This is (almost) everything I learned in design school in one website. Getting a design degree is not a waste of time. In fact, it's one of the best decisions I've ever made. However, most people aren't as lucky to have the sort of professors I did. Some people don't have the access, the ability, or the time to go to school for this stuff. And frankly, that 10-week design intensive is not going to make you a fantastic designer right out of the gate. You need something more.
You have to be self-sufficient. You have to be hungry to learn.
That's why this website exists. This is a list of everything I've found useful in my journey of learning design, and an ongoing list of things I think you should read. This is for budding UX, UI, Interaction, or whatever other title designers.
You have to start from the beginning. You have to understand the basics. Learn to love type, learn to navigate the pen tool, figure out colors, learn from the past, and build up a reservoir of empathy.
Font Review Journal →
Learn to Kern →
Learn the Pen Tool →
Ultimate Guide to Color →
Coolors: Palette Generator →
Contrast and Meaning →
Accessibility Manifesto →
Accessible Color →
Color Contrast Generator
Design for Friction →
Helvetica Documentary →
Dezeen →
Okay, hopefully now you know the essentials. We'll learn more as we go, but let's jump into the UX world. The absolute most important thing for you to learn and master is process. This will be the value you bring to any project you work on. Tools change & trends die. Master process over all.
Laws of UX →
Behavioral Economics 101 →
Gestalt Principles in UI →
Fittss Law →
Usability Hueristics →
Cognitive Walkthrough →
IDEO Design Kit →
IDEO Field Guide →
6 Steps to HCD process →
Product Design process →
Design Thinking →
Design Sprints vs Agile →
GV Design Sprints →
Product Thinking →
UX Checklist →
Complete List of Deliverables →
Storyboarding 101 →
Interaction Flows →
Human Interface Guidelines →
Material Design Guidelines →
Optical Effects in UI →
UI Crash Course →
Once you've gotten your footing with the basics, learned some of the vocab, and figured out a bit more what interests you; try to absorb as much as you can from high quality sources. These should get you going.
Design Better →
Ask Playbook →
Make Book →
AirBnB Design →
Design.Google →
UXPin Free Ebooks →
Product Disrupt →
Principles.Design →
Collection of Design Languages →
Ultimate Guide to Product & Design in Tech →
Amazon Voice UI Guide →
Google Voice UI Guide →
Algorithms.Design →
AI and the future of UX →
Principles of AI Design →
Design for multiple devices →
"There's no new problem that someone hasn't already had and written about it in a book." — Will Smith
I'm a huge advocate for design books. These should be huge piece of your design education. Some of these have theory, some of these have practical tips, but none are just pretty pictures
“The advice I like to give young artists, or really anybody who'll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work." — Chuck Close
But sometimes, we need inspiration. And it's always a good idea to have your ear to the ground; watch the trends, predict them, respond to them, and know what's happening in the design world.
An ongoing collection of articles from around the web, written by all sorts of people. Follow these people, investigate further, and ask questions.
I hope this list of resources finds you well. If you have any questions for me, I can be emailed at hi@tre.gg →
All of the links to Amazon are affiliate links, but that won't affect the price or overall experience of buying any of the books. It will simply flip a couple coins in my direction.