10 Must-Read UX Design Books
Ex-Head of Design curates a list of the top 10 must-read UX design books.
Are these the 10 best UX design books?
I get this question a lot:
What are your recommended books on UX?
So here’s my curated list of 10 must-read books that every UX designer should have in their toolkit.
From timeless classics to cutting-edge gems, these books offer invaluable insights into the art and science of creating exceptional user experiences.
We delve into the minds of UX pioneers like Don Norman, Steve Krug, and Jeff Johnson, uncovering the secrets of human-centered design, simplicity, and cognitive psychology.
If you are serious about UX design, I highly recommend reading these books.
They will give you a solid foundation in the principles of UX design and transform your approach to crafting intuitive, delightful, and habit-forming products.
As a bonus, I’ve also added my top 3 lessons and an overall rating to each book.
Let’s dive in 👇
1. “The Design of Everyday Things” by Don Norman 📘
This classic masterpiece is a UX designer’s bible. Don Norman, the grandfather of UX, reveals the secrets of human-centered design, making products intuitive and delightful.
Learn about affordances, signifiers, and mapping to create designs that’s truly human-centered.
🔸 My Top 3 Takeaways:
- Visibility and Feedback: Good design provides clear visibility and instant feedback.
- Affordances and Constraints: Designers should use cues and limitations to guide users’ interactions.
- Conceptual Models: Align the system’s design with users’ mental models for enhanced usability.
⚡ MUST READ: 9/10
2. “Don’t Make Me Think” by Steve Krug 🤔
Steve Krug’s gem is a practical guide advocating simplicity in UX. Say goodbye to confusion and cognitive overload. Embrace clear navigation and make users go, “Wow, that was a breeze!”.
If you crave easy-to-implement advice, this one’s for you!
🔸 My Top 3 Takeaways:
- Simplicity wins: Less features = easier to use. Clear navigation is key.
- Self-explanatory: Use clear language, focus on the most important info, and test with users.
- Reduce cognitive load: Minimize mental effort with clear information and fewer distractions.
⚡ Highly recommended: 8/10
3. “Designing with the Mind in Mind” by Jeff Johnson 🧠
Explore the fascinating world of cognitive psychology and UX design with Jeff Johnson. This book unlocks the power of mental models, memory, and decision-making. Create designs that sync perfectly with how users think, and they’ll fall in love with your products!
🔸 My Top 3 Takeaways:
- Use progressive disclosure and consistency: Present information in layers and maintain predictability to accommodate diverse user mental models effectively.
- Limit short-term memory load: Minimize information users need to remember. Use clear instructions and visual cues.
- Provide decision-support tools: Offer structured information and feedback to assist users in making informed choices.
⚡ Recommended: 7/10
4. “Sprint” by Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky, and Braden Kowitz 🏃♂️
Need a speedy design process that delivers exceptional results? “Sprint” is your answer! This is one of my favourites.
Dive into design sprints and learn how to prototype and test ideas in a flash. Accelerate your UX game, impress stakeholders, and keep users happy!
🔸 My Top 3 Takeaways:
- Design Sprint process: A structured five-day process for solving business challenges and testing ideas.
- Time-boxed approach: Emphasizes setting specific time limits for each phase to maintain focus and avoid delays.
- User-centric testing: Highlights the importance of getting real user feedback early in the design process to create better solutions.
⚡ MUST READ: 10/10
5. “Lean UX” by Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden 🏋️♂️
Agility is the name of the game, and “Lean UX” nails it! Embrace collaboration, feedback, and learning in your design process.
Stay ahead of the curve by adapting your designs based on real-user insights. The result? Unbeatable user satisfaction!
🔸 My Top 3 Takeaways:
- Validated learning: Emphasize learning through rapid experimentation and user feedback to reduce risk and improve products.
- Collaborative teams: Foster open communication and collaboration among different roles to leverage expertise effectively.
- Early user involvement: Involve users from the start and throughout the design process to create a more user-centered product.
⚡ MUST READ: 9/10
6. “Information Architecture: For the Web and Beyond” by Louis Rosenfeld, Peter Morville, and Jorge Arango 🏛️
Get the lowdown on the critical aspect of UX design — Information Architecture! This book equips you with techniques to organize information like a pro. Create interfaces so intuitive users will sing your praises!
🔸 My Top 3 Takeaways:
- Organize information effectively: Highlighting the importance of clear and coherent information organization.
