Books and talks that shaped my mind as a developer

Over the years I’ve read many books and watched many talks but a few stand out (at least for me) that influenced me in my development career.

The inmates are running the asylum by Alan Cooper
This book opened my eyes that I approached software development completely from the wrong standpoint: the software should serve the user not vice versa.

Design Patterns by Erich Gamma et al
Oh others use the same patterns as me and what? you can even talk about it without explaining every detail…

Refactoring by Martin Fowler
This book taught me that you can change the structure and the design of the software without changing its function. Cool.

Inventing on Principle by Bret Victor
Seeing a new way of interacting with your software in development blew my mind. Think WYSIWYG on steroids.

Getting real by 37signals
Getting to the core of what is essential and what really needs to be done in software/product development is laid out here so clear and stripped down that it struck me.

Information visualization by Edward Tufte
Another book which reduces its topic (this time: presenting information) to the core and by this identifying so much unnecessary practice that it hurts.

Start with why by Simon Sinek
Purpose. Why do you develop software? Why do I arrange an UI or the architecture of an application? This is what design is about.

Only openings by Frank Chimero
Do I try to eliminate failures and therefore options or do I leave the possibility to the user to choose…

Web design is 95% typography by Oliver Reichenstein
Concentrate on the main part, the bigger part, the 95%. If you get them right the rest isn’t so important after all.

Discount usability by Jakob Nielsen
Do what you can do with what you have.