Design books for non-designers, recommended by the Stripe Design Team

Beauty

by Sagmeister & Walsh

The Design of Everyday Things

by Donald A. Norman

A Primer of Visual Literacy

Donis A. Dondis

On the Necessity of Gardening

by Laurie Cluitmans

White

by Kenya Hara

The Creative Act

A Way of Being

by Rick Rubin

A *New* Program for Graphic Design

by David Reinfurt

Forget All the Rules About Graphic Design

Including the Ones in This Book

by Bob Gill

Designing News

Changing the World of Editorial Design and Information Graphics

by Francesco Franchi

Emotional Design

Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things

by Don A. Norman

Notes on the Synthesis of Form

by Christopher Alexander

Designing Products People Love

How Great Designers Create Successful Products

by Scott Hurff

In Praise of Shadows

by Junichiro Tanizaki

The Intelligent Lifestyle Magazine

Smart Editorial Design, Storytelling and Journalism

by Francesco Franchi

Dieter Rams: Ten Principles for Good Design

by Cees W. De Jong

The Vignelli Canon

by Massimo Vignelli

The Elements of Typographic Style

by Robert Bringhurst

Content Design

by Sarah Winters

Graphic Design Manual

Principles and Practice

by Armin Hofmann

Understanding Comics

The Invisible Art

by Scott McCloud

Serialize

Family Faces and Variety in Graphic Design

by Robert Klanten

Collaborative Product Design

by Austin Govella

Re-Printed Matter

by Karel Martens

Typographie

Ein Gestaltungslehrbuch

by Emil Ruder

Typography for Lawyers

by Matthew Butterick

Designer's Guide to Creating Charts and Diagrams

by Nigel Holmes

Envisioning Information

by Edward R. Tufte

Principles of Form and Design

by Wucius Wong

Designing Design

by Kenya Hara

Designing Programmes

Programme as Typeface, Typography, Picture, Method

by Karl Gerstner

The Timeless Way of Building

by Christopher Alexander

Muriel Cooper

by David Reinfurt and Robert Wiesenberger

The World as Design

by Otl Aicher

The Laws of Simplicity

Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life

by John Maeda

Zen & the Art of the Macintosh

Discoveries on the Path to Computer Enlightenment

by Michael Green

Karel Martens / Patterns

by Martens & Martens

How to

Use graphic design to sell things, explain things…

by Michael Bierut

Design Is Storytelling

by Ellen Lupton

Designing Brand Identity

An Essential Guide for the Whole Branding Team

by Alina Wheeler