The sheer craft, diligence, empathy, and user research that goes into designing great Apple products is mind-blowing. We have Creative Selection on our list of best UX books because it will inspire you to think differently about your design process. While some of the examples in Rocket Surgery Made Easy may be a little dated now, it’s still one of the best books on web usability, information architecture, and user experience optimization, with valuable insights. Krug’s UX writing style is great at explaining user experience concepts in Layman’s terms — it’s accessible, easy-to-read, and does a good job of demystifying the entire user experience design process.
- She believes UX writing is only about the text within the scope of a UX designer.
- Even though this design book was originally published in 2003 (a lifetime ago in the technology space), most of the principles and concepts applied in practice contained in this book are still relevant today.
- After this, Dieter Rams, the guiding force behind the Braun look, breaks down his design principles and processes in this elegant book.
- For those just beginning their journey or seasoned professionals looking to refine their skills, our range of courses caters to all levels.
“Creative Confidence” debunks the “creativity myth”—that people are born creative. It empowers readers to tap into their inherent potential to create change. The authors share inspiring stories from their work at IDEO and teach you how to leverage everyday annoyances as design opportunities. Through “The Paradox of Choice,” Schwartz contends that while the abundance of choice may appear beneficial, it often leads to frustration and dissatisfaction. This book challenges the conventional wisdom that more is better. If you understand how people think, you can make your designs better by focusing on what users need, not just what they want.
The Basics of User Experience Design
Through 100 concise lessons in UX resources, Marsh provides a practical and engaging overview of key UX universal principles for beginners. We hope you will find these resources worth trying and useful for your web design career journey. Select any of the books from the list below to jump straight to it. If you want easy recruiting from a global pool of skilled candidates, we’re here to help.
In The User Experience Team of One, Buley addresses the challenges UX designers face working independently within organizations without dedicated UX teams. The book gleans insights into UX design through the ‘lean’ lens, identifying what is essential and what can be removed or replaced. Turns out we know very little about the brain and can’t decipher our most basic human motivation levers and decision-making models most of the time. Strangers to Ourselves was written by Social Psychology Professor, Timothy D. Wilson, and explores the idea of the unconscious and the role it plays in human behavior. Laws of UX is a good idea to pick up, even if you’re an experienced UI UX designer or UX researcher. It’s well-researched and presents familiar UX research in a digestible and easy-to-understand format.
UX Research and Strategy Books
In the meantime, I suggest you read more about becoming a UX designer. After all, theory on UX is an essential part of every UX designer’s toolbox. Text is becoming a more significant part of the user experience every day. That’s why UX writing is an integral part of the modern UX designer’s toolbox. One of the most challenging parts of being a designer is measuring the success of your design. Quantifying the User Experience is a UX research book that gives you the tools to do qualitative and quantitative user research.
This is a bit of an unusual addition to this list of the best UX design books, but an important one. Many people may not know who Ken Kocienda is, but he played an integral part in Apple’s success. Apple’s processes are worth studying—they’ve created some of the most profitable products of all time.
Things Every Designer Needs to Know about People
Also, sometimes you just need to hear common sense ideas laid out in an organized fashion to keep them in your awareness. Books about the psychology of user experience and product strategy. Whether you’re an aspiring designer, freelancer, or seasoned professional looking to accelerate your career, I have something for you in this category.
In this book, author Steve Krug offers a streamlined approach to usability testing that both junior and senior designers can apply to the design of their products. “Build Better Products” offers a comprehensive guide for all aspects of product development. It is valuable for product managers and anyone involved in creating a new product. Klein’s step-by-step approach considers every potential scenario in the product development journey and even includes advice on team building.
Basic and vague, yet still relevant. ~ At 56 pages, the ebook is worth the minimal time investment. This was my 4th…
Besides the content, the other reason I am so enthusiastic about “Refactoring UI” is that Wathan and Schoger respected my time. They could’ve inflated this into a 400-page book to make it feel more, as many authors do. “Refactoring UI” is a single-day read, but not because it’s superficial.
Thankfully, the book picks up with good advice on building and scaling product teams, product strategy and vision, discovery, and transformation techniques. I found the two chapters about the loss of innovation and velocity most revealing, followed by the chapters about roadmaps and objectives. As for its content, “Inspired” is an overview of the product manager’s job ui ux design books with sound advice on how to be good at it. Unfortunately, Cagan starts with the usual – and at this point, extremely boring – examples. I wonder how hard it would be to collect stories from smaller-scale companies and individuals for some diversity in these books. As a content creator, I love Google, but I don’t need to read about them in every book of this genre.
Best UI/UX Books that Every Designer Should Read
CareerFoundry is an online school for people looking to switch to a rewarding career in tech. Select a program, get paired with an expert mentor and tutor, and become a job-ready designer, developer, or analyst from scratch, or your money back. While it’s not strictly a design book, Daniel Kahneman explores in depth how quickfire vs considered decision-making determines how people behave in different situations. One of the biggest themes explored in this go-to resource for usability is how people read on the web, and how they navigate sites. He draws some very interesting comparisons between this online behaviour and behavior in real-life.
He emphasizes the importance of early and frequent testing, making problem identification and resolution a seamless part of your design process. At the same time, the right UX design tools will help you master the craft of creating a smooth and seamless user experience across product development. From research and user testing to wireframing, testing, and beyond, they ensure you have all the elements to get to the finish line. In this revised edition, Krug updates and expands upon his classic work and offers invaluable insights and a better understanding of designing user-friendly websites that prioritize simplicity and clarity.
Our favourite quote from 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People
It focuses on removing, organizing, concealing, and displacing features and UI elements to enhance the user experience. Nodder’s work unravels the psychological aspects used in persuasive design techniques. The book dissects real website examples and displays how companies (and designers) leverage UI design patterns and human psychology to trick people for commercial advantages. This book sheds light on the often unnoticed role of user-experience design in our interactions with technology. Kuang and Fabricant underline the importance of design in making technology intuitive and user-friendly and its influence on molding our behaviors, habits, and, ultimately, our lifestyle. They stress that as we become more reliant on technology, understanding these hidden design rules is not just fascinating, but crucial.