The Top 5 books for Web Designers

Here are the top 5 books for web designers.

1.The Design of Everyday Things, by Donald A. Norman

This is the best-selling book by cognitive scientist and usability engineer Donald Norman about how design serves as the communication between object and user, and how to optimize that conduit of communication in order to make the experience of using the object pleasurable. One of the main premises of the book is that although people are often keen to blame themselves when objects appear to malfunction, it is not the fault of the user but rather the lack of intuitive guidance that should be present in the design.

2.100 Things Every Designer Needs To Know About People, By Susan M. Weinschenk, PhD.

In order to be a good UX designer, you have to understand the end-user. And to understand the end-user, you have to understand people. This is where 100 Things comes in. The book — written by a behavioural psychologist who has been working in UX design since the 1980s — combines science and research to explain what makes people “tick,” specifically when it comes to design interaction. What makes someone linger on a page? What fonts are the best for the end-user? How are users motivated to continue travelling through a site? 100 Things answers these and many other questions; it’s a must-read.

3.Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 3rd Edition, By Steve Krug

This is the book by Steve Krug about human-computer interaction and web usability. The book’s premise is that a good software program or web site should let users accomplish their intended tasks as easily and directly as possible. Krug points out that people are good at satisfying, or taking the first available solution to their problem, so the design should take advantage of this. He frequently cites Amazon.com as an example of a well-designed web site that manages to allow high-quality interaction, even though the web site gets bigger and more complex every day. The book itself is intended to be an example of concision (brevity) and well-focused writing. The goal, according to the book’s introduction, was to make a text that could be read by an executive on a two-hour aeroplane flight.

4.Hooked, By Nir Eyal

This book is explaining about the Hook Model—a four-step process embedded into the products of many successful companies to subtly encourage customer behaviour. Through consecutive “hook cycles,” these products reach their ultimate goal of bringing users back again and again without depending on costly advertising or aggressive messaging.

5.About Face 3, By Alan Cooper

This completely updated volume presents the effective and practical tools you need to design great desktop applications, Web 2.0 sites, and mobile devices. You’ll learn the principles of good product behaviour and gain an understanding of Cooper’s Goal-Directed Design method, which involves everything from conducting user research to defining your product using personas and scenarios. Ultimately, you’ll acquire the knowledge to design the best possible digital products and services.