ContentsUX Goes Global (Book Review) ........................................................................................................... 3 A Curated Selection of Practical Tips and Advice (Book Review) .................................................. 7 From Local Context to Global Design (Book Review) ...................................................................... 9 Pay Attention (Book Review) .............................................................................................................. 11 Understanding UI Design Guidelines (Book Review) ..................................................................... 14 Privacy Meets Technology: Two Views of ―The Circle‖ (Book Review) ....................................... 16 If It Can Be Done…......................................................................................................................... 17 Mystique or Competitive Advantage? ...................................................................................... 17 Personal Analytics ......................................................................................................................... 17 Users Are More Important Than the Information We Collect About Them ........................................... 18 Learner Centered Design (Book Review) ......................................................................................... 21 Creativity in Design and UX (Book Review) ..................................................................................... 24 Making the Web Accessible to All (Book Review) .......................................................................... 27 Seeing is Believing (Book Review) .................................................................................................... 30 Redesigning Healthcare (Book Review) ........................................................................................... 33 Underground Diagrams (Book Review) ............................................................................................ 36 Two Museums of Future UX Design (Book Review) ...................................................................... 39 Letting Go of the Words (Book Review) ........................................................................................... 42 Plain Language ..................................................................................................................................... 43 Conversation ......................................................................................................................................... 43 You Need This Book ............................................................................................................................ 43 UX Professionals + Stakeholders (Book Review) ........................................................................... 45 The p Stops Here (Book Review) ...................................................................................................... 47 Not So Strange, These Fictions (Book Review) ............................................................................ 50 Diagramming: Making the Invisible Visible (Book Review) .......................................................... 53 Practical Guidance at Every Level (Book Review) .......................................................................... 56 Making Everything Fit (Book Review) ............................................................................................... 59 It‘s Finally Here! A Book about User Experience Management (Book Review) ......................... 62 Graphic Design: Two Views (Book Review) .................................................................................. 65 Graphic Design Solutions ................................................................................................................... 66 Concluding Comments ........................................................................................................................ 67 Another Research Tool (Book Review) ............................................................................................ 68 A Book That Talks (Book Review) ..................................................................................................... 71 Book Review: Of Testing and Techniques ....................................................................................... 74 UX Storytelling (Book Review) ........................................................................................................... 77 Book Review: Do‘s and Don‘ts of Information Graphics ................................................................ 80 Shaker Design: Out of this World (Book Review) ........................................................................... 83 Book Review: Providing Access for All ............................................................................................. 86 Book Review: Design Problems in Book Form ................................................................................ 89 Deal Them Again: Card Sorting Revisited (Book Review) ............................................................. 92 The Classy Classic: Designing the User Interface (Book Review) ............................................... 95 Formally Speaking: Two Guidebooks about Designing Forms ..................................................... 98 More than Skin Deep (Book Review) .............................................................................................. 101 Book Review: Seeing the World through a Differently Wired Brain ........................................... 104 What a Character! (Book Review) ................................................................................................... 108 Book Review: It‘s Show Time! .......................................................................................................... 111 Book Review: What We Find Changes Who We Become........................................................... 114 UX Goes Global (Book Review) by Chelsey Glasson A review of Global UX: Research and Design in a Connected World by Whitney Quesenbery and Daniel Szuc, and The Handbook of Global User Research by Robert Schumacher.[Read More] Chelsey Glasson A review of two books Global UX: Design and Research in a Connected World by Whitney Quesenbery and Daniel Szuc Morgan Kauffman, 2011 and The Handbook of Global User Research by Robert Schumacher Morgan Kauffman, 2009 I haven’t yet had the opportunity to engage in user research outside of the U.S., but I have no doubt that I will in the near future. As technology becomes more pervasive throughout the world and companies increasingly compete for global audiences, many UX practitioners will be called upon to conduct research and design projects involving international users. Fortunately, there are now two excellent books to help us with such endeavors: Global UX: Design and Research in a Connected World by Whitney Quesenbery and Daniel Szuc, and The Handbook of Global User Research, edited by Robert Schumacher. Next comes a framework for how to think about culture and what culture means for UX. Did you know that Danes often find it less awkward when moderators sit next to research participants as opposed to moderating from a separate room? Or that thinking aloud comes naturally to Danes? Japanese participants.‖ I‘ve often wondered if this is the case. The book concludes with high-level tips on how to manage international UX projects. explains how to prepare for and conduct global studies. definitely take a look at Schumacher‘s Handbook of Global User Research. which will ultimately influence how and why people do things throughout the world. The first part of the book addresses how an interconnected world impacts UX professionals. If you‘re looking for detailed.Global UX is a review of what it means to be a successful UX practitioner in a global context. Happy reading! . each with its complementary contributions to the enterprise. This book discusses considerations for various research methods when used in a global context. I‘d start with Quesenbery and Szuc‘s Global UX. I wish I had access to such a thorough overview when I started my UX career! On the topic of marketing and UX research. on the other hand. Schumacher provides the clearest explanation I‘ve ever encountered on the similarities and differences of the UX discipline and those of psychology. While this information is not specific to global UX research. human factors. I‘d first read Schumacher‘s handbook. and provides guidance on how to report research findings from these studies. Schumacher says. One thing I learned from these chapters is that Asian countries and companies are developing stronger connections with each other. In the first chapter. but have never seen such a merger occur successfully. Although there is some redundant content between the two books. Let‘s say you have a project planned in Denmark. practical advice on how to conduct global research. Insightful interviews with practitioners from around the world are sprinkled throughout the text. like to take a focused approach when working on tasks and prefer to talk upon task completion. UX practitioners who have worked in certain countries share their tips on doing research there and describe how to establish key partnerships to support your projects. ―Smart organizations would do well to place user research and marketing research side by side. If you‘re a user researcher or designer just starting to explore the landscape of global UX work. marketing research. anthropology. and is more of a discussion than a detailed how-to guide. computer science. they complement each other well and I recommend picking up a copy of each. If you‘ll be involved with an international user research project soon. and industrial engineering. ―Folks who have gone our of their habitat tend to be the good ones. from Global UX by W. Quesenbery and D.‖ – Henning Fischer . Szuc The sketchnote is titled: Effective Global Teams Global companies + global products = global teams.Sketchnote by Amanda Wright. Video works best for meetings rather than workshops. long-distance relationships. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. The most common pattern: Teams organized into offices by function.‖ Listen carefully and take the time to find a communication style that works for everyone. User Experience Magazine. 2013 in Collaboration UX Glasson. The value of global teams is their diversity. so time is built into your day helps make collaboration a priority. Topics: Global Published in: November. no 9-5 schedule. Google. Collaboration is a challenge: missing conversations. UX Goes Global (Book Review). agile is tough Get together at key times in a project ―Setting a a schedule. C. (2013). late finishes.‖ Tomer Sharon.org/ux-goes-global/ . There are many patterns for setting up global teams. The team is for the product and you work together. ―The team is global. early starts. 13(4). even if their descriptions are not always explicit. Generally. ―Shapeshifting. The Mobile Frontier contains some practical and useful information. Hinman refers to the ―magic‖ of NUIs. ―Mobile UX Patterns. On several occasions. The Mobile Frontier also neglects to discuss mobile design for productivity. Hinman also states that we are in a GUI-to-NUI chasm or transition phase. stenciling. Many of the illustrative examples of NUIs would work on a modern desktop or hybrid device. The book also delivers some useful prototyping guidance.‖ Can‘t it be both? Enterprise designers may find themselves puzzled by this stance. but does not articulate what this actually means. per the author‘s examples. especially around sketching. and paper prototyping. [Read More] in the evolution of UIs superseding graphical user interfaces (GUIs). the book provides general design guidance only. Chapter 5. While many of the concepts explored may be extensible to work-related design.‖ contains an edifying breakdown of app types that have emerged over the past few years.‖ focuses on multidevice/ecosystem experiences and presents interesting models of multi-screen interactivity borrowed from the German studio Precious Design. which undermines the argument that a NUI is more than a contemporary GUI. the mobile design principles conveyed by the book feel sound. Chapter 4.A Curated Selection of Practical Tips and Advice (Book Review) by Dan Seward A review of The Mobile Frontier by Rachel Hinman. such as Microsoft Surface. not the accomplishment. and ―The pleasure [of using NUIs] comes from the interaction. Criticism aside. but she does not provide specifics on what a future-state NUI would look like. appear to be the lack of a mouse cursor and the presence of touch gestures. Hinman makes claims such as ―Mobile isn‘t a great platform for performing tasks‖ (tasks here being defined as linear start-stop journeys towards accomplishing a goal). A guide for people starting out in designing mobile experiences. . the distinguishing features of which. after striding through 250 pages of filler like ―What breathes life into nouns is their relationship to other nouns in the world. To close the book.Chapter 7. including wearable computers. 13(4).‖ does an exceptional job of introducing animation principles—borrowed from The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation by Thomas and Johnson— and intelligently extends these principles to mobile UI design. 2013 in Collaboration Methods Seward. User Experience Magazine. UX Published in: November. pages 222–225 contain a fantastic library of touch gestures and their currently accepted uses. Mobile Testing. and applications for emerging markets. However. Topics: Mobile. ―Motion and Animation. In addition.‖ and ―The Internet allowed users to focus and fall in love with content. Hinman concludes with an inspirational encouragement for the reader to go forth and work to define the mobile frontier—a fitting message from a passionate mobile champion. Chapter 9. ―New Mobile Forms. alluding to future considerations for the mobile space.org/a-curated-selection-of-practical-tips-and-advice/ . Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine.‖ the reader may wish that the rest of the material in The Mobile Frontier carried as much weight as the author‘s final words. biological measurement. D. A Curated Selection of Practical Tips and Advice (Book Review).‖ is well-written and rousing.‖ ―GPS enables users to locate themselves in space and time. (2013). British cultural studies. it‘s well worth the time of any practitioner interested in cultural issues in design. or apps that don‘t cross at least a few cultural or national boundaries. Huatong Sun takes a broader view by examining the challenge of understanding cultural expectations and local context.From Local Context to Global Design (Book Review) by Whitney Quesenbery A review of Cross-Cultural Technology Design. [Read More] A Cross-Cultural Culture-Sensitive by Oxford University Press review Technology Technology Design: for Huatong Local of Creating Users Sun Increasingly. online services. Huatong Sun. In Cross-Cultural Technology Design. This is not a how-to book offering guidelines and tips. This book examines the challenge of understanding cultural expectations and local context. This creates a design challenge that is difficult to solve with a few guidelines and patterns. the first section of the book is a review of the theoretical underpinnings of Sun‘s work. however. the work of user experience is global. If you are intrigued by contemporary theoretical debates. . primarily intended for an academic audience. It is (as Sun says in the preface) a scholarly work. There aren‘t many websites. and genre theory. including activity theory. Even websites intended for a local audience can be used by anyone around the world and adapted for local use by people in different contexts and cultures. this book is a thoughtful exploration of the intersection of global and local. How people use technology. From Local Context to Global Design (Book Review). Culture is dynamic and constantly evolving. W. Sun suggests. and what that technology means to them. the interaction. The framework. when.If you are more comfortable with the concrete. 