Recommended READING
Below is a list of books I highly recommend to anyone working or interested in user experience. I’m expanding and updating this list regularly.
If you read a book you would highly recommend that is not on the list below, please drop me a line!
User Experience Fundamentals
1. The Design of Everyday Things, by Don Norman
The philosophy of UX. I'd recommend this book to everyone regardless of the industry they're in, as it's written in plain, everyday language.
2. Don't Make Me Think, by Steve Krug
This is one of the must read books about usability and the art of simplifying.
3. About Face: The Essentials Of Interaction Design, by Alan Cooper
A great book for an overview of interface types and how to design effectively.
4. The Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction, 2nd Ed
This is a comprehensive encyclopaedia for everything regarding human computer interaction. Not to be read back to back, but highly recommended as a reference guide. It was my university’s main book to read and I find myself getting back to it from time to time.
5. Sketching User Experiences, by Bill Buxton
This is a great book that covers sketching and prototyping (hint, no fancy software required!).
6. The Elements of User Experience, by Jesse James Garrett
Research and testing
1. Just enough research, By Erica Hall
I enjoyed the way this book is presenting the importance of research and how “every little helps”. It provides useful ways to communicate the importance to stakeholder team and provides useful examples and illustrations for the different types of research depending on the goal.
2. Observing the User Experience, Second Edition: A Practitioner's Guide to User Research, by Elizabeth Goodman
This book is approaching research holistically, from techniques, to importance, presentation, and communication of the results to the stakeholders.
User Experience and Psychology
1. 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People, Susan Weinschenk
This book discusses how humans think, decide, and remember. It focuses on the psychology that drives human behaviour. A must read book, written in a clear and concise way, for everyone.
2. Bottlenecks: Aligning UX Design with User Psychology, by David C C Evans
This is on e of my favourite books as it provides examples, methods, and research backed recommendations on how to design for humans.
3. Hooked: How to build Habit-Forming Products, by Nir Eyal
A must read for anyone interested in habit forming products. It’s presenting a habit forming framework and is structured around analysing and going in depth with the framework in question. It discusses the internal vs external triggers and the MAT (Motive - Ability - Trigger) model.
4. Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things, by Don Norman.
Thanks to this book I’m a proud owner of a Philippe Starck juicer which proudly rests on my bookshelf, as I can’t use it for its original purpose. And that’s the point.
5. 100 More Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People, by Susan Weinschenk
Expanding on the 100 Things, this book is presenting even more useful insight to the way people think and decide.
User Experience at Work
1. Design Is a Job, by Mike Monteiro
The UX designer's soft skills. I can't recommend this enough to everyone who is either a UX professional or working with one, it's very enjoyable to read.
2. Articulating Design Decisions: Communicate with Stakeholders, Keep Your Sanity, and Deliver the Best User Experience by Tom Greever
Highly recommended book for anyone working in UX. It provides a framework to use to help the clients and stakeholders give you feedback and gives real examples of different types of projects and how to best communicate the design.
3. Lean UX: Applying Lean Principles to Improve User Experience, by Jeff Gothelf
This is about UX in Agile and remote teams. Very good for everyone who is working with a geographically dispersed team and / or in an Agile environment.
4. You're My Favorite Client, by Mike Monteiro
Written from the perspective of a client, this book is helping both stakeholders to understand the designers and designers to best talk to stakeholders