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 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.

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

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 t…

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.

Just Enough Research

Just Enough Research

Design research is a hard slog that takes years to learn and time away from the real work of design, right? Wrong. Good research is about asking more and better questions, and thinking critically about the answers. It’s something every member of your team can and should do, and which everyone ca…

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Laws of UX: Using Psychology to Design Better Products & Services

Laws of UX: Using Psychology to Design Better Products & Services

An understanding of psychology—specifically the psychology behind how users behave and interact with digital interfaces—is perhaps the single most valuable nondesign skill a designer can have. The most elegant design can fail if it forces users to conform to the design rather than working within…

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.

Universal Principles of Design: 100 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach Through Design

Universal Principles of Design: 100 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach Through Design

Whether a marketing campaign or a museum exhibit, a video game or a complex control system, the design we see is the culmination of many concepts and practices brought together from a variety of disciplines. Because no one can be an expert on everything, designers have always had to scramble to …

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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