We asked a slew of design leaders for the best books they read in 2018, and why they’d recommend them. As you kick off the first week of a new year, consider putting some of these titles on your list.

Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee

Joyful gave me a new lens to apply to my design, both at work and at home. It shares 10 aesthetics of joy, describing them, providing examples, and a personal story of how Ingrid discovered that specific pattern. What I love about this book is how it gives designers permission to use joy as part of the design process, taking it from superfluous to an integrated part of an experience. It got me to think of my home and wardrobe as an environment to experiment with, to try different colors, arrangement, and styles. The stories of how Ingrid went searching for the sources of joy grounded the book and provided powerful firsthand accounts of experiencing joy. I loved how she brought me along on her journey, and I can’t wait to incorporate more of these aesthetics into my design work and life!— Kathryn McElroy, Creative Director, Argodesign

Broad Band by Claire L. Evans

Broad Band by Claire L. Evans was definitely one of the most inspiring book releases to me in 2018. Claire tells the (until now) untold history of the female visionaries who helped catalyze the (I would argue, still-ongoing) computer revolution. In particular, I loved the chapter on Hypertext, featuring Cathy Marshall and Wendy Hall, both computer scientists who worked on alternate versions of Hypertext. Evans expertly and patiently explains the concept of Hypertext and describes the delicate thinking that went in to its potential manifestations. The thought process that went on in the early days of Hypertext was so focused on enabling humans to be able to carve associative trails through a sea of information and share those trails with others. That thinking feels as relevant as ever, in our current information-rich and attention-poor environment that we find ourselves in today.– Charles Broskoski, cofounder, Are.na

Darwin Comes to Town by Menno Schilthuizen

A book on how urbanism is accelerating animal evolution, often in unpredictable ways–think of the mosquitoes living all year long in the London underground. A useful and highly original reminder of the fact that cities are inhabited not just by people, and that we need to find a new balance with our fellow living beings.– Carlo Ratti, Director, MIT SENSEable City Lab

The Man in the Glass House: Philip Johnson, Architect of the Modern Century

Mark Lamster’s dazzling portrait of Philip Johnson narrates the rise and fall of every architectural movement of the 20th century refracted through one man’s ambition, while providing an analysis, and an indictment, of how power in America is gained, wielded, and squandered. In The Man in the Glass House, Lamster takes a protagonist who is compromised in every possible way–morally, politically, and aesthetically–places him squarely at the intersection of American commerce and culture, and dares us to watch what happens.— Michael Bierut, Pentagram Partner

Housing as Intervention

My favorite was Karen Kubey’s issue on housing design, Housing as Intervention. It presents a great cross-section of people and organizations working around the world to use good design to address what is really a crisis in addressing the need for affordable and quality housing and increased urbanization. It also connects other important considerations like policy, funding, and social dynamics to how designers are able to advance new solutions.— Justin Garrett Moore, Executive Director, New York City Public Design Commission