All my life I defended street smarts over book smarts.
It was always practice over theory for me, and I used my experience for anything that might require a bit of insight.
You are reading: Books on ux design
That was until I started working as a creative content writer. I was told to read tons of pages and websites, even though I had prior experience with writing.
It was the best thing I did.
Now, when I venture into any new topic, the first thing I do is consult some books.
Coincidentally, my new topic these days is user experience design. And whether you’re in the same boat as me or not, I don’t want you to make the same mistake I did: underestimating a good read.
To save you valuable reading time, I’ve compiled the 12 best books on user experience design you could read in 2022.
I even separated them into categories! let’s take a look at:
- why you should read books on ux design,
- best books on ux design,
- best books for an introduction to ux design,
- best books for beginning UX designers,
- best books for UX design guides,
- best books for advanced UX designers,
- best books for user experience writers
if you’re ready, let’s go for a walk to the library 🤓
why read books on ux design?
let me rephrase that: why read books?
it’s just the most efficient and reliable method to learn any subject.
let’s be real; there are too many credibility issues that we get our information from in 2022. we want to learn something, we check the internet, we claim to be experts.
the truth is that google can’t do much about false information, that is, if it does anything.
I say it’s about time we got back to the good old checked and verified pages of a book.
okay? right. Let’s get back to our actual question.
why do we need to read books on ux design?
Why do we need that information as saas people? because ux design is becoming a separate field of study that spans all industries? because it has the potential to broaden any customer-facing employee’s perspective on what they do?
all of the above.
Now, ux design is not just a problem for your designers.
all digital products will have an online presence by 2022 and understanding user experience design that can change a user or customer’s opinion of your product is part of growing.
👉 we all need to understand what users go through in a given product in order to produce, market and ultimately sell it.
👉 also, not only a designer, but also a marketer or a sales representative can make a big change once they adopt the design thinking mindset. I’m talking about new strategies, new goals and new projects.
all because now they understand their users a little better.
Of course, I’m not saying you should make your employees drop everything and start reading ux design books.
👉 all I’m saying is that no matter where you stand if you’re working with saas users/customers, a good user experience design book can change your perspective on what you do and encourage you to do better. .
enough talking, more reading. let’s take a look at these gems 📖 💎
12 best user experience design books in 2022
ux design is not an easy job.
Along the way, ux designers have to learn technical skills like blueprinting and prototyping, soft skills like research and user psychology, and in some cases, even coding.
Whether you want to be a ux designer or just an enthusiast, whether you’re learning on your own or with a class, whether you’re a design newbie or an advanced ux designer, there’s a book for you.
here is the tip of the iceberg.
best books for an introduction to ux design
not a ux designer but interested in ux? you have to start somewhere.
The next books are the perfect choice for someone who is really a beginner in ux.
could be an entrepreneur looking to create products that resonate with users, a marketer trying to better understand users. it can be a product designer, a seller or even a user.
here are the books you start with.
1- the design of everyday things: revised and enlarged edition by don norman
Originally written in 1988 and subsequently revised, Don Norman’s Design of Everyday Things is considered the bible of ux.
The book revolves around physical products rather than digital ones, but still manages to establish practical examples of the principles of cognitive psychology.
why read?
Now, it’s true that contemporary designers think the book is a bit outdated, but one fact still stands: Don Norman was one of the pioneers of modern user experience and usability. And for anyone interested in designing or producing for humans, Designing Everyday Things is a must-read.
Whether you like it or not, it’s a timeless piece and the best possible introduction to ux.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“This is a must-read for anyone in design, software, or just about anything creative. it elegantly extracts principles from sometimes complex environments and presents them in the simplest environments possible, from doorknobs to light switches. I have every software engineer who works for me reading this at some point.”
See Also: 15 of the Best Funny Fantasy Books | TBR
get your copy here 👈
2- hooked: how to create products that create habits by nir eyal
hooked by nir eyal is a book on how to create addictive products. it’s literally in the title.
wait so what does this have to do with ux?
well, everything.
In 2022, a good user experience is one that keeps users coming back and experiencing it one more time. every product, website, tool, or software design process must be based on that mindset to be successful.
through the “hook model”, nir eyal explains the four steps to create the product that creates habit: trigger, action, reward and investment
why read?
