The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go. — Dr. Seuss
Most design books repeat the same ideas. They change the visuals, update the examples, and sell the same advice. But a few books stand out because they just show you how things actually work. Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug is one of those. It doesn’t talk about design theory. It talks about user behaviour. People don’t read instructions. They don’t think about structure. They click the first thing that looks right. If you’ve never read a design book, that’s a good place to start.
But you shouldn’t stop there.
If all you read is usability advice, your thinking will stay narrow. Some of the best design decisions come from understanding how people behave, not just how they click. That means reading outside of design. Learn about cognitive biases. Study behavioural economics. Read case studies on product strategy. Learn how incentives shape choices.
This isn’t unique to design. A good engineer learns system architecture. A great one also understands product tradeoffs. A good marketer knows channels. A great one knows how people make decisions. The pattern is the same: breadth makes specialists better.
A designer who’s good at tools and workflows is valuable. But a designer who can think across product, business, and psychology is harder to replace.