Almost all of the design community luminaries I saw speak at the HOW conferences in Boston a few weeks ago (June 21-24) had books to recommend, in a broad swath of genres. Here’s my compiled list of the books, their authors, and the speakers who recommended them:
- Strengths Finder by Tom Rath (recommended by Luke Mysse)
- The Most Human Human, by Brian Christian (recommended by Ilise Benun)
- David Baker’s next book will be about intern management (recommended by David Baker)
- The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation by Matthew Dixon (recommended by Mark O’Brien)
- 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami (recommended by Chip Kidd)
- The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier (recommended by Alina Wheeler)
- Incomplete Manifesto for Growth by Bruce Mau (an essay – well, more like a bulleted list, really – not a book; recommended by Alina Wheeler)
- In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed by Carl Honore (recommended by Kelly Goto)
- Debbie Millman quoted Daniel Pink – and while she did not recommend any specific book, it reminded me that I haven’t read any of his stuff since A Whole New Mind. Maybe it’s time to check out Drive, “a paradigm-shattering look at what truly motivates us and how we can use that knowledge to work smarter and live better.”
- The Strategic Designer by David Holsten, and Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers – two books I purchased at the bookstore (it was so hard to limit my choice to just these!) that I look forward to diving into.
Were you at HOW? There were so many presentations to choose from, I’m sure many speakers I did not have a chance to hear also had books to recommend. What’s on your list?
And, if you’ve read any of these books and have an opinion to share, pro or con, I’d love to hear them.
The Brand Gap, as well as Zag, by Marty Neumeier are both fabulous books. They are well worth a spot on your bookshelf and the short time it takes to read them. (I have given them to clients many times over the years.)
Thanks for the other suggestions. I, too, need to catch up on Daniel Pink’s Drive.
I’d add:
– Alina Wheeler’s Designing Brand Identity
– Peleg Top’s suggestion, Start with Why (Simon Sinek)
And, related to design strategy:
– Managing the Design Process-Concept Development (Terry Lee Stone)
– A Designer’s Research Manual (Jenn + Ken Viscocky O’Grady)
– The Strategic Designer (Davis Holston)