Books as author and designer

The Designer’s Color Deck

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Abrams Books
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 26, 2026
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 80 page
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1419784854
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1419784859
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.11 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.26 x 2.2 x 4.8 inches

Renowned designer and author of The Designer's Dictionary of Color Sean Adams's essential tool kit for designers, featuring a portable guidebook and 75-card deck showcasing color palettes and inspiring color combinations.

The Designer’s Color Box is a must-have resource for graphic designers, interior designers, artists, and anyone who works with color. This practical and inspiring resource features a how-to guide on color combinations and a deck of cards with color palettes to spark creativity and experimentation.

The guidebook features the works of art that have inspired each palette, drawn from a range of sources including graphic design, product design, interiors, art, and fashion.

Designed to complement The Designer’s Dictionary of Color with insightful descriptions and tips, The Designer’s Color Box is the perfect interactive kit to unlocking the power of color!

The Designer’s Color Box includes:
- 75 cards featuring a color on one side to mix-and-match color palettes, with suggested combinations and CMYK and RGB values on the reverse.
- An 80-page guidebook with descriptions and works that have inspired each palette.

How Design Makes Us Think

Author: Sean Adams

  • Paperback: 256 pages

  • Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press (February, 2021)

  • Language: English

  • ISBN-10: 1616899727

  • ISBN-13: 9781616899721

  • Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 1.2 x 9.6 inches

All design in any media is created to engage the viewer. Designers use typography, images, form, material, and color to communicate a message, whether designing a 2D graphic, automobile, or telephone. The communication is often overt: “I’m functional as a radio,” or “Visit Australia.” Some covert signals and cues also help the viewer form thoughts and emotions that are less easy to articulate. It may—or may not be— the goal of the designer to manipulate the viewer’s reaction. Nevertheless, every element in successful design works together to tell us how to think and, typically, what to do.

The Designer's Dictionary of Color

  • Hardcover: 256 pages

  • Publisher: Abrams (April 11, 2017)

  • Language: English

  • ISBN-10: 141972391X

  • ISBN-13: 978-1419723919

  • Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 1 x 10 inches

The Designer’s Dictionary of Color provides an in-depth look at 30 colors key to art and graphic design. Organized by spectrum, in color-by-color sections for easy navigation, this book documents each hue with charts showing color range and palette variations. Chapters detail each color’s creative history and cultural associations, with examples of color use that extend from the artistic to the utilitarian—whether the turquoise on a Reid Miles album cover or the avocado paint job on a 1970s Dodge station wagon. A practical and inspirational resource for designers and students alike, The Designer’s Dictionary of Color opens up the world of color for all those who seek to harness its incredible power.

The Designer’s Dictionary of Type

  • Hardcover: 256 pages

  • Publisher: Abrams (April 2, 2019)

  • Language: English

  • ISBN-10: 141973718X

  • ISBN-13: 978-1419737183

  • Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.5 inches

Graphic Design Rules: 365 Essential Design Dos and Don'ts


Authors: Sean Adams, Peter Dawson, John Foster, Tony Seddon

  • Paperback: 384 pages

  • Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press (April 7, 2020)

  • Language: English

  • ISBN-10: 1616898763

  • ISBN-13: 978-1616898762

  • Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1.2 x 8.2 inches

The Field Guide to Supergraphics: Graphics in the Urban Environment

  • Hardcover: 384 pages

  • Publisher: Thames & Hudson Ltd (February 1, 2018)

  • Language: English

  • ISBN-10: 0500021341

  • ISBN-13: 978-0500021347

  • Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 0.9 x 8.3 inches

 

Color Design Workbook 2

  • Paperback: 240 pages

  • Publisher: Rockport Publishers; Rev New edition (June 1, 2017)

  • Language: English

  • ISBN-10: 1631592920

  • ISBN-13: 978-1631592928

  • Product Dimensions: 9 x 0.8 x 9 inches

Color Design Workbook 1

  • Paperback: 240 pages

  • Publisher: Rockport Publishers; First Edition edition (March 1, 2008)

  • Language: English

  • ISBN-10: 1592534333

  • ISBN-13: 978-1592531929

  • Product Dimensions: 9 x 0.8 x 9 inches

The History of Me

in production

  • Hardcover: 284 pages

  • Publisher: Burning Settlers Cabin Press

  • Language: English

  • ISBN-10: TC

  • ISBN-13: TC

  • Product Dimensions: 12 x 1.2 x 9 inches

Logo Design Workbook

  • Paperback: 240 pages

  • Publisher: Rockport Publishers (March 1, 2006)

  • Language: English

  • ISBN-10: 1592532349

  • ISBN-13: 978-1592532346

  • Product Dimensions: 9 x 0.8 x 9 inches

Masters of Design: Logos and Identity

  • Hardcover: 232 pages

  • Publisher: Rockport Publishers (September 1, 2008)

  • Language: English

  • ISBN-10: 1592534414

  • ISBN-13: 978-1592534418

  • Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.9 x 10.2 inches

Masters of Design: Corporate Brochures (dumb title)

  • Hardcover: 224 pages

  • Publisher: Rockport Publishers; Hardcover w/jacket edition (November 1, 2009)

  • Language: English

  • ISBN-10: 1592535461

  • ISBN-13: 978-1592535460

  • Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 0.9 x 10.2 inches

Thou Shall Not Use Comic Sans: 365 Graphic Design Sins and Virtues: A Designer's Almanac of Dos and Don'ts Hardcover

by Tony Seddon, Sean Adams, John Foster, Peter Dawson

  • Hardcover: 384 pages

  • Publisher: Peachpit Press; 1 edition (February 11, 2012)

  • Language: English

  • ISBN-10: 0321812816

  • ISBN-13: 978-0321812810

  • Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.2 x 8.5 inches