A free book on the psychology behind product design

Name: A free book on the psychology behind product design
Availability: InStock
Author: wdeb

by wdeb·Jun 22, 2026·4 points·0 comments

Visit Project View on HN

AI Analysis

●●SolidCozyNiche Gem

Twenty years of design psychology distilled into a free book with no paywall.

Strengths

•Chapter titles reveal hard-won insights like 'The Roadmap Ate the User'
•No signup, no monetization, no tracking—just content without friction
•Covers organizational psychology that most design books ignore entirely

Weaknesses

•Static content without interactive examples or case studies to illustrate concepts
•Free design books already exist; differentiation relies entirely on author expertise

Post Description

Good humans, I’m a psychologist turned product designer. Over the last 20 years I’ve collected lessons about the psychology behind building digital products and turned them into a free online book:

https://productdesignpsychology.com/

The book is for anyone who wants to better understand the minds they’re designing for and the mind they’re designing with.

No signup, no paywall, no monetization. Just something I hope is useful.

Ironically, imposter syndrome is one of the chapters, and it’s definitely kicking in while posting this.

—Wouter