The best design books, according to hackers
12 design books were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 3 earn the Hacker Approved badge.
Top picks
The three most recommended design books with the badge. Each figure is 2 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman
29 recommend, 2 criticize, 94% approval
Ranked 1 of 12 by recommenders
Foundational frameworks and design vocabulary
Widely recommended primer on design, with frameworks like affordances and mental models. Critics call it wordy and longer than it needs to be.
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Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug
12 recommend, 1 criticize, 92% approval
Ranked 3 of 12 by recommenders
Classic design reference for online interfaces
Classic guide to clear web interface design, recommended as essential reading for developers. One critic says its advice has become so standard it now feels obvious.
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Practical Typography by Matthew Butterick
10 recommend, 3 criticize, 77% approval
Ranked 4 of 12 by recommenders
Clear, practical typography advice
Practical guide to typography, praised for clear, actionable advice on spacing, typefaces and text-based UX. Some critics dispute its hyperlink advice and say its claims lack empirical evidence.
We may earn a commission. It never changes the order.
We may earn a commission. It never changes the order.
All 12 design books, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Design of Everyday Thingsby Don Norman | 29 | 2 | 94% | 8 | — | Approved |
| 2 | Refactoring UIby Adam Wathan and Steve Schoger | 14 | 3 | 82% | 3 | — | — |
| 3 | Don't Make Me Thinkby Steve Krug | 12 | 1 | 92% | 8 | — | Approved |
| 4 | Practical Typographyby Matthew Butterick | 10 | 3 | 77% | 8 | — | Approved |
| 5 | A Pattern Languageby Christopher Alexander | 9 | 1 | 90% | 4 | — | — |
| 6 | Hookedby Nir Eyal | 8 | 2 | 80% | 5 | — | — |
| 7 | The Visual Display of Quantitative Informationby Edward Tufte | 6 | 3 | 67% | 6 | — | — |
| 8 | The Elements of Typographic Styleby Robert Bringhurst | 5 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| 9 | The Humane Interfaceby Jef Raskin | 4 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 10 | The Design of Designby Fred Brooks | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 10 | About Faceby Alan Cooper | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| 12 | The Nature of Orderby Christopher Alexander | 2 | 3 | 40% | 2 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same design book in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to design books that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.