Top Product Design 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 Product Design books – and here are the answers.

Table of Contents

Fundamentals of Product Design

Understanding the concepts of Product Design 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.

User Friendly: How the Hidden Rules of Design Are Changing the Way We Live, Work, and Play

In User Friendly, Cliff Kuang and Robert Fabricant reveal the untold story of a paradigm that quietly rules our modern lives: the assumption that machines should anticipate what we need. Spanning over a century of sweeping changes, from women’s rights to the Great Depression to World War II to the rise of the digital era, this book unpacks the ways in which the world has been―and continues to …

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The Laws of Simplicity

Ten laws of simplicity for business, technology, and design that teach us how to need less but get more. Finally, we are learning that simplicity equals sanity. We're rebelling against technology that's too complicated, DVD players with too many menus, and software accompanied by 75-megabyte "read me" manuals. The iPod's clean gadgetry has made simplicity hip. But sometimes we find ourselves c…

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Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation

In Change by Design, Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO, the celebrated innovation and design firm, shows how the techniques and strategies of design belong at every level of business. Change by Design is not a book by designers for designers; this is a book for creative leaders who seek to infuse design thinking into every level of an organization, product, or service to drive new alternatives for busine…

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

Since Don’t Make Me Think was first published in 2000, hundreds of thousands of Web designers and developers have relied on usability guru Steve Krug’s guide to help them understand the principles of intuitive navigation and information design. Witty, commonsensical, and eminently practical, it’s one of the best-loved and most recommended books on the subject. Now Steve returns with fresh pers…

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The Design of Everyday Things

The fault, argues this ingenious -- even liberating -- book, lies not in ourselves, but in product design that ignores the needs of users and the principles of cognitive psychology. The problems range from ambiguous and hidden controls to arbitrary relationships between controls and functions, coupled with a lack of feedback or other assistance and unreasonable demands on memorization.

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Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products

Why do some products capture widespread attention while others flop? What makes us engage with certain products out of sheer habit? Is there a pattern underlying how technologies hook us? Nir Eyal answers these questions (and many more) by explaining the Hook Model—a four-step process embedded into the products of many successful companies to subtly encourage customer behavior. Through consecu…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Additional Product Design Reading

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

The Secret Life of LEGO® Bricks: The Story of a Design Icon

LEGO® bricks are design icons and marvels of engineering. Having remained virtually unchanged for over fifty years, the brick is still the center of the LEGO System in Play, in which each brick connects to every other brick, allowing the construction of almost anything you can imagine. LEGO minifigures may be the friendly smiling faces of the LEGO world, but bricks in all their different shape…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Open Circuits: The Inner Beauty of Electronic Components (Packaging may vary)

Our phones, computers, and appliances are made of hundreds of internal components, each precisely engineered to perform a certain function, but none intended to actually be seen. Through painstakingly executed, vividly detailed cross-section photography, Open Circuits reveals the surprising—and often accidental—beauty hiding inside the electronic components that drive our everyday devices.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

The Art of Product Design: Changing How Things Get Made

Embrace Open Engineering and accelerate the design and manufacturing processes. Product development is a team sport, but most companies don't practice it that way. Organizations should be drawing on the creativity of engaged customers and outsiders, but instead they rely on the same small group of internal "experts" for new ideas. Designers and engineers should be connecting with marketing, sa…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

The Zombie Apocalypse Guide to 3D printing: Designing and printing practical objects

The Zombie Apocalypse Guide to 3D printing is written for the person who wants to use their printer to make practical, durable items for everyday use.Whether rebuilding civilization from your jungle hideaway, fighting off zombie hordes, or just printing a new plastic bit for your latest project, The Zombie Apocalypse Guide to 3D printing has what you need to get the job done. If you are going …

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The Design of Everyday Things: Revised and Expanded Edition

Design doesn't have to complicated, which is why this guide to human-centered design shows that usability is just as important as aesthetics. Even the smartest among us can feel inept as we fail to figure out which light switch or oven burner to turn on, or whether to push, pull, or slide a door. The Design of Everyday Things shows that good, usable design is possible. The rules are simple: ma…

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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Vikas is an accomplished engineering leader with 20+ years of experience, he has a proven track record of success in multiple leadership roles across startups and large organizations (Facebook, Amazon, Mastercard). Throughout his career, Vikas developed a deep understanding of the technical aspects of engineering, coupled with strong business acumen …

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I’m a Designer with a passion for creating compelling user-focused experiences and storytelling. Currently at Microsoft Vancouver, I have 10+ years of experience designing digital products that are used by millions worldwide. I work with a talented team at Microsoft Teams as a UX designer. Through the span of my …

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👋 Hey, I’m Nikita — Senior Product Manager Technical at Amazon, ex-Software Engineering Manager, mentor, and builder. Over the past 13+ years, I’ve helped ship B2B and B2C products in logistics, AI/ML, big data, energy, and sustainability. Today, I lead product strategy for one of Amazon’s most complex tech domains …

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Hi, I'm Annalisa! :) With 10 years of experience in product design, I specialize in creating user-centric solutions for B2B and SaaS products. I've had the privilege of working with a range of brands, from large corporations to innovative startups, from B2B to B2C. My focus is on refining design …

$80 / month

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Yes, you can design your career. I've designed my career and helped over 500 mentees design and grow theirs. I coach professionals in product/UX design, UX research, digital accessibility, and Conversational Design. Frequent topics I discuss with my mentees are "how to stand out from the crowd" and "what's next …

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Hi there! Thank you for visiting my profile. With 15 years of design experience across different tech sectors and various company sizes, I've coached designers to help them acquire fundamental product design skills, land their dream jobs, and advance their careers. Whether you’re transitioning into design or aiming for your …

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