The UX reading list: 22 must-read books and resources

When it comes to UX, there's always something to learn. If you find yourself curious about a certain area of UX, want to sharpen your skills, or need some inspiration, it may be time to pick up a book.

That's why we've compiled a list of 22 must-read books and resources for UX leaders. Most of our recommendations are books, but we've also included some articles, podcasts, and websites worth exploring.

Most of the following books have been recommended by our UX community on Twitter as part of our weekly #UXchat, which was chaired by Jane Ruffino, a user-centered content designer.

Thanks to Jane and everyone below for their recommendations.

Essential UX books

User Experience Team of One by Leah Buley

Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug

The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman

The Design of Everyday Things is essential for any designer – whether you design physical or digital products. This book confirms how "good" human-centered design can shape the world and how thoughtless design can ruin it.

Just Enough Research by Erika Hall

Mental Models by Indi Young

Read more about the world of mental models and UX in this guide.

Letting Go of the Words by Ginny Redish

Design for Real Life by Eric Meyer and Sara Wachter-Boettcher

Measuring the User Experience: Collecting, Analyzing, and Presenting Usability Metrics by Thomas Tullis and William Albert

According to uxdesign.cc, measuring the user experience “provides the first single source of practical information to enable usability professionals and product developers to measure the usability of any product.”

Doorbells, Danger and Dead Batteries by Steve Portigal

We interviewed Steve Portigal about his collection of user research "war stories" – a fascinating collection of bizarre, funny and occasionally heartbreaking tales from the user research frontline, that will help you prepare for anything.

Observing the User Experience: A Practitioner’s Guide to User Research by Elizabeth Goodman

This book bridges the gap between “what digital companies think they know about their users and the actual user experience.” And according to Kai-Ting Huang, interaction designer at Google, this is required reading for the human-computer interaction master’s program at the University of Washington.

A Practical Guide to Information Architecture by Donna Spencer

Appearing on most "must-read" lists, Donna Spencer’s ebook includes dozens of case studies that will inspire you to tackle your IA project, large or small.

Online resources

UX Design: maximizing the value of scientific software in life science R&D (pdf)

The Government Digital Services blog

The GDS blog is a vital resource for any organization – it’s open and transparent about every step of the government’s digital transformation and provides endless practical advice. Its research on accessibility was integral to our article on designing websites for blind and partially sighted people.

UX Crash Course: 31 fundamentals

3 Placemaking Lessons From the Magic Kingdom

How to Teach Yourself UX Design

A super-helpful Medium post from Kai-Ting Huang that lists a huge array of resources for UX self-starters.

Material Design by Google

Material design is a visual language created by Google with an overriding goal to develop one system that allows for a unified user experience across all devices, platforms and screen sizes. Handy for inspiration when it comes to synthesising the physical world with digital, and for adhering to consistent principles.

Podcasts

Invisibilia from NPR

99% Invisible from Radiotopia

Produced in beautiful downtown, Oakland, California, 99% Invisible is ostensibly a ‘design’ podcast, but it’s more about the things we don’t think about. The smaller elements that have shaped our world drastically, yet have largely gone unnoticed.  99% Invisible is also one of the most wide-ranging, entertaining and enlightening podcasts in my subscriptions folder, and is by far the one podcast that I ‘must listen to first’ when it pops up in my notifications.

Non-UX reading material that you should read anyway

How to Lie With Maps by Mark Monmonier

Adapt: Why Success Always Starts With Failure by Tim Harford

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown