UX INFLUENCES

Written by IDEO's top executive, this book explains how design thinking can influence & revolutionize people, organizations, products, services and more through its unique take on problem solving through a process of inspiration, ideation and implementation.

Recommended by a seasoned UX colleague as the "most important book he's ever read on UX," this how-to guide is all about how to ensure that your designs end up being built and how to rally teams together to build the best possible product or service.

In today's world of constant connection, its even more important for designers to build products and tools that people not only need, but want, even crave. Nir Eyal brilliantly lays out how to do that using the Hook method of trigger, action, variable reward and investment.

KISS - Keep it simple smartass! This mantra played in my head as I read. Krug adds layers of tested UI principles that every designer should take to heart, especially when trying to design innovative solutions. Key here = functional & usable is always the goal.

MY UX PROCESS

When it comes to explaining one's design process, "it depends" is always involved. Many moving parts have to be taken into account: Who is your user? In what context are they using this product? What is their motivation? What are the business constraints? And on it goes. For the sake of brevity and generality, here's my basic process, though ... it always depends.