A collection of must-read design books — arranged in order for building better mental models for product designers.
When I started reading books on design there were too many of them and I never had a guided path to consume them. To solve this pain I have curated an ordered list of books. I might have missed many important books as I tried to keep the number low and definite.
Check out my reading tips — how to get the most out of books — at the end of this article
Learn how design impacts our daily lives and why it is important. These books describe how design has evolved so far and how it is shaping the future. After reading these, you will begin to observe things and think about their design differently.
A designer’s job is to create something new every day. How do they do it? Which mindsets do they possess? Starting from believing in one’s creative abilities to generating great ideas, these books explain required mindsets in a more concrete way.
The application of design thinking to diverse fields and its massive impact led to its growing popularity. Knowing this process and how to use its toolkits has become an essential skill for designers.
Product thinking is the skill of knowing what makes a product useful — and loved — by people. It involves understanding why something works and something doesn’t in the real world? What are the market trends? Why did the Clubhouse app become so popular, what’s their strategy? In many design interviews, you’ll be assessed on this skill.
As you develop your knowledge of general topics in design, you will need to gain expertise in a variety of design areas. First and foremost, any designer should become familiar with the way humans see, think, speak, do, and act, along with the various methods of crafting solutions to them during different stages of the design process.
100 things every designer needs to know about people
A Practical Guide to Information Architecture by Donna Spencer
Principles of mobile app design
We should thank author Artiom Dashinsky for giving us this gift. Interviewers and interviewees alike will find this book helpful. A book filled with numerous practical examples and tips to help you land your next job.
Solving Product Design Exercises: Questions & Answers
By creating an efficient design process, your team would be able to focus more on inventiveness and creativity. Jake Knap’s book, Sprint, is one of my all-time favorites; it’s one of the most practical books I’ve ever read.
Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days
Developing as a design leader/manager will require you to learn more about business and managing creative teams. Do you want to learn how to build a creative culture? What is the best way to present design to business leaders? When and how should you hire? These books will help you with such cases.
Business thinking for designers
Reading a book isn’t a race. The better the book the more slowly it should be absorbed.
As a result of reading, I learned how to articulate design better, and I developed mental models that were unknown to me. A book is the most convenient way to gain access to the minds of great designers since it distills their lifelong learning into 200-300 pages. In contrast to content consumption, books should be considered as thinking tools. What book are you reading next?
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