2013 in UX Perspectives UX Quesenbery. Lili. with local culture in dialog with global influences. These case histories are rich with detailed observations collected over several years. They include Sophie. is an ongoing conversation through which people make sense of their world. a Chinese teacher. Instead of deriving design rules from these case studies. ―Experiences. an American business professional. User experience includes both activity (situated in a context) and the meaning we assign to or construct for that activity. Thinking globally. an American graduate student. (2013). Technology is a tool to produce something and a means of communication due to what our choice of technology conveys. and with whom they choose to communicate. Design is both problem solving and engaged conversation. Each story ends with the author‘s reflections on what the case study reveals about cross-cultural design. global view. Design must start from a full understanding of the local context and then integrate it into a larger. including how. Do not let the somewhat academic tone of this book put you off. 13(3). and Emma. why. of activity and meaning. a Chinese graduate student. start with the middle section. Culturally Localized User Experience (CLUE). Affordance includes the physical design. Brian. Their stories carefully unpack the way their social and cultural context affects their user experience of using text messaging in different ways. Sun offers a framework for a design philosophy for making technology usable and meaningful to culturally diverse users. Mei.‖ which contains five stories of how people use mobile communications.org/from-local-context-to-global-design/ . and the social meaning. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. Topics: Global Published in: September. User Experience Magazine. requires both meanings of the word global: thinking of the different context and cultures around the world and thinking about a holistic overview in the design process. If you are wrestling with the challenge of global UX. an American college student. emphasizes the need to integrate understanding of the different ways we experience technology as both actions and interpretation: Local culture is an ever-changing context made up of both practices and meanings. he continues his observations on cognition and architecture at the elementary level where architecture and communication intersect. was a wellreceived invited speaker at UPA 2004.‖ For him. a professor of architecture at the University of Michigan. It’s all about paying attention – or not. the ambient is everything in our immediate . Many of his comments are addressed specifically to those of us who play roles in information design and interactions with ―the built environment. Our evaluations of his session were strongly positive. many people walk around with their eyes and brains locked in the embrace of ―glowing rectangles‖ (LED displays and touch screens) ignoring ―the ambient delights of the unmediated world. his third book from MIT Press. and many of us still fondly remember his witty combination of intellectual scholarship and truths about contemporary society. [Read More] Joe Bugental A Ambient Commons: By MIT Press. 2013 review Attention in an Malcolm Age of Embodied of Information McCullough Malcolm McCullough.‖ According to McCullough. In Ambient Commons.Pay Attention (Book Review) by Joe Bugental A review of Ambient Commons by Malcolm McCullough. surroundings. Now. From early in the text through his conclusions. the Main Idea. and more. stickers and stencils. a park.‖ inventories all kinds of ―tags‖—spray paint. he also offers summaries of the key takeaways at the end of each chapter. but also the breeze rustling leaves in the trees. as in ―crowd-sourcing the infrastructure‖ or ―a DIY commons‖—not an oxymoron here but a variation on ―inescapably shared information [which] becomes a new kind of commons. including—among things we notice or don‘t notice—the pervasive music on our headphones. for example.‖ Word games? Absolutely. McCullough refers to ―planetary change. McCullough indulges in ―psychogeography. and noticing. you can‘t just turn off the screen or flip to another channel. a circumstance that shapes action and perception.‖ is a pivot that moves readers from the inescapable observation of our surroundings to a ―cognitive science of engagement. carved inscriptions. how does that affect inhabitation?‖ Chapter 6. ―less-noticed things. including community governments‘ not-so-recent efforts to deal with ubiquitous signage and spray paint. as information technologies infuse these circumstances. rampant signage. Despite how private and public players have shaped particular elements of built space.‖ one that invites our participation. It‘s all about paying attention…or not. ―Advertising makes brands into places and places into brands. The commons—as in civic open space. Exploring the commons. McCullough naturally uses schematic drawings as part of his vocabulary.‖ rather than either ―global warming‖ or ―climate change. such as the frequent use of squares divided into quadrants to compare. there is always some common circumstance to inhabitation. speaker systems.‖ a practice defined fifty years ago by ―situationists‖ who deplored humanity‘s slide into monoculture and advocated walking among.‖) Chapter 4. posters and handbills. . As a professor. or community gardens—is traditionally a physical space that is not owned by anyone but is shared by everyone.‖ whether initiated by the individual or the circumstances surrounding the individual. You have to live in the artifacts. he insists that what he‘s put together is not a thesis but an ―inquiry. A sample of McCullough‘s text and thinking: ―In architecture and urbanism. as if it were a commons. ―Tagging the Commons. RFID chips. sent versus intrinsic information in specialized versus generalized contexts.‖ thereby avoiding offense to either the American left or right.‖ says McCullough (like the San Francisco Giants‘ home at ―AT&T Park‖ down the street from where I‘m working). banking and other corporate logos. and in elevators. The structure of this inquiry leads us through a seductive progression from the obvious (a view of sunlight crossing a wall) to the sophisticated (―governing the ambient. but with serious respect for the inconvenient truths some of his unconventional language reveals.‖ Please notice that McCullough is a speaker and writer who makes fluent use of new vocabulary. a definition of ―embodiment. As an architect. The danger that lurks in such an exhaustive survey of what‘s happening around us is that some of the facts can begin to sound dated. and design professionals need to pay attention to the information content of our environment. and Open Debate. Related Field. Pay Attention (Book Review). (2014). J. Buildings loaded with signage or GPS interactions with our portable electronics offer opportunities for both the exercise and the occasional rest of our attention. One key to this inquiry is paying attention to ―the built environment. What Has Changed.Counterargument.‖ The implications for information design and human interaction are huge. User Experience Magazine. The book is both a delight to read and a call to action in two ways. Topics: Communication Published in: September.‖ where the high resolution and low demands of architecture provide a base for sense-making. 14(3). Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. Catalyst. Key Terms.org/pay-attention-book-review/ . Civilized human beings need to disengage from their glowing rectangles and appreciate the world around us. 2014 in Healthy Designs Bugental. they can be a refuge from ―peak distraction‖ and ―data smog. Understanding UI Design Guidelines (Book Review) by Kamaria Campbell A review of Designing with the Mind in Mind by Jeff Johnson. vision. 2nd edition Have you ever needed to defend a design decision or been asked to explain why a design pattern does or does not work? If so. For example. This fourteen chapter book relates topics in psychology (such as perception). Chapter 6 ―Reading is Unnatural. terminology. A psychological look at common design problems. visual hierarchy. a user experience professional could easily make the case for design choices such as increasing or decreasing text size or changing the style of text and background graphics. attention. the second edition of Jeff Johnson‘s book Designing with the Mind in Mind likely contains an explanation based on human psychology as well as relevant references.‖ addresses the role our visual system and pattern recognition play in reading. . Armed with this chapter alone. Johnson details the implications for interface design and how they relate to decisions about fonts. [Read More] Kamaria Campbell A review of Designing with the Mind in Mind: Simple Guide to Understanding User Interface Design Guideline by Jeff Johnson Morgan Kauffman. and the amount of text used on interfaces. and memory to their corresponding human-computer interaction applications. and then details the associated design implications. (). In truth.php on line 18 Campbell. comprehensive coverage of common design decisions.org/wp-content/themes/UXMagazine/single-citation. For those seeking to do follow-up research on guidelines. (2014).org/understanding-ui-design-guidelines/ . relates it to human-computer interaction. software design and development professionals 2. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. K. In the Introduction. a total of fourteen sources are listed in the ―Introduction‖ and the ―Appendix. and the reference to human psychology that provide the theoretical support for these decisions make it a solid addition to your personal or professional library. The clear writing style. a major strength of the book is that each chapter follows the same structure. this book would make a good everyday reference for any user experience professional.‖ including the source as well as full guidelines for six of these sources. interaction design and human-computer interaction students. Designing with the Mind in Mind provides a great starting point. Each describes an aspect of human psychology. and 3. The references to existing user-interface design guidelines are another strength. Johnson writes that the intended audience is 1. Understanding UI Design Guidelines (Book Review). Topics: Standards & guidelines Published in: Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in/home/uxpapubs/public_html/uxpamagazine. software development managers.In fact. User Experience Magazine. and technology [Read More] Joe Bugental. . get over it. Kamaria Campbell Two The by Alfred Knopf. for some of us provoking thoughts that perhaps we should have had sooner. but soon dismissed it as yet another challenge for the sales and marketing departments.‖ We frustrated HCI workers were briefly unsettled by that line. Dave Eggers‘s latest novel takes a more serious look at the emerging war between technology and privacy. ―You don‘t have any privacy. Lessons on privacy. Sun Microsystem‘s ever-glib CEO Scott McNealy was quoted as saying.Privacy Meets Technology: Two Views of ―The Circle‖ (Book Review) by Joe Bugental. information. A Casualty of Technology At the dawn of the current millennium. 2013 Looks Dave at Circle Eggers Privacy. Kamaria Campbell Two responses to The Circle by David Eggers. Mystique or Competitive Advantage? Years ago. Keizer says. find a job. ―The writer occupies a zone of extraordinary privacy—not only in the conditions necessary to write but also and frequently in the ancient sense of privacy as a form of privation.‖ Personal Analytics The ultimate violation of privacy. There‘s no question of personal mystique in Mae‘s life. it‘s all relevant to the ubiquitous systems at The Circle. is the measurement of one‘s human aptitudes by fellow humans. From her brief stop on the rungs of newbyhood. She works in customer experience (or ―CE‖). the two kinds of life are inseparable in this world.‖ He goes on to consider privacy as an issue and quotes an array of other writers on the subject. I co-authored a book on how to write resumes. a lesson learned by more than one politician. and so on. relentless performance reviews. but has absolute power over his encounters with Mae. Mae achieves success through the performance metrics that rule both the professional and personal lives of Circlers. ―Your Mystique. As an intensely competitive individual.‖ suggested the need to reveal only what‘s relevant at the time.If It Can Be Done… The novel The Circle is the story of Mae‘s career at a company called The Circle. a hightech organization that bears an eerie resemblance to both Google and Facebook.‖ Privacy. Circlers live in a world of constant personal analytics. at one point responding to input from six screens lined-up on the desk in her cubicle. The idyllic start of Eggers‘s adventures with Mae begins to unravel through a series of sinister details that include one Circler‘s prediction that ―we will become all-seeing. she ascends to become a major presence in the company. The most mysterious character in The Circle is Mae‘s lover Kalden. however. a hybrid department of user experience and tech support. Garrett Keizer‘s non-fiction investigation of this topic can help us to understand more about the war between technology and privacy that is central to The Circle. are the environment of software engineering. ―Technology is our ever-expanding ability to let nothing alone. Keizer says. In fact. His ironic character is anticipated by Keizer who quotes Australian professor Bonnie S. who says that ―privacy asserts power…and power confers privacy. all knowing.‖ He calls writing ―the chance to work alone and unmolested while producing work of acknowledged public benefit….‖ Those same conditions. One of the chapters. who is completely unknown to her co-workers. where violations of privacy are easily realized. which are rampant. . and cameras everywhere record both the achievements and the infractions of the players—capturing them in perpetuity on massive data storage from which nothing is ever erased. McDougall. For example. When everything about you is known. she becomes jealous even of her mentor Annie‘s success. So the story in The Circle also becomes an ethical quagmire. While the face-to-face meetings could have provided an opportunity for HR to gather insight into the ―why‖ behind the score drop and understand the stressors Mae faces. well-being. everything about you is also permitted. text messages. at times it is prioritized above the employees themselves. artificiality replaces sincerity. and social media to keep them informed of news. and so on. Friendships and family members fail to survive Mae‘s rush to the top. the metric is taken as a literal representation of Mae‘s interest in being part of the Circle community. Not active in the company‘s social media due to her relatively new employment status. After reading The Circle. gossip. instead. health data to inform them of their vital signs and statistics. While this information is helpful in providing real-time visibility into an employee‘s standing at work. community rankings to reflect their engagement.‖ Learn more about the limits of privacy to be observed and how best to implement them.Keizer again: ―Privacy provides a zone of reflection and discussion in which gentler. her personal scorecard includes points for ditching her family and friends. her community engagement score suffers and Human Resources rushes to investigate. critical client and personal information. in large part because privacy has ceased to exist. Mae takes the measurements as a personal challenge.