Here is a list of the best Typography books, some I have read myself, some that I did research on, and all have great reviews!
- Thinking with Type, 2nd revised and expanded edition: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students (2010)
- Jost Hochuli: Detail In Typography (english Reprint) (2015)
- Typography for Lawyers 2nd (2018)
- Typography Essentials Revised and Updated: 100 Design Principles for Working with Type (2019)
- The Typography Idea Book: Inspiration from 50 Masters (2016)
- Lessons in Typography: Must-know typographic principles presented through lessons, exercises, and examples (Creative Core) (2015)
- Handstyle Lettering: From Calligraphy to Typography (2017)
- On the Road to Variable: The Flexible Future of Typography (2018)
- Typography Sketchbooks (2011)
- The Elements of Typographic Style: Version 4.0: 20th Anniversary Edition (2013)
- Typography Workbook: A Real-World Guide to Using Type in Graphic Design (2006)
- Vintage Graphic Design: Type, Typography, Monograms & Decorative Design from the Late 19th & Early 20th Centuries (2020)
Thinking with Type, 2nd revised and expanded edition: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students (2010)
Our all time best selling book is now available in a revised and expanded second edition. Thinking with Type is the definitive guide to using typography in visual communication, from the printed page to the computer screen.
Jost Hochuli: Detail In Typography (english Reprint) (2015)
Jost Hochulis concise guide to micro-typography considers everything that can happen within a column of text. Detail in Typography discusses in simple steps the factors that make text easy to read and good to look at. It provides, in its own form and manufacture, a demonstration of how books can be made. The book was published first, in several languages, in 1987 and 1988.
Typography for Lawyers 2nd (2018)
Originally released to great acclaim in 2010, Typography for Lawyers was the first guide to the essentials of typography aimed specifically at lawyers. Author Matthew Butterick, an attorney and Harvard-trained typographer, dispelled the myth that legal documents are incompatible with excellent typography. Butterick explained how to get professional results with the tools you already have quickly and easily.
Typography Essentials Revised and Updated: 100 Design Principles for Working with Type (2019)
Divided into four sections—The Letter, The Word, The Paragraph, and The Page—the text is concise, compact, and easy to reference.
The Typography Idea Book: Inspiration from 50 Masters (2016)
This book serves as an introduction to the key elements of good typographic design. Broken into sections covering the fundamentals of typography, the book features inspiring works by acclaimed typographic designers from across the world. Each section illustrates technical points and encourages readers to try out new ideas of their own.
Lessons in Typography: Must-know typographic principles presented through lessons, exercises, and examples (Creative Core) (2015)
Get hands on with type in this lesson-based addition to Jim Krause’s popular new Creative Core series on design fundamentals. In Lessons in Typography, you’ll learn the basics of identifying, choosing, and using typefaces and immediately put that knowledge to work through a collection of exercises designed to deepen and expand your typographic skills.
Handstyle Lettering: From Calligraphy to Typography (2017)
In our increasingly digital age, the compass, eraser, pencil and pen may seem like archaic choices for cutting-edge typography design; enter Handstyle Lettering, the latest from industry leader Viction:ary. Handstyle Lettering puts the best in contemporary hand-lettering on display with artist profiles as well as broad surveys of handcrafted typographic projects used for signage, logos, invitations and more.
On the Road to Variable: The Flexible Future of Typography (2018)
On the 16th of September 2016, Adobe, Google, Apple, and Microsoft announced a new update to the Open-Type specification that allowed for fonts to be variable. Through this update, designers would have the freedom and flexibility to use a wide variety of styles, ranging in extremes to include everything in between. Although the technology has yet to be fully implemented, variable typography is already becoming an unstoppable force in contemporary graphic design.
Typography Sketchbooks (2011)
* Typography the design of letters is at the heart of visual communication and graphic design. No design is successful without successful typography.* An artful craft since the days of moveable type, today’s digital designers have an unimaginable array of possibilities when it comes to choosing typefaces.
The Elements of Typographic Style: Version 4.0: 20th Anniversary Edition (2013)
Renowned typographer and poet Robert Bringhurst brings clarity to the art of typography with this masterful style guide. Combining the practical, theoretical, and historical, this edition is completely updated, with a thorough revision and updating of the longest chapter, “Prowling the Specimen Books,” and many other small but important updates based on things that are continually changing in the field.
Typography Workbook: A Real-World Guide to Using Type in Graphic Design (2006)
New in paperback, The Typography Workbook provides an at-a-glance reference book for designers on all aspects of type.The book is part of Rockport’s popular Workbook series of practical and inspirational workbooks that cover all the fundamental areas of the graphic design business.
Vintage Graphic Design: Type, Typography, Monograms & Decorative Design from the Late 19th & Early 20th Centuries (2020)
Any type user and enthusiast will doubtless derive joy from the letters and ornaments in Vintage Graphic Design, gathered from the rare and forgotten sources that authors Steven Heller and Louise Fili have collected over the years. As type gourmets, Heller and Fili savor type in many forms—especially the aesthetically idiosyncratic and the printed artifacts of which historical or retro typefaces are samples.
Best Typography Books You Must Read
We highly recommend you to buy all paper or e-books in a legal way, for example, on Amazon. But sometimes it might be a need to dig deeper beyond the shiny book cover. Before making a purchase, you can visit resources like Library Genesis and download some typography books mentioned below at your own risk. Once again, we do not host any illegal or copyrighted files, but simply give our visitors a choice and hope they will make a wise decision.
Advanced Typography: From Knowledge to Mastery
Author(s): Richard Hunt
ID: 2597616, Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts, Year: 2020, Size: 61 Mb, Format: epub
A Grammar of Typography: Classical Design in the Digital Age
Author(s): Mark Argetsinger
ID: 3293327, Publisher: David R. Godine, Publisher, Year: 2020, Size: 394 Mb, Format: pdf
Typography Essentials Revised and Updated: 100 Design Principles for Working with Type
Author(s): Ina Saltz
ID: 2399831, Publisher: Rockport Publishers, Year: 2019, Size: 63 Mb, Format: pdf
Please note that this booklist is not absolute. Some books are truly best-sellers according to The Wall Street Journal, others are drafted by unknown writers. On top of that, you can always find additional tutorials and courses on Coursera, Udemy or edX, for example. Are there any other relevant resources you could recommend? Drop a comment if you have any feedback on the list.