25 Interesting Books for Math People and Designers
Feb 15, 2019 · 9 min read
When I was studying mathematics at college, I also took some design and photography courses because I love the connection between math, design and the universe. I made a list of my favorite books. I hope you also like them.
Oliver Byrne: The First Six Books of the Elements of Euclid
It is really a pleasure to see Euclid’s logical-visual way of thinking and you see how he methodically advances. All of Euclid’s proofs and constructions demonstrated with colorful illustrations by Oliver Byrne. This gorgeous book is my favorite book for a long time.
The Golden Ratio: The Divine Beauty of Mathematics
This book will be enjoyed by those studying mathematics, designers, and architecture. This book will enchant your eyes and your mind after you start reading because it unveils the divine force in nature. The author of the book turned science into an art and historical voyage.
The Snowflake Man: A Biography of Wilson A. Bentley
This beautiful book is a collection of the actual photographs taken by Wilson Bentley, who took more than five thousand photos of snow crystals over the course of his life. The photographs, now almost a century old, are still remarkable. You will find the life of Wilson Bentley very interesting. Like Bentley’s favorite subject matter, snowflakes, the book itself will quickly melt away.
Snowflakes in Photographs
Wilson Bentley, Snowflake Bentley, was an absolute genius in his fractals work! He took wonderful photos of over 800 exquisite snowflakes in 1922. His collection of myriads of snowflakes is utterly amazing. You can also use this as an art assignment.
The Fractal Geometry of Nature
This book is essential for fractals and chaos. I simply love this book because it is quite out of ordinary. It is certainly a classic. If you are looking for good examples of fractals, you will find plenty of inspiration in this book. Benoit Mandelbrot did a perfect job of writing for mathematicians and designers. He explained the complexity of nature perfectly.
Fractals, Chaos, Power Laws: Minutes from an Infinite Paradise
This is one of my professors’ favorite book! First, this is not a textbook or popular science book, so it is very re-readable. You can get something new out of it every time. Schroeder explains number theory very smooth and making it accessible to people who aren’t math majors.
Logo Modernism
This is a huge book, it is more than 10 pounds. There are almost 6000 logos in the book. It is a must book for people who are interested in geometry, design, or patterns.
Why Beauty Is Truth: The History of Symmetry
Ian Stewart is great at telling entertaining stories and getting people interested in mathematics. It is about the historical development of symmetry in mathematics and its applications. This book really will help you view mathematics in a new light.
The Beauty of Numbers in Nature: Mathematical Patterns and Principles from the Natural World
To complete this book may take a long time, but at the end of the book, you will like it. He shows us the beautiful designs of our nature and the structure of some objects. Ian Steward combines math, geometry, science, and design altogether and influences us.
Which One Doesn’t Belong?: A Shapes Book
It is a great concept book and it will blow your mind because it requires logic and vision of a designer. When you try to solve, you will see that there are no wrong answers. However, you have to figure out why.
Beautiful Geometry
It is a pretty good book. This book contains proofs of some theorems and shows wonderfully illustrated images to demonstrate the theorems. Eli Maor makes a connection between the visual beauty of geometry and intellectual complexity.
Islamic Geometric Patterns
It is a beginner book for patterns. To understand Islamic geometry, you need mathematics, geometric shapes, and patterns. It is a nice step by step guide on drawing Islamic patterns. The author gives clear instructions on how to create both simple and complex designs using pencil, rule, and compasses.
Drawing Geometry: A Primer of Basic Forms for Artists, Designers, and Architects
This book is a must for anyone who loves drawing. It should be also in every art and geometry class. It is an easy read and good for building geometric constructions with very basic tools. Even the designs are too complex, the presentation is so simple.
The geometryof Design, Revised, and Updated
It is a great short book about geometry and design with a focus on the golden ratio and root rectangles. It is a brilliant collection of design examples. You will love the correlation between nature and geometric design. Anyway, this is another essential volume for a graphic designer’s library.
Fractals: A Very Short Introduction
Interesting book, fascinating subject. This book is a very good introduction the fundamental math fractals are build upon and their applications. You can also plot the examples yourself.
Chaos and Fractals: New Frontiers of Science
If you want to understand chaos theory, this book is for you. Mr. Falconer provides us with a comprehensive approach for chaos in many natural phenomena happening around us. The book is also illustrated with tons of cool stuff.
The Fabulous Fibonacci Numbers
It is a wonderful eye-opening book about Fibonacci and his numbers. Especially the chapter on Fibonacci numbers in art and architecture is one of the best I’ve seen.
The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi, the World’s Most Astonishing Number” by Mario Livio
Some people call this book as a mathematical utopia. It is full of fun thought-provoking ideas on the history of knowledge and learning. It is candy for all designers. You may find the answer of why God chose to use this ratio is a mystery that needs to be further explored.
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
This book is a classic on the creation and use of graphs. The main point of the book is “a good graph can give beautiful ideas in a short time with the least ink.” When you finish the book, you will understand that statistics and data analysis is not just about methods, but they are a means of communication.
The Geometry of Type: The Anatomy of 100 Essential Typefaces
A nice book for a person who wants to learn the history of typefaces. This book is a valuable resource for a graphic designer.
James Lovelock et al: The Earth and I
This may be a children book, but everyone who is interested in the design of the universe needs to read it. The illustrations are perfect.
Patterns of the Universe: A Coloring Adventure in Math and Beauty
It is an adult coloring book. It is designed for bright colors. An arty mathematician will love it. For me, it is much better than coloring flowers or birds.
The Golden Ratio Coloring Book: And Other Mathematical Patterns Inspired by Nature and Art
This is a nice coffee table book. The designs are so minimal which makes this book cool. It could be also a great gift for someone you love. While you are coloring, I assure you that this book while help you grasp the ideas of some geometric stuff.
Visions of the Universe: A Coloring Journey Through Math’s Great Mysteries
This book is a beautiful collection of math and physics equations. Patterns of the universe will make you look and fascinate your mind.
Mathematics: The Science of Patterns: The Search for Order in Life, Mind and the Universe
It is a nice book to read in spare time. There are so many things are in this book to learn such as number theory, proofs and logic, and motion. It is really a refreshing read.
Written by
Math Teacher. Mathematics. Soccer player. That’s why it is Maradona not Madonna. I had a mustache like a comrade when I was 2. — alikayaspor@gmail.com —
Responses (9)
What an amazing book list. Thank you for sharing this with us.
This is officially my 2019 Christmas list.
Thank you for the article! It was very useful!
Great list. You can add “Infinite Powers” to the list. Explains the essentials of calculus in a very simple and effective way
I’d choose Number Theory in Communications over Fractals, Chaos, Power Laws for the more serious math people.
You may find the answer of why God chose to use this ratio is a mystery that needs to be further explored.
I enjoyed this book very much.
The Fractal Geometry of Nature
The great Benoit!