Resources

Textbooks

The textbook mentioned in the section, and all readings assigned in the course modules, are available to Algonquin students for free through Safari Books Online. You will need your library barcode and PIN: http://www.algonquincollege.com/library (opens new window)

Recommended textbooks:

The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity (2nd Edition) by Alan Cooper

• Sams Publishing; 2 edition (2004)
• ISBN-10: 0672326140 or ISBN-13: 978-0672326141

The Design of Everyday things by Don Norman

• Basic Books; Revised Edition (2013)
• ISBN-10: 0465050654 or ISBN-13: 978-0465050659

Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability (3rd Edition) by Steve Krug

• New Riders; 3rd edition (2013)
• ISBN-10: 0321965515 or ISBN-13: 978-0321965516

Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems by Steve Krug

• New Riders; 1st edition (2009)
• ISBN-10: 0321657292 or ISBN-13: 978-0321657299

Mobile Design Pattern Gallery by Theresa Neil

• O'Reilly Media, Inc (2012)
• ISBN-13: 978-1-4493-1432-3

eText books:

http://www.algonquincollege.com/etexts/ (opens new window)

Software

Links to Adobe software:

• www.adobe.com/ca/creativecloud.html (opens new window)
• Digital Resource Portal (opens new window)

Online Resources

• Algonquin Student Survival Guide: algonquincollege.libguides.com/student-survival-guide (opens new window)
• LinkedIn Learning: https://www.linkedin.com/learning (opens new window)
• Pluralsight: www.pluralsight.com (opens new window)

UI/UX Design Resources

Tools

• Design Tools Database (opens new window)

• Graphics

  • Squoosh app (image optimization) (opens new window)
  • CSS Gradient Generator (opens new window)
  • Gradient Generator (opens new window)
  • SVG Editor (opens new window)
  • svgOMG (opens new window)
  • Android DP/PX converter (opens new window)
  • Website style Guide generator (opens new window)

• Paper prototype templates

  • Download 1: sneakpeekit.com (opens new window)
  • Download 2: Paper Wireframe PDF (opens new window)

• Information Architecture (Free educational diagram tools):

  • app.moqups.com (opens new window)
  • mind42.com (opens new window)
  • www.mindmup.com (opens new window)
  • whimsical.com (opens new window)
  • Data Architecture (high-level) diagram tool: isoflow.io (opens new window)

• Free brainstorm tool:

  • miro.com (opens new window)
  • padlet.com (opens new window)
  • mural.co (opens new window)
  • Post-it® App (opens new window)

• Wireframe/UI Design

  • Balsamiq (Free student access) (opens new window)
  • Sketch (50% student discount) (opens new window)

• Prototype

  • Figma (Free education access (opens new window)
  • Adobe XD (opens new window)
  • InVision Studio (opens new window) & Cloud version signup (opens new window)
  • Sketch (50% student discount) (opens new window)

• Colour

  • Adobe Color CC (opens new window)
  • Colormind.io (opens new window)
  • Online colour accessibility tool
    • Color Oracle – Design for the Color Impaired (opens new window)
    • Sim Daltonism Mac App(The color blindness simulator) (opens new window)
    • Material colour picker: (opens new window)
    • Geenes (opens new window)
    • Colorable: (opens new window)
    • w3schools tool: (opens new window)
  • Online colorizer: http://paletton.com (opens new window)
  • Open Source Color System (opens new window)
  • Color Phsycology PDF Book (opens new window)

Design Resources

• Free stock photos & videos(Creative Commons) (opens new window)

• Icons and Photos For Everything (opens new window)

• Laws of UX (opens new window)

• Designing for Readability – A Guide to Web Typography (opens new window)

• User Research

  • 15 Common Rating Scales Explained (opens new window)
  • Likert-Type Scale Response Anchors (PDF)

• Platform Specific Guidelines

  • iOS Human Interface Guidelines (opens new window)
    • The iOS 15 Design Guidelines: An Illustrated Guide (opens new window)
  • Android Design Guidelines (opens new window)
  • Material Design 2 (opens new window) & Material Design 3 (opens new window)
  • Progressive Web App Design Best Practices (opens new window)

• Platform Specific Design Resources

  • Apple Design Resource (Kits) for Sketch, Adobe XD and Photoshop (opens new window)
  • Android Material Design Kit for Sketch, Adobe XD, and Figma (opens new window)
  • MAC System Fonts (opens new window)
  • Material Design Fonts: Roboto, the default system font for Android (opens new window)

• UI Design & Xd Resources (UI Kits for iOS, Material Design, and Microsoft)

  • By Adobe XD (opens new window)
  • xdresources.co (opens new window)
  • Auto Animated UI Kits download (opens new window)
  • 13 Xd Auto Animated UI Kit (opens new window)
  • Persona templates by xtensio.com (opens new window)

Additional Reading

• Creating Excellent UX Flow Charts – EightShapes – Medium (opens new window)
• 32 User Interface Elements For UI Designers: Your Ultimate Glossary (opens new window)
• Gamification: A guide for designers to a misunderstood concept (opens new window)
• Empty State Best Practices(UI Design) (opens new window)
• How to design for AI-enabled UI (opens new window)
• Building a Design System from scratch (opens new window)
• Naming colors in design systems (opens new window)

Tutorials

• Adobe XD video tutorials on LinkedIn Learning (opens new window)
• Sketch for UX Design video tutorials (opens new window)
• Getting Started with InVision (opens new window)
• InVision for UX Design (opens new window)
• Figma – Getting Started Video Tutorial (opens new window)
• Adobe Create Magazine for tips & tricks (opens new window)

UI Design Examples

• User Interface Design patterns: (opens new window)
• Apple Design Awards: (opens new window)
• 10 Progressive Web App Examples that Brand Owners can Learn From (opens new window)