Must-Read Books for Startup Founders, UX Designers, and Creatives
- Emily Meer
- Apr 14
- 2 min read
Every founder and creative has a personal bookshelf… or if you’re anything like me, a combo of physical books, audiobooks, PDFs, eBooks, and permanently opened YouTube tabs. Reading is an important part of my life. Over the last seven years, I’ve read close to 300 books (yes, that’s a not-so-subtle flex).
Some were forgettable. Some were great. But a handful changed everything—how I build, how I think, how I focus, and how I create. These are the ones I keep coming back to, the ones I memorized quotes from and scribbled notes about in the margins (or in my Notion database). These are the ones that I recommend anytime someone asks, “What helped you get started?”
📱 Hooked by Nir Eyal
Let's start with the real MVP: Hooked. This one’s all about designing products people can’t help but return to without slipping into dark-pattern territory. It dives into the psychology behind habit-forming products and the framework you can use to build one of your own. It helped me understand why certain apps succeed at capturing attention, and how I can ethically design for engagement.
👩👦👦 The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick
If you’re building anything user-focused, The Mom Test is an absolute must. It taught me how to talk to users without leading them and how to listen in a way where I wasn't simply hearing what I wanted to hear. Spoiler: your mom will lie to protect your feelings, and so will your early users unless you ask better questions.
🧠 Deep Work by Cal Newport
When the noise of work and life gets too loud, Deep Work reminds me to shut it all out and focus. Newport makes a strong case for cultivating distraction-free zones where meaningful, high-impact work happens. It’s all about slow, focused, uninterrupted productivity.
🧩 UX Strategy by Jaime Levy
Part design, part business, all clarity. UX Strategy breaks down how to align user needs with product goals. It’s especially helpful when you're trying to communicate product decisions to stakeholders who don’t speak “design.” Of all the books on the list, this one is the most "textbook" with many individual chapters that I review when I need a refresher on a specific topic.
🎨 Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon
This little book packs a creative punch. It reframes “originality” as remixing your influences with your own voice. As human beings, we see, we admire, we make connections. And those connections can lead to creative innovations. Any time I feel stuck or imposter syndrome creeps in, I turn this on (because I have it on Audible) and remind myself that nothing great is made in a vacuum.
These books and resources aren’t just part of my reading list—they’re part of how I think and build. Whether you’re a startup founder, UX designer, or creative trying to bring something new into the world, I hope this list gives you a head start.
Have a book that’s changed how you work? I’d love to hear about it in the comments! Let’s grow each other’s libraries. 📚⬇️
I found the blog article on the phases of ai incredibly helpful. It gave me a clear, well-structured overview of AI’s history, from its early beginnings to modern advancements. This helped me understand how AI evolved step-by-step and appreciate the breakthroughs shaping today’s technology. It made a complex topic much easier to grasp and inspired me to learn more about AI’s future potential.