Design Better Summer Reading
Essential reads from our favorite podcast guests to fuel your creativity this season
It’s that time of year when many of us are looking to put down our smartphones and read a physical book, whether that’s poolside with our kids, or sunk into a hammock with a piña colada in an exotic location. 🍹🌴
Lucky for you, we’ve had some wonderful authors this past year on Design Better. Here are some highlights to bring in your beach bag or pack in your carry-on.
Your Brain on Art, by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross.
“This book blew my mind! An authoritative yet practical guide to neuroarts—a term that, if you haven’t heard it before, is even more reason to join these brilliant coauthors on a romp through the latest science on how art transforms the brain and the body.”—Angela Duckworth, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Grit
“This wonderful book demonstrates that art is essential for health, healing, community, and bliss. Your Brain on Art is well researched and well written. I couldn’t put it down.”—Mary Pipher, author of Women Rowing North and A Life in Light
“Your Brain on Art explores the new science of neuroaesthetics, a way of reimagining how to live that includes art as an essential part of the human experience and an unexpected doorway to healing.”—Mark Hyman, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Young Forever
“A groundbreaking book on the science behind humanity, joy, and creativity. ‘Art’ is the word we use for the magic that makes us better.”—Seth Godin, New York Times bestselling author of This Is Marketing
Replay, by Jordan Mechner
"The famed video-game designer (Prince of Persia) pivots to personal history in this ambitious but intimate graphic novel. In it, he elegantly interweaves themes of memory and exile with family lore from three generations: a grandfather who fought in World War I; a father who fled Nazi persecution; and his own path as a globe-trotting, game-creating polymath." —The New York Times (8 New Books We Recommend This Week)
"Replay takes us on a journey through a century of lives, love and hate, dreams and torments, creation and destruction, via Jordan Mechner's epic family story in his graphic novel debut. A first outing that reveals the hand of a master... Fascinating from start to finish, Replay is also an opportunity to follow the ups and downs of the behind-the-scenes creation of a classic video game like Prince of Persia, all executed with a drawing style of great finesse. Magnificent!" —Eric Guillaud, FranceInfo
"Vibrant, poignant... Short but powerful scenes of resilience, loss, and intergenerational connectedness are at the heart of Jordan Mechner's new nonfiction graphic book Replay: Memoir of an Uprooted Family. Though Replay's many twists and turns underscore the pervasive impact of the past, including painful traumas and unbearable losses, the emphasis is ultimately on the connectedness that remains in the present." —NPR
King Lear, a graphic novel adaptation by Gareth Hinds
From the publisher: In a graceful adaptation, Gareth Hinds transforms Shakespeare’s timeless tale of pride and defiance, loyalty and ambition, betrayal and revenge into graphic-novel format, packing it with visual drama and providing accessible notes. This artful edition — like an extraordinary stage performance — offers a striking new perspective on one of the most powerful and beloved tragedies in the English language. Incorporating excerpts from the bard’s own language, Gareth Hinds’s inventive format opens the experience of King Lear to students and fans of graphic literature.
Nonlinear, by Kevin Bethune
“Kevin inspires us to embrace the unexpected journey of innovation. His vision empowers us not just to meet the current needs of our audiences, but to take them places they’ve yet to imagine.”
—Greg Hoffman, author of Emotion by Design
“Kevin lays out a new, imperative mindset for designers. Often interwoven with personal stories, his lessons and advice are accessible and essential for today’s innovators.”
—Ivy Ross, Chief Design Officer, Consumer Devices at Google; coauthor of Your Brain on Art
“Nonlinear readers will walk away with a mindset for even bolder innovation and a desire to design a better world. Kevin’s compelling journey will inspire creativity and strategic thinking in designers at every career stage.”
—Mauro Porcini, Chief Design Officer, PepsiCo; author of The Human Side of Innovation
“Kevin’s Nonlinear is a masterclass in how curiosity fuels innovation. It provides a roadmap for leveraging design to solve today’s most pressing challenges, pushing us to think beyond the obvious and embrace the unknown.”
—Iddris Sandu, Founder of Spatial Labs Inc.
Why Design is Hard, Scott Berkun and Bryan Zug
“I just finished—and recommend— Berkun’s latest book, “Why Design is Hard.” the real struggle, the daily grind, is not so much about the work but about contexts, constraints, and personalities that make designers question their very existence. Scott’s book is concise, breezy, yet filled with excellent strategies for succeeding when the world—or, at least, your organization—is tilted against you.” —Michael McWatters, Vice President, Product Design for Max / HBO Max
“I don’t know how they authors fit so much into a 100-page essay: power dynamics, office politics, game theory, the psychology of persuasion, masking, organizational inertia, emotional intelligence, and so much more.. its about reaching a fulfilling career by focusing on ways to increase your power, influence, and/or self-awareness.” — Ben Rush, Creative Director
“A refreshingly honest take on why design work often feels like an uphill battle. The authors nail the real challenges designers face: organizational politics, limited resources, and the challenge of turning good ideas into meaningful impact… grab this book.” —Adam Michalski, Product Designer
The Work of Art, by Adam Moss
“The book is a visual feast, full of drafts, sketches, and scribbled notebook pages. Every page shows how an idea becomes a finished design.” —Ari Shapiro, All Things Considered
“In The Work of Art, famed creators from the worlds of film, fashion, theater and more explore the hidden alchemy of their craft . . . [Moss] suggests that receptiveness to chance guides art as much as skill. It’s a liberating fact. He wants to demystify creation, and often succeeds. [A] vibrant, companionable and punchily precise dossier.” —Walker Mimms, The New York Times
"I understand that we are barely past the midpoint of the year, nonetheless I’m ready to declare the gift book of the year, a volume that should have broad appeal and deliver many hours of pleasure to the recipient. The Work of Art is a gorgeous book.” —John Warner, The Chicago Tribune
“Moss wants to understand what makes artists tick, and he goes about it in a pragmatic, anti-Romantic way. He treats art works as a mechanically minded kid might treat a dismantled tape deck, poking and prodding their insides to figure out how all these jangled parts make a whole.[The Work of Art] is designed to be absorbed in bursts of pleasure.” —Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker
And if you’re looking to level up your career this summer—and want to load up your Kindle with a library of books in PDF and epub formats to help you and your team design better—we’ve got a newly expanded library that’s available to all Design Better Premium members. Enjoy your summer reading!