9 Must-Have UX Design Books in 2024

Hello Readers! Welcome to an informative article that will help you learn about user experience or UX design.

This article will explore the importance of UX Design Books and where you can find the ones that can help you up your Designer game.

By the end of this article, you will be familiar with all the original UX Design Books, their uses, and the outcomes so you can set new trends.

Here is an overview of what we will cover in this book-savvy guide:

• Importance of UX Design Books
• Top 9 UX Design Books
• Benefits of learning UX Design 
• The future outlook for UX Designers and Enthusiasts

Let’s start with it!

UX Design Books – Why Do You Need Them?

User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) design have become highly in demand in the past few years.

UX/UI Designers work to create user-friendly interfaces to help them understand how to use technical and complicated products.

They enable a seamless user experience and high customer satisfaction and enhance the ease of usability.

The best part is, as we witness a dramatic online paradigm, UX Designers can leverage a myriad of lucrative opportunities to earn and grow.

As per Glassdoor, UX Designers can earn an average annual salary of $85,277.

You must be wondering, in this fast-paced digital era where you can learn everything from YouTube tutorials and online courses or simply ask Google Guru, what is all the hype about books?

Well, you know books are uniquely portable magic!

And books from well-known authors entail the highest level of credibility and authenticity.

On the other hand, you cannot always trust Google for everything. 

In 2022, when the internet is flooded with wisdom, skills, and knowledge.

UXers can read the design books online, download them, or buy a hard copy for bedtime or travel reading.

You can acquire all the design wisdom anytime and anywhere you want! 

Things to Consider Before You Get Your UX Design Book

Before you pick your read, the book must have certain essential components, such as:

• Help you assess your future outlook as a UX Designer
• Educates you about the fundamentals and vocabulary  of UX design
• Prepare you for real-world experiences (jobs, interviews)
• Learn about UX design and industry trends
• Enable you to learn (or list a resource from where you can learn) the soft skills, prototyping, wireframing, and even coding
• Help you acquire new skills to progress your career in UX design
• Bring out the “Designer creativity” in you so you can achieve major milestones in your career 

So, what are you waiting for?

We have you handpicked the best, award-winning UX design books in 2022.

Whether a beginner or an experienced Designer, they are a must-have for you!

Top 9 UX Design Books – Become Better At What You Do!

Reading is vital for UXers who wish to rise above ordinary Designers! 

You can find thousands of UX Design Books and resources over the internet.

But how will you know if they are the right one for you? What about credibility? What if you learn nothing relevant from them?

Worry not; this is why we are here to help you become a UX professional.

UX Design Books For An Introduction 

To build a lucrative career, we all have to start somewhere.

The first step is essential to climbing the ladder of success. 

If UX design appeals to you, however, you have zero knowledge about the field, the following books are your go-to.

You can come from any educational background; these UX design introductory books will enable you to start fresh. 

1 – The Design of Everyday Things: Revised Edition[By Don Norman]

Don Norman is considered the ultimate pioneer of modern-day UX design and usability.

This book entails contemporary knowledge and focuses more on physical UX products than digital ones.

However, it will be hard to put it back once you pick up this book.

It will help you emerge as a Designer with the ability to execute practical skills based on the fundamentals of UX design.

The original version of The Design of Everyday Things was released in 1988 and revised in 2013. 

Key Features:

• Best-seller – a timeless masterpiece for UX (Considered the best book for UX design introduction)
• Helps the reader execute practical examples such as user interface and cognitive psychology
• Helps the reader learn how to turn complex problems into simple, user-friendly solutions
• An easy and light read 
• And more

Availability:

It is available on Amazon as:

• An Audiobook for free
• Paperback for $8.42
• MP3 CD for $9.95

2 – Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products
[By Nir Eyal]

This book focuses more on design skills and creating addictive designing interfaces for better products and user experience.

Nir Eyal in “Hooked,” explains and glorifies the five crucial components – trigger, variable, action, investment, and reward –  to create intuitive and good designs.

The best part is that this book helps you start from scratch.

You can be a project manager, an entrepreneur, or a writer, but with a passion for design, this book turns you into one.

Key Features:

• Practical advice and knowledge to build long-term user habits
• Actionable methodologies to create addictive products   
• habit-forming  techniques leveraging behavioral  tactics used by social media platforms to reach a wider audience 
• Easy to understand case study for forming good health habits 
• UX research and web usability increase user engagement 
• And more 

Availability:

It is available on Amazon as:

• An Audiobook for free
• Kindle for $14.99
• Paperback for $16.41
• Audio CD for $25.79

• UX Design Books for Beginners 

If you are just starting your career as a UXer, we advise you to go through the books for an introduction to UX design. 

However, if you are familiar with the design drill – the basics, user research, and all, we have some better books for you!

3 – The User Experience Team of One: A Research and Design Survival Guide
[By Leah Buley]

You can work great and flourish amongst a design team of experienced and talented people.

You can learn from them and accomplish bigger things.

However, what if you are a lone wolf and like to run things alone?

 The User Experience Team of One encompasses a unique approach to user research, designing tools for better UX deliverables that you can execute solo.

It enables the readers to leverage common sense approaches and build lucrative design decisions even with fewer resources.

It is one of the best UX design books for newbies.

It allows them to dig deeper into the practical novice of UX design and be their boss.

Key Features:

• Practical advice to use a range of user-friendly approaches
• Useful insights on various tools 
• Actionable methodologies to create user interface designs
• Easy to understand skills and knowledge 
• Methodologies to amplify user engagement 
• And more 

Availability:

It is available on Amazon as:

• An Audiobook for free
• Kindle for $28.09
• Paperback $40.4

4 – 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People
[By Susan M. Weinschenk]

As a beginner in UX design, there is nothing better than reading this great book.

It entails a plethora of knowledge with practical examples and skills that are easy to implement in the real world. 

The author, Susan Weinschenk, is the Chief Behavioral Scientist with a Ph.D. in Psychology, a consulate of Fortune 1000 companies, and the CEO of Team W.Inc. 

And if that is not someone you want to learn everything about User Experience from, then we do not know if you want to learn at all! 

Key Features:

• Easy-to-understand and follow format 
• In-depth knowledge of Psychology to UX design
• Original case studies with citations and references
• Everything about user research and user-centered designs in one place
• And more 

Availability:

It is available on Amazon as:

• An Audiobook for free
• Kindle for $15.20
• Paperback for $19.64-$25.49

 

5 – Don’t Make Me Think – A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability
[By Steve Krug]

When you are a beginner, it is always good to learn from an experienced individual.

This UX DesignBbook is written by the ultimate UX and web usability guru, Steve Krug.

He has 30 years of experience as a veteran usability consultant.

This is not your average UX Design Book that gets straight to the point or gets boring after a few pages.

Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach is fun to read, with an appreciable sense of humor sprinkled throughout. 

And when you are already stressed out as a beginner, a few laughs can help alleviate the anxiety and make you better at learning.

Key Features:

• In-depth practical advice and knowledge ton every aspect of User Experience 
• Fun, easy read with comic pages
• Comes with a usability manual
• Enables the readers to build user-friendly and functional end products 
• Helps to execute user-centered products with interactive design tools 
• And more 

Availability:

It is available on Amazon as:

• Kindle for $16.20
• Paperback $33.99

• UX Design Books for Experts

6 – Universal Principles of Design
[By William Lidwell, Jill Butler, and Kristina Holden]

This book is a UX Designer’s best companion.

While you are making great progress in your career and have years of experience as a Designer, Universal Principles of Design can elevate your skills to an unmatchable level. 

This book is a light, fun read from usability to flexibility and making informed design decisions. 

Key Features:

• Practical advice with 100 concise UX design principles
• Useful tips for designing products and efficiently interacting with users
• Executes a concrete information architecture on User Experience 
• And more 

Availability:

It is available on Amazon as:

• Hard copy (used) for $6.22
• Hard copy (new version) for $45.62

7- About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design (Fourth Edition)
[By Alan Cooper, Robert Reimann, David Cronin, and Christopher Noessel]

This UX Design Book is an ultimate guide with practical examples and up-to-date knowledge.

It encompasses information about contemporary UX designs that are user-centric and work seamlessly on any consumer electronic, including mobile platforms. 

Key Features:

• Practical and contemporary knowledge about the user interface, user interaction, and methodologies for product design 
• Web design for mobile apps and other user electronics
• Updated practical examples
• Enhances designing skills for digital products 
• Up-to-date goal-focused design methodology (graphic design, accessibility, usability)
• And more

Availability:

It is available on Amazon as:

• An Audiobook for free
• Kindle for $30.00
• Hard copy for $25.93-$40.23

8– A Project Guide to UX Design: For UX Designers in the Field or the Making
[By Russ Unger & Carolyn Chandler]

UX design is a complicated procedure that requires practical skills and knowledge.

Moreover, UX Designers must know their way around the industry and its trends. 

A Project Guide to UX Design is a must-read for people who want to learn every aspect of the design process.

It instills the responsibility of productive design thinking to create better, user-centric products, 

Key Features:

• A practical guide for UX project management 
• Actionable tips for SEO
• Insight on user research
• Understanding user personas
• And more 

Availability:

It is available on Amazon as:

• An Audiobook for free
• Kindle for $14.99
• Hard copy for $12.99

• UX Design Book for Everyone

You can be a beginner or an advanced UX professional; you may dream of starting your own business.

And we can help you with that. 

9 – The Lean Startup
[By Eric Ries] 

Most UX Designers, at some point, want to go forward with their startups.

However, they often fail without adequate knowledge, skills, and experience.

What if we tell you that you are just a book away from starting your own successful company?

The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses is an innovative approach to building a business and creating user-centered products. 

This UX Design Book has an easy-understand format and brings out the Designer’s creativity in its users. 

Key Features:

• Practical advice and knowledge to build long-term business plans
• Validated learning with scientific experimentation with design tools
• Easy to understand case studies for better products 
• UX research tips and intuitive practices to increase user engagement 
• And more 

Availability:

It is available on Amazon as:

• An Audiobook for free
• Kindle for $14.99
• Hard copy for $12.99
• Paperback $16.69

Benefits Of Learning UX Design

Getting to know about the benefits of something makes you want it more.

While there is no denying the fact that books help you find who you are, there are many other benefits of learning UX design, such as:

• As a UX Designer, you can make the user’s life easy with your services
• You can accelerate business growth in terms of revenues and customers 
• You learn to leverage advanced technologies
• You become an in-demand personnel
• You can land high-paying jobs 
• Along with design skills, you learn empathy and enhance your communication and research skills

And, to help you leverage these perks, UX Design Books are your best friend.

You can learn everything in one go, only if you pick the right book! 

Future Outlook For UX Designers

In this digital era, you have every ounce of information at your fingertips.

However, books can never go out of fashion.

There is just a different vibe and sense of credibility when you pick an authentic UX Design Book from a renowned author.

Moreover, as the author writes from their experience, it helps you to absorb the knowledge because it resonates with you.

UX Design Books can bring out the best version in you, enhance your sense of concentration and help you learn new design skills.

Suppose you plan to pursue a UX/UI Designer career.

Now is the time.

FAQs

 Reference

Coursera

Adobe

User Guiding

Amazon