Creative Books, Podcasts & Documentaries For Graphic Designers To Explore

For graphic designers who are looking for inspiration there is a wealth of material that is mere clicks away. Through a bit of browsing online, designers, students, and aspiring designers can find a whole range of books, podcasts, and even TV shows relating to design. Graphic design inspiration is everywhere and there is plenty of advice and tips that people can pick up from useful resources.

For graphic designers, there’s always some useful information on the latest trends and design content that is being shared online. According to data highlighted in an article by online casino review site ThePOGG, some of the online content that is considered to produce strong results are not only original research and guides, but also their article suggests infographics are popular content formats too.

To inspire a next infographic, building project, or creative brand design, here are just some useful books, documentaries, and podcasts to take a look at for inspiration.

Books

To find new ideas and approaches and to also improve current design skills, books are always a great resource to turn to. One of the greatest challenges in the graphic design world is using colour in an effective way. One of the most essential graphic design books to read on colour theory is Josef Albers’ influential work in his book Interaction of Color.

It also doesn’t get more inspiring than reading previous success stories and some can be found in 100 Ideas That Changed Design by Peter Fiell & Charlotte Fiell. It does exactly what it says on the cover and outlines one hundred ideas and trends that have emerged from the 19th century until the present day.

Some other great graphic design books that have been recommended by designers include:

• Signs And Symbols: Their Design And Meaning – Adrian Frutiger
• Type Matters! – Jim Williams
• Type: A Visual History Of Typefaces And Graphic Styles – Jan Tholenaar et al

Podcasts

Podcasts have become a lot more popular over the years and there are now hundreds of podcasts relating to lots of different topics and industries. They are therefore the perfect way to keep up in a fast-paced, ever-changing design industry. Most are free and combine perfectly with less productive activities such as commuting to work.

There are a lot of podcasts to choose from, on popular platforms such as Castbox and Acast, but a great place to start is with The Creative Boom Podcast which serves up lively conversations between big-name creatives like Jon Burgerman and Anthony Burrill. Design Matters is another well-established podcast, having begun in 2005. In this show, Debbie Millman hosts one of the oldest design podcasts and is a hotspot for artists, designers, and culture hawks.

Other interesting graphic design podcasts to check out right now include:

• Adventures In Design
• The Honest Designers Show
• The Logo Geek Podcast

Documentaries

While it might not be the first thing that many people would turn to for ideas, TV is a great inspirational gold mine for graphic design ideas. There are many design shows and documentaries that can help inspire designers for their next project or next pitch. Helvetica is one interesting documentary about one of the world’s most used typefaces. The film looks at the history of the font and the reasons behind it’s universal appeal and usage.

One of the most inspiring Netflix documentaries for graphic designers to watch is Abstract: The Art of Design. The eight-part series on Netflix that focuses on the profiles of different creatives and designers. For those aspiring to become a designer or to enhance their creative career, the show provides much insight and useful information on the designers process and challenges.

Some other inspiring documentaries to check out for a variety of design disciplines are:

• The Creative Brain
• Dior And I
• The 100 Years Show