Recommended UX Books

We’re unashamed fans of books.

Real, paper, pick-me-up-and-flip-through-me books. Sure, we follow a ton of blogs, Twitter feeds, discussion forums and even online courses … but nothing beats an old-fashioned book for structured learning at your own pace on a lazy weekend afternoon.

This is our carefully curated collection of recommended reading. It includes titles that have helped us along the way. By reading from this collection you’ll be making solid progress on your path to UX mastery.

Also check out ‘Get Started in UX‘, the book we wrote for people establishing a career in UX.

Our top 10 recommended books:

In alphabetical order

 TitleAuthorCategoryBuy
100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About PeopleSusan WeinschenkPsychology
Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social ChangeVictor PapanekRelated
Don't Make Me ThinkSteve KrugUsability
Gamestorming: A Playbook For Innovators, Rulebreakers, and ChangemakersDave Gray ,Sunni Brown and James MacanufoMethods & Process
Interviewing UsersSteve PortigalResearch
Lean UX: Applying Lean Principles to Improve User ExperienceJeff GothelfMethods & Process
See What I Mean: How to use Comics to Communicate IdeasKevin ChengSketching & Visual Thinking
The Design of Everyday ThingsDon NormanUsability
The Elements of User ExperienceJesse James GarrettFundamentals
The Moderator's Survival Guide: Handling Common, Tricky, and Sticky Situations in User ResearchDonna TedescoResearch

 

There are so many more influential and useful books in the UX canon. Here are the other books we have on our bookshelf:

All recommended books:

