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.

price low–high

covers

view as:
covers
list

87 books

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	Architecture of Santiniketan Samit Das On Norman Weinstein’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Swiss Made R. James Breiding On Phil Patton’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	Everything Loose Will Land Sylvia Lavin et al. On Alissa Walker’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 Light Pavilion Christoph a. Kumpusch, ed. On John Hill’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
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	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	Mapping Manhattan Becky Cooper On Allison Arieff’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	The Afterlife of Emerson Tang Paula Champa On Phil Patton’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	Architecture on the Carpet Brenda Vale et al. On Allison Arieff’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	Wunderkammer Tod Williams et al. On John Hill’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	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	A Country of Cities Vishaan Chakrabarti On Mark Lamster’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	The Invention of Craft Glenn Adamson On Zara Arshad’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List
City of Ambition Mason B. Williams On Phil Patton’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	The Design Book: 1000 New Designs for the Home and Where to Find Them Jennifer Hudson On Stephanie Murg’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Eileen Gray: Objects and Furniture Design Carmen Espegel, introduction; et al. On Norman Weinstein’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Graphic Icons John Clifford 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	Handbook of California Design, 1930-1965 Bobbye Tigerman, ed. On Phil Patton’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
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	Hippie Chic Lauren Whitley On Norman Weinstein’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	Cosmos of Light Henry Plummer On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Various Small Books: Referencing Various Small Books of Ed Ruscha Jeff Brouws et al. On Phil Patton’s Notable Books of 2013 list Add to My Reading List	Experiments with Life Itself Francisco González de Canales 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	Design Forward Hartmut Esslinger On Phil Patton’s Notable Books of 2013 list On list of Books by Hartmut Esslinger Add to My Reading List

Announcements

Louis Kahn: The Importance of a Drawing

Louis Kahn: The Importance of a Drawing

Edited by Michael Merrill
Publisher: Lars Müller Publishers
Published: October 2021

The first in-depth study of drawings as primary sources of insight into architect Louis Kahn’s architecture and creative imagination. Based on unprecedented archival research, with over 900 illustrations and written contributions by Michael Benedikt, Michael Cadwell, David Leatherbarrow, Louis Kahn, Nathaniel Kahn, Sue Ann Kahn, Michael J. Lewis, Robert McCarter, Michael Merrill, Marshall Meyers, Jane Murphy, Gina Pollara, Harriet Pattison, Colin Rowe, David Van Zanten, Richard Wesley, and William Whitaker.

Order the book.

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

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

By Debbie Millman
Publisher: Harper Design
Forthcoming: 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.

Pre-order the book.

Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy by John Lobell

Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy

By John Lobell
Publisher: The Monacelli Press
Published: June 2020

Noted Louis I.Kahn expert John Lobell explores how Kahn’s focus on structure, respect for materials, clarity of program, and reverence for details come together to manifest an overall philosophy.

Order the book.

Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn by Harriet Pattison

Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn

By Harriet Pattison
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: October 2020

An intimate glimpse into the professional and romantic relationship between Harriet Pattison and the renowned architect Louis Kahn. Harriet Pattison, FASLA, is a distinguished landscape architect. She was Louis Kahn’s romantic partner from 1959 to 1974, and his collaborator on the landscapes of the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, and the F.D.R. Memorial/Four Freedoms Park, New York. She is the mother of their son, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nathaniel Kahn.

Order the book.

Reading Graphic Design History: Image, Text, and Context by David Raizman

Reading Graphic Design History: Image, Text, and Context

By David Raizman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
Published: December 2020

An innovative approach to graphic design that uses a series of key artifacts from the history of print culture in light of their specific historical contexts. It encourages the reader to look carefully and critically at print advertising, illustration, posters, magazine art direction, and typography, often addressing issues of class, race, and gender.

Order the book.

David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian by Rick Poynor

David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian

By Rick Poynor
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: September 2020

A comprehensive overview of the work and legacy of David King (1943–2016), whose fascinating career bridged journalism, graphic design, photography, and collecting. King launched his career at Britain’s Sunday Times Magazine in the 1960s, starting as a designer and later branching out into image-led journalism, blending political activism with his design work.

Order the book.