In the UX Studio we love deep dives about all the little details that make a big difference when designing (digital) products. And there’s no better way to find those details than to immerse yourself in a good book or resource on a specific design subject. So here’s a personal list of all the books, sites and other resources we personally recommend to dip your toes in all the little details that make a great design. So find your personal fascination, borrow one of our library books and please return them in time so someone else can use it too. ✌️

UI Design Interaction Design Information architecture UX Strategy
User Interface design deals with the surface level of UX Design - how things look, feel and work in the end product. Interaction Design deals with how people interact with your design - how can you make it easier, better and more focused Information architecture is about the core of almost all projects you work on: the content. What content should be there and how do people find it? Strategy is all about the big picture: what is the goal of your product? What is it’s place in the world? How does it connect to the goals of our target audience?
Digital Product Identity Gamification Conversational Design Product Strategy
Atomic Design / Design Systems Inclusive Design Writing & Copy Framing
UI Design: Motion UX Psychology Product Metrics
High Fidelity Prototyping Low fidelity Prototyping Affinity Diagramming Design Principles
Accessibility & accessibility testing Usability testing Mental Models Concept testing
Grids & Layout Heuristics & Gestalt Principles Journey Mapping Qualitive user research
Web & Typography Interaction patterns User Flows Quantitive user research
Interactive Design Usability User Stories Desk research

How to use this overview

In the overview below the complexity of the subjects can be seen in the vertical axis: items on the bottom are usually easier for when you’re new to UX although every subject has the possibility to go down rabbit holes that have loads of depth (as everyone who’s ever researched iconography or the finer details of type can attest to). You can use this overview to start your own resource journey or as a starting point for discussing learning goals with your mentor.

Why good resources are important

User Experience Design is a design discipline that overlaps with a lot of scientific fields like Psychology and Behavioral Sciences. Because of this the basis for a lot of design decisions you’re going to make can be found in effectively applying good (scientific) theory and observing it’s result on the people you’re designing for. Our recommended resources offer a good balance between excellent theory that is also easy to put into practice. In the table below you can find an overview of the subjects that these resources cover and links to the specific resources per subject

🪵 General UX resources

🌐 Nielsen Norman Group

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/

One of the leading UX & Usability organisations who’ve been around since before the dawn of UX time. Their articles are great resources spanning every imaginable UX subject

🌐 InteractionDesign.org

https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics

An online UX education site, has a boatload of specific subjects

🌐 A List Apart

https://alistapart.com/