	The Mystery of the Hanging Garden of Babylon Stephanie Dalley On Diana Balmori’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Mario Buatta: Fifty Years of American Interior Decoration Mario Buatta et al. On Wendy Goodman’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Printer’s Devil Simon Loxley On Steven Heller’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	All the Buildings in New York *That I’ve Drawn So Far James Gulliver Hancock On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Diller Scofidio + Renfro: Architecture after Images Edward Dimendberg On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Encounters 2 Juhani Pallasmaa et al. On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2013 list On list of Books by Juhani Pallasmaa Add to My Reading List	Architectural Guide Japan Botond Bognar On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List
The Light Pavilion Christoph a. Kumpusch, ed. On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Theater of Architecture Hugh Hardy On list of Books by Hugh Hardy On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	James Turrell: A Retrospective Michael Govan et al. On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Hand-Drying in America Ben Katchor On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Culture:City Wilfried Wang, ed. On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	The Images of Architects Valerio Olgiati, ed. On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	MVRDV Buildings MVRDV et al. On list of Books by Nathalie de Vries On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	PIN-UP Interviews PIN-UP et al. On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List
Cosmos of Light Henry Plummer On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Lina Bo Bardi Zeuler Rocha Mello de Almeida Lima et al. On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Wunderkammer Tod Williams et al. On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Discovering Architecture Philip Jodidio et al. On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Deventer Matthew Stadler et al. On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	The Pinecone Jenny Uglow On Mark Lamster’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	James Stirling: Revisionary Modernist Amanda Reeser Lawrence On Mark Lamster’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Henri Labrouste Barry Bergdoll et al. On Mark Lamster’s Notable Books of 2013 list On list of Books by Barry Bergdoll Add to My Reading List
Building Seagram Phyllis Lambert et al. On Mark Lamster’s Notable Books of 2013 list On list of Books by Phyllis Lambert Add to My Reading List	A Country of Cities Vishaan Chakrabarti On Mark Lamster’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Le Corbusier: An Atlas of Modern Landscapes Jean-Louis Cohen et al. On Mark Lamster’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Dekho CoDesign On Ellen Lupton’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Hall of Femmes: Lella Vignelli Samira Boubana et al. On Ellen Lupton’s Notable Books of 2013 list On list of Books by Angela Tillman Sperandio On list of Books by Samira Bouabana Add to My Reading List	Hall of Femmes: Tomoko Miho Samira Boubana et al. On Ellen Lupton’s Notable Books of 2013 list On list of Books by Angela Tillman Sperandio On list of Books by Samira Bouabana Add to My Reading List	Multiple Signatures Michael Rock On list of Books by Michael Rock On Ellen Lupton’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Synesthetic Design Michael Haverkamp On Ellen Lupton’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List

Announcements

Now is Better by Stefan Sagmeister

Now is Better

By Stefan Sagmeister
Publisher: Phaidon Press
Published: October 2023

Combining art, design, history, and quantitative analysis, transforms data sets into stunning artworks that underscore his positive view of human progress, inspiring us to think about the future with much-needed hope.

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Design Emergency: Building a Better Future by Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli

Design Emergency: Building a Better Future

By Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli
Publisher: Phaidon Press
Published: May 2022

Rawsthorn and Antonelli tell the stories of the remarkable designers, architects, engineers, artists, scientists, and activists who are at the forefront of positive change worldwide. Focusing on four themes—Technology, Society, Communication, and Ecology—the authors present a unique portrait of how our great creative minds are developing new design solutions to the major challenges of our time, while helping us to benefit from advances in science and technology.

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Love Letter to a Garden by Debbie Millman

Love Letter to a Garden

By Debbie Millman
Contributions by Roxane Gay
Publisher: Timber Press
Published: April 15, 2025

From the award-winning artist, designer, and the host of the podcast Design Matters, Debbie Millman, this book tells the visual story of falling in love with gardening—and the philosophies that work conjures. Spread throughout are simple recipes using the garden’s ingredients from Millman’s wife, best-selling author Roxane Gay.

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Milton Glaser: POP by Steven Heller, Mirko Ilić, and Beth Kleber

Milton Glaser: POP

By Steven Heller, Mirko Ilić, and Beth Kleber
Publisher: The Monacelli Press
Published: March 2023

This collection of work from graphci design legend Milton Glaser’s Pop period features hundreds of examples of the designer’s work that have not been seen since their original publication, demonstrating the graphic revolution that transformed design and popular culture.

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Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall by Alexandra Lange

Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall

By Alexandra Lange
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Published: June 2022

Chronicles postwar architects’ and merchants’ invention of the shopping mall, revealing how the design of these marketplaces played an integral role in their cultural ascent. Publishers Weekly writes, “Contending that malls answer ‘the basic human need’ of bringing people together, influential design critic Lange advocates for retrofitting abandoned shopping centers into college campuses, senior housing, and ‘ethnocentric marketplaces’ catering to immigrant communities. Lucid and well researched, this is an insightful study of an overlooked and undervalued architectural form.”

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Die Fläche: Design and Lettering of the Vienna Secession, 1902–1911 (Facsimile Edition) by Diane V. Silverthorne, Dan Reynolds, and Megan Brandow-Faller

Die Fläche: Design and Lettering of the Vienna Secession, 1902–1911 (Facsimile Edition)

By Diane V. Silverthorne, Dan Reynolds, and Megan Brandow-Faller
Publisher: Letterform Archives Books
Published: October 2023

This facsimile edition of Die Fläche, recreates every page of the formative design periodical in full color and at original size, accompanied by essays that contextualize the work, highlighting contributions by pathbreaking women, innovative lettering artists, and key practitioners of the new “surface art,” including Rudolf von Larisch, Alfred Roller, and Wiener Werkstätte founders Koloman Moser and Josef Hoffmann.

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