The best books for new UX designers

Photo Credit: Aleks Dorohovich

Here’s a list of the six best and most influential books compiled on UX design to help both newcomers and experienced designers strengthen their skills. If you can carefully read and digest these must-read books, I believe you will become better at user experience design. To identify a good book, look at how many revised editions it has. Now, check out the list and let’s get inspired together!

1. Don’t Make Me Think

Authored by Steve Krug

This is an introductory book for UI design beginners. The core idea of book is: “Do not let me think!”

Author Steve Krug summed up some intuitive navigation and design principles, usability laws, and negative examples. This book is easy-to-understand and uses numerous illustrations to liven up the most boring design principles.

2. The Design of Everyday Things

Authored by Don Norman

This is a must-read, classic book for experienced designers. It’s also a primer for beginners who don’t have any design education background. This book teaches people how to observe the world of design from a completely new perspective. After reading this book, you’ll find how design, both good and bad, is present everywhere. It has been over 20 years since this book was published, but the core design ideas mentioned in the book are never out of date.

3. The Inmates Are Running the Asylum

Authored by Alan Cooper

4. Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation

5. Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products

6. Letting go of the words: writing web content that works

7. Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days