[enhdless]

Are you trying to learn to use Figma specifically? I think you can just pick it up and start using it pretty easily. Good design principles are ultimately tool-agnostic though.

- The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman is the classic for learning design.

- Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug is another classic, and very digestible.

- Refactoring UI is a good book for those coming from a developer perspective: https://refactoringui.com/book/

- Mismatch by Kat Holmes talks about the importance of inclusive design for both usability and innovation.

- Not a book, but Apple's Human Interface Guidelines are excellent: https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guideline...

- Similarly, just try reading the design principles of companies with good design, like Shopify: https://polaris.shopify.com/experiences/crafting-admin

- If you're interested in building a design system, I would start with InVision's Design Systems Handbook: https://www.designbetter.co/design-systems-handbook

Ultimately, good design is informed by research - what is the problem you're trying to solve? What is the user's goal and how can you make that easy for them to achieve? What are you trying to communicate? Start with interviewing 5+ potential users, distilling that data into actionable opportunities, and sketching wireframes on paper before jumping into Figma.

[bwh2]

Don't Make Me Think is a great book. Even though the example screenshots are from the early 2000s, the principles still apply. I recommend that book to all of my engineers.

However, I recently read The Design of Everyday Things and was really disappointed. The sections about door handles, stoves, and elevator buttons are interesting but that's only 1/3 of the book. The rest is about iterative design and system failure, for which there are better books like The Lean Startup and Drift Into Failure.

[nicdc]

This is amazing. Thanks a lot!