Never Stop Learning
Design & Innovation Resources
Whether you are a designer in the making, stumbling through your first project or a seasoned veteran with years under your belt, the learning you do away from your desk is essential for achieving your personal and professional goals. Below are a list of resources that I have used and personally recommend.
Books
The Design of Everyday Things
by Don Norman
Explains the functional side of design. Written by the man behind the term "User Experience"
Web Form Design: Filling in the Blanks
by Luke Wroblewski
Best practices for web form design and the broader UX concepts on which they rely.
How to be a graphic designer, without losing your soul (2nd Edition)
by Adrian Shaughnessy
Thoughts and advice from an industry veteran
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
by Daniel H. Pink
Understanding what motivates people. Helpful background information for shaping user behaviors
A Project Guide to UX: For User Experience Designers in the Field or in the Making
by Ross Unger & Carolyn Chandler
All of the steps involved in a traditional UX approach
Mobile Usability
by Jakob Nielsen & Raluca Budiu
Best practices for mobile design, from two usability pioneers.
Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard
by Chip & Dan Heath
A book about behavioral psychology that has big implications for user experience
Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers
by Tim Ferriss
A treasure trove of advice from the world's most successful people
Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation
by Tim Brown
How Design Thinking can be applied to different problems
Thinking with Type (2nd Edition)
by Ellen Lupton
Everything you need to know about typography (...fonts).
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
by Charles Duhigg
An explanation of how to hack the habit loop, that has big implications for user experience
Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses
by Eric Ries
How to remove waste from the founding process. The basis for Lean UX
Podcasts
Wireframe
Hosted by Khoi Vinh
"Wireframe reveals the stories behind user experience design, for UX/UI designers, graphic designers, and the design-curious"
99% Invisible
Hosted by Roman Mars
"99% Invisible is a weekly exploration of the process and power of design and architecture."
How I Built This
Hosted by Guy Raz
"How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built."
Courses
Technology Entrepreneurship: From Lab to Market
Harvard Business School
Showing that success in innovation almost never happens by accident. Lots of overlap with UX processes
Design Thinking: The Beginner's Guide
Interaction Design Foundation
An introduction to design thinking and the processes involved
HTML & CSS Fundamentals
W3C
An introduction to the technical side of web design. Essential for UI designers in the making
Entrepreneurship Essentials
Harvard Business School
An introduction to the steps involved in building a company.