VERDANT AFRO ART

As a surface print designer, I’m always balancing intuition with intention. These five books feel like anchors — reminders of what I want my work, thinking, and creative life to be rooted in.

1. Ways of Seeing – John Berger

Why I know I need it: to question how I look at images.

I already know this book will challenge me. It asks you to slow down and really interrogate images, how they’re read, who they’re for, and what power they hold.

Because my work lives in the visual world, this feels essential. Pattern, decoration, and design are often treated as surface-level, but this book pushes against that idea. I know that once I read it, I won’t be able to “unsee” certain things and that’s exactly why it’s been waiting.

2. The Grammar of Ornament – Owen Jones

Why I know I need it: to deepen my relationship with pattern.

This is one of those books that doesn’t demand urgency it demands time. It represents centuries of ornament, symbolism, and visual systems from across cultures.

I work with pattern every day, but I know there’s more beneath the surface. This book feels like a reminder that ornament has always carried meaning, structure, and cultural weight. It’s not about copying it’s about understanding lineage.

3. The Secret Lives of Colour – Kassia St Clair

Why I know I need it: to stop choosing colour instinctively and start choosing it deliberately.

Colour already plays a huge role in my work, but this book promises to go beyond preference and trend. It explores colour through history, emotion, and cultural context, which is exactly where I want my design decisions to live.

I know reading it will quietly change how I build palettes and talk about colour, not louder, just more grounded.

4. Braiding Sweetgrass – Robin Wall Kimmerer

Why I know I need it: to protect my creativity from burnout.

This is the book I keep hearing about when people talk about slowing down, reconnecting, and creating with care. It’s not a design book, but it feels deeply relevant to anyone whose work is inspired by nature, cycles, and emotion.

I know this book will soften something in me and that feels important in a creative industry that often pushes speed and output over reflection.

5. Show Your Work – Austin Kleon

Why I know I need it: to share my work without losing myself.

Visibility is part of running a creative business, but it doesn’t always come naturally. This book reframes sharing as process rather than performance something I already believe, but want to practice more consistently.

I know this book will help me show up in a way that feels aligned, calm, and sustainable, especially as I continue building a body of work and an audience around it.

Why These Books Are Waiting

I haven’t read these books yet and that’s okay. Some books aren’t meant to be rushed. They’re meant to meet you when you’re ready to absorb them, not just consume them.

Together, these books represent the kind of designer I want to keep becoming:

• Thoughtful rather than reactive

• Curious rather than trend-led

• Grounded rather than performative

When I do finally read them, I know they won’t just add information, they’ll add depth.

And that’s worth waiting for.