The Non-Designer's Design Book

This is an excellent reference work for those who want or need to design something, but who do not have the luxury of going to design school. The information is presented clearly and concisely, and there are many examples of the principles being discussed found throughout the book.

I first got this book for one of my college editing courses, and I still reference it regularly. It's helped to give me more tools to use in explaining why something does or doesn't work from a design standpoint.