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I am always reminding my students that type is the basic currency of design. Without proper command over your typography, your design suffers. Whether you’re a neophyte or had your baptism by fire in the design world, here are four books you should own.

The Elements of Typographic Style
Robert Bringhurst

This is the typographer’s bible. No other tome is more important. It is dense and richly fortified with indispensable lessons on how to properly craft type on a page. Modernism at its heart, this book still applies to David Carson disciples. Don’t be intimidated by the academic quality of this book. You will be rewarded for plowing through it.

Thinking with Type
Ellen Lupton

Ellen Lupton is one of the most prolific writers on design theory and practice. She applies her ample skills to a type book directed toward students and young designers in Thinking with Type. This book is a primer and guide that you should keep handy if you’re early in your career.

Fonts & Logos
Doyald Young

This book is difficult to find and expensive once you track it down. I got my copy from Hennessy & Ingalls bookstore in Los Angeles and it was well worth the hefty price tag. Doyald Young (that’s not a typo) is legendary. I have yet to see a designer manipulate and understand type like this man. This book is a series of case studies for the famous custom lettering work he executed throughout his illustrious career. If you’re a hardcore typophile, you will definitely cherish this book.

Designing Type
Karen Cheng

If you’ve ever wondered what goes into designing a typeface, this book is a must have. It is a technical but accessible guide that will lead you through all of the counter-intuitive considerations that go into designing both a serif and sans-serif font. No one should attempt to craft letters without reading this book first. Perhaps it should be called Designing Modernist Type but the lessons contained within will do you tremendous good.

There are, of course, countless other fantastic books out there that cover typography but these are some of my favorites, and ones that I consider most valuable throughout my continued development as a designer and conjurer of type. Be on the lookout for these books and be prepared to invest the money when you see them. The information and lessons contained within their pages will pay you back many times over.

Have some favorites of your own? Let me know about them in the comments. I’m always looking to add to my library.

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I was on the news last night (I’m ashamed my first TV appearance as an adult was on Fox News but I’ll take what I can get.), being interviewed about the rash of car break-ins that took place in my neighborhood over the weekend. Twenty four cars, including Sarah’s and mine, were vandalized or burglarized Saturday night. It’s difficult to estimate the total damage done but it’s no less than $5,000 on my street.

Apparently the central corridor in St. Louis has suffered from a series of these criminal events in the past several weeks. This prompted Fox News to visit my condo and interview me about what happened and my reaction to the incident.

They spent about 10 minutes interviewing me, getting information about the situation, the history of crime in the area, and my feelings toward the police and the criminals. I was excited to be able to speak about this subject since I own this condo and love this city.

Unfortunately, the news segment was less than 10 seconds. They took one sentence from my interview. It was very frustrating. I had hoped the story would get a little exposure since this type of criminal activity is horrible for a city struggling to attract investment and residents. Not covering the issue ensures that the problem will continue to fester since no one in the city government will be forced to address the situation with resources of any kind.

I was encouraged by the police officer who took my report when he said he intended to beat the shit out of the guy if he ever found him. He won’t but I’d be happy to testify on his behalf that I witnessed it and the guy attacked him.

Anyway, the news is bullshit. I never attributed much value to local news but now I know to attribute even less. I guess they had to make time for a riveting story about a woman who gave birth to an ugly child on her driveway. You know, important shit.