Tag: UX Reading List

Following up on my earlier posts, here’s another set of books in an informal series on recommended UX reading.

As a reminder, the series isn’t meant to provide a definitive list, but rather a set of books that I’ve enjoyed and found helpful in my UX work. Some of them will be well known and already widely recommended. Others may be less so, though no less valuable to me. A few might even be eccentric choices for a list like this.

Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
by Scott McCloud
I’ve been recommending this classic to designers for 20 years now! It’s a wonderful look at visual communication, exquisitely told using the form that it documents.

See What I Mean: How to Use Comics to Communicate Ideas
By Kevin Cheng
In the context of this list, here is a perfect companion to Understanding Comics, as Cheng makes explicit the UX contexts in which to effectively use comics.

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
by Daniel H. Pink
While not explicitly a UX-related book, Pink’s book is nevertheless a relevant, and fascinating, read.

Interviewing Users: How to Uncover Compelling Insights
by Steve Portigal
Thoughtful, humane, practical, and more, Steve has created a great guide for a foundational aspect of UX research.

Tog on Interface
by Bruce Tognazzini
It’s almost a quarter-century old, but while a few of the examples are a little dated Tog’s writing remains vibrant and engaging, and the concepts are as relevant and important as ever.

Following up on my earlier post, here’s a second set of books in an informal series on recommended UX reading.

As a reminder, the series isn’t meant to provide a definitive list, but rather a set of books that I’ve enjoyed and found helpful in my UX work. Some of them will be well known and already widely recommended. Others may be less so, though no less valuable to me. A few might even be eccentric choices for a list like this. And some of them might make for excellent beach reading this summer!

Enjoy!

User Story Mapping: Discover the Whole Story, Build the Right Product
by Jeff Patton, Peter Economy
A thoughtful, practical, and collaborative approach to thinking about products. We’re big on user story mapping at Boltmade.

The Elements of User Experience
by Jesse James Garret
One of the defining books on UX by the well-respected author, researcher, and practitioner, as well as co-founder of Adaptive Path.

Subject To Change: Creating Great Products & Services for an Uncertain World
by Peter Merholz, Brandon Schauer, David Verba, Todd Wilkens
Another insightful book on product design from the folks at Adaptive Path (a company since acquired by Capitol One).

Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration
by Ed Catmull
Loads of insights on how to organize a team for creative collaboration, from the co-founder of Pixar.

Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rule-breakers, and Changemakers
by Dave Gray, Sunni Brown, James Macanufo
Plenty of hands-on activities that are useful in the UX world and beyond.

I’m occasionally asked for suggestions on how people might learn more about UX. Usually it’s a pretty general question, but sometimes it’s more specifically for reading recommendations. In order to make it easy for me to quickly answer such questions, I’ve decided to post a few of my suggestions here. And rather than trying to get this perfect, which would prevent my ever getting it done, I’ll treat this as a series of occasional posts.

The series isn’t meant to provide a definitive list, but rather a set of books that I’ve enjoyed and found helpful in my UX work. Some of them will be well known and already widely recommended. Others may be less so, though no less valuable to me. A few might even be eccentric choices for a list like this. And some of them might make for excellent beach reading this summer!

Let’s start with five and see how things go.

The Design of Everyday Things
by Donald Norman
This is the first UX book I ever read. Any of Norman’s books are well worth a look, but this one is, for me, his greatest.

The Laws of Simplicity
by John Maeda
Short and simple, as it should be.

Lean UX: Applying Lean Principles to Improve User Experience
by Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden (Editor)
Filled with practical guidance that you can start to act on right away, from a pair of Fluxible speakers.

The Elements of Typographic Style
by Robert Bringhurst
This might very well be may favourite book on typography. Smart, detailed, and eminently approachable.

Envisioning Information
by Edward R. Tufte
A beautifully printed book that, naturally, communicates Tufte’s ideas in a compellingly visual way.