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.

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.

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

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’…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems

Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems

It's been known for years that usability testing can dramatically improve products. But with a typical price tag of $5,000 to $10,000 for a usability consultant to conduct each round of tests, it rarely happens. In this how-to companion to Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usab…

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.

100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People

100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People

We design to elicit responses from people. We want them to buy something, read more, or take action of some kind. Designing without understanding what makes people act the way they do is like exploring a new city without a map: results will be haphazard, confusing, and inefficient. This book com…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

The Pocket Universal Principles of UX: 100 Timeless Strategies to Create Positive Interactions Between People and Technology

The Pocket Universal Principles of UX: 100 Timeless Strategies to Create Positive Interactions Between People and Technology

Richly illustrated and easy to navigate, Universal Principles of UX pairs clear explanations of each concept with visual examples of the ideas applied in practice. The book is organized into six broad categories:

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.

The Elements of User Experience: User-Centered Design for the Web and Beyond

The Elements of User Experience: User-Centered Design for the Web and Beyond

Smart organizations recognize that Web design is more than just creating clean code and sharp graphics. A site that really works fulfills your strategic objectives while meeting the needs of your users. Even the best content and the most sophisticated technology won't help you balance those goal…

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.

Bottlenecks: Aligning UX Design with User Psychology

Bottlenecks: Aligning UX Design with User Psychology

Learn the psychological constrictions of attention, perception, memory, disposition, motivation, and social influence that determine whether customers will be receptive to your digital innovations. Bottlenecks: Aligning UX Design with User Psychology fills a need for entrepreneurs, designers, an…

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.

Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days

Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days

Entrepreneurs and leaders face big questions every day: What’s the most important place to focus your effort, and how do you start? What will your idea look like in real life? How many meetings and discussions does it take before you can be sure you have the right solution?
Now there’s a sure…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

UX for Beginners: A Crash Course in 100 Short Lessons

UX for Beginners: A Crash Course in 100 Short Lessons

Apps! Websites! Rubber Ducks! Naked Ninjas! This book has everything. If you want to get started in user experience design (UX), you've come to the right place: 100 self-contained lessons that cover the whole spectrum of fundamentals. Forget dry, technical material. This book―based on the wildly…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

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