Eight Great Design and Type Books by Women

This article appeared in Issue 119 of InDesign Magazine.

There’s always more to learn! Here’s a list of “required reading” by an amazing group of women authors.

How to Draw Type and Influence People: An Activity Book

by Sarah Hyndman

Ideal for all those who work with type daily, this book provides an accessible way in to the world of typefaces for the general reader, but also for graphic designers who want to explore fonts in more detail and design their own letterforms.

Graphic Design Thinking

by Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Cole Phillips

This book explores a variety of informal techniques, ranging from quick, seat-of-the-pants approaches to more formal research methods for stimulating fresh thinking and ultimately arriving at compelling and viable solutions.

Book Design Made Simple, 2nd Edition

by Fiona Raven and Glenna Collett

Book Design Made Simple gives DIY authors, small presses, and graphic designers?novices and experts alike?the power to design their own books by explaining every step from installing InDesign right through to sending the files to press.

The Non-Designer’s Design Book, 4th Edition

by Robin Williams

Now in its fourth edition, The Non-Designer’s Design Book will teach you the four fundamental principles of design that underlie every design project, plus how to design with color, how to design with type, and how to see and think like a professional designer. It also includes specific tips

on designing newsletters, brochures, flyers, and other projects.

Adobe InDesign CC Classroom in a Book (2019 Release)

by Kelly Kordes Anton and Tina DeJarld

The 15 project-based lessons in this book show users the key techniques for working in InDesign. Real-world tasks are presented in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step format and are designed to train beginning Adobe InDesign users in the program—from fundamental features to powerful layout and output skills.

Digital Publishing with Adobe InDesign CC: Moving Beyond Print to Digital, 1st Edition

by Diane Burns and Sandee Cohen

This book examines not just the “How” of using the tools for digital publishing, but also the “When” and “Why” of choosing among the various digital format options–ePub, PDF, HTML, tablet app, and so on. Clear explanations and plenty of full-color graphics will guide you through the potentially confusing digital publishing landscape.

Typography Essentials: 100 Design Principles for Working with Type

by Ina Saltz

This book offers readers a practical, hands-on resource that distills and organizes the many complex issues surrounding the effective use of typography. Typography Essentials is for designers of every medium in which type plays a major role, and is organized and designed to make the process enjoyable and entertaining, as well as instructional.

Layout Essentials: 100 Design Principles for Using Grids

by Beth Tondreau

A classic and essential text for designers since 2009, Layout Essentials: 100 Design Principles for Using Grids has been revised with a fresh exploration of its design principles, updated text, and new photos and international graphics.