History · Similar reads
Books like Just My Type
The best books like Just My Type are Meggs' History of Graphic Design, The Design of Everyday Things, and Understanding Media. Just My Type by Simon Garfield is about typography, design history, visual culture. If that's what drew you in, here are 12 books that share its DNA — each summarized on Superbook, and ready to chat with in the app.
- Meggs' History of Graphic Design
01
Meggs' History of Graphic Design
Philip B. Meggs · History
Meggs' History of Graphic Design is the standard reference text for the history of visual communication, covering the development of writing and printed images from prehistoric cave markings through the digital revolution.
Both dig into typography.
Read the summary → - The Design of Everyday Things
02
Donald Norman · Psychology
The Design of Everyday Things began as The Psychology of Everyday Things when first published in 1988, and Donald Norman revised it substantially for a 2013 edition that updated the examples for a digital age.
A kindred history read.
Read the summary → - Understanding Media
03
Marshall McLuhan · Philosophy
Understanding Media, published in 1964, is Marshall McLuhan's most developed work and the book that made "the medium is the message" a catchphrase of the twentieth century.
A kindred history read.
Read the summary → - Steal Like an Artist
04
Austin Kleon · Self-help
Steal Like an Artist is Austin Kleon's short, illustrated guide to the creative process, built around the premise that nothing is truly original — all creative work is built from and inspired by what came before.
Both dig into craft.
Read the summary → - The Elements of Typographic Style
05
The Elements of Typographic Style
Robert Bringhurst · Science
The Elements of Typographic Style is Robert Bringhurst's comprehensive treatment of typography as both craft and art.
Shares typography and craft with Just My Type.
Read the summary → - Bauhaus
06
Magdalena Droste · History
Magdalena Droste's Bauhaus is the standard illustrated history of the school that ran in Germany from 1919 to 1933 and produced some of the most durable ideas in twentieth-century design, architecture, and art education.
Both dig into craft.
Read the summary → - A Moveable Feast
07
Ernest Hemingway · Memoir
A Moveable Feast is Hemingway's posthumously published account of his years in Paris during the 1920s, when he and his first wife Hadley lived cheaply in Montparnasse while he apprenticed himself to the work of becoming a writer.
Both dig into craft.
Read the summary → - A Swim in a Pond in the Rain
08
George Saunders · Philosophy
A Swim in a Pond in the Rain is George Saunders's account of the graduate fiction workshop he has taught at Syracuse for over twenty years, organized around seven stories by Tolstoy, Chekhov, Turgenev, and Gogol.
Both dig into craft.
Read the summary → - Bird by Bird
09
Anne Lamott · Self-help
Bird by Bird is Anne Lamott's guide to writing and the creative life, grown from a course she taught at UC Davis and developed over years of writing novels, essays, and journalism.
Both dig into craft.
Read the summary → - Born Standing Up
10
Steve Martin · Memoir
Born Standing Up is Steve Martin's account of the decade-long grind that preceded his sudden, seemingly overnight fame as America's biggest stand-up comedian of the late 1970s.
Both dig into craft.
Read the summary → - Experiencing Architecture
11
Steen Eiler Rasmussen · Philosophy
Experiencing Architecture is the Danish architect and town planner Steen Eiler Rasmussen's attempt to teach non-architects how to see and feel buildings.
Both dig into design history.
Read the summary → - Grid Systems in Graphic Design
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Grid Systems in Graphic Design
Josef Müller-Brockmann · Philosophy
Josef Müller-Brockmann's Grid Systems in Graphic Design, first published in German and English in 1981 by Niggli Verlag, is the closest thing graphic design has to a foundational technical text.
Both dig into typography.
Read the summary →
Books like Just My Type: quick answers
What are the best books like Just My Type?
The best books like Just My Type by Simon Garfield are Meggs' History of Graphic Design by Philip B. Meggs, The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman, Understanding Media by Marshall McLuhan, Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon, The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with Just My Type, such as typography, design history, visual culture.
What should I read after Just My Type?
A natural next read after Just My Type is Meggs' History of Graphic Design by Philip B. Meggs. Both dig into typography. Other strong choices are The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman, Understanding Media by Marshall McLuhan, Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon.
What books are similar to Just My Type by Simon Garfield?
Just My Type centers on typography, design history, visual culture. Books with a similar feel include Meggs' History of Graphic Design by Philip B. Meggs, The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman, Understanding Media by Marshall McLuhan, Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon, The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst, Bauhaus by Magdalena Droste — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.
