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

Álvaro Siza: Complete Works 1952–2013 Philip Jodidio On Norman Weinstein’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	Hand-Drying in America Ben Katchor On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	The Metropolitan Revolution Bruce Katz et al. On Witold Rybczynski’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Creative Confidence Tom Kelley et al. On list of Books by David Kelley On list of Books by Tom Kelley On Phil Patton’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Fashion Design, Referenced Alicia Kennedy et al. On Norman Weinstein’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Go: A Kidd’s Guide to Graphic Design Chip Kidd On list of Books by Chip Kidd On Ellen Lupton’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Eva Zeisel: Life, Design, and Beauty Pat Kirkham On Ellen Lupton’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List
Albert Speer Léon Krier et al. On Witold Rybczynski’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	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	Everything Loose Will Land Sylvia Lavin et al. On Alissa Walker’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	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	Printer’s Devil Simon Loxley On Steven Heller’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Never Built Los Angeles Sam Lubell On Alissa Walker’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List
The Houses of Louis Kahn George H. Marcus et al. On Witold Rybczynski’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Threads of Silk and Gold Hiroko T. McDermott et al. On Norman Weinstein’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	A New Sculpturalism Christopher Mount, ed. et al. On Phil Patton’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	The Images of Architects Valerio Olgiati, ed. 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	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
Interviewing Users Steve Portigal On Alissa Walker’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Hello World Alice Rawsthorn On list of Books by Alice Rawsthorn On Alissa Walker’s Notable Books of 2013 list 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	How Architecture Works Witold Rybczynski On list of Books by Witold Rybczynski On Phil Patton’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Type Only Mark Sinclair et al. On Ellen Lupton’s Notable Books of 2013 list On list of Books by Tony Brook On list of Books by Adrian Shaughnessy Add to My Reading List	Deventer Matthew Stadler et al. On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	D&AD: 50 Ron Stanley, ed. On Norman Weinstein’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Paradise Planned Robert A.M. Stern et al. On Witold Rybczynski’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List
Shiro Kuramata Deyan Sudjic On Norman Weinstein’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	Visions of Seaside Dhiru A. Thadani On Phil Patton’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Handbook of California Design, 1930-1965 Bobbye Tigerman, ed. On Phil Patton’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Kamisaka Sekka Khanh Trinh, editor et al. On Norman Weinstein’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Staircases Oscar Tusquets Blanca On Norman Weinstein’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	Architecture on the Carpet Brenda Vale et al. On Allison Arieff’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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Why Design Matters: Conversations with the World’s Most Creative People by Debbie Millman

Why Design Matters: Conversations with the World's Most Creative People

By Debbie Millman
Publisher: Harper Design
Published: February 22, 2022

Debbie Millman—author, educator, brand consultant, and host of the widely successful and award-winning podcast “Design Matters”—showcases dozens of her most exciting interviews, bringing together insights and reflections from today’s leading creative minds from across diverse fields.

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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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