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The UX Design Field Book

THE UX DESIGN FIELD BOOK

Writing a best-selling UX design reference book improved the industry and drove a love of design leadership & mentorship.

Overview

As a self-taught UX design pro, I learned the basic skills of the trade by reading works other professionals produced. From Don Norman’s The Design of Everyday Things to Steve Krugg’s Don’t Make me Think, the books that were available to me when I started my UX design career wore an invaluable resource.

The book that I didn’t have – the book that I really wanted – was a simple, easy-to-understand guidebook to UX design.

And after amassing more than 50,000 followers across my social media channels many of whom followed me for early-career discussions about the profession, I knew I wasn’t alone.

So I decided to write it myself.

Goals

I had three goals when I started to write The UX Design Field Book:

  • Simple & teachable: the book had to be easy to read and informative for for anyone who picked it up.
  • Fun: the book had to be engaging in a way that didn’t get the reader bogged down and in academic language.
  • Informative: the book had to pack a lot of information into a small space. The writing had to be succinct and clear.

Role

Author / Editor / Designer / Publisher

Scope

108 pages
10 Chapters
Glossary
Appendices

Timeline

October 2021 – January 2022

Tools

Adobe Illustrator
Vellum
Adobe Photoshop
Figma
Kindle Direct Publishing
Amazon Ads
Twitter (X) Advertising

Research Process

I combed through UX design conversations on Twitter, LinkedIn, the UX Mastery Forums, YouTube videos, and more to identify the most-asked questions by entry-level designers and non-design stakeholders. The common themes I found were:

  • A knowledge gap in the core principles of UX design.
  • A desire to get a deeper dive into the UX design process.
  • A passion for creating designs that were ethical and accessible.

Writing Process

I wrote my book to address the core needs discovered through my research.

  • Core UX Design Principles: The book is organized around the core principles of UX, with chapters on the definition of UX design, UX research, visual design, interaction design, information architecture, usability testing, and UX writing.
  • The UX Design Process: The longest chapter in the book delves into the baseline ux design framework and includes topics including strategy, design iteration, testing, implementation, and design QA.
  • Ethical and Accessible Design: Each piece gets its own chapter. The chapter on ethical ux design focuses on avoiding deceptive designs and how to make ethical objections, while the accessibility piece dives into why accessibility matters and gives a guide on how to implement accessibility checks in a design process.

Impact

The book had an immediate positive impact on the UX design world.

“A must-read for new and experienced UX designers.”

“If you’re new to #UX, The UX Design Field Book by @DougCollinsUX is a must-read. It wraps its arms around a broad, often misunderstood area and describes how all the subdisciplines fit together. Wish I’d had it 20 yrs ago.”

Stephanie Fox, UX Consultant

“Great info and ideas on where to focus.”

“As someone that wandered backwards into a UX career, I have some sizable knowledge gaps. This gave me some great info and ideas on where to focus as I continue to learn.”

Jon Lynch, Lead UI Engineer, COX Automotive

“Takes the confusion and intimidation out of learning UX.”

“I’ve been learning UX design for months, and this book was so simple and easy to understand. It takes the confusion and intimidation out of the learning process. Would definitely recommend.”

Ashley Williams, Verified Amazon Purchase Review

The book has received several awards and recognitions, including:

  • #1 Bestseller, Usability category, Amazon.com, January 2022
  • #1 Bestseller, Web Design category, Amazon.com, January 2022
  • Bestseller, Interaction Design Foundation, 2022-2024
  • Bestseller, LayoutMag.com, 2024
  • 20 Best UX Design Books of All Time, BookAuthority.org, January 2023
  • 20 Best UI Design Books of All Time, BookAuthority.org, January 2023
  • 10 Best UX Design Books for the Future, UXPlanet.com, January 2023

Learnings

The process of writing and publishing the book was a formative one for me:

  • A love of mentorship: While I already knew that I loved being a mentor and leader, writing this book allowed me to understand the scope and reach of my voice across the UX community and the world. It drove an increased drive to guide and lead those coming up behind me in the UX design forward.
  • Filling knowledge gaps: We’re all learning, and I’m no exception. While writing the book, I added to my own skill set, particularly in the areas of information architecture and interaction design.
  • My Next Project: The success of The UX Design Field Book has inspired my next writing project, “The Design Leadership Field Book,” which will be published in December 2024.