Every resource founders actually use, in one library.

What founders use most, ranked by how many answers lean on it.

1. Obvious is one of India's most respected product design studios, and their blog distills over a decade of building simple, well... Obvious (India product design studio) Article · Starting Up Obvious blog Obvious (India product design studio)
2. Polish is mostly restraint, and this lays out practical ways to strip a design down. It helps you resist the urge to add more... Interaction Design Foundation Article · Starting Up Simplicity in Design: 4 Ways to Achieve Simplicity Interaction Design Foundation
3. The useful counterpoint: shipping a stripped MVP can leave a disjointed experience that erodes trust, especially outside... Nielsen Norman Group Video · 5 min · Starting Up Why MVP Is the Antithesis of Good UX Kara Pernice
4. 37signals on finding the one thing your product cannot exist without, and building that first. It is the sharpest version of... REWORK, 37signals Podcast · Starting Up Start at the Epicenter Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson
5. This is the single most practical book written entirely about the tiny words in your product (buttons, error messages, empty... microcopybook.com (Nemala) Book · ~350 pages · Starting Up Microcopy: The Complete Guide Kinneret Yifrah
6. Kate Kiefer Lee shaped Mailchimp's famous voice, and this book teaches you to write clear, human interface and product copy and... nicelysaid.co Book · ~272 pages · Starting Up Nicely Said: Writing for the Web with Style and Purpose Nicole Fenton and Kate Kiefer Lee
7. Most error copy is written for the calm, ideal user, and this short book forces you to design for the stressed, distracted,... A Book Apart Book · ~132 pages · Starting Up Design for Real Life Eric Meyer and Sara Wachter-Boettcher
8. Sign-up and checkout forms are where founders lose users, and this piece is a focused rulebook for the error text on exactly... Nielsen Norman Group Article · ~14 min read · Starting Up How to Report Errors in Forms: 10 Design Guidelines Rachel Krause (Nielsen Norman Group)
9. A button or link label makes a promise, and this article gives you a simple test for whether it will be kept: specific,... Nielsen Norman Group Article · ~8 min read · Starting Up Better Link Labels: 4 Ss for Encouraging Clicks Kate Moran (Nielsen Norman Group)
10. The UK government writes for millions of people in hard moments, and their public guidance is one of the best free sources on... GOV.UK Service Manual Article · ~10 min read · Starting Up Writing for user interfaces GOV.UK / Government Digital Service
11. This is a ready-made, accessible pattern for error messages with real wording examples you can adapt (it even shows the... GOV.UK Design System Template · reference · Starting Up Error message component GOV.UK / Government Digital Service
12. Apple's writing foundation is short, opinionated, and free, and it states the button rule plainly: almost always use a verb,... Apple Human Interface Guidelines Article · ~10 min read · Starting Up Writing Apple
13. Shopify's design system spells out how to phrase actions for merchants running a business, which is close to what many founders... Shopify Polaris Article · ~6 min read · Starting Up Content design: Actionable language Shopify
14. Google's content design guidance is a free, thorough reference for clear UI writing, including the classic rule of naming the... Material Design 3 (Google) Article · ~12 min read · Starting Up Content design overview Google
15. Saito was the first UX writer at YouTube and a writer at Dropbox, and this widely read essay shows how a few well-chosen words... UX Collective (John Saito) Essay · ~8 min read · Starting Up The magic of microcopy John Saito
16. Video · ~30 min · Starting Up How Words Can Make Your Product Stand Out (Google I/O '17) Maggie Stanphill, Google
17. A relaxed conversation with a working UX writer about how interface words get made at a real product company, including button... Intercom (Inside Intercom podcast) Podcast · ~30 min · Starting Up Dropbox's John Saito on the role of writing in experience design John Saito with Intercom
18. Written by an India-based UX writer, this piece is a useful reality check on why product copy still gets ignored at many Indian... UX Content Collective Article · ~8 min read · Starting Up UX writing is on the rise in India Sidika Sehgal
19. The counterargument worth hearing: that a strong designer earns their keep before polish, by shaping the product around real... Andy Budd Essay · Starting Up Everyone Talks About Product-Market Fit. A Good Designer Can Help You Find It. Andy Budd
20. A calm, structured walkthrough of hiring your first designer: what to look for, how to scope the role, and how to evaluate... Designer Fund Article · Starting Up A Founder's Guide to Hiring your First Designer Heather Phillips
21. From a former Facebook VP of Design, this clarifies what senior design judgment actually buys you, which is the "taste" you... The Looking Glass Essay · Starting Up How to Spot a World-Class Designer Julie Zhuo
22. Professionally designed, ready to drop in UI blocks and page templates from the makers of Tailwind CSS. It lets you assemble a... Tailwind CSS Tool · Starting Up Tailwind Plus (Tailwind UI) Tailwind CSS
23. Google's open design system with detailed guidance on layout, color, type, and components, plus ready implementations.... Google Tool · Starting Up Material Design 3 Google
24. One of the most complete free Figma UI kits, with a large library of components and page examples you can adapt. If you want a... Untitled UI Template · Starting Up Untitled UI (Free Figma UI Kit) Untitled UI

Show the next 24