20 UX Design Books for Beginners

This collection of books will help get you started with UX Design for apps and websites

UX Design is a skill that's in hot demand. To keep up with current trends in this rapidly growing industry, it's important to constantly seek out new sources of information and inspiration.

Professional web designers and developers Ethan Parry (@ethanparry), Mario Ferrer (@marioferrer), and Luz de León (@23design) share with us the essential books on UX design that you should have in your library:

The Field Study Handbook, by Jan Chipchase

Luz de León, who is the CEO of the strategic design and creative technology company Diga33! (@diga33digital), highly recommends this book for those interested in learning how to conduct field studies. This manual was also recommended by Pere Rosales, "a born innovator who you should follow right now".

100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People, by Susan Weinschenk

What stands out most about this book is its simplicity and clarity. It goes straight to the point and it is very easy to read and apply its lessons to your web pages and apps. The main premise is that to create truly attractive designs, you must take into account what motivates the people who are going to use your products.

100 MORE Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People, from Susan Weinschenk

This is the second book on the series and, like the first, aims to help you understand how internet users make decisions. It teaches you how to analyze what motivates them in their decision making process, and the ways they interact with apps and websites.

The Field Guide to Human-Centered Design, from IDEO.org

Although it may seem obvious, putting people at the center of our designs is the key to them succeeding. This book guides you step-by-step instructions for solving the typical problems that occur in a designer's day-to-day life, helping you to always keep in mind who will use your products and how they will interact with them.

Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, by Steve Krug

Since Don't Make Me Think was first published in 2000, hundreds of thousands of web designers and developers have relied on it as the ultimate usability guide. It's an excellent roadmap for understanding the principles of intuitive design, navigation, and information.

The Ten Faces of Innovation: Ideo's Strategies for Beating the Devil's Advocate and Driving Creativity Throughout Your Organization, by Tom Kelley

IDEO has developed a concept that the people who work in a company can fall into one of ten roles when it comes to encouraging innovation. Each of these roles is essential in finding new approaches: the anthropologist is in charge of field work and analyzing how customers behave with respect to the product; the pollinator mixes and combines ideas, people, and technology to create new ideas and drive growth... and so on.

The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses, by Eric Ries

This book focuses on analyzing how companies of any kind can increase their revenue, drive innovation, and take advantage of the immense opportunities offered by today's technology and knowledge.

Lean UX: Designing Great Products with Agile Teams, by Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden

The main idea developed in this book - which is a favorite among many UX designers - is that a good user experience should be designed by a heterogeneous team of professionals. But it is not enough for a team to be multidisciplinary. For them to work optimally, it is essential that everyone works together in cycles to improve the product.

About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design, by Alan Cooper

Smartphones and tablets are devices that occupy countless hours of our day-to-day lives. Mobile apps, touch interfaces, screen sizes, constant updates... This guide explores these dynamic and ever-changing interfaces to introduce readers to the basics of interaction design.

Design is a Job, by Mike Monteiro

Dealing with contracts and clients, preparing presentations, and preparing invoice numbers are just as important as creativity when it comes to the business of design. It's important to remember the administrative aspect of design, and these things must be taken into account if you want to make a living with your creative business.

Content Design, by Sarah Richards

With a sober design, this book makes a strong declaration that content, rather than aesthetics, is king. It covers the basics of content design and explores topics such as the science of how we read.

Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, by Nir Eyal

Hooked draws on Eyal's years of research, consulting, and practical experience. She wrote the book that she wished had been available to her when she started her career; not about abstract theory, but a practical guide to building better products. Hooked is written for product managers, designers, marketers, startup founders, and anyone looking to understand how products influence our behavior.

Strategic Writing for UX: Drive Engagement, Conversion, and Retention with Every Word, by Torrey Podmajersky

This is a practical book for anyone wanting to start writing for UX. For example, chapter 5 talks about how to edit texts to be "clear, concise, and useful": key objectives for this type of writing.

Microcopy: The Complete Guide, by Kinneret Yifrah

This is another book directly related to UX writing, with very practical examples of different types of microcopy and how they are used in various interfaces. Part 3 offers a particularly useful and detailed guide on accessibility.

Nicely Said, by Kate Kiefer Lee and Nicole Fenton

The title Nicely Said is a statement of intent for the content of this book: it shares all kinds of lessons and tips on how to write for the web and digital products.

Sprint: How to Solve Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days, by Jake Knapp

Every day, entrepreneurs and creatives face important dilemmas and need effective decision-making processes. Jake Knapp created this five-day problem-solving process at Google, where sprints were used to complete all kinds of projects.

Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation, by Tim Brown

This book explains the collaborative process which designers use by not only taking into account what is technically possible but what is feasible. With a user-centered approach to problem solving, the lessons in this book are intended to help individuals and organizations be more innovative and creative.

Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All, by Tom Kelley and David Kelley

IDEO founder and Stanford d.school creator David Kelley and his brother Tom Kelley, IDEO partner and author of the bestselling book The Art of Innovation, have written a powerful and compelling book about unleashing the creativity found in every one of us.

Conversational Design, by Erika Hall

This manual deals with how to make digital systems more human by exploring how conversations are designed. Chapter 3 explains how to put the principles of this type of design into practice.

The Design of Everyday Things, by Don Norman

This work shows that good, usable design is always possible. The rules are simple: make things visible, take advantage of natural relationships that combine function and control, and make smart use of constraints. The goal: effortlessly guide the user to the right action using the right control at the right time. It is a powerful introduction to how, and why, some products satisfy customers, while others just frustrate them.

What other UX Design books do you like?

English version by @inuin.

You may also be interested in:

- 5 Online Courses to Become a UX Designer.
- What Is a UX Writer?
- Believe It or Not, UX Design Is a 6000-Year-Old Skill.