- Clarity in structure: Create intuitive and clear information structures for easy navigation and reduced cognitive load.
- Versatility of information architecture: Information architecture principles apply to various contexts beyond websites, including mobile apps, software interfaces, and physical spaces.
⚡ Recommended: 8/10
7. “Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products” by Nir Eyal 🎣
Ready to reel in users and keep them hooked for life? “Hooked” uncovers the psychology behind habit-forming products. Design addictive experiences that users can’t resist! Once they’re hooked, they’ll keep coming back for more!
🔸 My Top 3 Takeaways:
- The Hook model: The four-step process (Trigger, Action, Variable Reward, Investment) to create habit-forming products.
- Triggers and external cues: Use both external and internal triggers to prompt user engagement, for example notifications or call-to-actions.
- Variable rewards to increase engagement: Implement variable rewards (for example, surprise bonuses) to keep users coming back for more.
⚡ Highly recommended: 8/10
8. “The Elements of User Experience” by Jesse James Garrett 🌟
Jesse James Garrett presents a comprehensive guide to UX design from strategy to execution. Master the five planes of UX design and craft unforgettable experiences. Whether you’re a newbie or a pro, this book has something for everyone!
🔸 My Top 3 Takeaways:
- Five planes of UX: Strategy, Scope, Structure, Skeleton, and Surface — all contribute to a good UX.
- UX is a holistic concept: It encompasses all aspects of the user’s interaction with a product or service, from the initial perception to the final outcome.
- UX design is an iterative process: It involves constantly testing and refining the design until it meets the needs of the users.
⚡ Recommended: 7/10
9. “100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People” by Susan Weinschenk 💯
Understand your users on a deeper level with Susan Weinschenk’s gem. Dive into the psychology behind user behaviour, motivations, and decision-making. Create designs that tug at their heartstrings and keep them coming back!
🔸 My Top 3 Takeaways:
- People are visual creatures: Visual information is processed faster than text information, so make sure your designs are visually appealing and easy to scan.
- People are lazy: We don’t like to think too hard, so make sure your designs are as simple and straightforward as possible.
- People are emotional: Our emotions play a big role in how we interact with the world around us, so make sure your designs evoke positive emotions in users.
⚡ Highly Recommended: 8/10
10. “Designing Interface Animation” by Val Head 🎨
Animations add magic to your UX designs! Val Head’s book teaches you how to use animations effectively. Guide users through interfaces with captivating visuals and take your designs to a whole new level of engagement!
🔸 My Top 3 Takeaways:
- Animation communicates: Use it to guide attention, create flow, and add personality.
- Less is more. Use animation sparingly to avoid overwhelming users.
- Think about the user: What will they expect? What will confuse them?
⚡ Recommended: 7/10
Conclusion
In the fast-paced world of UX, continuous learning is essential, and these books provide a treasure trove of knowledge to keep designers ahead of the curve.
From understanding the principles of human-centered design in “The Design of Everyday Things” to mastering the art of habit-forming products in “Hooked,” it offers unique perspectives and insights to enhance how we perceive design.
By delving into the psychology behind user behaviour, motivations, and decision-making in “Designing with the Mind in Mind” and “100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People,” designers can create products that truly resonate with their audience.
Additionally, learning the power of information architecture and simplicity from “Information Architecture: For the Web and Beyond” and “Don’t Make Me Think” enables designers to create interfaces that are intuitive and easy to use.
Moreover, the practical techniques and time-boxed approaches discussed in “Sprint” and “Lean UX” empower designers to iterate quickly, collaborate effectively, and consistently produce testable outcomes.
Furthermore, mastering the art of interface animation in “Designing Interface Animation” adds that touch of magic that elevates designs to a new level of delight.
Each book in this list has something unique to offer, making it a worthy addition to any designer’s reading list in 2023.
I hope you enjoyed this article on the 10 best UX design books.
Happy reading!
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Hey 👋 I’m Chris, the Founder of UX Playbook.
Here’s more about me:
👨🏫 I’m a Ex-Head of Design, with 10 years of experience in tech, building products & teams
🦄 I worked with Fortune 100s like Google, Nike, Coca Cola, 21st Century Fox, and startup unicorns
👨👩👧👦 I’ve built a community of over 62,000 designers
🤝 I’ve supported over 11,000 designers with my free UX resources, blog posts, and mentorship
🚀 I’ve been the founding designer for 8 startups
💸 I previously grew my own freelance one-person UX consultancy to $26,000/month then burnt out
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