Bookshelf
Resources
Books, essays, and references I keep recommending — on design leadership, agentic AI, and the ethics of building things that act for people. Each one links out.
The Mom Test
How to talk to users so they cannot lie to you out of politeness. You know, like your mom. Cheap, short, and it will fix your discovery.
The Tyranny of Metrics
Why optimizing for the number you can measure quietly destroys the thing you actually cared about. Required reading before defending a design at your next KPI review.
The User’s Journey: Storymapping Products That People Love
Telling effective stories is a designer’s superpower. Connecting narrative to effective user journeys helps designers maintain stakeholder alignment by plotting a clear path through even the most dynamic journeys.
Thinking in Systems
I recommend this book to designers struggling with systems thinking. This is the mental model for how to build scalable abstractions and perhaps an explanation for why your design had the opposite effect from what you intended.
Thinking, Fast and Slow
The two-system model of the mind is the operating manual behind every default, nudge, and confirmation dialog you will ever design.
Understanding Comics
The best book on visual communication, sequence, and closure, disguised as a comic. It rewires how you think about progressive disclosure and teaches you how to storyboard effectively.
You Look Like a Thing and I Love You
The funniest, most real primer on how AI actually fails. Hand it to any stakeholder who still thinks the model is magic.