For me it was David Carson's "End of Print" - which is pretty crazy considering it's not that great of a design book, it doesn't teach design principles, and it was "designed" by a fairly self-centered "designer" which shows throughout the work.

But somehow it triggered my path into the design world...

Oldřich Hlavsa, Typographia, SNTL, Prague, 1976.

I'd probably have to say Alan Fletcher's "The Art of Looking Sideways". Though it could be considered a published scrapbook, featuring both his own work and others, there are so many things in there that have changed the way I see or think about things.

For me that would have to be "Type, Sign, Symbol" by Adrian Frutiger. Long out of print, but most of what was in there is now available in the fantastic "Adrian Frutiger Typefaces: The Complete Works"

For me, it happened to be Adrian Wilson's The Design of Books. But as most have noted, the influence was a matter of timing, not content. I learned much more from Richard Eckersley and Rich Hendel.

charles_e made an interesting point, that influence is not really a matter of content, so I'd encourage anyone who'll share his story, to add (recommend) something that's also content related to design.

In that vein, may I suggest Thames & Hudson's Dictionary of Graphic Design & Designers? That really got me into the subject when I was at school.

I'd like to apologize for unintentionally implying only males would share their story (his story part). Too late to edit now.

Sorry, it was non native language mistake.

The Penguin Book of Zen Poetry - translated by the finest Japanese poetry translator (Lucien Stryk) - led me to many other zennist tracks - which taught me to look for the microcosm in every problem, and then extrapolate from that.

pbc

Bloodtype and TerminalDesign suggestions are top of the pile.
My most influential book is Paul Rand's 'A designer's Art'.
I bought this whilst at college and I can refer to it when I need to know what Paul Rand would have done.
[I have just seen it on the shelf with 6 bits of paper sticking out the top of it!]
The partner to this is the Tanaka Ikko Book (Phidon).

I did this interface for fun around 2000.
Some Design Books

Because of my Limited knowledge i wont say it can be the most influential one.
But for me, "Visual Communication" by Paul Martin Lester worked really well as a exposure to design think and communication fundamentals.

NitinGarg, Communication Designer.

I would have to add that about 12 or so years ago, after being in the design field for some time, I sat down and read Phillip Meggs, History of Graphic Design, cover to cover, and that was pretty special!

Hey, Michael, wow! I whole-heartedly concur. Those Rand and Ikko books are second-to-none. Really, really great.

Most influential early in my career would have been Diethelm's "Signet Signal Symbol". Alexander's "Notes on the Synthesis of Form" and Paul Rand's "Thoughts on Design" (the precursor to ’A designer’s Art’)--also, Ruder's "Typographie"and El Lissitzsky's "About 2".

Today, half a century later, I would agree with James Montalbano and say Frutiger's "Complete Works" is a must read.

ChrisL

This is a hard one; there are so many candidates. I'd probably give the nod to two: Jan Tschichold: typographer by Ruari McLean, and The Design of Books by Adrian Wilson. I never met either Tschichold or Wilson (I never met McLean either, but I spoke with him on the phone), but they had an enormous influence on my design aesthetic. And, through Adrian Wilson's book, I was also strongly influenced by Jack Stauffacher, although I didn't really know where the influence came from until I met Jack some years later. All of these typographers were concerned with readable text, and with effective design that aided the reader, not the ego of the designer. (Jack Stauffacher still is, I'm happy to say.) Trendy books are useless. Actually, they're more than useless: they're often pernicious. Though as Ben McElroy (bemerx25) points out, even those can serve as the spur to get us interested.

By Design, by Ralph Caplan.

-=®=-

Robert Bringhurst, The Elements of Typographic Style
Jan Tschichold, The Form of the Book
Rich Hendel, On Book Design
The Trial of Six Designers: Designs for Kafka's The Trial (1968 Hammermill piece, truly one of my most treasured books!)
Adrian Wilson, The Design of Books
Many copies of old AAUP Book, Jacket, and Journal Show catalogs

I also treasure my copies of
Avital Ronell, The Telephone Book (designed by Richard Eckersley)
Jost Hochuli, Designing Books
Joseph Blumenthal, Typographic Years
Joseph Blumenthal, The Printed Book in America
A Century for the Century: Fine Printed Books from 1900 to 1999
and especially my copy of the issue of The Princeton University Library Chronicle honoring P. J. Conkwright

And there's one more I am having trouble recalling the name of, and it's at home: it has lots of Merle Armitage spreads in it! Seems like it has a bright cloth & endpaper combo, like black and yellow? Something about the Modern Book? Anyone?

this old, small, tattered red-covered hardbound book called 'painting signs and sho cards' by e.c. matthews from 1920 that my dad had. it shared commercial art and composition philosophies as well as the intricacies of using type and lettering to set the mood and speaking to your audience or market. very little about set type but mostly about handpainting and fountain pen lettering. timeless design principles came from this little unassuming book that i still have to this day.

I found a pdf of it!

In the spirit of unbridled creativity,

Troy Vera
Kingdom Graphics
http://www.kingdomgraphics.biz
Yahoo IM: kingdom_graphics
Skype: kingdom_graphics

A Smile in the Mind - Beryl McAlhone
How we think we think - The Chase

"Looking Good in Print" by Parker and Berry, a must-have for editorial designers and InDesign/Quark lovers.