10 Must-Read Product Design Books to Boost Skills in 2024
Product design is an ever-evolving field; staying up-to-date with the latest trends, principles, and practices is crucial for success. One of the best ways to enhance your product design skills is by reading product design books written by industry experts.
I’m a sucker for a good book. One of my favorite design books is “How to Become a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul” by Adrian Shaughnessy, which discusses how young designers can embark on their design careers.
However, in this article, we’ll focus on the product design process, which involves creating new products that fulfill customer needs while accounting for functionality, aesthetics, and usability. In a nutshell, product designers are artists, salespeople, marketers, architects, and engineers, all combined into one.
To get things started, I’ll begin by defining what product design is. Following this, I’ll get into the meat of the article which are my top must-read product design books to boost your skills. These books cover various topics, including product design principles, how to cultivate the best team dynamics, user-centric design, simplicity, and more. These are all essential things to produce the best product designs!
If you’re a UI/UX designer, entrepreneur, or product designer, you’re in for a treat. Let’s get into the best product design books to boost your skills!
What is Product Design?
Product design is the process of creating and developing new products that meet customers’ needs while also considering factors such as functionality, aesthetics, and usability. It involves combining research, problem-solving, creativity, and technical expertise to bring innovative ideas to life.
Product designers are artists, salespeople, marketers, architects, and engineers all wrapped into one. A product designer makes a practical and functional product as artistic and attractive to a consumer as possible. They also work closely with cross-functional team members to understand user requirements, conceptualize designs, and create prototypes that can be tested and refined before being manufactured and brought to market.
By understanding the principles of product design, designers can create products that look great and provide exceptional user experiences.
My Top 10 Product Design Books
Here are the top product design books that should be on every designer’s reading list:
- “The Design of Everyday Things” by Don Norman
- “Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products” by Nir Eyal
- “Laws of UX: Using Psychology to Design Better Products & Services” by Jon Yablonski
- “Lean UX: Designing Great Products with Agile Teams” by Jeff Gothelf & Josh Seiden
- “Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days” by Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky and Braden Kowitz
- “INSPIRED: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love” by Marty Cagan
- “User Friendly: How the Hidden Rules of Design Are Changing the Way We Live, Work, and Play” by Cliff Kuang and Robert Fabricant
- “About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design” by Alan Cooper, Robert Reimann, David Cronin, and Christopher Noessel
- “The Laws of Simplicity” by John Maeda
- “Articulating Design Decisions: Communicate with Stakeholders, Keep Your Sanity, and Deliver the Best User Experience” by Tom Greever
1. “The Design of Everyday Things” by Don Norman
When understanding human psychology and behavior, “The Design of Everyday Things” by Don Norman is a must-read.
Norman, an American author, researcher, and professor (also known as the Father of UX design), demonstrates that achieving good, practical design is possible. This can be achieved through the visibility of elements, connecting functionality and control, and utilizing limitations. The goal is to direct the user towards the appropriate action.
By the end of the book, you’ll clearly understand why certain products please customers while others leave them feeling frustrated.
Best For
- Designers who want to understand why some products work and others don’t from a deep psychological perspective.
What You’ll Learn
- 5 principles of good design.
- How to narrow the gap between a product and a user’s comprehension of it.
- A 4-step framework of human-centered design.
- A case study on how human-centered design could have prevented the failure of the Susan B. Anthony coin.
- And more!
2. “Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products” by Nir Eyal
Creating products that keep users engaged is a crucial aspect of product design, and “Hooked” by Nir Eyal provides valuable insights into building habit-forming products.
Eyal introduces the hook model, a psychological framework for designing products that create user habits. With practical insights and psychological principles, this product design book will help you develop products that captivate and retain user attention.
Best For
- Designers seeking to understand how to engage consumers and keep returning for more based on successful startups.
What You’ll Learn
- The 4 stages of the hook model explain a cycle of events that causes consumers to keep coming back (based on years of studying successful startups).
- The importance of a trigger to cause the consumer to take action.
- How actions consumers take need to be simple.
- Rewards need to be variable to hook the consumer.
- And more!