‖ However. —Joe Bugental Users Are More Important Than the Information We Collect About Them Dave Eggers’ The Circle offers a cautionary tale about a world where information about users is more important than the users themselves. what is the eternally frustrated UX practitioner to do? Make a commitment to address the issue of privacy continually in research among users and research among designers—even when it may mean advocating against additional ―features. less forward personalities can have some hope of making a contribution…temporary asylum to those who know themselves to be impressionable…. . emails. Mae misses a few social events to visit her ailing father and to do some personal reflection. The world of The Circle is awash in information: productivity data to keep employees aware of how they‘re performing. In time. in a world where ―friends‖ and ―followers‖ are reduced to numbers of visits to a website. and company involvement. but the Circle‘s technology allowed her to derive meaning from it. What lessons can we draw for managing interactions with information and the innovative technologies that produce it? Recognize that users will vary in their ability and desire to interact with multiple feeds of information. Giving users control over what they share and how companies and other people can use their information is critical. This information was always available. Technologies that synthesize multiple information sources should allow users to set preferences. Leverage metrics. SeeChange. While Mae appears to thrive on the information available to her. video data captured via surveillance can be analyzed by anyone curious enough to seek it out. a tool that synthesizes historical data. These innovations are not without consequences. Metrics are excellent tools to diagnose and forecast. In addition to this explicit information. is what to make of the reliance on metrics as a way to gauge intangibles. especially personal or sensitive data. For example. At the end of the day. Human attention and our ability to simultaneously process many sources of information are limited. Using . Since the score only considers activities that can be tracked—such as participation in social media and attendance at events— Mae must overparticipate in these to increase her ranking. and default settings should show the least amount of information necessary. they can be more harmful than helpful.This singular focus on a number distorts the company‘s view of who Mae is and how she contributes to the community. Finally. As emotional creatures. many of the Circle‘s major innovations are technologies that bring together information in novel ways and analytics that measure previously intangible attributes such as children‘s development in school. Mae‘s mentor suffers a nervous breakdown upon learning the truth about her ancestors through PastPerfect. this is not realistic for many people. our current information environment is not so different. in some cases to the detriment or distortion of the attribute being assessed. Similarly Mae‘s ex-boyfriend is literally driven to death while trying to escape a mob-like search party made possible by The Circle‘s video surveillance technology. It‘s difficult to predict how users will feel when they interact with information. especially if it is personal or sensitive. but don‘t allow them to be the end-all-be-all when it comes to driving decision-making or understanding. Some form of warning or advisory should be present to let them know there is potential for harm or emotional distress. Although The Circle is fictional. ―Not everything that can be counted counts. there is also the implicit information yet to be synthesized by Circle technologies. To quote Albert Einstein. and perhaps the most provocative question raised by The Circle. In fact. it is difficult to predict how we will feel when we interact with information. but when analyzed out of context and without sensitivity to some larger picture. the information belongs to the user. and not everything that counts can be counted.‖ There is a critical interpretation element that comes with metrics that is best left to human reasoning. . J.metrics alongside intuition and other qualitative inputs will lead to richer. is not inherently dangerous. 2014 in Motivation Methods Bugental. Interacting with technologies created by companies like that in The Circle. 14(2). —Kamaria Campbell Topics: Privacy. along with the information they produce. allowing them to manage the data. Campbell. (2014). User Experience Magazine.org/privacy-meets-technology/ . Privacy Meets Technology: Two Views of ―The Circle‖ (Book Review). more nuanced assessments. as well as the value they get from interacting with the information. and realizing they are more than the metrics or information that exists about them will ensure their well-being. Keeping the focus on users by safeguarding their information. K. UX Published in: June. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. 2014 review Centered Design for Dorian of Design Learning Peters Many of today‘s learning tools are now digital: 3D worlds. Dorian Peters provides guidance on designing to support the learning environment inherent in digital learning tools. while learner-centered design transforms the user—the interface must be designed to intrinsically . At the beginning of the book. online classrooms. The goal of user-centered design is to support task completion. UX books. but what does it mean to design for a positive learning experience? In Interface Design for Learning. and beyond. She uses examples from websites. and her own extensive experience to explain and illustrate how we can design interfaces that support learning while creating a positive user experience. [Read More] Cynthia Cortez Kamishlian A Learner Interface by New Riders. virtual laboratories. Creating designs that transform the user.Learner Centered Design (Book Review) by Cynthia Cortez Kamishlian A review of Interface Design for Learning by Dorian Peters. research. Peters explains why ―learner-centered‖ design is different than user-centered design. we already know how to design for a positive user experience. As UX professionals. in discussing ―Emotional Learning. games. Peters leads us on a quick tour of learning theories from behaviorism (―learning as the science of behavior change. and when to use video (for anything involving motor skills). constructivism (―knowledge as built by the learner. mental models. Peters provides strategies for designing learning games through employing selective use of acoustic cues. and letting learners control the pacing. The heart of the book covers critical aspects of learning: visual. The first part of each chapter grounds the reader in the topic. in effect. and educational games). be partners in their own instruction. Sprinkled throughout are case studies that illustrate learning interface challenges and their sometimes surprising solutions. which can reduce the stress of learning. The book is well-organized and its format makes it easy to absorb the information in chunks through the extensive use of headers and judicious use of page colors indicating sections of information. or more difficult (by adding an interface-based challenge).‖) where learning is described as a personal environment where we use social. these theories of learning must be understood before they can used as a basis for design. emotional. technological.‖) which gave us the notion of mental models. Each chapter closes with sources for further information.‖) made famous by Jean Piaget and providing the foundation of online learning—the idea that we construct new knowledge all the time in all of our interactions. so the book can act as a quick reference. social. and reviews basic principles of UX. and create as they learn. However. She also discusses when to use still images for teaching (for example. Skinner‘s positive and negative reinforcement as the most recognizable example. cognitive load.challenge users while staying out of their way. and scaffolding. use of narration. and mobile learning.‖) with B. and personal knowledge to construct new knowledge and learn to solve problems together. in the ―Multimedia and Games‖ chapter. personalize. while the second half contains strategies and examples. instructional designers create content or activities to meet learning objectives. cultural. Khan Academy. such as affordances. She also notes that designers of interfaces for learning are not instructional designers. Peters suggests that if we are to design for positive learning experiences. and connectivism (―learning is centered on the building of connections. The chapters are generally independent. For example. for conceptual processes such as how rain forms). She also discusses how to support learning flow by determining when to make tasks easier (for example by using visual cues). cognitivism (―mind as computer. our goal should be to create an environment where the learner can adapt. Peters guides us through the current landscape of e-learning (MOOCs. while learning interface designers take the content and transform it into an online resource using principles of usability and theories of learning.F. How the interface is designed to support learning depends on which theory of learning you subscribe to. using relevant video of appropriate length.‖ Peters provides examples of how to set a positive mood by designing an interface with a ―friendly‖ personality. . Conversely. I did that immediately. and deeply engaged in discovering how to design interfaces for learning. Topics: Design.Lastly. 14(2). and by twitter (#UX4L). fun-to-read. colorful. These heuristics provide guidance to ensure that. E-Learning. I found myself visiting the websites mentioned in the book. C. This book is a well-written.org/learner-centered-design-book-review/ . for example. User Experience Magazine. At the end of the book. or that feedback is both operational (provided immediately) and instructional (provided near the relevant item). UX Published in: June. the interface reduces cognitive load by including only necessary imagery. 2014 in Motivation Methods Kamishlian. (2014). and full of information about the current state of e-learning and how to design appropriate interfaces to support it. Learner Centered Design (Book Review). Peters invites readers to join the community by sharing their experiences in designing interfaces for learning at the Interface Design for Learning group at Mendeley. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. Peters creates a ―Learning Interface Designer‘s Toolkit‖ by proposing eleven heuristics for designing learning interfaces. the founder of IDEO and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University (also known as the ―d. and far more than any single interaction between a human and the world. Creativity and design in the user experience.school‖) convey a central message about creativity and design that has a lot to do with User Experience. This book builds on David Kelley‘s TED Talk from March 2011. and it encompasses far more than computer systems and software. 2013 review Kelley and David of Confidence Kelley In their new book. but it is also more than an infomercial—it‘s an outline for . the author of The Art of Innovation and a partner at IDEO. It‘s a discussion of the processes and training he‘s made famous at IDEO and Stanford.Creativity in Design and UX (Book Review) by Alice Preston A review of Creative Confidence：Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All by Tom Kelley and David Kelley. Tom Kelley. far more than the web. This is the ―big UX‖ that is now sometimes called Customer Experience. [Read More] Alice Preston A Creative by Tom Crown Business. He spoke about his earliest observations of the end of creativity. starting in third grade. and then went on to describe a process that has helped numerous individuals spread creative potential into situations and businesses throughout the world. and David Kelley. I think this book has the best description of the joy that can be experienced by our clients. The book has single-word chapter titles followed with a phrase to help orient the reader both to the gist of the topic. especially some still-critical ideas on how to set up teams to succeed in innovation. In addition. But after reading all of them. the team contemplating how to save premature babies learned critical facts about the families and their lives. and how to set up spaces to enable successful collaboration. and the Embrace Infant Warmer that is used to save premature babies around the world (seehttp://embraceglobal.com/usen/accessories/adventure.html). There are other inspirational stories. modifying a scary MRI diagnostic system into a fun trip into space or on a pirate ship. Finding a way to solve our users‘ problems creatively can truly help make the world better and improve our own working lives as well.org/). We learn how a developer of medical equipment took into account the fears and expectations of his young end-users. facts that redefined the problem.gehealthcare. the mother and new baby must be home soon. have energized me. I found that David Kelley‘s energy. Sections in the book are filled with excellent case studies. in a family with multiple children in a village far from the hospital. and for later reference: FLIP from design Thinking to Creative Confidence DARE from Fear to Courage SPARK from Blank Page to Insight LEAP from Planning to Action SEEK from Duty to Passion TEAM Creatively Confident Groups MOVE Creative Confidence to Go NEXT Embrace Creative Confidence As a senior UX practitioner. more than can be listed here. far away from the high-tech incubator. For example. together with Tom Kelley‘s flair for storytelling. if we cultivate confidence in our own and our teams‘ creativity. As UX practitioners.ly/1kKPqcs). We learn how Stanford students from a variety of backgrounds and areas of study set up companies around their insights in a d. The book repeats a few messages from earlier IDEO books. This book inspired me to spread the word about . and the joy our users can also experience. and ourselves. By conducting research in distant corners of the world (like Nepal and India). colleagues. with rewards for a successful voyage (seehttp://www. we can easily incorporate many of these techniques into our work and user-centered design activities.school course. Tom and David Kelley describe results as varied as an innovative app for news reading. now available through LinkedIn (see http://bit. Simply making the same old process look a little better or work a little better is no longer enough. this book brings in more evidence for observational and test-based improvement.improvement. User Experience Magazine. Innovation. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. UX Published in: June. A. 14(2). Topics: Design. Creativity in Design and UX (Book Review). (2014).org/creativity-in-design-and-ux/ . Disclosure: The reviewer‘s daughter has been employed at IDEO for almost 10 years.ways to bring more creativity into design. and I am excited that the rest of us have a chance to conduct this kind of outreach in our work. 2014 in Motivation Methods Preston. affording her a unique insider‘s view of the company. by Sarah Horton and Whitney Quesenbery. A vision of a future in which we all can use the Web. they provide specific guidelines and reasons for ―doing the right thing. Chapter 1 sets the stage. Even if it‘s easy to use. 2014 Everyone: Horton review Designing and Accessible User Whitney of Experiences Quesenbery What if everyone could use the web with equal ease? A student with reading challenges. [Read More] Alice Preston A A Web for by Sarah Rosenfeld Media. drawing our attention to the value of diversity. a blind professional. this book starts with people. and for those of us in the business of creating websites. a patient whose only device is a smartphone? Two of the leading authorities on UX and accessibility have considered this topic and this book is the result of their collaboration.