glad to see I'm not the only one... anthropic needs to support my anger management treatment

I recommend focusing first on UX as it applies to areas that are closest to your expertise. Not a good idea to go head first into art history, color theory, typography or concepts that are so far removed from what you're doing that would feel alien.

Try starting a conversation with a FE engineer friend or even better with a UX engineer / design technologist if you know one. They speak both languages :)

If you prefer reading, NNgroup is great for basics. Start with their 10 usability heuristics: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/

These 3 books should give you some great starting points:

About Face - The Essentials of Interaction Design: https://www.wiley.com/en-gb/About+Face%3A+The+Essentials+of+...

Design of Everyday Things: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Design_of_Everyday_Things

Creative Selection: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37638098-creative-select...