3. “Laws of UX: Using Psychology to Design Better Products & Services” by Jon Yablonski
Understanding human behavior and how users interact with digital interfaces is arguably as important as the elegance of design itself. “Laws of UX” by Jon Yablonski offers practical insights into leveraging psychological principles in product design.
This book explores how to apply fundamental principles in psychology to create products and experiences that prioritize intuition and human-centered design.
Best For
- Product designers and UX/UI teams who want to learn how to design the best products and services for humans to interact with.
What You’ll Learn
- The positive reactions generated by aesthetically pleasing design.
- Practical psychology principles for designers.
- A guide for implementing these principles.
- The ethical considerations when incorporating psychology into design.
- And more!
4. “Lean UX: Designing Great Products with Agile Teams” by Jeff Gothelf & Josh Seiden
“Lean UX” by Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden is a book that explores practical insights into designing digital products with agile teams. It discusses the process of interaction design and how to integrate design, experimentation, iteration, and continuous learning from actual users into the Agile process.
This product design book will guide you in creating better products for the business and the user.
Best For
- UX/UI design leaders who want to show their team how to create the best design experiences.
What You’ll Learn
- Clearly understand the issue you are addressing and direct your team towards the desired results.
- Bring the designer’s toolkit to your product team.
- Communicate your insights with your team early in the process.
- Develop Minimum Viable Products to assess the viability of different ideas.
- And more!
5. “Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days” by Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky and Braden Kowitz
With their book, “Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days,” Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky, and Braden Kowitz (workers at Google Ventures) provide a practical framework for tackling challenges and validating ideas. Their “SPRINT method” offers a systematic approach that allows teams to quickly iterate through solutions and gather feedback within a short timeframe.
The five-day framework explained in this book teaches you how to identify the most critical problems, generate innovative solutions, prototype those ideas, and test them with real users. This book is perfect for anyone looking to accelerate their product development process and maximize their chances of success.
Best For
- Entrepreneurs and UX designers who need to solve high-stakes problems are limited on time and feel stuck.
What You’ll Learn
- Solve big problems and test new ideas in 5 days.
- Real-world case studies like how Blue Bottle Coffee could test and iterate ideas for their online store in days, not months.
- How to effectively map out customer journeys.
- How to turn a storyboard into a prototype in the simplest way possible (no coding or manufacturing required).
- And more!
6. “INSPIRED: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love” by Marty Cagan
Technology project management thought leader Marty Cagan’s book, “INSPIRED,” is a comprehensive guide for product managers and product teams. This text offers valuable insights on how to effectively uncover and deliver technology products that customers will adore, all while efficiently managing a dynamic and successful product organization.
This book is highly recommended for business leaders, product managers, and product teams.
Best For
- Product managers and tech product builders who want to learn how to discover the best possible product solutions and lead their teams most effectively.
What You’ll Learn
- Product discovery: How to find the right product and the best solution to solve a problem through prototyping, testing, etc.
- The key individuals and roles that should be present in product teams.
- How to create the right product culture to succeed.
- How to make data-driven design choices as a product manager.
- And more!
7. “User Friendly: How the Hidden Rules of Design Are Changing the Way We Live, Work, and Play” by Cliff Kuang and Robert Fabricant
“User Friendly” by Cliff Kuang and Robert Fabricant offers insights into the laws of simplicity, design decisions, and their impact on everyday experiences. This book shares practical insights for creating user-friendly digital products, emphasizing human behavior in digital product design, and providing a comprehensive guide for product designers and UX/UI teams.
Best For
- Product designers and UX/UI teams who want a deeper understanding of the relationship between humans and technology told through a series of real-life stories.
What You’ll Learn
- The unique relationship between humans and technology.
- Too many options cause anxiety and decision-making paralysis.
- The struggles large companies face when it comes to decisions and collaboration.
- That design meant to help minority groups end up automatically helping the majority.
- And more!
8. “About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design” by Alan Cooper, Robert Reimann, David Cronin, and Christopher Noessel
“About Face” by Alan Cooper, Robert Reimann, David Cronin, and Christopher Noessel is a comprehensive guide to interaction design best practices, especially with the worldwide shift to smartphones and tablets. This book provides practical insights into designing user interfaces, emphasizes user research and usability testing, presents case studies of successful interaction design in digital products, and is a valuable resource for graphic designers and digital product teams.