‖ As all UX endeavors should. a shopper using an iPad. The authors then help us remember that every aspect of web design is important and needed.Making the Web Accessible to All (Book Review) by Alice Preston A review of A Web for Everyone. if there isn‘t anything that you would want to use. then the site will fail. The insights and observations in this book give all of us hope. If it‘s beautiful but users cannot find the . failure. Curb cuts were originally created for people who used wheelchairs. Design has the capacity to improve lives. again. They have value beyond their original purpose. When we wield such a powerful tool. strollers. I especially appreciated the use of personas describing a challenge in their own words. They all have unique needs that can be met through flexibility in design and coding. it‘s important that you—that all of us—own the term ―design‖ because it comes with incumbent responsibilities which we need to own as well. profiles of industry leaders in all aspects of web design. Who are the people who need access to the web and can‘t get it? The chapter introduces eight personas who appear elsewhere in the book. Chapter 2 defines the needy. A few final words from the book: ―Web standards are like curb cuts. . the autistic teen explains that even though he enjoys figuring things out when he plays an online game. If it‘s ―invisible‖ to some users. he needs better navigation cues when he is using the web. and luggage. and that don‘t require the creation of separate ―unequal‖ sites. a Hispanic social worker with clients whose web access is often phone-based. a before/after image of a label on a pill bottle. as well as several others. the responsibility for making the web work rests with all of us who design for the web: no matter what your roles or skills are. but helped people with carts. a deaf graphic artist. we need to appreciate its power so we are able to use it for good. For example. both responsive design and accessibility rely on strong standards for the broad benefits they create. As the authors point out. again. and a summary that will be a useful as a refresher. a college student with cerebral palsy. a grandmother with macular degeneration. The following chapters in the book consider the challenge from different angles: Purpose and goals of the website Structure and use of standards Easy interaction Wayfinding Clean presentation Conversation with the reader Accessibility of media Creating delight for the users Each chapter includes real-world examples of good design (such as OXO kitchen tools. bicycles. The social worker explains how websites with information her clients need to read will make the list or not based on use of plain English and readability on the phones they use to access the web. We meet a bright autistic teenager. the layout for a Wikipedia article). it will fail. Similarly.navigation. a Medicare coverage summary. If they say.‖ then just answer ―Great!‖ Then ask them to go and do likewise.‖ When this happens to you. User Experience Magazine.‖ Quesenbery and Horton finish with a chapter on their vision of a future in which everyone can access and use the web with equal ease and understanding. It‘s all great. basic accessibility bug keeps some people from using a site. then read it.org/making-the-web-accessible-to-all/ . A. But even more than ―just‖ the UX community. Universal Published in: March.―The commitment to accessibility can’t stop there. print it. Have you been in situations where some members of your web team didn‘t get it? I have had coders tell me. and we should all inhale it. followed by a rich selection of resources as appendices and references for more reading. Don’t consider a site or app done until everyone can use it. 2014 in UX as a Goal Design Preston. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. It is unfortunate when a small. and share it with a friend. consider the rest of your team. particularly when the problem could easily be prevented. ask them to order something from their favorite retailer on their tablet. Or to navigate on their phone to information about just about any subject they are interested in. (2014). Making the Web Accessible to All (Book Review). however. 14(1). Topics: Accessibility. It might be helpful to leave this book open where they can see it. ―We don‘t have to care about those people. ―It‘s getting easier. She describes her book as: ―containing everything you need to know to successfully conduct an eye tracking study and obtain useful information from it. Bojko is a user experience researcher who has been involved with eye tracking in both academic and commercial settings since 2000. 2013 User review Experience – Aga A Practical of Guide to Research Bojko I used to consider eye tracking a bit of magic and hearing the term conjured up images of heatmaps and gaze plots. I have learned more about the method by working with teams who run user experience studies involving eye tracking.Seeing is Believing (Book Review) by Jussi Pasanen A review of Eye tracking the User Experience – A Practical Guide to Research by Aga Bojko. When I do. I have not had to plan and run an eye tracking study. Recently. While I frequently conduct or oversee user testing sessions. . I‘ll know where to turn: Aga Bojko‘s excellent new book Eye Tracking the User Experience – A Practical Guide to Research.‖ This is no exaggeration. [Read More] Jussi Pasanen A Eye Tracking the By Rosenfeld Media. A must-read book with tips for running eye tracking studies. ‖ since these rules apply to virtually all UX reports.‖ To me this is one of the key benefits of eye tracking—it gives you another facility to capture actual user behavior that you can then dissect and learn from. it also makes it clear that conducting a proper eye tracking study is a lot of work. Bojko is consistent in writing for her audience throughout and the text is full of practical tips on how to make your study run smoothly. Bojko‘s writing style is measured and easy to read. One of the great things about the book is the consistent focus on actionable insights. The content is also well supported by tables. This book makes eye tracking approachable and explains it in detail from both methodological and tool perspectives.The audience for this book is the UX practitioner. Consider it the how-to guide for eye tracking. The remaining three parts of the book cover preparing. There are many things to consider in planning. UX researchers should take heed of gems such as ―Rules for Making Your Graphs Usable. 2. They also serve as a great reference in the future. and this is well represented in this book. running. 4. In doing so. In Bojko‘s words: ―Rather than just focusing on what eye tracking can tell you. you should ask yourself. . especially by anyone familiar with UX research activities: 1. The chapters are organized in a logical way and help you learn the ropes on first reading. visualizations. and reporting on your study in detail. 3. not before. The first part of the book also describes how to decide if eye tracking is a suitable method for your study. It is great to see this clearly stated. Each chapter begins with an overview of the material covered and ends with a handy summary of the key points. Bojko stresses that the selection of methods should always be driven from the high-level study objectives and chosen only after the research questions have been specified. ‗What type of decisions do I want to be able to make based on the study results?‘‖ The commercial reality is that study findings need to provide direct value to clients. Eye tracking will not be appropriate for all studies. Why Eye Tracking? Study Preparation Data Collection Analysis and Reporting Part one sets the stage for the rest of the book by opening with the big question: why use eye tracking in the first place? Bojko writes: ―Where you place your gaze is typically associated with what you pay attention to and think about. It is clear that the user (reader) is considered all the way through in how the content is structured and labeled. and case studies. ‗Why do I need to know this?‘ or even better. The book follows an outline that is easy to follow. Topics: Biometrics & Eyetracking. Definitely a must-read book. and analyzing a usability study. I also recognize that writing about UX is (almost) never black and white. For the seasoned eye tracking professional. While I think the instructions could be clearer. Both audiences will pick up invaluable practical tips for running eye tracking studies. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. but also for seasoned professionals. Overall. Seeing is Believing (Book Review). It is therefore important to consider where eye tracking can add value and to be judicious in applying it.org/seeing-is-believing/ . UX Pasanen. this book will make you think about why you do things the way you do. 14(1). Usability Methods Published in: March. and eye tracking adds to the effort. User Experience Magazine. A minor criticism about the book is that the writing could have been more entertaining and perhaps the author more assertive at times. (2014). Eye Tracking the User Experience is a great book. User Research. The beginners will learn how eye tracking is much more than just heatmaps and gaze plots. J.running. not only for eye tracking beginners. 2014 in UX as a Goal Testing. Rethinking Care. Jones. The book covers three huge areas of thinking: 1. long-term care. patients have often been passive. and. the healthcare system itself is ―glued together‖—as anyone can attest who has tried to navigate from a generalist to a selection of appropriate specialists. with plenty of case studies and tips on how to follow the design process. Until now. Worse. It‘s always about improving patients‘ experiences. Applying design thinking to healthcare systems. 2013 review for Healthcare Peter H. and intimidating. of Care: Experience Jones If there is a ―right‖ person to think about how to design the future of healthcare. it‘s probably Peter Jones. though his attitude is always optimistic and his tone educational. associate professor at OCAD University in Toronto.Redesigning Healthcare (Book Review) by Alice Preston A review of Design for Care by Peter H. and healthcare professionals have been thinking about health case by case. I found his book by turns insightful. . inspiring. In fact. deal with insurance and one or more hospitals sending conflicting bills. [Read More] Alice Preston A Design Innovating by Rosenfeld Media. this book could be used as a text. or assist an elderly family member with managing multiple conditions through the maze of regular care. hospitalization. Canada. and I personally would love to be able to take that course. rather than answers them in the book. Google‖ before consulting a medical professional. we can identify the right problems to work on first. and confusing information. Jones also advocates for systemic design in what he calls ―Healthy IT. a patchwork of computer systems. and physicians and caregivers are getting more and better education in how to work with empowered patients. to make good decisions most of us need additional training and tools to sort through and process the volume of information that we will find. It‘s been clear for some time that our healthcare systems themselves need care. Of course. Luckily. you may have noticed that there are surprising changes—in more than just the medical equipment being used. 3.‖ This is especially important as we deal with the challenges of Electronic Medical Records. Buildings and visiting policies are friendlier to patients and families. including structural and organizational issues. but there is more to do—just ask any of us who have recently visited an emergency room. we need to become ―Health Seekers‖ who consult ―Dr. In short. We need to help practitioners and empowered patients find their way through a huge influx of devices. this is where design thinking excels. however. This is a good start. Patients need to become active agents and decision makers about their own care. medications. and understand their impact on related and secondary problems. and even those who will conduct the design research that will help us get to a solution. ending with a ―Whole Care Triage Funnel. Jones writes about the potential for improved healthcare through three lenses: What can be accomplished in the near term? Can we get ourselves from the big box hospital model to community health centers? Designers working on these problems report a variety of issues to overcome. What are the critical healthcare problems that must be resolved in the mid-future? A recent investigation by a graduate class at OCAD identified several critical problems. The whole situation creates an opportunity for design thinking to be applied to multiple challenging problems. and decreasing available funds. 2.‖ Following processes like these. Organizations are not currently making solid use of design techniques. I found the final chapter most inspiring and a little intimidating. To work with these retooled Health Seekers. the medical profession needs to understand the new paradigms. And he explains ways to structure the questions. hospice. What does the longer-term forecast look like? Jones defines longer-term here as ten to twenty years or more. when we are ailing. We need to use design thinking to apply lessons learned across the globe—and we will need some of the best design minds to get this done. Rethinking Care Systems. as do those who work with medical billings. We need to bring coherence and economies to a fragmented network with many types of practitioners and organizations. increasing patient volume. If you have been in a new hospital recently. I never realized that many aspects of hospital design have not changed in over 100 years. but there is some promising research being done by cross-functional teams in hospitals. Rethinking Patients. .eventually. org/redesigning-healthcare/ . 13(4).How can you participate? Read more at www. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. Redesigning Healthcare (Book Review). Topics: Healthcare Published in: November.com and at the practitioner hub www.com. A.caredesignnetwork. 2013 in Collaboration Preston. User Experience Magazine.designforcare. (2013). useful. Lloyd and Mark Ovenden Underground Maps By Maxwell J. and appealing designs. and those of one noted design firm in particular. Roberts Unravelled: review Transit Explorations of Maps in Information Design Around the world. The general public and professionals from many disciplines should celebrate the challenges and achievements of their usable. In 1977.Underground Diagrams (Book Review) by Aaron Marcus A review of Underground Maps Unravelled and Vignelli Transit Maps. . millions of people rely on diagrams to aid them in navigating subways. an engineer. It records their emergence in London‘s Underground at the beginning of the twentieth century in the sketches of Henry Beck. Many decades later. two excellent books are available that explore the history of these diagrams in general. It also describes their evolving conventions over decades of experimentation. I organized one of the first-ever subway diagram exhibits displaying global examples at the American Institute of Graphic Arts in New York City. An analysis of the design issues that challenge today’s professionals. Technically speaking. these diagrams are often not maps. some eventual industry standards. [Read More] Aaron Marcus A Vignelli By Peter B. Underground Maps Unravelled is a detailed and fairly complete discussion of subway diagrams. Yet these examples of mass rapid transit information design and visualization are now accepted techniques of providing travelers with just-in-time assistance. Massimo Vignelli. express versus local. the Metropolitan Transit Authority decided to use the conservative. traditional depiction. and how to achieve geometric simplicity. and balance. Some usability professionals may notice the lack of detailed reports on testing. returned to traditional green parks and blue water. each representing a train (a very simple.the challenge of international use. A new proposal. These details might not appeal to those who are not practitioners. A future chapter or book might delve into interactive. spatial depiction (on top of a map). diagrammatic depictions versus the more conventional cartographic. which kept the correct connections but enlarged the center of the city to show the multitude of stations. which was introduced in the late 1960s. and the general clarity of sources. People discussed the Vignelli diagram. Although tests have been performed. node and link depictions. The author correctly points out the need to achieve both aesthetic and functional success.