Instead of ux designers, hooked is aimed more at entrepreneurs and product managers with or without design experience. but that’s one more reason to read it for ux design enthusiasts.
what hooked brings to the table is a thought, a mindset and a framework.
three things that can establish a basic understanding of user behavior and cognitive psychology, eventually aligning the perspective of the entrepreneur, the product and the designer.
You can’t create addictive products if your team doesn’t share the same attitude.
and nir eyal’s attitude is the perfect model.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“If you’re trying to build the next great app, you need user input. This book establishes a model building commitment by keeping users coming back to your app. at first this is an impulse, but it will eventually become instinct. this is how viral loops form.”
See Also: 15 of the Best Funny Fantasy Books | TBR
get your copy here 👈
best books for beginning ux designers
Now we’re getting there.
If your interest in ux design goes beyond being an effort to gain a new business perspective or learn about a new field that could benefit you in your own field, these are the books for you.
here are some books for new ux designers to get used to.
3- don’t make me think (revised) by steve krug
Don’t Make Me Think, Or Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug, a veteran usability consultant with over 30 years of experience, is the most fun and readable book there is in usability.
Going over all the basic and complex principles of usability design with a witty sense of humor and comics every few pages, this all-time classic is a must-read for any future serious ux designer.
why read?
apart from the fact that it has valuable knowledge for any new ux designer, what doesn’t make me think even better is that it is a usability manual that is supposed to be serious and boring, but it isn’t t.
Also, unlike other must-reads on ux design, don’t make me think it’s the most time-resistant. is still relevant in 2022.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
“this is essential for people on the web and all those who deal with them. Read This Book If: You need quick tips for creating a useful and functional website with clear copy. you run a business and are setting up a content team. you work in any department and wonder why you disagree with the digital team. (…) this book needs to be updated more often, but the fact that it can get away with updating once a decade shows that wisdom is timeless. it shows that the user-centric approach trumps pure design and copycat fancies and fanciful commercial whims, every time.”
See Also: 15 of the Best Funny Fantasy Books | TBR
get your copy here 👈
4- 100 things every designer needs to know about people by susan m. weinschenk
i have 100 reasons why you need to read susan weinschenk’s 100 things every designer should know about people as a ux designer. But the first is the fact that Susan Weinschenk has a Ph.D. in psychology, he is the lead behavioral scientist, and the executive director of the w,in team. and consultant to fortune 1000 companies.
is someone you listen to when we talk about the user experience.
why read?
Originally published in 2011, the book has an easy-to-follow format and puts a wide range of knowledge into one great introduction to the psychology of ux design.
Although some reviewers agree that the book is, in fact, too broad and rarely goes into detail about the 100 design principles it outlines, other reviewers argue that this format is its charm and the reason why it is an introductory book.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
“great book with wonderful quotes going back to the original studies. there are some typos and some of the concepts may need to be removed more, but otherwise this book collects a lot of really great concepts and research in one place!”
See Also: 15 of the Best Funny Fantasy Books | TBR
get your copy here 👈
5- One’s User Experience Team: A Research and Design Survival Guide by Leah Buley
It’s not very often that all user experience designers find themselves in a team of extremely skilled and talented designers.
In fact, most ux designers find themselves working alone at least once in their careers. To make sure such a lonely design process isn’t a nightmare for you, ux designers better learn to work alone from the start.
The question is, what do you do when you’re on your own as a designer?
Fortunately, Leah Buley has the answer.
One’s user experience team brings together a variety of different procedures and is quite self explanatory in describing each process.
why read?
The book can easily be used as a reference book for designers on all kinds of design challenges and can help with difficult design decisions, especially when designers have no one to refer to.
but above all, the reviewers highlight one great thing: the book approaches the topics step by step like a cookbook and answers two important questions, the why and the how.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“amazing book! one of my best purchases for 2019 and for sure in my top 3 for ux. the author not only explains a variety of procedures to choose from for his project, but also implicates them in the “team of one” concept. however, I must say that even if it is easy to follow, I would not recommend it to a beginner. has an introductory “101 ux” type chapter, but that’s not what this book is about.”
See Also: 15 of the Best Funny Fantasy Books | TBR
get your copy here 👈
best books for ux design guidelines
just like a developer has to look for code snippets, a ux designer needs something to refer to from time to time. plus, it’s good to have a practical guide whatever your profession.
