At UXDX, we have compiled a list of books we think you might be interested in from a designer perspective to help you stay inspired and flourish in 2018. There’s always room for improvement somewhere when designing the best outcome of a product. If you’ve read any of these books before, or if you have other suggestions, let us know. We would love to hear what you thought and what you got out of them
— happy reading!
1. The Elements of User Experience — Jesse James Garrett
From the moment it was published almost ten years ago, Elements of User Experience became a vital reference for web and interaction designers the world over, and has come to define the core principles of the practice. Now, in an updated, expanded new edition, Jesse James Garrett has refined his thinking about the Web, going beyond the desktop to include information that also applies to the sudden proliferation of mobile devices and applications.
2. 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know about People — Susan Weinschenk
This particular book focuses on the idea of designing to people’s elicit responses, discussing how designers desire a particular reaction, whether it’s that they want someone to buy something, read more, or take action of some kind. Designing without understanding what makes people act the way they do is like exploring a new city without a map: results will be haphazard, confusing, and inefficient. The book combines real science and research with practical examples to deliver a guide every designer needs, giving you the ability to design more intuitive and engaging work for print, websites, applications, and products that matches the way people think, work, and play.
3. Don’t Make Me Think (Revisited) — Steve Krug
Since Don’t Make Me Think was first published in 2000, hundreds of thousands of Web designers and developers have relied on usability guru Steve Krug’s guide to help them understand the principles of intuitive navigation and information design. Witty, commonsensical, and eminently practical, it’s one of the best-loved and most recommended books on the subject.
4. Lean UX: Applying Lean Principles to Improve User Experience — Jeff Gothelf with Josh Seiden
A favourite of team UXDX’s, the Lean UX approach to interaction design is tailor-made for today’s web-driven reality. In this insightful book, leading advocate Jeff Gothelf teaches you valuable Lean UX principles, tactics, and techniques from the ground up — how to rapidly experiment with design ideas, validate them with real users, and continually adjust your design based on what you learn.
5. The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less — Barry Schwartz
The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz elaborates on the cautions of choice overload, and how it can make a person question the decisions they make before they even make them, setting someone up for unrealistically high expectations, and how it can make a person themselves for any failures they endure. Barry Schwartz explains why too much of a good thing has proven detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. Synthesising current research in the social sciences, he makes the counter-intuitive case that eliminating choices can greatly reduce the stress, anxiety, and busyness of our lives.
BONUS BOOK: The Origins of Happiness: The Science of Well-Being over the Life Course
We’ve also included this bonus featured book for something a bit more off-topic than you might be interested in either personally or professionally
What makes people happy? Why should governments care about people’s well-being? How would policy change if well-being was the main objective? The Origins of Happiness seeks to revolutionise how we think about human priorities and to promote public policy changes that are based on what really matters to people. Drawing on a uniquely comprehensive range of evidence from longitudinal data on over one hundred thousand individuals in Britain, the United States, Australia, and Germany, the authors consider the key factors that affect human well-being.
A inspirational reading list wouldn’t be complete without a list of inspirational music to go with it! Have a listen to either our inspirational song of choice at the UXDX office, or a go-to song of choice also, listed below. Here’s to better product outcomes in 2018!
Our recommended songs to get you motivated!
Our inspirational song of choice: Livin on a Prayer — Bon Jovi 1987
A go-to song of choice for Charlotte on the team here when she wants to focus: Harder Better Faster — Daft Punk 2001
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