‖ geometric visual style). that is. One notable limit to the investigation is the emphasis on printed media. harmony. the use of simple white and gray areas for land and water. During the 1977 exhibit of global underground diagrams. a successful user experience. coherence. The authors of Vignelli Transit Maps focus on New York City‘s underground diagrams and those of one particular designer. quantitative data are not reported much. This diagram featured multiple lines. which certainly was appropriate for the first century of such diagrams. the varieties of possible arrangement of parts. visual rules. ―modernist. The book‘s perspective focuses on visual syntax and semantics. electronic displays that now populate many stations worldwide. The conventional design was the original depiction style of the London Underground before Beck‘s invention of a more topological approach. or devotees. It also used a single line depiction with multiple symbols to represent all the different services of trains at different times of day. The author examines the minutiae of topology. for example. He calls for more explorations and investigations to achieve a comprehensive theory of diagram design for this crucial communication medium. After the debate. geographic. He also considers his predecessors and debates issues about geometric. . and occasionally playful ornamentation of fundamentally functional visual communication media. angles. fans. and the use of Helvetica typography throughout the diagram. pitted against this design approach. References to some of the original rules of placement of stations and lines according to some spatial grid show the emphasis on designing an illustrative system that easily depicts many peculiarities of actual cities and topography. but the many visual examples clarify the issues within the scope and magnitude of the discussion. The lead designer presents a modern-day discussion of the history of his design. the ―Great Subway Diagram Debate‖ was staged at Cooper Union in New York City. different routes. User Experience Magazine. The authors. (2013). thoughtful analysis of the design issues that challenge today‘s professionals. political.Vignelli Transit Maps provides fascinating. The Vignelli blueprint has become an icon of this design style for its elegance and simplicity. along with Massimo Vignelli himself. one has an immediate overview of this visual communication domain and a structured. A. it delivers a new redesign effort based on the classic Vignelli diagram. Topics: Graphics. and yet is probably still vilified by others for its break with tradition. Professionals and students should find value in the discussion of how to develop such a diagram. Information Published in: September. Reading through this history is fascinating and informative. social. After thirty years. 2013 in UX Perspectives Visualization Marcus.org/underground-diagrams/ . Underground Diagrams (Book Review). Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. 13(3). describe the visual. functional. detailed historical narrative. Between both of these books. and economic factors that influenced the design. posters. The authors of Art of Imagination recognize that for centuries people have thought about travel to distant galaxies and being in mysterious future worlds or alternate realities. Astronauts. These classic images and objects offer the UX professional a wealth of historical. cultural. Spaceships. Astronauts. The . Ray Guns by Antoni Emchowicz and Paul Nunnelely New Cavendish Books. Future Toys is a collection of futuristic robots.Two Museums of Future UX Design (Book Review) by Aaron Marcus A review of Art of Imagination: 20th Century Visions of Science Fiction. produced during the period of time between the end of World War II and the first moon landing in 1969. Robert Weinberg and Randy Broecker and Future Toys: Robots. Horror. Let‘s take a look. with Frank Robinson. and conceptual designs for the study of future user experiences. Robinson. Art of Imagination is a collection of some of the best illustration of science fiction publications: novels. spaceships. a period of scientific and technological expansion. Horror. and Randy Broecker Collectors Press. and Fantasy Introduction by Frank M. and ray guns. 1999 Imagine visiting a museum of the future today. Robinson. Ray Guns by Antoni Emchowicz and Paul Nunnelely [Read More] Aaron Marcus A review of two books: Art of Imagination: 20th Century Visions of Science Fiction. magazines. and movies. Robert Weinberg. 2002 and Future Toys: Robots. You can…by reading these two compilations of science fiction imagery and objects from creative minds of the past century. and Fantasy by Frank M. Spaceships. astronauts. horror. sea. and fantasy. agriculture (earth agrarian. the last two subject matter categories may have fewer details of technology.) There is much to analyze. other-worldly). a flying (white male) astronaut on the cover of Science Fiction + in 1952. travel (ground. Understandably. underwater. The lavish color illustrations are broken down into three sections within the volume: science fiction. government. interplanetary.authors have collected thought-provoking visual examples from publications in three genres that stretch our understanding. All in all. mixed-android). If any one of these images is so rich. Every single figure potentially can be considered a micro world of visualized assumptions and theories: whether it is giant invaders from Mars (courtesy of H. The man‘s job will be to feed the dog. The second book.‖ Each of the sections is divided into entertainingly titled chapters. cities (megasized. and other categories of human and non-human civilization. but even here one can find engaging examples of alien or synthetic life forms. with implied services. and an excellent resource for those tasked with inventing/designing the future. Bennis sets the scene: ―The factory of the future will have two employees: a man and a dog. information architecture. economy. interstellar). An example in the horror pages is the movie poster showing actor Boris Karloff in The Bride of Frankenstein(1935) displaying his characteristic neck electrodes for easier charging of his ―batteries. Wells) shown on the cover of Amazing Stories in 1927. or a black female astronaut sitting near her powerful looking helmet on the cover of InterZone in 1998. and consumption. and society. At the very least. alien. look and feel. worn. with implied structures of technology. G. the book is a marvelous record of astounding creativity. Future Toys. distribution. As one looks through the details depicted of different kinds of beings (human. air. floating). An opening quote from Warren G.000 examples of the very best that illustrator/designers have produced over the last century. then fill out all of the traditional categories of UX analysis (personas. focuses on actual ―products‖ or simulations of products. one is almost numbed by the implied ―back stories. The newbies of today have missed out on decades of inventive visualization which deserves to be studied anew. imagine the numbing sensation of encountering a treasure chest of about 3. typically beginning about the age of 10-14. design thinking. The dog‘s job will be to prevent the man from touching any of the automated equipment. The introduction reminds us that many have been enthralled onlookers and consumers of science fiction. robotic. ambient). Art of Imagination is an excellent resource for UX professionals trying out their analytical skills. use scenarios.‖ . and envisioning. detailed worlds of people and objects. What the illustrators/designers of these images have done is to fabricate intricate. innovation. desktop. metastasized. a floating robot menacing a young damsel on the cover of Fantastic Adventures in 1941. perhaps younger now. and so forth.‖ It would make for a good ―museum visit‖ exercise to have UX visitors (readers) populate some kind of template that would encourage them to imagine. mobile. like ―Good Things in Small Packages‖ that loosely orient us to their contents. hydroponic. technology platforms (embedded. and processes of manufacturing. stimulating. Here again the astute UX designer/analyst will find food for thought in studying the details of shape. practical semiotician. and educational. and Japanese examples (among others). Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. design details.‖ Much room for (human) astronauts (with ray guns) flying in their space ships to explore other worlds.S. Everything from rounded versions of Robby the Robot to Japanese variations of manga cartoon characters can be found. A. Each of these books offers a significant contribution to those who would like to understand the future. and detailing of these objects…and inventing the back stories to explain the design strategies. use scenarios. very little is provided in detailed text about each image. The authors have enabled the visitor/reader to take a ―Grand Tour of the Future‖ by looking at the past in the comfort of one‘s favorite reading chair. delightful objects. Future Toys supplies about 1. User Experience Magazine. through the illustrations and objects produced over many decades throughout the world. industrial designer.. an analysis of which might lead to insights about future cross cultural challenges. As with the first book. The book‘s closing quote is attributed to Wernher von Braun: ―Man is the best computer we can put aboard a spacecraft…and the only one that can be mass produced with unskilled labor. What is not explored in the book are differences/similarities among U. 13(2). personas. Two Museums of Future UX Design (Book Review). breadth. (2013). or cultural anthropologist will be able to trace worldwide threads of relationships. Topics: Science Published in: June. Any ethnographer.org/art-of-imagination/ . The journey is entertaining. explore possible options. and depth of creative imagination in envisioning the future. The visitor/viewer‘s imagination will have to invent the back story.000 images of enticing. texture. The collection of chapters follows exactly the sequence of the book‘s subtitle. 2013 in Science Fiction Fiction Marcus. German. color. and likely issues of real-world or future-world production and consumption. Spanish. complexity. and know more about the history. flexibility.Much room for robots here. The two trips are worth the price of admission. case studies. Not only did Ginny Redish keep all my favorite sections. she made them better by using her own advice in the book. and usability testing. I don‘t know about other readers of this magazine. She also added information and managed not to increase the page count…a truly remarkable achievement. but I spend more of my time on content management now than previously in my UX career. and stories. Ms. This edition includes more on content management and makes clear the relationship between that discipline and user-centered design. where so many of us in the UX field spend our days. I was impressed with the first edition of this book in 2007. Redish has added case studies and interludes throughout the book. which offer great insight if you only have time to scan the book quickly.Letting Go of the Words (Book Review) by Alice Preston A review of Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works (2nd edition) by Janice (Ginny) Redish. . and I am even more impressed with this rewrite. [Read More] Alice Preston A Letting Go of by Morgan Kauffman the Words: Janice Writing review Web Content that (Ginny) Works (2nd of edition) Redish Do you write for the web? Evaluate websites? Read on the web? Then you need this book. For those who learn best from stories (and who among us doesn‘t?). with helpful examples. In this seminal book. They are also wonderful as a quick refresher. clear writing. For example. Redish brings together Content Management. Those working in content management have become great fans of Redish‘s work. In the same spirit. especially those who use . both editions include advice on how to write more clearly. her keen eye. those for whom English is a second language (or third or fourth…). forms research has shown that if a form asks a question too soon in the relationship. We have benefited for years from her experience. both editions of this book include advice on how to write clearly. In all these cases.D. In a logical move. Below is the same paragraph as above. Redish continues to push the frontiers of user experience research. you should be applying the same rules of relationship and conversation to all web writing. another describes how product pages on an e-commerce site hold conversations with little to no text. she hasn‘t left us behind. or those who scan. plain language can make the difference between a successful visit to your site and a bounce. but as this book illustrates so well. your website visitors may read poorly. those who are in a hurry. bringing awareness to new groups. or have another language as their native tongue. After all. In fact. with a Ph. Plain Language Having trained as a linguist.one case study discusses how a very successful website anticipates the site visitor‘s questions. Conversation Redish has included information on how to ensure that your web pages conduct helpful conversations with your site visitors. As Redish points out. people will not respond to that question. It‘s a great example of how to work with the lawyers in your (or your client‘s) company to ensure success for everyone. we may have people who read poorly. Depending on our audiences. Recent research on trust and use of the web demonstrates that people respond better when their interactions feel like a relationship with another person. be sure to read ―Interlude 4: Legal Information Can Be Clear‖. In all these cases. in Linguistics from Harvard. clear writing can keep your visitors fulfilled and on your site. You Need This Book Redish is one of the senior UX practitioners who helped shape the user experience field. There is even a model of a well-written privacy policy. In 1995. scan pages in a hurry. she set up one of the first independent usability labs in North America. tuned-up using some of the tips provided in Chapter 10 ―Tuning up Your Sentences‖: Ginny Redish trained as a linguist and has been a central figure in the plain language movement from the first. Or you might lose them altogether. She continues to stress the importance of making the world better for those who use the web. and her willingness to share. In a logical move. Redish has been one of the central figures in the plain language movement since well before the publication of the first edition of this book. Let‘s let go of the words. all of these include an increasing portion of the world‘s population. mobility. We need this book. User Experience Magazine. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine.it under adverse conditions (those using a handheld device. Topics: Content & Content Strategy. or cognitive problems). having mediocre or poor internet access. Plain Published in: June. 2013 in Science Fiction Language Preston.org/letting-go-of-the-words/ . (2013). In case you missed it. A. 13(2). Letting Go of the Words (Book Review). or those with accessibility issues like vision. Personas. In this compendium of experts’ advice. They provide case studies and best practice advice from some of the big guns in user experience work: Rolf Molich. As the author further explains on page 60. That interpretation. The printed text provides only part of the learning process. ―It‘s not your study. Make Mojitos!‖ Tomer integrates lengthy quotes from colleagues in frequent sidebars. It‘s also a textbook. conflicts with the injunction to ―develop empathy toward stakeholders‖ at the end of Chapter One. you’ll find useful nuggets that haven’t been recorded anywhere else. [Read More] Joe Bugental A It’s by Tomer Sharon review OUR of Research Morgan Kauffman. it‘s theirs and yours. Each chapter begins with a bullet list of the lessons to be learned on the following pages and ends with the takeaway—perfect preparation for a quiz or midterm.‖ Whew! It‘s a book about teamwork.UX Professionals + Stakeholders (Book Review) by Joe Bugental A review of It's OUR Research by Tomer Sharon. Bill Albert. however. Sprinkled throughout its pages are QR codes to . It also benefits from his ready sense of humor. though. Tomer Sharon‘s book gets a lavish use of second colors and illustrations. 