Three Influential Books

There is occasionally a book you read that contributes so greatly to your understanding that you can’t remember how you ever got by without it. For me, three such books are Information Architecture for Designers, Grid Systems, and The Elements of Typographic Style.

Information Architecture for Designers

Peter Van Dijck’s book Information Architecture for Designers is a practical guide to developing websites that meet the goals of both client and user. Van Dijck gets the emphasis right: “Information architecture is not about maps and diagrams; it is about communication.”

The crux of the book goes something like this. Begin by helping the client figure out what they want to get out of the website. These business goals should be as tangible as possible, such as “make x number of sales” or “have x number of return visitors each month.” Second, figure out who is the target audience of the website and research what they want to accomplish. For instance, “buy a book,” or “get directions to the store.” Once the business and user goals have been clearly identified, the next task is to structure the website to best meet those goals. This means creating a sitemap that will render the website effective for the client and easy to use for the user. And finally, design the visual interface of the website to help accomplish these very same goals.

Information Architecture for Designers is a must read for everyone involved in creating websites.

Grid Systems

I’ve long been a fan of respected grid-based designers such as Khoi Vinh. But it wasn’t until after going through Josef Muller-Brockmann’s Grid Systems that I was truly initiated into the practice. Written over a decade before the web was even born, the book is chock-full of grid-based print layouts. It starts with simple, single columns and builds to complex, multiple grid systems. While the book certainly does not deal with digital design specifically, its principles are easily transferable.

The author is clear to point out that grids do not reduce the level of creativity that a designer must posses. “Just as every problem is novel and different from others, so the grid must be conceived afresh every time.” He is also quick to point out the merit of simplicity and intentionality that are inherit in good grid-based design. “This orderliness lends added credibility… and induces confidence.”

The Elements of Typographic Style

I was introduced to really serious web typography by Mark Boulton and Richard Rutter at SXSW. Since then, I’ve been drawn into the highly acclaimed Elements of Typographic Style. What has impacted me most from the book is the notion of vertical rhythm. “Space in typography, ” author Robert Bringhurst writes, “is like time in music. It is infinitely divisible, but a few proportional intervals can be much more useful than a limitless choice of arbitrary quantities.”

Bringhurst describes how all the various typographic styles in a piece should be based on a single, core unit. If the leading (the space from one line of text to another) for body text is 20pt, for instance, use that same unit of leading for captions, lists, and so on, or use 40pt of leading for headings or quotes. By adhering to a basic unit, the typography flows smoothly down the page. “For the same reason that the tempo must not change arbitrarily in music,” Bringhurst says, “leading must not change arbitrarily in type.”

And there you have it. Three books that have substantially contributed to my understanding of design and the web.