Top 25 books on branding, design and running a studio

Like many, I have been catching up on my reading in the past year or so. And having recently read a number of excellent books, I thought I would share some of those I have found helpful over the past 25 years of running our design studio – Mytton Williams.?

So, in no particular order…

1. Lateral Thinking: A Textbook of Creativity by Edward de Bono – Full of ideas about how to think differently and free up your imagination. First published 1970, some people find this book is too dry –?but as the author states, it is not meant to be read in one sitting. Lots of methods to think differently and develop better ideas.????
2. Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don’t Make Sense by Rory Sutherland – Exploring human behaviour and decision-making with hilarious and fascinating stories by the Vice Chairman of Ogilvy. A great read. Check out his TED talks.
3. How Brands Grow – What Marketers Don’t Know by Byron Sharp – Decades of research. In-depth study and insights into brands, differentiation and how advertising works.
4. Branding in Five and a Half Steps by Michael Johnson – Every step of the branding process clearly explained with 100’s of illustrations. Well written and a very practical guide.??????
5. Win Without Pitching by Blair Enns – Essential reading for anyone in the business of selling creativity. 12 invaluable proclamations. Also check out the 2Bobs podcast with David C. Baker.?
6. The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding by Al Ries and Jack Trout – My edition published in 2000. Although some of the examples might be a little old, an excellent and very accessible read, broken down into – you guessed it – 22 chapters such as The law of expansion, The law of the category and The law of sub-brands. Shame about the cover design.
7. Do Purpose by David Hieatt – Most of the Do series of books are excellent but this one in particular I thought was great. Very well written. All about brands finding their purpose and why it is so important. Broken down into simple chapters and key messages. Well designed (including the cover –?by James Victore).?
8. The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier – Explaining the strategic and creative – the rational and emotional –?approach to brand building. Lots of very good ideas and thinking condensed into a very easy read.
9. The Artist’s Journey: On Making Art and Being an Artist by Kent Nerburn – Gentle and thoughtful book about the creative life – exploring the doubts, dreams and challenges.
10. Design for the Real World by Victor Papanek – first published 1971, it is said to be the the world’s most widely read book on design. While the focus is around industrial design, it shows how design can tackle many of today’s problems and that as designers we have a responsibility towards society and the environment. He doesn’t mince his words. A powerful and thought-provoking read.
11. The Choice Factory by Richard Shotgun – 25 behavioural biases that influence what we buy. All about understanding consumer biases. Very revealing and practical.
12. One + One = Three: A Masterclass in Creative Thinking by Dave Trott – or any of his other books. Brilliant and very easy to read short stories and observations about how to think more creatively.
13. Six Thinking Hats by Edward de Bono – Makes you think about about making decisions from six different perspectives: blue hat (process), green hat (creativity), white hat (facts), yellow hat (the good things), red hat (feelings) and a black hat (negative, cautions). Very simple and effective tool.
14. Who Moved My Cheese: An Amazing Way to Deal With Change in Your Work and in Your Life by Dr Spencer Johnson – Four characters in a maze looking for cheese to nourish them and make them happy. The cheese is a metaphor for what you want in life – but the cheese keeps moving. A quick read. All about change and how to deal with it.
15. The Art of Looking Sideways by Alan Fletcher – An incredible rich collection of notes, ideas, observations and visuals. Loosely collected into 72 chapters. Dip in and out. Again and again. Every spread a visual feast.
16. A Smile in the Mind by Beryl McAlhone and David Stuart + revised edition (2016) by Greg Quinton + Nick Asbury – The definitive review of wit in graphic design. Loads of examples.
17. Rebel Ideas by Matthew Syed – An excellent recent read – about the power of diversity and collaboration and how it leads to better and more creative ideas.
18. Feck Perfunction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life by James Victore and Danielle LaPorte – 77 ideas on the business of life. And how to be more creative. Funny. Inspiring. Authentic. Playful.
19. Stop Stealing Sheep & Find Out How Type Works by Erik Spiekermann – I read this when it was first published in 1993. One of the most helpful books on typography I read as a young designer.
20. How to be a graphic designer without losing your soul by Adrian Shaughnessy –?Great practical book on running a graphic design business.?
21. A designer’s art by Paul Rand – One of the legends of the graphic design world. A great collection of his work and thinking, giving insight into his design process.
22. The Brand Handbook by Wally Olins – Considered by many to be one of the gurus of branding, he advised many of the world’s leading organisations on corporate identity and brand communications.?
23. Damn Good Advice by George Lois –?A great, easy read by the sometimes controversial American art director, designer and author.
24. Drive: the surprising truth about what motivates us by Daniel Pink – “the secret to high performance and satisfaction in today's world”.
25. Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy – Considered by many as the most successful adman of?all time, this was first published in 1983. While some of the examples might be a little dated, it is full of great advice and many of the principles are just as relevant today. Some fascinating insights into advertising copywriting.

Lastly, I couldn’t leave out Eye Magazine – I’ve been collecting and reading this since it was first published in 1990. Intelligent, well-written and thought-provoking articles on graphic design. Always beautifully designed and printed.