 TitleAuthorCategoryBuy
100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About PeopleSusan WeinschenkPsychology
A Practical Guide to Information Architecture (ebook)Donna SpencerInformation Architecture
A Project Guide To UX DesignRuss Unger and Carolyn ChandlerMethods & Process
About Face 3: The Essentials of Interaction DesignAlan CooperInteraction
Advanced Web Metrics with Google AnalyticsBrian CliftonAnalytics
Card Sorting: Designing Usable CategoriesDonna SpencerInformation Architecture
Communicating Design: Developing Web Site Documentation for Design and PlanningDan M. BrownCommunicating UX
Communicating the User Experience: A practical guide for creating useful UX documentationRichard Caddick & Steve CableCommunicating UX
Content Strategy for MobileKaren McGraneMobile & Responsive
Contextual Design: Defining Customer-Centered SystemsHugh BeyerÊ&ÊKaren HoltzblattResearch
Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social ChangeVictor PapanekRelated
Designing for InteractionDan SafferInteraction
Designing for the Digital Age: How to Create Human-centered Products and ServicesKim GoodwinResearch
Designing InteractionsBill MoggridgeInteraction
Designing Intranets: Creating Sites That WorkJames RobertsonIntranets
Designing Web Interfaces: Principles and Patterns for Rich InteractionsBill ScottInteraction
Don't Make Me ThinkSteve KrugUsability
E-Commerce Usability: Tools and Techniques to Perfect the On-line ExperienceDavid TravisUsability
Emotional Design: Why We Love (Or Hate) Everyday ThingsDon NormanInteraction
Envisioning InformationEdward TufteSketching & Visual Thinking
Everyday UX (ebook)Luke Chambers & Matthew MagainCareers
Forms That WorkCaroline Jarrett and Gerry GaffneyUI Design
Gamestorming: A Playbook For Innovators, Rulebreakers, and ChangemakersDave Gray ,Sunni Brown and James MacanufoMethods & Process
Get Started in UX: the Complete Guide to Launching a Career in User Experience Design (ebook)Matthew Magain & Luke ChambersCareers
Handbook of Usability Testing: How to Plan, Design and Conduct Effective Tests,Jeffrey RubinUsability
Influence: The Psychology of PersuasionRobert B. CialdiniPsychology
Information Anxiety 2Richard S WurmanInformation Architecture
Information Architecture for the World Wide WebPeter Morville and Louis RosenfeldInformation Architecture
Interviewing UsersSteve PortigalResearch
Killer UX DesignJodie MouleFundamentals
Kluge: The Haphazard Evolution of the Human MindGary MarcusRelated
Lean UX: Applying Lean Principles to Improve User ExperienceJeff GothelfMethods & Process
Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content That WorksJanice RedishContent & Copywriting
Measuring the User Experience: Collecting, Analyzing, and Presenting Usability Metrics, 2nd editionThomas Tullis & William AlbertAnalytics
Mental Models: Aligning Design Strategy with Human BehaviourIndi YoungMethods & Process
Mind Hacks: Tips & Tools for Using Your BrainTom Stafford & Matt WebbRelated
Mobile FirstLuke WroblewskiMobile & Responsive
Paper Prototyping: The Fast and Easy Way to Design and Refine User InterfacesCarolyn SnyderPrototyping
Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences (or interactive ebook for iOSNancy DuarteSketching & Visual Thinking
Responsive Web DesignEthan MarcotteMobile & Responsive
Rocket Surgery Made EasySteve KrugUsability
Seductive Interaction DesignStephen P. AndersonInteraction
See What I Mean: How to use Comics to Communicate IdeasKevin ChengSketching & Visual Thinking
Sexy Web DesignElliot Jay StocksVisual Design
Sketching User Experiences (workbook)Saul Greenberg, Sheelagh Carpendale, Nicolai Marquardt and Bill BuxtonSketching & Visual Thinking
Sketching User Experiences: Getting the Design Right and the Right DesignBill BuxtonSketching & Visual Thinking
Sketchnotes 2011Eva-Lotta LammSketching & Visual Thinking
Tapworthy: Designing Great iPhone AppsJosh ClarkMobile & Responsive
The Back of the NapkinDan RoamSketching & Visual Thinking
The Basics of User ExperienceInteraction Design FoundationFundamentals
The Design of Everyday ThingsDon NormanUsability
The Design of Sites (2nd Ed.)Jason I. HongVisual Design
The Doodle Revolution (Read review)Sunni BrownSketching & Visual Thinking
The Elements of User ExperienceJesse James GarrettFundamentals
The Encyclopedia of Human-Computer InteractionMads Soegaard & Rikke Friis DamFundamentals
The Graphic Facilitator's GuideBrandy AgerbeckSketching & Visual Thinking
The Information: A History, a Theory, a FloodJames GleickRelated
The Inmates Are Running the AsylumAlan CooperRelated
The Lean Startup: How Constant Innovation Creates Radically Successful BusinessesEric RiesBusiness & Strategy
The Moderator's Survival Guide: Handling Common, Tricky, and Sticky Situations in User ResearchDonna TedescoResearch
The Mom Test: How to talk to customers and learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to youRob FitzpatrickResearch
The Non-Designer's Design BookRobin WilliamsVisual Design
The Persona Lifecycle: Keeping People in Mind Throughout Product DesignJohn Pruitt & Tamara AdlinMethods & Process
The Principles of Beautiful Web DesignJason BeairdVisual Design
The Shallows: How the Internet is changing the way we read, think and rememberNicholas CarrRelated
The Sketchnote HandbookMike RohdeSketching & Visual Thinking
The Usability KitGerry Gaffney and Daniel SzucUsability
The User Experience Team of One: A Research and Design Survival GuideLeah BuleyFundamentals
The User Is Always Right: A Practical Guide to Creating and Using Personas for the WebSteve MulderMethods & Process
The Visual Display of Quantitative InformationEdward TufteSketching & Visual Thinking
There's Not an App for That: Mobile User Experience Design for LifeSimon Robinson, Gary Marsden and Matt JonesMobile & Responsive
Think First: My no-nonsense approach to creating successful products, powerful user experiences + very happy customersJoe NatoliFundamentals
UI Is Communication: How to Design Intuitive, User Centered Interfaces by Focusing on Effective Communication (Read review)Everett N. McKayFundamentals
Undercover User Experience DesignCennydd Bowles & James BoxFundamentals
Usability EngineeringJakob NielsenUsability
User Story Mapping: Discover the Whole Story, Build the Right ProductJeff PattonMethods & Process
Web Analytics: An Hour A DayAvanash KaushikAnalytics
Web Form Design: Filling in the BlanksLuke WroblewskiUI Design
What Every Intranet Team Should KnowJames RobertsonIntranets
What Every Intranet Team Should KnowJames RobertsonIntranets
Just Enough ResearchErika HallResearch

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