UX Design Books for Designers

Want to be an excellent designer? Looking for the best UI/UX books and resources? Nowhere to go or to gain the right and effective channel for becoming an outstanding UI/UX designer? Just follow me, I have compiled a list of high-profile UI/UX books, which are recommended by the major professional websites, and blogs.The topic is mainly covering UI design, UX design, and web design. Hope it is helpful and useful to you. Any resource you think it’s worth to be included, please feel free to give a message below the comment area or simply drop me a line on LinkedIn.

UX Books for Entry-level Designers (Books with PDF link)

1. The Design of Everyday Things — By Donald A. Norman

The Design of Everyday Things — by Don Norman

It shows a teapot on the cover of the book, the teapot spout and the handle at the same side, if you tea, you are likely to burn yourself. What Norman want to tell you, the life is hard, often the “bad design” should be blamed. To learn interaction well, you must understand what’s the design requirements from people at first. As Steve Jobs said, “Design is not just what is looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” The ultimate purpose of the designer is to make useful products, not just good-looking.

2. Don’t Make Me Think — By Steve Krug

Don’t Make Me Thins — by Steve Ktrug

“Characters of this book, the first one is short and pithy, 200-page length, not wordy at all. You may put it devoured on a noon, perhaps before going to sleep, even on the plane, or on your way to work. (It’s more likely to read through it on the love when you get the book) “ Therein, which stresses the three laws of Web Usability, the first one is — do not let me think.

3. The Non-Designer’s Design Book — By Robin Williams

The Non-Designer’s Design Book -by Robin Williams

Interaction designers must learn the basic knowledge of typography, no aesthetic, you can not be a good designer. In this ubiquitous creativity era, you have to make yourself be a designer.

In the eyes of Robin Williams, the design is quite simple. The book covers the four graphic design principles of C.R.A.P(Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity), with concise, humor, and vivid language recounts the how much the changes and visible benefits brought by using these principles flexibly. In addition, it also introduces some basic knowledge about color and font, making the content more completely.

UX Books for Advanced Designers (Books with PDF link)

1. The Elements of User Experience — By Jesse James Garrett

The Elements of User Experience -by Jesse James Garrett

If all you need is a book to teach you “how to design”, there are many, many books discuss how to build a website, but this one is not you wanted. If all you need is a book to tell you about technology, you can not find a line of code here. If you want to find an answer in this book, on the contrary, this book teaches you “how to ask the right questions.”

This book will tell you what you need to know in advance before you read other books. This book is for you, if you need a great concept, and if you need to understand the environment that user experience designers make decisions.

2. A Project Guide to UX Design: For user experience designers in the field or in the making (2nd Edition) — By Russ Unger & Carolyn Chandler

A Project Guide to UX Design-by Russ Unger & Carolyn Chandler

“If you are a young designer entering or contemplating entering the UX field this is a canonical book. If you are an organization that really needs to start grokking UX this book is also for you.” — Chris Bernard.）

3. Communicating Design: Developing Web Site Documentation for Design and Planning (2nd Edition) — By Dan M. Brown

Communicating Design -by Dan M. Brown

Successful web design team relies on good communication between developers and customers, but also inseparable from communication within the development team members. Dan Brown will teach you through this book, wireframes, site maps, flow charts and other design established a common language. Through it, the designers and project teams can capture ideas, track progress and always allow stakeholders to know the latest situation of the project.

4. About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design- By Alan Cooper, Robert Reimann, David Cronin, Christopher Noessel

About Face -by Alan Cooper, Robert Reimann, David Cronin, Christopher Noessel

As one of the must-read classic books, About Face series are worth the time to read, and each version is very valuable. As one of the instrumental books, AF brings interaction into the daily language of product design and development. Which is a comprehensive guide on interface design and interaction design of web and mobile devices. This book covers the best practices of project progress, goal-oriented design, persona development. For beginners who have no project experience, it may be very difficult, but still worth reading. We recommend cursory read at the first time and then study the rest part carefully when needed, because it involves too many details.

“If Norman is an old man telling stories, Krug is a crash expert let you simply entry design, while Cooper is a scholar, researcher, designer.”

UX Websites & Blogs

1. Lukew

Lukew, a senior UX expert on digital product leader who has designed and built software used by more than one billion people worldwide also the founder of several companies.

2. Smashing Magazine

A comprehensive website provides high-quality articles with the UX employee on Design, Coding, Mobile, and Word Press etc.

3. UXbooth

A professional UX website. The difference between it and Smashing Magazine is that UXbooth focuses more on the aspect of user experience design.

4. Mockplus Blog

It’s a new blog with very simple and clean interface, no more distraction from advertisements or others. Articles are all surrounding the topics of design tools, UI/UX design, web design, and mobile app design. A good design topic resource to follow.

Books Recommended by readers:

Mental Models (by Indi Young)

Practical Empathy (by Indi Young)

The Inmates Are Running the Asylum ( by Alan Cooper)

Rocket Surgery Made Easy ( by Steve Krug)

Designing for the Digital Age (by Kim Goodwin)

Start with Why (by Simon Sinek)

The UX Book: Process and Guidelines for Ensuring a Quality User Experience (by Rex Hartson, Pardha Pyla）

Interaction Design: Beyond Human — Computer Interaction (by Preece, Sharp, and Rogers)

Measuring the user experience (by Tullis and Albert) (If you want to know more about the quantitative side)

Research Methods in Human-computer Interaction (by Jonathan Lazar and Jinjuan Heidi Feng)

Handbook of Usability Testing 2nd Edition (by Rubin and Chisnell) (If you want to dig deeper into how to conduct usability tests, but may also be a bit for interviews).

Original Post at Mockplus.com.