>>268604
Meggs' History is a great book.
Gardner's Art Through The Ages is also a great one to have. I think there's a few different versions... the one I have is about 4in thick. A very long read but it covers EVERYTHING.

>>268605
Jesus that's huge. Thanks for the suggestion, man.

>>268605
I have one for Art History at Uni, but it's Western Centric, and I think it ignores the rest of the world too much. Is the non "Western Perspective" book really good?

Bringhurst's Elements of Typographic Style
Brockman's Grid Systems

These two are the gospel, as far as I'm concerned. Logo Design Love gets tossed around a lot here, but I found it lacking. It only covers logo design, and not particularly deeply at that.

How to a Graphic Designer Without Losing your Soul is solid. Provides a ton of insight into the industry.

>>268605
Three versions of Gardner's Art Through the Ages:
1. A Concise Global History
2. The 11th Edition
3. The Western Perspective


Other books I reference a lot:
HW Janson's History of Art
4th Edition

Meggs' History of Graphic Design
4th Edition

The Elements of Typographic Style, Version 4

Swiss Graphic Design: The Origins and Growth of an International Style

The Vignelli Canon

Grid Systems in Graphic Design: A Visual Communication Manual for Graphic Designers, Typographers and Three Dimensional Designers


Type: A Visual History of Typefaces and Graphic Styles, Vol. 1

Palette Series (Viction Workshop)

Just My Type: A Book About Fonts


Never stop reading. Avoid digital versions. You need a hard copy. Write in the margins, fold the page corners, attach sticky notes everywhere.

Do you need to attend an elite university or private art college? No, but school in general is extremely beneficial. Your classmates will teach you just as much, if not more, then your professors.