Top Design System books recommended by experts

At MentorCruise, we are all about making the most out of the experience of others. As part of that, we've connected and asked dozens of experts and professionals about their favourite Design System books – and here are the answers.

Table of Contents

Fundamentals of Design System

Understanding the concepts of Design System starts with understanding the fundamentals. On your way to mastery, it's crucial for you to understand how certain concepts were derived, and why things work like they do. Starting with these resources is the best way to do so.

Software Engineering at Google: Lessons Learned from Programming Over Time

Today, software engineers need to know not only how to program effectively but also how to develop proper engineering practices to make their codebase sustainable and healthy. This book emphasizes this difference between programming and software engineering.
How can software engineers manage a living codebase that evolves and responds to changing requirements and demands over the length of …

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Thinking in systems

In the years following her role as the lead author of the international bestseller, Limits to Growth―the first book to show the consequences of unchecked growth on a finite planet―Donella Meadows remained a pioneer of environmental and social analysis until her untimely death in 2001.
Thinking in Systems is a concise and crucial book offering insight for problem solving on scales ranging fr…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Expressive Design Systems

Good design systems can help you create digital products with efficiency and consistency. But great design systems will support and strengthen your team’s creativity at the same time. In Expressive Design Systems, Yesenia Perez-Cruz shows you how to build useful, dependable systems that not only maintain harmony across your products, but also flex to accommodate inspiration and experimentation…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Building Design Systems: Unify User Experiences Through a Shared Design Language

Learn how to build a design system framed within the context of your specific business needs. This book guides you through the process of defining a design language that can be understood across teams, while also establishing communication strategies for how to sell your system to key stakeholders and other contributors.
With a defined set of components and guidelines, designers can focus t…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Atomic Design

Atomic Design details all that goes into creating and maintaining robust design systems, allowing you to roll out higher quality, more consistent UIs faster than ever before. This book introduces a methodology for thinking of our UIs as thoughtful hierarchies, discusses the qualities of effective pattern libraries, and showcases techniques to transform your team's design and development workfl…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Design Systems: A Practical Guide to Creating Design Languages for Digital Products

Not all design systems are equally effective. Some can generate coherent user experiences, others produce confusing patchwork designs. Some inspire teams to contribute to them, others are neglected. Some get better with time, more cohesive and better functioning; others get worse, becoming bloated and cumbersome.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Additional Design System Reading

These books are not required for you to learn Design System, but they are highly recommended for you to deepen your knowledge.

Design Systems Handbook

This book guides listeners through best practices around planning, designing, building, and implementing a design system, with insights and first-hand experiences from lead designers at Shopify, Google, Apple, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

This list is curated by MentorCruise and can include Amazon affiliate links. Have any other suggestions? Add here.

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Tech Lead / Senior software engineer with 20+ years in full cycle development, dedicated to mentoring growth. Throughout my career, I have honed my skills in software architecture, design, and development while working on a wide range of projects for clients such as startups, established businesses, and large corporations. My …

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I have over 7+ years of experience as a UX Designer, 3+ years working within e-commerce spaces. Former UX at The Home Depot, Steelcase, and Meijer to name a few. I have over 3+ years of experience leading and teaching designers at the start of their career. I teach students …

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I'm a Data Professional with 15 years of experience. Currently I'm working as a Solution Architect at a large enterprise in the energy sector. My focus there is on driving AI initiatives across multiple levels and leading the team implementing ML/AI based solutions. As a mentor I'm lucky to work …

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As a dynamic UX leader and architect, I'm driven by innovation and a passion for design. With extensive experience in digital projects for a diverse range of clients, from startups to industry giants like Amazon and Disney, my expertise lies in creating optimal solutions through iterative design and a deep …

$270 / month

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PEOPLE. TEAM. PRODUCT. Understand the needs of your people, grow them to have influence, show them how to create impact & give them autonomy. Build teams focused on collaboration, communication, and accountability. Create products that solve meaningful problems for users and provide value to the organization. If you are looking …

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I am a designer passionate about understanding people’s needs and crafting products for those needs. I tackle problems with care and curiosity while striving for a solution that puts a smile on the users. Previously was lead designer at Carbon Health and Amazon's global sortation technology, and head of design …

$240 / month

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  • "Naz is an amazing person and a wonderful mentor. She is supportive and knowledgeable with extensive practical experience. Having been a manager at Netflix, she also knows a ton about working with teams at scale. Highly recommended."

  • "Brandon has been supporting me with a software engineering job hunt and has provided amazing value with his industry knowledge, tips unique to my situation and support as I prepared for my interviews and applications."

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