Just starting out in UX design? Check out my recommended list of best UX design books.
I love to read! I used to set goals, like “read one book a week”, but then I figured it was counterproductive.
I’d rather read regularly at a comfortable pace (for example, one chapter a day) than try to rush the book just because I need to start a new one.
Also some weeks I don’t feel like reading much, or at all… Nothing wrong with that!
I tend to read books on design, creativity, productivity, personal development, continuous learning, business, leadership, management, and innovation.
Here are some of the recent books I’ve read:
The Hidden Habits of Genius
by Craig Wright
“Habit” in the title seems to be a gimmick to get more attention to the book. Most “habits” the author talks about are really innate characteristics that geniuses possessed. Some were manifested early, some later, but they are not something you can really develop if you are not born with it (photographic memory or perfect pitch anyone?). So the book reads more like a collection of stories recounting lives and accomplishments of influential artists (Picasso, Da Vinci), musicians (Mozart, Beethoven, McCartney), scientists (Einstein, Newton, Hawking) and business people (mostly Bezos and Zuckerberg).
There is definitely some inspiration that can be drawn from those stories, but then it turns out most geniuses were self-centered, obsessive jerks that couldn’t maintain good personal and family relationships. Would you like to be one of them even if you had some kind of a genius-gene? I wouldn’t!
It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work
by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
The title says it all. Running around, pretending to be busy is not normal. There is no need to take 40 hours to do something that can be done in 4 unless that’s what the higher ups expect from you. Fried and Hansson challenge many “crazy” norms of a modern business, and propose a new “calm” paradigm, something that they used themselves to build a successful company.
Keep Going
by Austin Kleon
Like the first 2 books in the series this one is short, sweet and to the point! I like Austin Kleon’s style, I like his illustrations, and I like his message. Highly recommend all 3 of his books in paper format. They are a particular pleasure to read that way.
Competing Against Luck
by Clayton Christensen.
More on Jobs to be Done (JTBD) from Clayton Christensen himself.
Articulating Design Decisions
by Tom Greever
Second read! It is that good! Truly a must read for UX designers of all levels!
Will It Fly? by Pat Flynn
Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur by Derek Sivers
Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All by Tom and David Kelley
Solving Product Design Exercises by Artiom Dashinsky
Everybody Writes by Ann Handley
Steal Like an Artist and Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon