5 Books To Read To Become a More Effective UX Designer in 2023
There are many effective ways to teach yourself UX design, including creating a continuous discipline to read. Which books you read will depend on your interests, goals, and career needs, but we’ve put together a list of books that might be helpful to designers of all disciplines.
#1. From Solo to Scaled
Building a Sustainable Content Strategy Practice
Content strategy is clearly critical to your organization, but where do you start, and how do you grow it into a true practice? Whether you’re a lone content person tasked with creating a content strategy practice from scratch, or a leader struggling to scale one up, From Solo to Scaled is your blueprint for creating and managing a content strategy practice that is sustainable and successful.
#2.Changemakers
How Leaders Can Design Change in an Insanely Complex World
By Maria Giudice & Christopher Ireland
Today’s radically complex problems require people to lead with design. Changemakers is an essential playbook for designers and nondesigners who want to drive change at work, at home, and in their communities. Groundbreaking designers Maria Giudice and Christopher Ireland—armed with insights from some of today’s top minds in business, tech, and social justice—offer a pragmatic, people-centered approach to change.
#3.Conversations with Things
UX Design for Chat and Voice
By Diana Deibel & Rebecca Evanhoe
Welcome to the future, where you can talk with the digital things around you: voice assistants, chatbots, and more. But these interactions can be unhelpful and frustrating—sometimes even offensive or biased. Conversations with Things teaches you how to design conversations that are useful, ethical, and human-centered—because everyone deserves to be understood, especially you.
Who this book is for
Design practitioners involved in creating digital products, who are beginning their journey into conversational interfaces.
Developers who have built voice or chatbot projects, but may not be familiar with advanced design – or even what it truly means to design something.
Other non-technical members of the team, like PMs and BAs who need to understand the process, and sales reps new to conversational interface products.
#4.Blind Spot
Illuminating the Hidden Value of Business
By Steve Diller, Nathan Shedroff & Sean Sauber
Distracted by traditional metrics and mounting access to data, leaders are blinded to what it actually takes to create greater value for their businesses: meaningful, long-term relationships with their customers.
In Blind Spot, you’ll learn how exceptional organizations—from Disney to Instagram—innovate and sustain valuable, productive customer relationships. Blind Spot’s lessons deliver a groundbreaking perspective shift and win-win approach for your customers, your business—and even your shareholders.
#5.Life and Death Design
What Life-Saving Technology Can Teach Everyday UX Designers
Emergencies—landing a malfunctioning plane, resuscitating a heart attack victim, or avoiding a head-on car crash—all require split-second decisions that can mean life or death. Fortunately, designers of life-saving products have leveraged research and brain science to help users reduce panic and harness their best instincts. Life and Death Design brings these techniques to everyday designers who want to help their users think clearly and act safely.
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