Design principles
- Less but Better Dieter Rams1995
The ethic behind Braun, and the Ten Principles of good design. Ten Principles (Vitsœ)
- The Design of Everyday Things Don Norman1988
Affordances, signifiers, mapping, feedback, error.
- Designing Design Kenya Hara2007
Emptiness, white and sensory design, from the art director of Muji.
- Universal Principles of Design Lidwell, Holden and Butler2003
200 principles in one reference. 3rd edition 2023.
- Creative Selection Ken Kocienda2018
Apple's demo culture, and how taste meets iteration.
- The Laws of Simplicity John Maeda2006
Ten laws for cutting down.
Colour and light
- Interaction of Color Josef Albers1963
How colour changes with its neighbours.
- Color and Light James Gurney2010
The physics of light, for painters and lookdev artists.
- Digital Lighting and Rendering Jeremy Birn2000
CG lighting craft. 3rd edition 2013.
Composition and story
- Framed Ink Marcos Mateu-Mestre2010
Composition for visual storytelling.
- Directing the Story Francis Glebas2009
Staging and visual clarity for story artists.
- The Visual Story Bruce Block2001
Space, line, tone, colour and rhythm in film.
Type and graphic design
- The Elements of Typographic Style Robert Bringhurst1992
The reference for type and the page.
- Thinking with Type Ellen Lupton2004
Letter, text and grid. 3rd edition 2024.
- Grid Systems in Graphic Design Josef Müller-Brockmann1981
The Swiss modular grid.
- Practical Typography Matthew Butterick
Typography for people who write. Read online
Animation
- The Illusion of Life Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston1981
The twelve principles, from Disney.
- The Animator's Survival Kit Richard Williams2001
Timing, spacing and acting.
Rendering and graphics
- Physically Based Rendering Pharr, Jakob and Humphreys2004
Path tracing theory with the code. 4th edition 2023. Read online (3rd and 4th ed.)
- Real-Time Rendering Akenine-Möller, Haines and Hoffman1999
The real-time pipeline. 4th edition 2018.
- The Book of Shaders Patricio Gonzalez Vivo and Jen Lowe
Fragment shaders, from zero. Read online
- Ray Tracing in One Weekend Peter Shirley and others2016
Build a path tracer in a weekend. Read online
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