I agree with the comment above, Universal Principles of Design is a great book. It touches on all aspects of design – graphic, industrial, advertising, architecture, etc. It even goes into the psychology of design and why people gravitate towards certain designs and others do not. I also enjoy how the authors include references to additional research papers and/or books on the subject at hand.
http://www.amazon.ca/Universal-Principles-Design-Revised-Updated/dp/1592535879/ref=pd_sim_b_2
Donald Norman’s two books: The Design of Everyday Things and Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things.
http://www.amazon.ca/The-Design-Everyday-Things-Norman/dp/0465067107/ref=pd_sim_b_1
http://www.amazon.ca/Emotional-Design-Love-Everyday-Things/dp/0465051367
Graphic Design: The New Basics by Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Cole Phillips
http://www.amazon.ca/Graphic-Design-Basics-Ellen-Lupton/dp/1568987021/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354203619&sr=1-1
If you enjoy reading the business side of design, I would encourage you to check out The Design of Business by Roger L. Martin. Martin is the current Dean at Rotman School of Business in Toronto. He has some pretty influential friends and includes them in his book (high profile people from such companies as RIM, Herman Miller, IDEO, and Johnson & Johnson). The book centers on design thinking about how to approach certain problems using creativity. Good examples used in the book. A little technical at the beginning though, but nothing extreme.
http://www.amazon.ca/Design-Business-Thinking-Competitive-Advantage/dp/1422177807/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354204381&sr=1-1
Fast Company Magazine: Although not a book, Fast Company is a pretty solid magazine that infuses design and business. There are some pretty engaging articles in the magazine. Check of http://www.fastcodesign.com which is the company’s design and innovation focused part of the magazine/website.
Azure Magazine - http://www.azuremagazine.com is another solid magazine for interiors, architecture, and design.
Adam
coffeekicker 