HN Books @HNBooksMonth

Ethnographers tend to be rather hands off (/against) directly changing who they're observing. Contextual Inquiry (http://www.usabilitynet.org/tools/contextualinquiry.htm, http://www.amazon.com/Contextual-Design-Customer-Centered-In...) is a fairly light weight method and I think would benefit a lot of startups.

⬐ Ftuuky

Depends on their school of thought. You could go full gonzo anthropologist.

1. [Visual Grammar](http://books.google.com/books/about/VISUAL_GRAMMAR.html?id=w...) by Christian Leborg

2. [Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0465051359/) by Don Norman

3. [The Elements of Typographic Style](http://www.amazon.com/Elements-Typographic-Style-Robert-Brin...) by Robert Bringhurst

4. [Grid Systems](http://www.amazon.com/Systems-Graphic-Systeme-Visuele-Gestal...) by Josef Muller-Brockmann

5. [Ordering Disorder: Grid Principles for Web Design](http://www.amazon.com/Ordering-Disorder-Principles-Design-Vo...) by Khoi Vinh

6. [Why Customers Really Buy: Uncovering the Emotional Triggers That Drive Sales](http://www.amazon.com/Why-Customers-Really-Buy-Uncovering/dp...) by Linda Goodman (I've had the pleasure of meeting her and overhearing her office conversation during my daily tasks at the office in Houston, where she worked for a spell. Incredibly sharp, and it is clear that her principles exposed in this book are thorough-going in her interactions with people. I think it would be important to apply her research to Lean methodologies, building Features only around Emotional Triggers. This is what we are aiming at, but I am making this connection right now, I believe, in saying this.)

7. [Contextual Design: Defining Customer-Centered Systems](http://www.amazon.com/Contextual-Design-Customer-Centered-In...) by Hugh Beyer, Karen Holtzblatt

My favorite UX books:

The Design of Everyday Things (http://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Donald-Norman/d...)

The Humane Interface (http://www.amazon.com/Humane-Interface-Directions-Designing-...)

Contextual Design (http://www.amazon.com/Contextual-Design-Customer-Centered-In...)

⬐ danilocampos

I'm 11 pages into the Design of Everyday things and loving it so far. Thank you for the recommendation.

⬐ ary

I need to second your recommendation of The Humane Interface. I reread it often.

⬐ xyzzyb

That last one is more about systems analysis than user experience.

⬐ d_mcgraw

I'm reading The Design of Everyday Things right now. It is an amazingly good book. The examples are awesome. It really is changing the way I look at everything.

⬐ imwilsonxu

The Design of Everyday Things is cool, indeed. Norman's a great author who keeps questioning what we take for granted.

However, if you are looking for something more pragmatic, Steve's Don't Make me Think and JJG's The Elements of User Experience should be the top of your reading list, especially on web design.