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Ask DN: UX book/course recommendations for a UI Designer?

over 6 years ago from , Design by Marcus

I'm currently a freelance UI designer but I want to expand my offerings and hopefully offer UX as a service to my clients too.

DesignLab, CareerFoundry and places like that look good but I can't afford those kinds of options right now. Are there any books or courses you guys would recommend for somebody that wants to learn all about the whole process of UX?

23 comments

  • Cosmin MadalinCosmin Madalin, over 6 years ago

    You can start with this book UX for Beginners: A Crash Course in 100 Short Lessons by Joel Marsh. Fun to read & lots to learn :)

    2 points
  • Anton StenAnton Sten, over 6 years ago

    Hey Marcus! I'm happy to hear that you're looking to expand your skills in UX! Great UX is something that will benefit ALL of us :)

    I've just released my new book, User Experiences that Matter that covers a lot of the topics you're looking to excel in. Have a look at https://antonsten.com/book and I'd be happy to hear what you think!

    1 point
  • Gareth LewisGareth Lewis, over 6 years ago

    User experience team of one by Leah Buley. Excellent book.

    1 point
    • Marcus H, over 6 years ago

      This has great reviews but it looks like it might be aimed at UX designers that work in a team rather than individual freelancers. Do you still think it would be helpful?

      0 points
  • Celine Lenoble, over 6 years ago

    Coursera has an Interaction Design Specialization, done by UC San Diego. You go through all the UX design steps, from needs finding to prototyping and testing. It's a hands-on course where you have to apply what you learn in peer-reviewed assignments every week.

    0 points
    • Marcus H, over 6 years ago

      It looks like quite a comprehensive course but I haven't been able to find any reviews of it. Have you taken this course?

      0 points
      • Celine Lenoble, over 6 years ago

        Sorry I didn't see your answer earlier. Yes, I've done all the courses in the specialization. I've just started the capstone project. I really liked it compared to other online courses because you have to apply the stuff you learn in a production of some sort every week (interview users, draw storyboards, create wireframes, do some testing, heuristics evaluation, even some R statistics analysis). It's not just multiple choices questions or rewording of the course content. So it's more demanding and time-consuming, but definitely worth it in my opinion.

        0 points
  • Jared CJared C, over 6 years ago

    About Face By Cooper is what I always recommend.

    0 points
  • Jose ArnaldosJose Arnaldos, over 6 years ago

    Don't make me think by Steve Krug it's a must when talking about experience!

    0 points
  • Celestina Divan, over 6 years ago

    Hey Marcus,

    I am currently staying UX Design and the most important book I am reading now is called About Face by Alan Cooper. It's lengthy but it contains explanations of all the stages the UX process goes through. Highly recommend it. But remember in UX as it is the case in visual design there is no recipe for 'good design'. You'll have to find your own way which can be super rewarding :) also the base of UX is combining both business and user goals :) Good luck! Let me know if you want to talk more about UX. We can exchange contacts.

    0 points
    • Cosmin MadalinCosmin Madalin, over 6 years ago

      Is this the book you are talking about " About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design by Alan Cooper and Robert Reimann ? Alan Cooper has another awesome book " The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity " This is must too.

      0 points
    • Marcus H, over 6 years ago

      I just had a look on Amazon and it's 720 pages, wow.

      Are you active on any design Slack channels at all?

      0 points
  • Alexander Ryan, over 6 years ago

    Also, The Elements of User Experience: User-Centered Design for the web by Jesse James Garrett is great but focused specifically on websites.

    0 points
  • Alexander Ryan, over 6 years ago

    It's less instruction and more case studies/interviews but "Designing Interactions" by Bill Moggridge is really excellent. http://www.designinginteractions.com/

    0 points
    • Marcus H, over 6 years ago

      Thanks, this looks like a great book but maybe for when I'm bit further along in my learning :)

      0 points
  • Andy LeverenzAndy Leverenz, over 6 years ago

    Shameless plug but I'm currently writing one! :) Have yet to launch/announce this but I hope you'll consider it. Thanks!

    Find it here: https://web-crunch.com/books/luxd/

    0 points