Top UX Design books curated by experts

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

  • Curated by industry experts
  • Proven learning resources
  • Updated annually
Top UX Design books recommended by experts
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Fundamentals of UX Design

Understanding the concepts of UX 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.

Universal Principles of Design

Universal Principles of Design

Universal Principles of Design is the first cross-disciplinary reference of design. Richly illustrated and easy to navigate, this book pairs clear explanations of the design concepts featured with visual examples of those concepts applied in practice.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

The User's Journey: Storymapping Products That People Love

The User's Journey: Storymapping Products That People Love

Like a good story, successful design is a series of engaging moments structured over time. The User’s Journey will show you how, when, and why to use narrative structure, technique, and principles to ideate, craft, and test a cohesive vision for an engaging outcome. See how a “story first” appro…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Lean UX: Applying Lean Principles to Improve User Experience

Lean UX: Applying Lean Principles to Improve User Experience

The Lean UX approach to interaction design is tailor-made for today’s web-driven reality. In this insightful book, leading advocate Jeff Gothelf teaches you valuable Lean UX principles, tactics, and techniques from the ground up—how to rapidly experiment with design ideas, validate them with rea…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

The User Experience Team of One: A Research and Design Survival Guide

The User Experience Team of One: A Research and Design Survival Guide

The User Experience Team of One prescribes a range of approaches that have big impact and take less time and fewer resources than the standard lineup of UX deliverables. Whether you want to cross over into user experience or you're a seasoned practitioner trying to drag your organization forward…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

UI is Communication: How to Design Intuitive, User Centered Interfaces by Focusing on Effective Communication

UI is Communication: How to Design Intuitive, User Centered Interfaces by Focusing on Effective Communication

User interface design is a challenging, multi disciplinary activity that requires understanding a wide range of concepts and techniques that are often subjective and even conflicting. Imagine how much it would help if there were a single perspective that you could use to simplify these complex i…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Lean UX

Lean UX

Inspired by Lean and Agile development theories, Lean UX lets you focus on the actual experience being designed, rather than deliverables. This book shows you how to collaborate closely with other members of your Agile product team, and gather feedback early and often.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Additional UX Design Reading

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

Writing Is Designing: Words and the User Experience

Writing Is Designing: Words and the User Experience

Without words, apps would be an unusable jumble of shapes and icons, while voice interfaces and chatbots wouldn't even exist. Words make software human–centered, and require just as much thought as the branding and code. This book will show you how to give your users clarity, test your words, an…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Designing Interfaces

Designing Interfaces

Designing good application interfaces isnâ??t easy now that companies need to create compelling, seamless user experiences across an exploding number of channels, screens, and contexts. In this updated third edition, youâ??ll learn how to navigate through the maze of design options. By capturing…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Don't Make Me Think

Don't Make Me Think

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 t…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

The Design of Everyday Things

The Design of Everyday Things

One of the world's great designers shares his vision of "the fundamental principles of great and meaningful design", that's "even more relevant today than it was when first published" (Tim Brown, CEO, IDEO). Even the smartest among us can feel inept as we fail to figure out which light switch or…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Thinking, Fast and Slow

Thinking, Fast and Slow

*Major New York Times Bestseller
*More than 2.6 million copies sold
*One of The New York Times Book Review's ten best books of the year
*Selected by The Wall Street Journal as one of the best nonfiction books of the year
*Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient
*Daniel Kahneman's …

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design

About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design

About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design, Fourth Edition is the latest update to the book that shaped and evolved the landscape of interaction design. This comprehensive guide takes the worldwide shift to smartphones and tablets into account. New information includes discussions on mobil…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

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