Fav design book (Right now): Design for the Real World by Victor Papanek

Fav podcast: High Resolution / New Layer / Design Life

My favourite "design" book well, design books are generally pretty bad. One of my favourites that I learned a lot from was: The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis. It's a psychology book but I found it very insightful at the time. One of my favourite podcasts is User Defenders, which provides a fresh look at design problems that aren't just in the digital world. Rams the 2018 documentary would have to be one of my favourites. It's heavily rooted in Industrial Design, but it's a classic.

To answer your question, I actually haven't read any design books nor listen to any design-related podcasts (yet!) but I did enjoy a documentary called Objectified by Gary Hustwit. It explores the ways in which the objects in our everyday lives tell us about what we value. He explores the idea that, in a way, the things we purchase aren't just bought for fun, but rather because they help us "achieve a goal" - whether it's to feel calm, to satisfy our hunger, or to improve the way we feel about our physical appearance. This also branches off into a conversation about what good design looks like in objects, and how our favourite objects in our lives are the ones that we often don't notice because they do exactly what we need them to do, without fuss. :D

One of my favourites would have to be "Discussing Design" by Adam Connor and Aaron Irizarry! It's a great book for learning how to share your work, get feedback, and use that to improve your craft. This book teaches you how to make the most of your design critiques, but it doesn't just end there. A lot of what you learn can be applied to any situation where you're communicating your ideas.

I find a lot of inspiration from watching documentaries or mini-series on designers and artists. It allows us a glimpse into their thought process and reveals how they see and interpret the world. And, it's always fascinating to discover the stories behind everyday objects in our lives. Some of my favourites include: Rams, Eames: The Architect and the Painter, Abstract, and Blown Away.

A design book that I picked up recently during the pandemic is from Takashi Murakami called “The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg”. It’s a book that showcases Murakami’s artwork from his paintings and sculptures featured in exhibits around the world to his more recent designs that have become embedded in fashion and pop culture. For me personally it’s a book that demonstrates the intersections between design and art. As someone with practices in both disciplines it’s a great source of inspiration when approaching my work.

Although I do enjoy some design books from time to time, (like Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug), I’m learning a lot from femke.design and chunbuns on YouTube. Also, Mayuko, who is a Software Engineer from SF because I love the way she tells her stories about her experiences in the industry.

Early on in my design career, I wanted to learn everything about design. As someone who is more research oriented, I felt the need to prove to others that I was capable of excelling in every facet of UX design. There was a period of time where all I consumed were design books, documentaries, and podcasts, but I can't say that any of them in particular stood out or attributed to a positive change in my career. That was not until I started watching Ali Abdaal's videos on YouTube. Ali is a doctor and Cambridge graduate whose content is primarily centered around how to maximize productivity in your life. He presents strategies and tips that enable you to work smarter and not harder and that made me realize that everything that I wanted to learn about design should be focused and intentional, and that the lack thereof was causing me to feel burnt out and overwhelmed. In these times where everything feels so mundane, it's very easy to fall into a certain type of work or way of doing things. And ultimately you lose your sense of purpose and goal. While his content isn't "design related" persay, I find that anything that allows me to self-reflect which includes, evaluating, assessing, and potentially realigning what I am doing and how I am doing things, which is fundamental to ensuring that whatever I'm learning, design or not, is fruitful.

While I don't currently have a favourite design resource, I like to stay creative by exploring different art styles and projects during my free time. I am currently working on prints and stickers for my Instagram account, Zikr Art Studio.

I don’t really do design documentaries or podcasts but I would say a good book is Sprint by Jake Knapp. Besides that I read almost every posted article over at UXRC and ResearchOps Slack channel.

I would say Cracking the PM Interview because it’s a great intro to core PM competencies and different ways you can think about a design problem in order to come to a solution.

Sprint : how to solve big problems and test new ideas in just five days because it emphasizes a problem-first design process in the realistic setting of doing so in a group of people who need to come to a collective decision, with final input coming from a single stakeholder.

And of course, the Social Dilemma reminds people in tech every day that the technology we are developing has the power for good but can also easily be misused by bad actors. Company mission and intention of leadership will ultimately drive the ethical design (or lack thereof) of your product.

Also to be 100% honest, I like to learn from experience so don’t spend a ton of time seeking out PM/design content. I think it’s a path less travelled but it allows one to create an authentic perspective on design and for me, allows me to bring my genuine self to work each day. Also humans need some nonsense time and I already spend too much time working lol!

I read a book called Thinking Fast & Slow by Daniel Kahneman. It talks about how we as humans all have our own innate biases. We think we are making the right choice or decision based on familiarity or aesthetic pleasure. However, this book has taught me that as a designer, we need to go beyond these biases in order to make the right decisions. This is an idea that I'm constantly trying to implement as I make decisions, not just in design but also in my everyday choices!

I would recommend these design resources:

Books: The Design of Everyday Things / Don't Make Me Think

Podcasts: Dollars to Donuts

Websites: Nielsen Norman Group / UX Matters

To be completely honest I haven’t really read, listened or watched much of anything related to design since getting into design last summer.

Albeit, if you count Medium articles, that’s my main design resource. I enjoy the ease of use and the little time stamps so I know how long pursuing an article would take me and highlighting important takeaways.

But now that I’ve finished work I’ve been recommended to the Methods podcast by Google Design so I’ll be starting that this week :)

As for design inspiration in general I think I derive a lot of inspiration for UI elements through observing artwork in museums or even palettes that I see in my day to day. For example, I went to a cafe a week ago that served me a cold drink in a cobalt blue paper cup with a forest green lid and peachy coloured straw and I instantly fell in love with that combination and have included it on my mood board for my new startup project.

Setting The Table provides insights on how to create and maintain a successful restaurant with a focus on designing for your customers while providing nurturing support for your team. Lots of interesting anecdotes but feel free to skip the introduction.