2012 The boldfaced Our in the title suggests that It’s Our Research may be yet another defensive plea to respect the beleaguered usability person. One chapter heading: ―If Life Gives You Limes. and others. Like many of today‘s textbooks. Gerry Gaffney. Sylvia Zimmerman. It is. ―What Happened When I Invited Executives to Use the Product. Speaking colleague to colleague. Even if you skip some of the material in this compendium of experts‘ advice. Usability Published in: April 2013 in UX Careers Testing Bugental.‖ Tomer clearly knows this information on a first-hand basis. J.‖ In it. The intended audience for this book is a little puzzling. There is. it‘s the way he‘s written this book. The short and final Chapter Six is a sweet dessert course on recognizing your success: ―trust is established…skeptical stakeholders become believers…business is changed…repeated requests are made for UX research training…‖ Included is the author‘s very personal sidebar. the reader is expected to know those. ―What‘s Gonna Work? Teamwork!‖ and in Chapter Five. Readers will find the real nitty-gritty begin to unfold in Chapter Four. advice on how to choose among several possible methodologies. Chapter Five suggests ways to fine-tune the reporting process: the difference between reports and presentations. Tomer offers a mini-UXPA conference between two covers. he sounds like one of those fervent motivational speakers in front of an audience of salespeople. you‘ll find nuggets that haven‘t been recorded anywhere else. informal disclosure of key findings. an organizational ploy that I only learned inadvertently several years into my own practice. User Experience Magazine. It‘s a very useful book.org/ux-professionals-shareholders/ . 13(1). a solution to one of the problems of the beleaguered usability person. The outstanding utility of this chapter alone goes far beyond the UX context and should be required reading for anybody who claims even a shred of ―professionalism. after all.‖ I wish I had read that at least fifteen years ago. UX Professionals + Stakeholders (Book Review). Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. So maybe it‘s UX 101: ―Getting Stakeholder Buy-In for User Experience Research Projects. Most chapters also list references for further reading. he reveals a valuable way to influence management priorities and budgets. how to organize the writing process. storytelling. He writes with easy use of the first.‖ An example from Chapter Four: ―Asking for account managers‘ help is something you should do with extra care because some of them might be sensitive to a situation where someone else approaches ‗their‘ clients with different requests. ―The Single Biggest Problem in Communication Is the Illusion that It Has Taken Place. it‘s clearly not for beginners.and second-person pronouns. Topics: Management. (2013). however.access videos in which Tomer interviews these and other experts. and at times.‖ as the subtitle says. and visual communication. There are no explanations of methodology for design or evaluation. they uncoupled the complex statistical theories underlying those methods of measurement from the application of the measures themselves. they provided a convenient reference text for practitioners who need to measure the user experience and need guidance to determine the appropriate way in which to do the measuring. if all you seek is an understanding of a . Jeff Sauro and Jim Lewis accomplished two very important goals. as the practical application of statistical tools is truly Sauro and Lewis‘ primary focus throughout the book. Second.The p Stops Here (Book Review) by Korey Johnson A review of Quantifying the User Experience: Practical Statistics for User Research by Jeff Sauro and Jim Lewis A convenient reference text for practitioners who need to measure the user experience and need guidance to determine the appropriate way in which to do the measuring. [Read More] Korey Johnson A Quantifying By Jeff Morgan Kauffman. you can find that in Quantifying the User Experience. or a confidence interval and a standard error. The former makes all of us in the UX field more effective by helping us select the right measurement tools to get the job done. However. Practical Statistics for User Research is the perfect subtitle. If you endeavor to thoroughly understand the formulae used to calculate statistical measures. even if we cannot recite from memory the relationship between a critical value of t and degrees of freedom. 2012 review the Sauro and User James R. First. of Experience Lewis In Quantifying the User Experience. The latter gives us the ability to apply those tools with confidence. Those of us tasked with quantifying the user experience know that convincing stakeholders that we are using the correct measures is just as difficult. the true value of this book does not lie in the clear and concise manner in which the authors describe statistical measures—though that is certainly valuable in and of itself. if not more so. as well as recommendations for their questionnaires of choice. a practical consideration is provided. The most unique contributions of this book are the logic and practicality used to describe the appropriate application of those measures. Sauro and Lewis give the background for each side of the debate and provide just enough detail for the reader to make an informed decision about which approach best matches the problem they are trying to solve. but for every commonly held academic convention described. Sauro and Lewis take it a step further by providing guidance on assessing the reliability. validity. In addition to tackling common debates in statistics related to sample size.05. as selecting the measures themselves. Sauro and Lewis strike a perfect balance between the complexity of statistical theory and the simplicity of applying statistics practically. in statistics courses we are typically taught that in order for an observed difference to be considered significant. researchers have the information needed to defend the validity of their results. and rather than simply describing the standardized questionnaires that are available. my favorite is that while it took Einstein years to give us E = mc2. but they also provide sufficient detail to understand both sides of every argument so that when questioned. p must be less than . when conducting statistical analyses in industry. a less conservative value of α is very often appropriate. Quantifying the User Experienceprovides readers with a valuable resource for selecting the most appropriate standardized usability questionnaires.measure sufficient to apply it appropriately. including: Do you need to test at least thirty users to estimate or compare means? Is it okay to average data from multipoint scales? Which is it: the ―Magic Number 5‖ or ―Eight Is Not Enough?‖ In each case. For example. and choosing the most appropriate measure. In my opinion. Whether you wish to delve deeper into the . this as well can be found with ease. a practical approach is also provided. ―Fishing with Jakob Nielsen‖ was also as entertaining as it was informative. Sauro and Lewis have demonstrated a propensity for making sometimes complex or convoluted topics accessible to those who lack a strong background in statistics. For every academic absolute. The authors provide readers with the rationale needed to make informed decisions about the application of statistical measures. Sauro and Lewis acknowledge the theoretical underpinnings of the statistics discussed. Sauro and Lewis remind us that this criterion is largely arbitrary and. Many other classic debates in measurement and statistics are discussed in this book. and sensitivity of those questionnaires. This is not the ivory tower statistics textbook you had to read in graduate school. you don‘t have to be a genius to understand the economics of sample size (n = $). significance testing. Evaluations of both post-study and post-task questionnaires are included. Quantifying the User Experience is an invaluable resource for those who are conducting user research in industry. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. Usability Published in: April 2013 in UX Careers Testing Johnson. User Experience Magazine. The p Stops Here (Book Review). Topics: Statistics.org/the-p-stops-here/ . 13(1).enduring controversies in statistics. K. (2013). you will find your answer in this book. or simply wish to understand the difference between a ttest and Chi-square. this will create an unacceptable situation. some of this is relevant right now. what is Darth Vader seeing? Does he have to look up at a giant stormtrooper to make eye contact? If so. it‘s not inconceivable. And if you work in video conferencing. I was initially disappointed to see that they had ―decided not to consider interfaces from written science fiction. and hand-drawn . These Fictions (Book Review) by Gerry Gaffney A review of Make It So: Interaction Design Lessons from Science Fiction by Nathan Shedroff & Christopher Noessel The implications for the design of mechanical controls. And if we adjust the projection to correct for relative scales. and some of it is just plain interesting. some is likely relevant in the near future. ―For the stormtrooper. how can we manage the problem of gaze-matching (or gaze monitoring)? While it may be some time before you have to deal with this issue. as it fails to reflect Vader‘s status (and ego). and gesture – all brought to life through examples.‖ They also excluded comic books. [Read More] Gerry Gaffney A Make It So: By Nathan Rosenfeld Media. Such is the case with much of the content in this book. graphic novels.‖ However.Not So Strange. Early in the book. the miniaturization works well. 2012 review Interaction Design Lessons Shedroff & from Science Christopher of Fiction Noessel A miniature Darth Vader appears as a cockpit projection. volumetric projection. the authors describe a set of exclusions. visual interfaces. some of it is relevant to right-now problems. Visual interfaces. Space 1999.animated interfaces (including anime and the likes of Futurama). and what factors we need to consider when designing for these effects––for example. This is the section identifying the challenge of enabling Darth Vader to maintain his status and relative position. and The Matrix. of course. Brain interfaces. from which the authors derived the lesson. with examples form Battlestar Galactica. with examples from Star Wars. such as joysticks. extend the hand to shoot. ―Achieve anthropomorphism through behavior.‖ Sonic interfaces. and issues associated with location awareness. andDune). turn to rotate. physical manipulations. Minority Report. and the use of peripheral vision for non-essential information. Anthropomorphism. and transparency. the authors identify ―lessons‖ and ―opportunities‖ derived from the aspect of interaction design being considered. explores invasive and non-invasive brain interfaces. Throughout. Avatar. and District 9. point or touch to select. Lessons include the use of mechanical controls for fine motor control. with discussion of color.com). ―Let the user relax the body for brain procedures. buttons. Examples of each gesture are included and described. The Matrix.‖ The second part of the book looks at four areas of human activity as treated in the genre: communication. and music interfaces (Close Encounters of the Third Kind. medicine. although filmic interfaces that are not sufficiently detailed to deconstruct are also excluded. there are many dozens of lessons. and gauges. with examples from Terminator 2. Total Recall andForbidden Planet. Iron Man 2 and. push to move. or well established (for example. swipe to dismiss. Barbarella. and Alien. Buck Rogers. When Worlds Collide. worn devices. which includes discussion of ambient and directional sound. In all. ―Otherwise. and language for abstractions. The authors made a survey of a range of sci-fi movies and shows (many of your favorites make an appearance). and sex (Sleeper. avoid all caps. Volumetric projection. with examples from Buck Rogers. Occasionally these seemed to be rather trivial. from which we learn. learning. The first part of the book delves into considerations of different types of interfaces: Mechanical controls. focus. But this is a picky . ―Give users safewords.‖ Augmented reality. how this has been used in various movies. This is a wide-ranging section. and Lawnmower Man. with examples from (the original) The Day the Earth Stood Still. although I could not locate a definitive list. and Dollhouse.scifiinterfaces. and Star Trek. voice interfaces. The authors identified seven gestures that were common across their database of movies––wave to activate. considers the way that we tend to anthropomorphize in any case. Logan’s Run. Men in Black. Some of these are listed in the accompanying site (www. Gesture. ―Use gesture for simple. traditional. So essentially the book presents a survey of interaction design in sci-fi movies. This includes the rather bizarre lesson. and the need to observe gestalt principles. Until The End of the World. with examples from Jurassic Park.‖). discusses the use of heads-up displays (HUDs). layers. and pinch and spread to scale. implants. Gattaca. Serenity.‖). Robocop. with examples fromMetropolis. The exclusions make sense once one accepts that the book is serious in its intent of learning about interaction design from the world of sci-fi. Blade Runner. and various presentations of file management systems. This is followed by a discussion of direct manipulation. or remain compellingly convincing––for example. Not So Strange. Topics: Science Published in: November. These Fictions (Book Review). I‘d recommend the hard copy over the online versions from the point of view of using the book to wander through the rich pastures of sci-fi. and clearly derived from the interfaces under consideration. User Experience Magazine. and found that blue predominated. The range of UI colors is presented in a neat set of histograms. but also enables us to consider what we know in a new context. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. they reviewed the colors of screen interfaces. and there is plenty of material that is challenging. The scene in which Lori (Sharon Stone) plays virtual tennis has aspects that are still in the realms of sci-fi. (2012). and learn new things from a consideration of the genre. it will live rather comfortably there. when Klaatu controls his ship computer by waving his hand in the 1952 movie The Day the Earth Stood Still.org/not-so-strange-these-fictions/ . but it‘s nice to have a book that not only encourages us to do so. I enjoyed the systematic approach taken by the authors. others bleed into the real world. And although many of the interfaces from sci-fi appear quaint or overblown. While we don‘t have the volumetric projection shown in the movie. 2012 in Trust and the User Fiction Gaffney. read. The book is liberally sprinkled with stills from the chosen movies. Similarly. Although not coffee table format.complaint. we do have the gestural recognition in the form of the Wii or Xbox. I watched the original Total Recall. This was fascinating in itself (and a ready conversation-starter on the tram). they reviewed each property in their database and found that sans serif outnumber serif typefaces by 100:1. when considering the typography of GUIs. For example. G. We UX geeks don‘t really need an excuse to watch. Recently. 11(4). fresh. or otherwise consume science fiction. and easy-to-enjoy. conveying structures and processes that are intended to be usable. and signs (symbols and icons). One recent and five classic books about diagramming. use of grids. typography. Information visualization helps us to think and act. format. a new guide by Jan Gauguin has appeared that provides specific introductory instruction in topics such as proportion. Designing them well for specific audiences is a challenge to all user-experience professionals. easy-to-use. appealing. easy-to-learn. and diagrams permeate our lives. forms. useful. charts. what we learn through auditory and other senses. All these formats supplement what direct experience of the world tells us. and what texts convey. tables. as well as standard diagrams and an introduction to visual semiotics. Fortunately. 