Best For
- Designers and developers who want to stay up-to-date with the ongoing changes in consumer technology preferences.
What You’ll Learn
- Methods for designing contemporary interfaces, interactions, and products.
- How to design for mobile platforms and consumer electronics.
- Cutting-edge recommendations for interfaces and current examples.
- The latest Goal-Directed Design methodology.
- And more!
9. “The Laws of Simplicity” by John Maeda
“The Laws of Simplicity” by John Maeda, an esteemed graphic designer and professor at MIT’s media lab, teaches designers how to simplify complex ideas and concepts. Maeda’s ten laws focus on reducing clutter, emphasizing what is important, and creating a user-friendly experience.
This book provides practical insights to help you improve poor design skills and create more effective products.
Best For
- UI/UX and product designers who want to gain a deep understanding of improving their designs while retaining simplicity.
What You’ll Learn
- 10 laws for balancing simplicity and complexity within business, technology, and design to reduce unnecessary elements while maximizing outcomes.
- How to achieve balance in technology and design by subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful.
- How to add features in a sensible hierarchy that benefits the user.
- Accepting the fact that some things cannot be made simple.
- And more!
10. “Articulating Design Decisions: Communicate with Stakeholders, Keep Your Sanity, and Deliver the Best User Experience” by Tom Greever
In “Articulating Design Decisions,” Tom Greever effectively guides designers on communicating design decisions to stakeholders, offering valuable tips to avoid common pitfalls.
The book’s real-world practical advice makes it essential for designers, product managers, and anyone involved in the design process, emphasizing the importance of clear design communication in creating successful products.
Best For
- UI/UX designers and product managers who want to improve their communication with stakeholders and clients to get the most support for their design projects.
What You’ll Learn
- The steps of preparing and showcasing your designs.
- Comprehend stakeholders’ viewpoints and get the ability to understand and share their feelings.
- Develop both subtle and obvious listening skills.
- Learn the tactics and strategies for articulating the most impactful reaction to feedback.
- And more!
Are These Product Design Books on Your Reading List?
To become a proficient product designer, continuously expanding your knowledge and skills is crucial. Reading books on product design is an excellent way to gain insights, learn from industry experts, and stay updated on the latest trends.
Throughout this article, we explored a range of must-read product design books, covering topics such as user-centric design, agile team dynamics, simplicity, and more. With the knowledge pulled from these books, you can enhance your understanding of the critical elements of product design and develop a user-focused approach.
If you want to boost your skills in the coming year, I’d highly recommend adding these must-read product design books to your reading list to improve your product design skills! But don’t limit your learning to just these; explore other resources such as podcasts, online courses, and blogs to further expand your knowledge and skills in product design.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What should I study for product design?
Typically, individuals pursuing a career as product designers are expected to hold at least a bachelor’s degree in design, product development, or a similar field. It’s also advisable for aspiring product designers to develop a portfolio encompassing various types of products, such as digital applications, consumer goods, and even industrial products.
Combining various skills like design thinking, user research, prototyping, graphic design principles, and more is also important. A solid foundation in art and design principles, understanding materials, manufacturing processes, and technology, and learning through case studies are crucial for successful product design.
What are product design books?
Product design books provide insights into designing and developing products. They cover user experience, design thinking, prototyping, product management, user interfaces, usability testing, human behavior, digital products, and more. Reading product design books can help improve your skills and knowledge in product design.
Can product design be self-taught?
Product design can be self-taught. Many successful designers have learned through trial and error.
Nowadays, endless resources are available, including books, online courses, and tutorials, to help you acquire the necessary skills. However, formal education or training may offer a more comprehensive understanding of the field.
What are the 4 key elements of product design?
The 4 key elements of product design are:
- Function: How well the product performs its intended task.
- Form: The product’s aesthetics and visual appeal.
- User experience: How the product feels and interacts with users.
- Innovation: Introducing new ideas, features, or technologies in product design.
