For having little background in this area, I found this book thorough and thought provoking. In the spirit of creativity, it provides full coverage color, type, structure and other expected elements, enriched by a set of rules to follow or depart from knowingly. ( )

http://books.moonsoar.com/archives/2012/04/04/design-elements-a-graphic-style-ma... ( )

I like to consider myself The World's Foremost Expert On Standing Around In Big Chain Bookstores Pawing Through All The Pricey Graphic Design Books, so I can recommend this book without hesitation. It's packed full of info and great examples, all in extremely small fonts, so as to pack more info into the book. Just terrific in every parameter, and at $30 it's about half the price of what it ought to cost. ( )

This is an great basic book on graphic design. It covers the basic rules and gives you clues of when it is okay to bend or break the rules depending on what design you are working on. It has a lot of samples which is great for the very visual individuals like me. ( )