A few design resources that I find myself referencing again and again.
Useful for just about any project, these resources have a timeless, first-principles approach that remains relevant even as design trends come and go.
Online Guides
Butterick’s Practical Typography by Matthew Butterick
The only typography resource you need: there are other good ones, but this is the definitive guide for learning the principles of beautiful typography.
User Experience Research Field Guide by Quintin Carlson
A deep dive on the value of user research, research methods, when to use them, and other valuable tips for becoming a research wizard.
Design Better – books on DesignOps, Design Systems, Leadership, and more
A collection of fantastic, concise books on a variety of design related topics.
Stanford d.school Design Thinking Bootleg
A strong starter’s guide to design thinking. More useful if you’re beginning in design, but great to reread every now and then. The original was called The d.school Bootcamp Bootleg but has since been updated with new sections and exercises.
Books
Sprint by Jake Knapp
How to take an idea from brainstorm to MVP in five days. Filled with thoughtful exercises, group activities, checklists, and anything else you need to run your first design sprint.
The Vignelli Canon by Massimo Vignelli
The Vignelli Canon is a collection of typographic design principles. It’s a concise summary of the Vignellis’ knowledge on the matter, broken into two parts: “intangibles”, or ‘soft’ properties of design work, and “tangibles”, which describes practical advice for creating beautiful print work. The takeaways in my notes apply to all types of product design.
Universal Principles of Design by William Lidwell, Kritina Holden, and Jill Butler
Universal Principle of Design is a deep dive on human motivation and thinking. It provides a foundation to designing intuitive, simple products.
The Best Interface is No Interface by Golden Krishna
A brilliant book on designing outside of the screen. Krishna spells out the dangers of screen-based thinking and lays principles for a “No UI” design process.