2011 Thanks to information technology and computer-based displays. the science behind conveying meaning visually. Diagrams are the most free-form and complex of these visualization techniques.Diagramming: Making the Invisible Visible (Book Review) by Aaron Marcus A review of Designing Diagrams: Making Information Accessible through Design by Jan Gauguin. This introduction to techniques and . color. maps. the visual depiction of structures and processes that help us to understand and to interact with complex information. [Read More] Aaron Marcus A review of Designing Diagrams: By Jan Gauguin Making Information Accessible through Design BIS Publishers. Like many of the other books. was a major breakthrough publication that featured . Information Visualization by Robert Spence attempts to integrate much information with real-world examples and use of computer-generated graphics. This book is a beauty pageant. The author also provides chapters on specific subject matter. even a work plan. One key objective is to determine how best to design diagrams that both human beings and computers can process. but important. and navigation systems. such as organizational structure and operations. To place Gaugin‘s book in context. Like many books written and designed by professional graphic designers. Other practical topics include using worksheets. edited by Stuart K. Jock D. it tries to describe the representation and presentation of concepts and data in both static and interactive forms.Martin Pedersen is the crème de la crèmeof beautiful diagrams gathered from professionals worldwide. Hari Naryanan. the approach is provocative. use scenarios. the content offered provides much valuable guidance. However. is unusual in presenting the results of cognitive science and computer science research in exploring how to make effective computer displays that. The almost 800 pages offer intriguing accomplishments and insights. Of course. Mackinlay. Charts. and B. by Janice Glasgow. demographics. Diagram: The Instrument of Thought by Keith Albarn and Jennie Miall Smith seeks to show how diagramming can be a technique for expressing inner thoughts. The scope of the examples is more limited. being focused on visual patterns that refer to the authors‘ interpretation of patterns of thinking. in many cases. it gained worldwide recognition and raised people‘s awareness of information visualization. the emphasis is on quality visuals and a readable book layout. most in black-and-white. Like the last book recommended. some charts and maps. testing. methods for getting ideas across. N. act as user interfaces. Diagrams: A Visual Survey of Graphs. The book does conclude with a ―designer‘s gallery‖ intended to show excellent case study material. Books like these are rare. While more narrow than many of the other publications. Card. new edition edited by B. The major critique one might offer from a user-centered design perspective is the lack of topics on viewer/user profiles. in this era. Chandrasekaran. and Ben Shneiderman. provide instructive information from the most basic to elaborate explanatory and statistical graphics. Readings in Information Visualization: Using Vision to Think. there is no mention of computers. and discussion of testing/revision in the design process. with little or no attention to usability. Nevertheless. and not only in the graphic design profession. here is a summary of some other excellent resources: Diagrammatic Reasoning: Cognitive and Computational Perspectives. little attention is paid to testing or proof of efficacy. in its two editions. Hundreds of examples. Graphis: Diagrams. and Diagrams for the Graphic Designer by Arthur Lockwood (1969) is the closest publication to Gauguin‘s newer book. Maps. geographic information.methods is a welcome change from some books that simply show examples of ―good design‖ but do not guide the reader on the path to getting there. with an index organized by subject matter. etc. diagramming. specifically. including the Hyperbolic Browser. 11(4). Topics: Graphics. Some of the books are now out of print. and other innovative multi-dimensional approaches. Networks. The noted French cartographer and scientist demonstrates the system he developed for graphic organization of charts. classic research papers about techniques of discovery and management of information through computer-based displays. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. User Experience Magazine. Maps. emphasizing either conceptual or perceptual perspectives. maps. Included are the projects that became famous at Xerox PARC. (2012). and IBM. Many are complementary in nature. Diagramming: Making the Invisible Visible (Book Review). That should not discourage one from trying to locate them in print or online to benefit from their wisdom.org/diagramming-making-the-invisible-visible/ . 2012 in Trust and the User Visualization Marcus. and depth of information visualization and. A. although this work provides much useful information. Any dedicated UX professional would do well to consider one or more of these to enhance one‘s professional practice. the University of Maryland. Information Published in: November. Semiology of Graphics: Diagrams. Parallel Coordinates. and diagrams. Each of these documents offers significant contribution to understanding the history. namely. this book has not been available for a long time in English. by Jacques Bertin (1918-2010). First published in 1967. Treemaps. breadth. buy. 2011 I would submit that the single most common activity among the legions of professionals calling themselves usability engineers. From equipment. lab vs. field testing. I can recall the 1970s and ‘80s). . [Read More] Paul Linton A Usability By Carol M. The ubiquity of articles and books relating to usability testing suggests that: (1) a real lot of usability testing occurs. and human factors engineers (yes. Set . Barnum Practical guidance for UX professionals at every experience level. As usability professionals. part art and part science. . or steal a copy ofUsability . we really can‘t quantify our success or claim value added by our contributions to hardware and software development unless we observe and record how our design is utilized by relevant user populations. and (3) usability testing comprises a broad spectrum of sophistication and techniques. would be usability testing. Before you tire of reading this rambling philosophy and put this magazine aside. user experience designers.Practical Guidance at Every Level (Book Review) by Paul Linton A review of Usability Testing Essentials: Ready. interaction designers. analyzing results.Test! by Carol M. remote testing. Barnum Testing review Essentials: Ready. allow me to provide my recommendation right up front. and reporting the findings. testing protocols. (2) testers are looking for advice and support. Beg. of Set…Test! Morgan Kaufman. borrow. information architects. . How does that help me?‖ Ms. however. arcane references. conducting the test. I originally started reading this book by candlelight. The case study is complete enough to learn from without overwhelming the reader by unnecessary detail. Barnum touches upon within the constraints of this review. She does allow for. and with no television or Internet I actually started picking up hard copy books. but diminish the impact of their work by failing to convince stakeholders of the import of their findings. and testing protocols. Where applicable. Set…Test! This is as good a book on usability testing as you are going to find. like Abraham Lincoln. Although not necessarily usability testing per se. and Chapter 9. Barnum writes very clearly and very understandably. She doesn‘t have to defend the emphasis on smaller studies. it is worth more than lip service. understanding user groups such as Boomers and the Silent Generation. Equally important. Yes. This book has that rare ability to identify and discuss essentially all the subjects of interest to the usability researcher. and even international usability testing. and indicate. Chapter 8. each providing an insightful detail into such topical areas as planning for usability testing. statistically significant results route is appropriate. remote testing. Barnum consistently strikes the right balance. As with the book in general. An appetite-whetting sampling. Hurricane Irene in late 2011 knocked out power to my home for eight days. another motherhood statement about usability. Ms. An added bonus is the inclusion of several well-composed forms and useful resources that can be found on the companion website. the reader is never left with the feeling. practical advice on preparing and delivering visual and oral presentation is most welcome.Testing Essentials: Ready. If a topic is worth being included in this book. but always at the ―just right level. but she realizes the reality that the vast majority of usability researchers are challenged in terms of time and budget. are particularly well done and extremely valuable for those researchers who are skilled at conducting the actual test. heuristic analysis. Barnum‘s book is divided into ten chapters. and it will provide practical guidance regardless of your experience level. chapters conclude with a useful and meaningful illustration of how the concepts in the chapter are put into practice. with primarily qualitative data. lab testing or field testing. Barnum is interested in usability testing as it is now most commonly practiced—small studies with a small number of participants. however. analyzing and reporting the findings. or statistics that make her eyes gloss over. Ms. ―Oh gosh.‖ The reader is never bored by excessive detail. preparing for the test. This book is devoid of jargon and academic arrogances. the book includes a very complete case study of a Holiday Inn China website weaving its way throughout the chapters. experimental design. includes: how to put together equipment that might be needed without going into debt. Reporting the Findings. Analyzing Results. To illustrate key concepts. where the more rigorous. the case study is not contrived and strikes just the right balance on level of detail. personas. Ms. It‘s impossible to list even a majority of topics that Ms. Perhaps this review is colored by the fact that I felt a bit noble. However. and the use of subtle color throughout the book is soothing and allows the reader to quickly distinguish color blocks indicating sidebars. A sample chapter is also located on the website. UX Published in: November. Some books. P. The paper is a high quality. figures. if that term can be applied to a book. semi-gloss stock. such as Steve Krug‘s Don’t Make Me Think! are fun. 11(4). quick reads that serve the purpose of introducing the concepts of usability to a wide population. a book that will touch upon the primary topical areas in sufficient detail to be useful. masks the fact that the book is actually very information-intensive. even for ancient readers such as myself.) An issue that doesn‘t generally receive mention in most book reviews. is the ―physical appeal‖ of the book. Set…Test! by Carol Barnum is the one to read. Topics: Mobile Testing. Ms. case studies. I own many of them. and white space is judiciously used throughout. A very readable sans serif font is easy on the eyes. 2012 in Trust and the User Methods Linton. says that this book is easy-to-read and in some subtle way. and others focus on quantitative testing and metrics. User Experience Magazine. with its proper use of white space and subsection separation. but I feel is relevant here.org/practical-guidance-at-every-level/ . As suggested at the beginning of this review. Practical Guidance at Every Level (Book Review). if you only want a single book on usability. You won‘t be disappointed. the book itself is exceedingly user friendly. (2012). The physical layout of the book. Usability Testing. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine.(You don‘t have to own the book to access the companion resources and forms. Barnum certainly practices what she preaches. there are dozens of excellent books covering most facets of usability testing. Usability Testing Essentials: Ready. and so forth. Some books focus on techniques and methodology. and offers practical instruction for converting a . 2011 review Web Ethan of Design Marcotte For years.Making Everything Fit (Book Review) by Christine Danko A review of Responsive Web Design by Ethan Marcotte Making a case and practical instruction for creating a design that scales based on platform. and things just had to change. Ethan Marcotte makes a case for creating a design that scales based on platform. In his new book Responsive Web Design. As a result. But then people started viewing websites designed for a standard desktop display on a mobile phone or a TV-size screen. or become virtually unreadable with enlarged text sizes. designers tried to have more control over the display. such as setting absolute page and font sizes. However. be stretched out of proportion by a larger computer screen. Designers created beautiful presentations only to see them break in an older browser. web design and usability didn‘t seem to go hand in hand. it wasn‘t for lack of trying on the part of web designers. [Read More] Christine Danko A Responsive By A Book Apart. With the growing popularity of mobile devices. Marcotte also addresses browser compatibility issues and offers some JavaScript fixes for the few cases in which his recommendations may not hold up with older browsers. but may not be desirable when the design is scaled to fit a phone screen. In its five chapters. margins. such as media queries (included in CSS3. and images. flexible images and media. have been included in CSS for years. Marcotte believes designers need to let go of trying to enforce strict control over their presentation. results are unpredictable. At each step. he urges using flexible grids that rely on proportions rather than fixed sizes. . The book is a short read (just under 150 pages). Next. he looks at the changes to the design. practical advice. it is the perfect size for someone who knows something about building websites and wants a quick tutorial on best practices for converting a website to a responsive design. Each topic is given its own chapter. For example. and using CSS3 media queries that seek out information about the display from the browser to be able to serve out the appropriate style rules. He includes advice on how to maintain balance in the presentation. Marcotte‘s book is filled with good. illustrates the examples with images. but not so much that the reader is overwhelmed with unnecessary information. He tackles converting fixed sizes to proportional measurements via CSS rules for page width. noting that if the second site has a different URL and users try to pull it up on a platform it was not designed to work on. once the important content is scaled down in size. In addition. the author discourages creating a second site. or their window size. large margins might be appropriate with a larger display. the latest CSS standard). the book tackles three main areas: flexible grids and layouts. tailoring style rules to make the design appropriate for both very small and extra large platforms. Marcotte walks readers through a detailed case study in which he converts a blog to a responsive design. while the concluding chapter offers advice on how and when to implement responsive design. In fact. this book is well timed. and pulls it all together in easy-tofollow instructions for adding responsiveness to a website. fonts. nothing too difficult for someone who has been exposed to writing web code. It is probably best suited for someone who has hands-on experience designing websites. It includes enough detail to be practical. or big enough to work on a wide-screen TV. The book delves into modifying CSS and HTML code. Marcotte‘s guidelines allow a primary website to be adapted to work well on mobile platforms. and increased pressure on site owners to add a mobile website. But Marcotte does introduce some new concepts. eliminating the need for a second site. and examines how the design will hold up in very small and very large displays. To this end.website to a design that can scale small enough to be readable on an iPhone. Some of the ideas in the book are not new. and media queries. Proportional font sizes and screen widths that adjust when a user increases or decreases text size. an introductory chapter makes the case for responsive design. Responsive Web Design is a good book with a useful collection of best practices. 