If you’re looking for a book that can optimize your user experience design strategy or hone your basic design skills, here are some wonderful suggestions.
6-rocket surgery facilitated by steve krug
rocket surgery made easy by steve krug is a quick and light read, as you’d expect from steve krug. but the amount of usable information inside is not so light. and despite being written over a decade ago, the content is miraculously still relevant.
The book’s content revolves around krug’s experience in usability testing and has all the scripts and checklists you might need.
why read?
The 168-page book contains practical advice delivered with krug’s good, fun sense of humor, and is worthy of reference for both a design novice and an experienced designer.
The great thing about the book is that it really speaks to a ux designer who has never done usability testing before, as well as experts looking to make testing more efficient.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“This book changed my career. I have dirty hands in usability testing and convinced colleagues in a very old context (logistics!) to do it, thanks to what I learned (and directly applied) from this book. I have trained others with this as well. it’s too good not to read for anyone who works in technology in roles related to design, product management, usability, and user experience.”
See Also: 15 of the Best Funny Fantasy Books | TBR
get your copy here 👈
7- universal principles of design by william lidwell
If there was a textbook on user experience design, it would be William Lidwell’s Universal Design Principles.
And I’m serious. The author, William Lidwell, is a Partner and Director of Research and Development at the Institute of Applied Management Sciences.
The book draws its strength from its scientific background, well-researched data spread meaningfully throughout the book to aid understanding, and it touches every field from usability to human behavior.
why read?
If you’re looking for a foundation for ux design principles that you can revisit, Universal Design Principles might be the reading you need.
also, the book is about all kinds of design, which means that it can relatively broaden the perspective of any designer inside and outside their own field of expertise and, at the same time, be an inspiration.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“I have been using this book as the basis for the content of my user experience design courses for over seven years. is the best single resource available for principles of design. establishes design principles, based on the way the human brain and visual system work. With these principles, you can not only judge whether a design is good or bad, but also *why* it is good or bad.”
See Also: 15 of the Best Funny Fantasy Books | TBR
get your copy here 👈
8- a project guide to ux design: for user experience designers in the field or in development by russ unger & Carolina Chandler
ux design is hard work. a large set of skills is required to be successful. And on top of all that, the assistant designer needs to know her way around the business world.
a project guide to ux design is a handbook for ux designers squashed under the responsibility of design projects.
The project guide offers insider tips for understanding stakeholder roles in a ux project, conducting user research, doing seo, creating personas, and more.
why read?
There is nothing like a project guide for ux design on the market that gained so much popularity. The authors don’t set a specific framework, but make sure you understand what they’re talking about and what to watch out for.
See Also: 13 Must-Read Books for Stay-at-Home Moms – Parents Plus Kids
It really is a great guide for difficult times.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“russ and carolyn have really done a service to everyone who is new to ux or taking on new responsibilities in their organization. This is more than just a project guide, as the name humbly implies: in many ways, it’s a career guide on how to navigate the many hats a ux professional has to wear, from intern to project manager to evangelist. “.
See Also: 15 of the Best Funny Fantasy Books | TBR
get your copy here 👈
best books for advanced ux designers
all professions require greater knowledge over the years. ux is directly related to the internet and contemporary trends, it is even more important for a ux designer to keep reading even in the last years of his career.
here are user experience books you might want to read as an experienced ux designer.
9- building better products: a modern approach to building successful user-centric products by laura klein
what laura klein does with building better products is to establish a framework for product management that takes into account all aspects of building a successful product.
But that doesn’t mean it’s just for product managers.
The book takes astep-by-step approach and considers all the possibilities you may encounter when working on a new product; It even has a chapter on how to build a better team.
why read?
As an expert ux designer, product engineering may not be your specialty. he could be working in different areas of user experience and may not have experience building a product.
That’s why you read creating better products.
because it has the potential to encourage you to venture into different fields or simply do your own work better in a more conscious way.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“laura klein is my spirit animal ux. (…) I bought your first book ux for lean startups and it builds better products and I can tell you: this is years of experience speaking through the pages. she breathes ux and is not afraid to speak out against unhelpful practices in some contexts. you get amazing insights and insights to even push the tools yourself.”
See Also: 15 of the Best Funny Fantasy Books | TBR
get your copy here 👈
10- lean ux: applying lean principles to improve user experience by jeff gothelf & joseph seiden
with collaboration methods becoming more efficient and the word agile becoming more important in the 21st century, lean ux has become a design management system that all designers are becoming familiar with.
and it’s paying off.
