Gretchen Kirchner recommends great graphic designers.

Chip Kidd is a master at book cover designs and also an inspiring author of several design books.

You’ll also find interesting design in more obscure places, like the music industry. Michael Stipe of REM is a great visual artist and has always been heavily involved in the design of their album covers and all things visual. They’ve even developed some typefaces based off their promotional pieces.

David Carson is well-known for his ground-breaking typographic design, which was displayed from cover to cover in Ray Gun magazine.

P. Scott Makela was another recent pioneer of type and graphic design, but unfortunately passed away in 1999 at age 39.