Our article 10 Books for Film Fans and Design Lovers was such a success that we’re back with 10 more recommendations! If you’re searching for the perfect gift for a cinephile with a love of interiors, design, and art – you’re in the right place.

Discover our expertly curated list of film books that explore the fascinating artistry of filmmaking—from production and set design to graphic design and cinematography. These titles will inspire and engage.

1. Typeset in the Future: Typography and Design in Science Fiction Movies

In Typeset in the Future, blogger and designer Dave Addey invites sci-fi movie fans on a journey through seven genre-defining classics, discovering how they create compelling visions of the future through typography and design. 

The book delves deep into 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Alien, Blade Runner, Total Recall, WALL·E, and Moon, studying the design tricks and inspirations that make each film transcend mere celluloid and become a believable reality. 

These studies are illustrated by film stills, concept art, type specimens, and ephemera, plus original interviews with Mike Okuda (Star Trek), Paul Verhoeven (Total Recall), and Ralph Eggleston and Craig Foster (Pixar). 

Typeset in the Future is an obsessively geeky study of how classic sci-fi movies draw us in to their imagined worlds and how they have come to represent THE FUTURE in popular culture.

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2. The Movie Art of Syd Mead: Visual Futurist

The Movie Art of Syd Mead: Visual Futurist represents an extensive collection of Mead’s visionary film work including ALIENS, Blade Runner, Star Trek The Motion Picture, and Elysium, compiling hundreds of images, sketches and concept arts from a career spanning almost 40 years, many of which have never been seen in print before.

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3. Lair: Radical Homes and Hideouts of Movie Villains

From Atlantis in The Spy Who Loved Me to Nathan Bateman’s sleek hideaway in Ex Machina, big-screen villains are often housed in jaw-dropping architectural marvels. Lair, the first in Tra Publishing’s Design + Film series, explores these iconic villainous abodes, examining their design through essays, interviews, illustrations, and analyses.

Featuring lairs from films like Dr. Strangelove, Blade Runner 2049, The Incredibles, and North by Northwest, this striking book—printed in silver ink on black paper—dives into the intersection of pop culture and architecture. Edited by architect Chad Oppenheim with Andrea Gollin, it includes insights from filmmakers, production designers, and cultural critics, offering a rich exploration of cinema’s most imaginative and infamous spaces.

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4. Dark Places: The Haunted House in Film 

Horror films lure us into shadowy spaces—houses, graveyards, forests—where evil dwells. In Dark Places: The Haunted House in Film, Barry Curtis delves into these haunted spaces and their monstrous inhabitants, exploring how they reflect the darker corners of the human psyche.

Curtis examines everything from the special effects used to bring supernatural creatures to life to the architecture and symbolism of horror movie sets. He also explores the evolution of haunted spaces—whether as motels, apartments, or spaceships—and their connections to Gothic fiction. Drawing on classics like Nosferatu, Psycho, The Shining, and Ringu, Curtis offers a fascinating study of fear and the spaces where it resides.

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5. The Secret Life of Ealing Studios: Britain’s Favourite Film Studio

“This lively, funny, moving history of a movie studio and the people who made it feels uncannily like … an Ealing comedy.” – Martin Scorsese

The Secret Life of Ealing Studios offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the legendary British studio, renowned for its post-war comedies that captured the national spirit. This is the only full narrative history of Ealing, focusing on its golden era in the 1940s and ’50s, and told through the memories of those who brought these beloved films to life.

From classics like Kind Hearts and Coronets, Whisky Galore, The Lavender Hill Mob, and The Ladykillers to wartime dramas like The Cruel Sea, the book delves into how Michael Balcon, alongside stars like Alec Guinness and Margaret Rutherford, created movies that remain iconic.

Available in paperback, hardback, and Kindle.

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6. Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining

In 1966 Stanley Kubrick told a friend that he wanted to make “the world’s scariest movie.” A decade later Stephen King’s The Shining landed on the director’s desk, and a visual masterpiece was born. This definitive compendium of the film features hundreds of photographs, rare production ephemera, and extensive interviews with the cast and crew.

Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is conceived and edited by Academy Award-winning director Lee Unkrich.

 

7. Film in Five Seconds

Let’s be honest, time is precious. That’s where Film in Five Seconds steps in—distilling your favourite movies into bite-sized brilliance so you can relive iconic moments in mere seconds.

Design studio H-57 have taken over 150 beloved films and stripped away the fluff, crafting clever pictograms that deliver hilarious and razor-sharp summaries.

From Batman to Bridget Jones’s Diary, Grease to The Godfather, and King Kong to The King’s Speech, this book spans genres—from slapstick to sci-fi—turning unforgettable screen moments into laugh-out-loud visuals. Perfect for film lovers, design enthusiasts, and anyone who prefers their humour as quick as their coffee.

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8. Tim Burton: Designing Worlds

Tim Burton: Designing Worlds is the official catalogue for the Design Museum’s 2024 exhibition and the first publication to explore the connection between Burton’s artistic creations and the world of design. It delves into the ‘Burtonesque’ aesthetic, examining his iconic style and its influence on visual culture.

Through essays by design experts and film critics, alongside striking imagery from the exhibition, the catalogue unpacks Burton’s distinctive visual language—blending gothic, carnivalesque, and fantastical elements. It offers a fascinating insight into his creative process and celebrates the central role of design in his hauntingly beautiful worlds.

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9. The Art and Soul of Dune Part Two

The Art and Soul of Dune: Part Two offers a deep dive into the creative journey behind Denis Villeneuve’s sequel to his Oscar-winning adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi classic. Written by executive producer Tanya Lapointe, this visually stunning book provides unparalleled insight into the film’s environmental designs, intricate costumes, and groundbreaking effects.

Featuring exclusive interviews with Villeneuve, Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, and more, it’s a captivating behind-the-scenes look at the ambitious international production and a must-have companion to this cinematic masterpiece.

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10. Loncraine Broxton Innovations and Executive Toys

If Loncraine Broxton’s design work captured your imagination as much as it did ours, you’ll be pleased to learn of new book Loncraine Broxton Innovations and Executive Toys, which brings together a huge range of their inventive products, with commentary by filmmaker and product designer Richard Loncraine and his business partner Peter Broxton, telling the story of how they spent three decades devising unlikely ideas for products to amuse and delight. 

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We hope our book gift guide has made your shopping list a little more interesting!