Now, if you’ve found yourself looking for a way to jump on this trend as an advanced user experience designer, I have the perfect book for you. lean ux by jeff gothelf and josh seiden explores the results of an agile work mindset and how you can get the most out of lean ux.
why read?
As I just explained, lean is taking off. Whether it’s lean startups, lean ux, or any other agile project, they’re here to stay.
The best thing an experienced ux designer can do to keep up with the trends that all businesses are rapidly embracing is to read the book.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“exactly what I needed! i have been doing ux and ui for a number of years, but mostly for my own apps and websites. I decided to go freelance this year and had never worked in an agile team. this book was a great introduction to that. I would also recommend him to any startup CEO. ux is often completely overlooked by newer companies who think that if they put money into a great looking product, people will use it. if you need a crash course in ux, then this is the book!”
See Also: 15 of the Best Funny Fantasy Books | TBR
get your copy here 👈
best books for ux writers
did you think ux designers were underrated? think again.
UX writers have possibly the most overlooked role in product user experience in most companies. in fact, ux designers are expected to take care of ux writing. and some companies expect product developers to take care of ux design.
That leaves us with tech people writing for users. not the best match 😬
Whether you’re a ux writer, a ux designer working on ux writing, or the poor old developer, here are great books on ux writing to get your writing top notch.
11- writing is design: words and the user experience by michael j. mets & andy welfle
what is the main problem facing a ux writer?
be recognized.
With all the choices they have to make and the need to collaborate with the design team, the first thing ux writers need to do is get recognized. then come all the principles and practices.
that’s what makes writing worthwhile designing a book. the first thing he does is pull a chair up to the design table. Authors then move into real-life situations, strategizing in a project environment, and using best practices in other aspects of ux writing.
why read?
writing is design is not necessarily an introductory book to ux writing, but it is quite easy to read.
If you’re already familiar with ux design and want to discover ways to make ux writing part of your workflows and projects, this is a must read.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“the authors do a great job sharing their experiences defending writing as a complete design practice. they appeal to real-life situations that arise when starting and scaling a writing discipline. there are some frameworks and a bunch of sample questions that I’m sure will help me right away.”
See Also: 15 of the Best Funny Fantasy Books | TBR
get your copy here 👈
12- microcopy: the complete guide to kinneret yifrah
now, if you were looking for the ux writing 101 book, this is the one.
kinneret yifrah explains all the principles of writing ux, also known as microcopying, in all its dimensions; from voice, tone, conversational copy, to accounts and error messages.
however, it is up to the reader to understand a simple fact: microscopy is an inseparable part of the user experience and requires its own design and workflow. once this is understood, the book offers insight.
why read?
Caring for microcopy and actively working to improve it is what makes user experiences timeless in 2022.
Whether you are a ux writer, a ux designer, a copywriter, a product manager, even the CEO of a company; This book has a lot to offer in terms of practice and inspiration.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“This book has completely revolutionized the way we write user interface text at our company. Whether you’re working on a small mobile app or a complex system, it will give you great insight into how UI text becomes an important piece of the holistic user experience. it gives practical advice and lots of examples and it really is a fun read. It’s great to finally see it in English!”
See Also: 15 of the Best Funny Fantasy Books | TBR
get your copy here 👈
conclusion
print media is weird, huh?
One day it’s relevant, the next day it’s nothing.
Hopefully, this list will never get old. because as long as user-centered design exists, we will be reading more and more ux books.
but don’t worry, I’ll be here to guide you to the best of the best, whether it’s a classic book for beginners or a book on new ux trends for advanced ux designers.
frequently asked questions
Is user experience design dying?
ux design is not dying. in fact, as of 2022, it is reaching new heights with the new importance of user experience.
can i learn to design ux on my own?
It is possible and often successful; however, teaching ux design to oneself requires good resources and focus.
can you get rich as a ux designer?
As businesses realize the importance of user experience, the search for ux designers is as high as ever. Meanwhile, the average annual income of a UX designer in the United States is around $90,000.
can i become a ux designer in 6 months?
With high-intensity training and good resources, it’s possible to start out as a novice ux designer. however, like any profession, ux design also requires more research and constant self-improvement.
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