Recommended Reading

I know everyone has more reading than they can poke a stick at right now, but I thought I'd nominate a couple of general design books that are informative as well as being great reads. A couple of them have really helped me out with essays over the past couple of years, and should mostly be available in the library.

Emotional Design by Donald A. Norman

This is my bedside book at the moment—borrowed it on a whim from the library along with a bunch of other books. Started reading it on Monday and am already halfway through. Interesting reading that would be relevant to anyone looking at any sort of interactivity within their project, Norman manages to talk clearly about design process and thought. It's an easy read that offers some good, if basic, insights into object design.

Seventy-Nine Short Essays on Design by Michael Beirut

It's possible that there are people I haven't blabbed to about this book—possible, but not likely. This is an engaging collection of short essays that tackle everything from children's book covers to Celebration, Florida. While most of it is available online at Design Observer, it's nice having a printed copy to flick through and turn to on a regular basis. Bierut's tone is accessible and yet serious, striking a nice balance between an academic text and an easy read.

 Open Manifesto edited by Kevin Finn

Probably the most scholarly book in this series, Open Manifesto is that Australian graphic design journal that focuses mainly on theoretical writing. Like Seventy-Nine Short Essays on Design, it too has a broad spectrum of subjects, and is up to its fifth issue, which focuses on the nature of identity. Again, it's well worth reading on its own regardless of what your Honours project may be. Unfortunately this is definitely not stocked in the library, and is hard to find amongst Melbourne bookshops. You can however order from their website.