# Visual design books > A reading list on visual design: Muller-Brockmann, Itten, Albers, Rand and Pevsner alongside the showcase books of the early-2000s web. - Page: https://www.elasticspace.com/2003/01/visual-design/ - Author: Timo Arnall (https://www.elasticspace.com/) - Section: Notes (https://www.elasticspace.com/notes/) - Published: 2003-01-28 - Updated: 2026-07-04 - Tags: Books, Graphic Design, Information Design - Site map for agents: https://www.elasticspace.com/llms.txt --- This is one of a series of reading lists I put together between 2002 and 2004 when I was starting out in interaction and experience design, building out a personal canon from books I was buying, borrowing from libraries, or lending to students. The lists are grouped by topic. This one is visual design: grid systems, typography of form, colour theory, graphic design history, and the design-annual/showcase books that were the web’s main way of keeping track of itself before Flickr and RSS. Some of these are still essential (Muller-Brockmann, Itten, Albers, Rand, Pevsner). Some are of their moment (Reload: Browser 2.0 is a time capsule of early web design). The Amazon links below are what I had at the time, most will be dead now, but the ISBNs will find you a copy. ### Grid Systems in Graphic Design Josef Muller-Brockmann. [Magma Books](https://web.archive.org/web/20051112212642/http://www.magmabooks.com:80/content/bookshop/book.asp?cat=7&caller=search&id=2456) / [Niggli](https://web.archive.org/web/20030605144002/http://www.niggli.ch:80/eng/01.html) / [UK booksearch](https://web.archive.org/web/20030612115941/http://beaverbooksearch.co.uk:80/) ### Primer of Visual Literacy Donis A. Dondis. [amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0262540290/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0262540290/elasticspace-20) ### Graphic Design Timeline: A Century of Design Milestones Steven Heller, Elinor Pettit. [amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1581150644/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1581150644/elasticspace-20) ### 6 Chapters in Design Philip Meggs. [amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0811817229/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](https://web.archive.org/web/20020816203144/http://www.amazon.com:80/exec/obidos/ASIN/0811817229/elasticspace-20) ### Pioneers of Modern Design Nikolaus Pevsner. [amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140137149/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140137149/elasticspace-20) ### Design Literacy: Understanding Graphic Design Steven Heller. [amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1880559765/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1880559765/elasticspace-20) ### Design Literacy (Continued): Understanding Graphic Design Steven Heller. [amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1581150350/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1581150350/elasticspace-20) ### Paul Rand: A Designer’s Art Paul Rand. [amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0300082827/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0300082827/elasticspace-20) ### Design, Form and Chaos Paul Rand. [amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0300055536/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0300055536/elasticspace-20) ### Designing Books Jost Hochuli, Robin Kinross. [amazon.co.uk](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0907259081/) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0907259081/elasticspace-20) ### On Book Design Richard Hendel. [amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0300075707/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0300075707/elasticspace-20) ### Design and Form Johannes Itten. [amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0500270678/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471289302/elasticspace-20) ### The Elements of Color Johannes Itten. [amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471289299/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471289299/elasticspace-20) ### The Color Star Johannes Itten. [amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471289310/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471289310/elasticspace-20) ### Interaction of Color Josef Albers. [amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0300018460/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0300018460/elasticspace-20) ### Basic Law of Colour Theory Harald Kueppers. [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0812021738/elasticspace-20) ### Color for Websites: Digital Media Design Molly Holzschlag. [amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/2880465427/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/2880465427/elasticspace-20) ### Wabi-Sabi: for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers Leonard Koren. [amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1880656124/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1880656124/elasticspace-20) ### Katachi: Classic Japanese Design Takeji Iwamiya, Kazuya Takaoka. [amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0811825477/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0811825477/elasticspace-20) ### Dutch Graphic Design Kees Broos, Paul Hefting. [amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0714834505/elasticspace-21) ### Experience Sean Perkins. [amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1861540000/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1861540000/elasticspace-20) ### Permanent: Design Is Kinky Andrew Johnstone, Jade Palmer. [amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/9628617737/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/9628617737/elasticspace-20) ### Catching the Moment Terry Jones. [amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1861540108/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1861540108/elasticspace-20) ### Reload: Browser 2.0 Patrick Burgoyne, Liz Faber. [amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1856691748/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1856691748/elasticspace-20) ### Narita Inspected Lopetz Klanten. [amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/3931126617/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/3931126617/elasticspace-20) ### Mobile Minded Mieke Gerritzen. An introduction to Mattmo’s work in motion graphics, interaction design and print. [amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/9063690142/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/9063690142/elasticspace-20) ### Design For Interaction Lisa Baggerman. Very visual, somewhat disappointing in its coverage of interaction, but offers many visual examples of rich web designs for inspiration. [amazon.co.uk](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1564966526/elasticspace-21) / [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1564966526/elasticspace-20)