Resources for Experience Design

After 15 years working as a photographer and art director, I happened into experience design almost by accident, but looking back it seems inevitable I would find a way to combine my curiosity about experience, emotion, memory, culture, and identity with my creative practice. My undergrad thesis was about depictions of emotions in artwork, and I spent an entire semester of art school trying (and ultimately failing) to create an immersive art installation that recreated the feeling of falling into a dream state (it unwisely involved big magnets).

As creative director of Rabbel Magazine, I recognized the importance of engaging my young audience in experiences to build resilience and confidence rather than just reading about it, so I enrolled in the Experience Design Program at Kaospilot in Århus, Denmark. After going on to study human-centered design, psychology and transformation design, I’ve since dedicated myself to conceptualizing, producing, and consulting on experience design rooted in emotional provocation and nourishing human connection.

In a way it felt like a calling, and it’s a topic I pretty much can’t shut up about. I absorb every bit of knowledge I can on the subject, so over the last several years I’ve been adding to this evolving list of my favorite books, articles, websites, resources, and tools for designing experiences, building connections, and facilitating transformation. There are so many valuable resources on this list, so many great minds contributing to this incredible field, I am really excited to share these gems with as many people as possible.