my bookshelf
When I walk into someone’s house for the first time, I not-so-subtly meander my way over to their bookshelves.
I love seeing what people are inspired by, and what they want to surround themselves with. Here is mine. May you find your next gem in here somewhere!
The Creative Process + Entrepreneurship
Building a creative career is hard work. These are the books that have given me inspiration, perspective, useful frameworks, or a swift kick in the butt as needed. Most of my copies of these have been long since handed off to other people, which is how you know you’ve stumbled on a good one.
Design Training
If someone wanted to dive deep into all things graphic design, color theory, typography, hand-lettering, or just general design thinking, these are the books I would hand them. A lot of these were my textbooks in art school, or should have been. Whether you want to go to school for design or you’re making your own program, here are some excellent places to start.
Inspiration Points From Art + Artists
My best advice to any creative person is to build up as big of a library of things to ping off of as you can. As Austin Kleon would say, we are a sum of what we steal from. Here are some of mine. These are artists, art movements, design styles, and references that I turn back to over and over again when I need a jolt of inspiration. May something here spark it for you too!
Personal Development
A huge part of the creative life is to keep learning about who you are and growing as a person. These are the books that have made a lasting impression or given me a useful tool that I’ve folded into my regular life. No fluff, just good solid stuff that has stuck with me.
