15 Must Have books for Designers, Developers and Freelancers

I asked some of your to recommend some must have books and I’ve pulled together a great list! Check it out, time to start that summer time reading! :)

“Making and Breaking the Grid: A Graphic Design Layout Workshop” by Timothy Samara (Recommended by Brian Hoff.)

“Neuro Web Design: What Makes Them Click?” by Susan M. Weinschenk (Recommended by Jean Yi.)

A recent read – great, current book that compiles recent psychological research that can be applied to web design

“My So-Called Freelance Life” and “the Anti Nine-to-Five Guide” by Michelle Goodman (Recommended by Ashley Marie)

“Craft, Inc.” by Meg Mateo Ilasco (Recommended by Ashley Marie)

Not just for craft entrepreneurs! :)

“The Ultimate CSS Reference” by Sitepoint (Recommended by John Loudon)

“HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide” by O’Reilly (Recommended by John Loudon)


“Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability” by Steve Krug (Recommended by John Loudon)


“Beginning PHP and MySQL: From Novice to Professional” by W. Jason Gilmore (Recommended by John Loudon)

“Joomla! A User’s Guide: Building a Successful Joomla! Powered Website” by Barrie M. North (Recommended by John Loudon)

“The Zen of CSS Design: Visual Enlightenment for the Web (Voices That Matter)” by David Shea (Recommended by John Loudon)

“Typography: Macro and Microaesthetics” by Willi Kunz (Recommended by Kristine Johnson)

“Typography: Formation +Transformation” by Willi Kunz (Recommended by Kristine Johnson)

“Design, Form, and Chaos” by Paul Rand (Recommended by Kristine Johnson)

“Design Issues: How Graphic Design Informs Society” by DK Holland (Recommended by Kristine Johnson)

5 comments

  1. These are great references. I’m very tempted to go crazy on Amazon with some of them.

    The Site Point CSS Reference is AWESOME! (Just got it in the mail TODAY!)

    Thanks for compiling them. ;-)

  2. Steve Krug’s “Don’t Make Me Think” and Sitepoint’s CSS reference are great resources. There are a few here I haven’t read yet. Great list!

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