The Launch team have each selected 2 of their favourite books that they read in 2021 – educational reads, design inspiration, motivational texts… You name it, we’ve read it! Check out the list and the team's thoughts below.

The book for understanding your brand

What’s Your Point? by Bruce McKinnon
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Bruce McKinnon writes in a very funny and appealing way, making What’s Your Point a very understandable, engaging book. The removal of industry jargon and reader assumption that is often found within these types of books means that anyone, at any level, would find the book easy to read, useful and take a lot away from it. Our clients often feel overwhelmed by the idea of brand strategy and working out what this means to them, whereas the Brand Arrow framework makes strategy work feel appealing and achievable. The huge variety of case studies keep the book interesting and relevant, but also provide direct examples to the content – proving that the framework is applicable everywhere.

The book for gaining awareness as a designer

The Politics of Design by Ruben Pater
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The Politics of Design isn’t focused on politics as such but delves into the social, cultural and historical contexts in which contemporary design is created. This book is an eye-opening guide for designers that highlights and explains biases and prejudices that we may have within design and bring into our own work as designers – many things that we may not even be aware of. This book provides visual examples throughout which are useful for clearly demonstrating the points the author makes.

The book for typographical inspiration

Typography Sketchbooks by Steven Heller & Lita Talarico
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For designers, typography is arguably the most important asset within our armoury. As stated in Typography Sketchbooks, “Every designer, regardless of race, creed or nationality, understands the language of type. A graphic designer who is not fluent is not a graphic designer.” This book explores the beauty of expression through type, encapsulating some of the hearts and minds of designers who have contributed beautifully to the world of typography.

The curated collection of sketchbooks brings to life the playground where the selected designers have experimented with their typographic exploits. They act as personal memoirs and informal narratives, documenting the fruition of form and content of these tentative masterpieces. If you’re a type enthusiast, student designer or general lover of graphic design, Typography Sketchbooks is picture-perfect (quite literally), showcasing exclusive designs with invaluable commentary on process, philosophy, inspirations and practises.

The book for a historical and cultural insight into typography

Mexican Blackletter by Cristina Paoli
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From Europe to Mexico, Paoli offers researched insight into the influence of the Blackletter type and how it is ingrained within Mexican heritage. Her take depicts the anatomy of Blackletter and its contributions to contemporary Mexican culture, echoing the remnants of Spanish colonial rule, as well as the instillation of European Christianity. Paoli provides the chance to interact and appreciate the vast dialogue of these hand-rendered letters, emphasising their significance to Mexican typography. If you’re a design history fanatic or you’re looking for inspirations to spice up your designs, fond of ornamental type, colour and contrast this book is ideal for you.

The book for an introduction to typography & inspiration

The Typography Idea Book: Inspiration from 50 Masters by Steven Heller & Gail Anderson
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As the title suggests this book showcases Typographic work from 50 influential designers. The book is written in a way that omits esoteric language making it a perfect entry level book for young designers. The book gives an overview into various different typographic techniques and designs with examples in order to inspire ideas from the reader for their own work. This book is ideal for young designers looking to expand their typographic knowledge or non-designers who are curious about the art of typography.

The book for inspiration, anytime

It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be by Paul Arden
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This is a book that can be picked up at any time, anywhere, by anyone and have an impact. The variety of typefaces, text sizes and page layouts used keeps the content engaging and interesting. Arden’s writing style is to the point and matter of fact, creating pieces of advice that are relevant, actionable and totally understandable. It’s short, concise and to the point, but the advice is applicable to every situation.

Have you read these books? We’d love to hear from you! Get in touch