Self-help · Similar reads
Books like Thinking with Type
The best books like Thinking with Type are The Design of Everyday Things, The Language of Things, and The Elements of Style. Thinking with Type by Ellen Lupton is about typography, visual communication, graphic design. 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.
- The Design of Everyday Things
01
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 self-help read.
Read the summary → - The Language of Things
02
Deyan Sudjic · Philosophy
The Language of Things is Deyan Sudjic's examination of how designed objects communicate — not just what they are functionally, but what they say about identity, desire, status, and culture.
A kindred self-help read.
Read the summary → - The Elements of Style
03
Strunk & White · Self-help
The Elements of Style is a short book about writing English clearly and without waste.
A kindred self-help read.
Read the summary → - Don't Make Me Think
04
Steve Krug · Business
Don't Make Me Think is Steve Krug's short, plainspoken guide to web usability.
A kindred self-help read.
Read the summary → - The New Typography
05
Jan Tschichold · Philosophy
The New Typography, published in German in 1928 as Die neue Typographie, is Jan Tschichold's manifesto for a modernist approach to printed communication.
Shares typography and visual communication with Thinking with Type.
Read the summary → - Making and Breaking the Grid
06
Timothy Samara · Self-help
Making and Breaking the Grid is a textbook for graphic designers that does something most design textbooks avoid: it teaches both halves of its title with equal seriousness.
Shares typography and graphic design with Thinking with Type.
Read the summary → - Grid Systems in Graphic Design
07
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.
Shares typography and visual communication with Thinking with Type.
Read the summary → - Meggs' History of Graphic Design
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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.
Shares typography and visual communication with Thinking with Type.
Read the summary → - The Elements of Typographic Style
09
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 visual communication with Thinking with Type.
Read the summary → - How to
10
Michael Bierut · Biography
How to is Michael Bierut's account of thirty-five years of practice as a graphic designer at Pentagram, the world's largest independent design firm.
Both dig into graphic design.
Read the summary → - Just My Type
11
Simon Garfield · History
Just My Type is Simon Garfield's popular history of fonts and typography, aimed at general readers who have become dimly aware that fonts matter without having the vocabulary to explain why.
Both dig into typography.
Read the summary → - On Directing Film
12
David Mamet · Philosophy
On Directing Film is David Mamet's account of lectures he gave at Columbia University's film school, transcribed and lightly edited into a short, blunt book about the craft of directing.
Both dig into visual communication.
Read the summary →
Books like Thinking with Type: quick answers
What are the best books like Thinking with Type?
The best books like Thinking with Type by Ellen Lupton are The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman, The Language of Things by Deyan Sudjic, The Elements of Style by Strunk & White, Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug, The New Typography by Jan Tschichold, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with Thinking with Type, such as typography, visual communication, graphic design.
What should I read after Thinking with Type?
A natural next read after Thinking with Type is The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman. A kindred self-help read. Other strong choices are The Language of Things by Deyan Sudjic, The Elements of Style by Strunk & White, Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug.
What books are similar to Thinking with Type by Ellen Lupton?
Thinking with Type centers on typography, visual communication, graphic design. Books with a similar feel include The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman, The Language of Things by Deyan Sudjic, The Elements of Style by Strunk & White, Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug, The New Typography by Jan Tschichold, Making and Breaking the Grid by Timothy Samara — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.
