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As graphic designers, most of us rarely have enough free time to do other things other than our 9-5 graphic design jobs or our freelance projects. And if given the chance of this rare luxury called free time, most of us just spend it online looking and researching for new design trends. This lead me to the question -- do graphic designers nowadays still read books? If so, are these books still related to graphic design or do you choose some fiction novels not related to work?

I've always believed in the power of reading and how every page brings us to unexplored parts of ourselves and of the world, so I'll leave you with these words by A.C. Grayling.

To read is to fly: it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human variety, ideas, shared experience and the fruits of many inquiries.

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This exactly what I do. We are very similar...

I have graphic designer friends who still find time to read (both design-related books and novels). It's one of their outlets from the long hours of designing for our online printing company. I think that it's also necessary because it enriches the creativity in them which they need for their projects. 

I am full time graphic designer for a large company and also work self employed, And I love reading around the subjects. Strangely I have no interest in any non creative book or literature but if it is about or related to a creative field I am all for it. I must admit most of my reading is digital and I use flipboard and editions on the iPad as vessel for most of my reading. I do however have a pretty hefty collection of physical design books I use for inspiration a lot. Sometimes you cannot beat sitting with a real book, and they're not all graphic or web design, I have a lot of concept art books such as the Scott Robertson and Daniel Simon collections. It's all about seeing something new and taking in different angles and ideas. It's healthy for me creatively and if you don't do it, you should try it for a while.

I read quite a bit, my commute to the studio gives me around 2h a day reading time. I find reading 'non-creative' regular non-fiction books is a great escape, and you read a good book, it only inspires you. Id say for every book I read, I have some sort of design/artwork in my head inspired by it - its a great resource for positive procrastination :)

So my book collection is mixed, I have nice collection of design related books, that are often used to get away from that damn computer screen and help get the pencils going and I also have a nice collection of non-fiction to simply engage in a good story and forget about everything else for a short while.

Got the same thoughts Andy. Reading fictional books during free time somewhat made me think of my previous artworks and relate them to the ideas and concepts I'm reading about. It is also a nice source of inspiration for my next art projects.

I read a lot. And most of my books are not related to graphic design. Most of them are fiction. But throughout my freelance career, I found out that reading helped me a lot to escape from all the stress that my work were giving me. Most of the time, I read a chapter of a book to make me feel better and in the mood to continue my work on the project I need to finish.

I read a lot of books! I actually consider myself as a bookworm. I'm a fan or paranormal romance novels and other fictional books. (Who's a Harry Potter fan here?!!haha!)
Anyways, I think reading books can be an effective source of inspiration for artists. When you read a lot, it enhances your imagination and gives you fresh ideas for your next design. I always believe that reading feeds creativity. Yes, you can get inspiration from other works of art but having your own version of the characters, creatures, events from the book will give you an edge to design uniquely.

Lucky for me that i do still have some time to read. Well, not that much with regards to books, but i am able to read through some interesting articles off the net from time to time. But i am still hoping to spend quality time with a good book.

Yeah because graphic design industry become so saturated so there would be a survival question raised in coming days to they have to be trends absorbent,designers are really needed to be updated by  there selves.

Yes, we should still read. How would we ever learn new trends if we don't read? I'm I right?

You know what- I do read a lot, but thinking about it, these days all I seem to read are business related books on how to improve my company, rather than books on graphic design... I keep up with trends and techniques but I can't say I've bought a book on it in about 6 months...

I agree. But reading books may not be feasible for everyone but yeah I keep on reading the resource from internet and have subscribed to some good design blogs as well.

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