<p>Published on <a href="http://ift.tt/2mPlCiL">| Prototyping: From UX to Front End &mdash; Medium</a> James Zhou <img alt="" src="http://ift.tt/2mnzmFq"></p>
<h4>My 2017 reading list to supplement my design education</h4>
<p>One of the most impactful design books on my design education is Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby’s <a href="http://ift.tt/2mPf2J2">Speculative Everything</a>. My paradigms about the nature and function of design shifted as a direct result of reading Speculative Everything. I used to think that the only function of design is to create useful solutions. However, Speculative Everything showed me how design can also engage people in critical conversations.</p>
<p>This year, I have set a goal for myself to read two to three books a month. As design challenges become more systemic and complex, I believe designers need to have a generalist knowledge on a variety topics. My reading list for 2017 includes books in areas such as science, psychology, and philosophy.</p>
<p>I am always looking for read recommendations, especially in the area where design and philosophy intersect. I have created a <a href="http://ift.tt/2mnFIo3">list in Goodreads</a> where you can add your suggestions.</p>
<h4><strong>Design</strong></h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mPewuQ">Generative Gestaltung </a>— Hartmut Bohnacker, Benedikt Groß</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mnI8TE">Whiplash</a> — Joi Ito and Jeff Howe</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mP1rlj">The Shape of Design —</a> Frank Chimero</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mnKYbt">A Pocket Guide to the Craft of Words </a>— The Standardistas</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mP1flQ">Design Studies: A Reader </a>— Hazel Clark (Editor), David Brody (Editor)</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mnGHVC">Microinteractions</a><a href="http://ift.tt/2mnKYbt"> </a>— Dan Saffer</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mPlDDl">Design Forward: Creative Strategies for Sustainable Change</a> — Hartmut Esslinger</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mnFe1z">Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology </a>— K. Eric Drexler</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mPlEHp">Digital Ground: Architecture, Pervasive Computing, and Environmental Knowing</a> — Malcolm McCullough</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mnJo9i">The Death and Life of Great American Cities </a>— Jane Jacobs</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mP1spn">The Banham Lectures: Essays on Designing the Future</a> — Jeremy Aynsley (Editor), Harriet Atkinson (Editor)</li>
</ul>
<h4>Philosophy</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mnPAhM">Alien Phenomenology</a> — Ian Bogost</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mPdizC">The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten</a> — Julian Baggini</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mnFGwr">The Denial of Death </a>— Ernest Becker</li>
</ul>
<h4><strong>Psychology</strong></h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mP25PH">The Myth of the Strong Leader </a>— Archie Brown</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/1LvSu3O">Where Good Ideas Come From </a>— Steven Johnson</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/1MrGGTR">Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion</a>— Robert B. Cialdini</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/1Q887FB">Predictably Irrational</a> —Dan Ariely</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mP1aPa">Contagious: Why Things Catch On</a> — Jonah Berger</li>
</ul>
<h4><strong>Science</strong></h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2bYgtPQ">I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life</a> — Ed Yong</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mPlrEn">Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow</a> — Yuval Noah Harari</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2apFEPn">The Gene: An Intimate History</a> — Siddhartha Mukherjee</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mPasKV">Physics of the Impossible </a>— Michio Kaku</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mnNz5f">Guns, Germ, and Steel</a> — Jared Diamond</li>
</ul>
<h4>Storytelling</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mPjRCh">Wired for Story: The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence </a>— Lisa Cron</li>
</ul>
<h4>Personal Brand</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mnHBBp">Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?</a> — Seth Godin</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mPf1Vu">Crush It!</a> — Gary Vaynerchuk</li>
</ul>
<h4>Non Fiction</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mnItFX">The Second Machine Age</a> — Erik Brynjolfsson, Andrew McAfee</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mP7HcK">Industries of The Future</a> — Alec J. Ross</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mnJEWa">Originals</a> — Adam Grant</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mPmK5U">Team of Teams</a> — Stanley McChrystal, Chris Fussell</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2aUnHn0">Mastery </a>— Robert Greene</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mPlEXV">Double Cup Love </a>— Eddie Huang</li>
</ul>
<h4><strong>Business</strong></h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mnRv5S">The Hard Things About Hard Things </a>— Ben Horowitz</li>
</ul>
<h4><strong>Fiction</strong></h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mPjlUK">The Wind Up Bird Chronicles </a>— Haruki Murakami</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mnRVZY">The History of Love</a> — Nicholas Krauss</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/2mPjmYO">Einstein’s Dreams</a>—Alan Lightman</li>
</ul>
<p><img src="http://ift.tt/2mnITfD" width="1" height="1" alt="stat?event=post.clientViewed&amp;referrerSou"></p>
<hr>
<p><a href="http://ift.tt/2mP1fCm">A Design Education in Books</a> was originally published in <a href="http://ift.tt/2cAqCpx">Prototyping: From UX to Front End</a> on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.</p>


A Design Education in Books

My 2017 reading list to supplement my design education

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