5 Books that changed the way you design

American author Fran Lebowitz once said: “Think before you speak, read before you think.” Around here, that resonates. We are continually reminded that educating ourselves in our craft by seeking out resources, knowledge-bases and other learning opportunities expands our expertise and improves our final outputs.

Books that inspired us: our top reads for expanding your understanding of Enterprise UX Design

Like most of you these days, we tend to hit the internet first. Chances are a designer (an unpublished one) has had to solve a similar problem before and has graciously shared their solutions with the masses (see: Smashing magazine, nn Group, UX Stack Exchange) for our favourite databases). But, sometimes it feels good to sink into a full on publication. Whether we go hard copy or audiobook, the team at P&P loves a good long-form immersion into the world of UX.

Committing to producing great UX means adopting a tireless pursuit of knowledge. Not just in the grander sense of why UX is important, but also when it comes to finding solutions for  specific challenges associated with complex enterprise UX. Our top reads run the gamut, from Stephen Few’s extensive analysis of dashboard design to Frank Chimero’s philosophical handbook, The Shape of Design. But one of the biggest takeaways from our chat about The 5 Books that Changed the Way We Design, is the realization that all of these books are candidates to be read again and again. So, consider this your cue to buy these books and keep them on your shelf for years to come.

Where can you find these books?

• Jessica’s pick: Austin Howe’s Designer’s Don’t Read
• Fanny’s pick: Frank Chimero’s The Shape of Design
• Ceara’s pick: Peter Morville and Louis Rosenfeld’s Information Architecture for the World Wide Web
• Meganne & Juan’s pick: Stephen Few’s Information Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual Communication of Data
• Benoit’s pick: Nick Bowmast’s Userpalooza: A Field Researcher’s Guide