11(3). User Experience Magazine. Making Everything Fit (Book Review). Topics: Mobile. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine.org/making-everything-fit/ . Responsive Design. (2012). It should be included in the library of anyone tasked with creating or maintaining a website. particularly valuable for those designing for multiple devices.but probably pretty boring for someone who is looking for a broader overview of responsive design. C. Usability Published in: August 2012 in Featured Articles Testing Danko. to maximize one‘s efforts in an agile environment. Arnie Lund has come to the . the list goes on and on. almost nothing. Fortunately. information architects. peppered with words of wisdom and advice from industry veterans. So what resources are available for the latter population of practitioners. designers. to effectively prototype. and others—be successful in their roles. especially those who aspire to become user experience managers or want to improve their management skills? Sadly. 2011 review Essential Skills Arnie for Leading Effective UX of Teams Lund As the user experience industry has matured over the past decade or so. to conduct an international research project…you get the point. While these types of books serve the very important purpose of making it easier for those new to a particular research or design method to quickly learn and grow. content specialists. they arguably don‘t offer as much value to those who have honed their craft and are already experts in their domain. [Read More] Chelsey Glasson A User Experience Management: By Morgan Kaufmann. there has been an increase in the number of books written to help individual contributors—researchers. These books are available on numerous topics ranging from how to conduct a contextual inquiry. A must-read for anyone who is managing user experience teams. though.It‘s Finally Here! A Book about User Experience Management (Book Review) by Chelsey Glasson A review of User Experience Management by Arnie Lund. to complete a discount usability study. or someday aspires to do so. I have seen a space that reflects their creativity. and was shocked by the stale environment I witnessed on many occasions. I particularly enjoyed Chapter 9 and the discussion surrounding branding one‘s UX team. But the final trigger was a set of events at work that caused me to come home steaming with the thought. Every place where I have seen a vital. extends a team‘s presence. Currently working as a principal user experience lead at Microsoft.‖ Not only does Lund provide examples in his book of what an optimal space looks like for user experience professionals to work within.D. Lund also mentions that coming up with the appropriate . influential user experience team. ‗These people are idiots! I‘m going to write down how it should be done!‘‖ Oy vey. it is often not about ROI. and there wasn‘t one. Arnie Lund. and helps shape the environment a team works within. User Experience Management: Essential Skills for Leading Effective UX Teams. hardly needs an introduction given the impressive mark he has made on the development and evolution of the user experience industry. Ameritech. ―When the ROI discussion arises.) Additionally. how we interact. providing user experience professionals with an appropriate work environment is important because.rescue with his new book entitled. in which the author talks about the importance of creating the right environment for a user experience team. but he also provides suggestions for how to get creative when minimal resources are on the table for doing so (for example. Throughout User Experience Management: Essential Skills for Leading Effective UX Teams. I didn‘t want their wisdom to get lost. and. I recently had the opportunity to tour several user experience offices across diverse companies. Such a plan not only helps to clarify ownership. ―I have talked to many people over the years who have wanted a book on managing user experience teams. I‘m sure there‘s an amusing story behind this quote..‖ he writes. ―Space shapes our attitudes. and if the person asking the question understands how he will benefit. Lund draws upon his twenty plus years of experience in the user experience and emerging technologies fields to shed light on user experience management best practices. Lund explains. and US West Advanced Technologies. in many ways. CUXP. It also dawned on me that some of the most experienced and talented managers I knew were retiring. Arnie! One of my favorites is Chapter 4. This is why. how we think. According to Lund. As he recently shared with me. Lund has previously held leadership roles at companies such as AT&T Bell Laboratories. It is really about understanding what user experience is doing. This indicated to me that providing an environment that supports and maximizes the unique work of user experience professionals is not a priority at many companies. user experience groups should have a distinct brand and communication plan in place. Ph. Lund provides helpful tips on how to bend the rules of an organization when they get in the way of building an appropriate space for one‘s user experience team. never underestimate the influence of an administrative professional. but also inspires one‘s team. or someday aspires to do so. Topics: Management Published in: June. Unfortunately. Not only is the content of the book based on Arnie Lund‘s years of experience. The book is an entertaining read.org/its-finally-here/ . Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine.name for your user experience group can be especially powerful for a variety of reasons. I was also left wondering if there are subtle distinctions between the skill sets needed for design. I think the book would make a great teaching tool for programs—such as the California College of the Arts Design MBA or Stanford‘s Design School—that aim to teach effective design management. User Experience Management: Essential Skills for Leading Effective UX Team is a mustread for anyone who is managing user experience teams. when it should be at the top. 11(2). create a high performing team. but it is also peppered with words of wisdom and advice from many other industry veterans. nurture a team. It‘s Finally Here! A Book about User Experience Management (Book Review). versus content managers. putting effort into branding one‘s user experience team is often at the bottom of many leaders‘ priority list. versus research. including mistakes he‘s made and successes he‘s won. User Experience Magazine. Additional topics covered in the book include how to build a user experience team. and one in which the content is practical and relatable. focus a team. One piece of content that would be helpful to include in future editions is a section that provides more in-depth tips regarding how individual contributors can acquire management skills prior to actually becoming a manager. transform an organization to be userexperience focused. 2012 in The World is Mobile Glasson. and decide if you should become a manager. C. evangelize UX. (2012). including Toulouse-Lautrec and Mucha. and depth of the profession of graphic design.Graphic Design: Two Views (Book Review) by Aaron Marcus A review of Graphic Design: A New History by Stephen J. Each of these visual arts movements influenced graphic . Futurism. Cubism. Eskilson and Graphic Design Solutions by Robin Landa Two books that make a significant contribution to understanding the history. Design Robin of History Eskilson Solutions Landa Graphic Design: A New History Eskilson‘s book starts with a careful examination of the origins of the graphic design profession. and Art Deco. Eskilson‘s well-written text and excellent color illustrations show the variety of Art Nouveau graphic design across Europe. from Gutenberg‘s book design in the 1400s to the expansion of commerce and the need for advertising posters in the 1800s. 2007 Graphic By Cengage Learning. breadth. many famous painters and graphic artists. [Read More] Aaron Marcus A Graphic Design: By Stephen Yale University Press. At that time. 2011 (4th edition) review A New J. The twentieth century brought a shift toward technology and saw the rise of Dadaism. involved themselves in creating posters. and the audiences for visual communication. graphic novels. Many of these chapters include case studies and guest essays on topics that highlight the philosophy and principles being discussed.S. Push Pin Studios. although at times overly complex. in its fourth edition. this book says not a word about testing with the intended audience. the book is a useful summary of centuries of work and represents a laudable achievement. . and. visualization. The author also takes time to discuss many influential graphic designers and studios. visual composition. If these names are not known to you. including websites and CD covers. Graphic Design Solutions Landa‘s book. the design process. designers. You can tell this is a ―hip‖ book because it provides environmental statistics on how the recycled paper printing has saved trees and eliminated air emissions and solid waste! This is not a history book. and might not satisfy ethicists. even storytelling. Eskilson further chronicles the changes in graphic design as socioeconomic.designers. Landa starts out by asking fundamental questions about the profession: With what are we dealing? What is the nature and impact of visual communication? Why does design matter? What are the ethics of design? The discussion of this last question is brief. and World War II altered the media. international corporate styles and identities. yes. The many visual examples are taken from a wide range of contemporary examples. takes us in a completely different direction. rest assured they are worth a little research.‖ a typical oversight that UX designers will be quick to discern. and technological revolutions. Wolfgang Weingart. Paul Rand. On all topics. The book introduces the formal elements of art and basic principles of design. My only quibbles are the sparse mention of contributions from women. modern video. political. even with these omissions. even the typography of email. and the world of user interfaces/user-centered design. only advising one to ―check with the client. the messages. Tibor Kalman. Alas. but at least she asks the question. The book concludes with postwar developments: the rise of magazines. and postmodern and new media. especially modern ones like Stanley Morison. although it presents a timeline that begins in 1890 and takes the reader through today. Saul Bass. However. The text type is smaller and the page layouts more lively and varied. and architect Robert Venturi. non-European/U. Landa points us to further resources. expressive styles. packing about the same number of pages into a book half as thick. The following chapters delve deeply into typography. including graphic design for the web. Concluding Comments Each of these documents is a significant contribution to understanding the history. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. In addition. They are complementary in nature. packaging. but that does not diminish the significant content from all of the other areas covered. advertising. Graphic Design: Two Views (Book Review). (2012). and depth of the profession of graphic design.The final chapters discuss ways to apply graphic design to posters and publications. breadth. A. and any dedicated UX professional would do well to consider having the appropriate library acquire each of them. 2012 in Beyond Books Visualization Marcus. branding and visual identity. User Experience Magazine. Topics: Graphics. each is a pleasure to read-—in short bursts or dedicated study. corporate communications.org/graphic-design-two-views%e2%80%a8/ . Information Published in: March. and web design. 11(1). They will enrich one‘s understanding and practice. Mobile screens make no appearance. Over the course of the eleven easy-to-digest chapters of Search Analytics for Your Site. as Rosenfeld explains in Search Analytics for Your Site. 2011 Analytics review for Louis Your of Site Rosenfeld In 2006. Search site analytics is the analysis of user search queries on a website. is a powerful research tool because it tells you what your users want in their own words without the biases sometimes introduced by other research methods. Rosenfeld addresses the following questions: What is SSA and why haven‘t I heard about it? Why should I care about SSA and who should be responsible for SSA? How do I analyze and use SSA data? How is SSA different from search engine optimization? . straightforward. [Read More] Chelsey Glasson A Search By Rosenfeld Media. and. Insights about SSA in a practical. Louis Rosenfeld played an influential role in the establishment of the art of information architecture when he co-authored Information Architecture for the World Wide Web. Fast forward to 2011 and he is setting the stage once again for the underutilized. and enjoyable. yet remarkably enlightening and impactful research method of search site analytics (SSA).Another Research Tool (Book Review) by Chelsey Glasson A review of Search Analytics for Your Site by Louis Rosenfeld. with real-world examples. I especially appreciate the book‘s ample real-world examples. company goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) should influence which of these five options to utilize. and an explanation of how SSA can be helpful in this pursuit. it‘s not much use to understand why things are happening when you don‘t understand what they were in the first place. Conversely. to review five ways to analyze SSA data. I also like that each chapter stands on its own two feet—you can use the book‘s content to take action within your organization prior to reading the book in its entirety. and benchmark user performance. After explaining what SSA is and its many benefits. in Chapters 3-7. Chapters 8-10 provide practical tips on how to use SSA findings to enhance the user experience of a website. My experiences in the past with web analytics books were that they were tedious reads whose content didn‘t always translate into workplace practices. and enjoyable means. SSA is best used in combination with other methods. ―it‘s not much use to know what is happening if you don‘t know why. collaboration is key because. audience analysis. SSA provides data that can be used to discover design flaws. No matter what your background—user experience researcher. Rosenfeld moves on. As in all user experience research. These include: pattern analysis. . Ultimately. and goal-based analysis. but also to discover what they want and don‘t want to see on your site and ―the tone and flavor they use to express those needs. Rosenfeld clarifies that the goal in using SSA is not only to learn how users interact with your website. analytics guru—this book will provide valuable insight regarding SSA in a practical.‖ Chapter 11 concludes with several suggestions on how to encourage these research groups to work together. According to Rosenfeld. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was not at all the case with Rosenfeld‘s book. I found Rosenfeld‘s discussion in Chapter 10—regarding how to use SSA to motivate one‘s marketing department to bid adieu to unnecessary and confusing jargon—to be particularly insightful. While Chapter 8 discusses using SSA data to boost a site‘s overall search experience. inspire change. validate designs. Chapter 9 addresses how SSA can guide site architecture. I have to admit that when asked to write a review of Search Analytics for Your Site. which bring to life Rosenfeld‘s explanations and provide enough detail to guide one‘s own SSA projects. while Chapter 10 summarizes how to use SSA data to improve site content. Finally. Rosenfeld thoughtfully argues in support of web analytics professionals (who usually focus on what people are doing) and user researchers (who typically address questions of why people do what they do) teaming up in analyzing SSA data. product manager.‖ Furthermore. straightforward. in Chapter 11. marketer. I was a bit hesitant. How can I use SSA to foster collaboration in the workplace among qualitative and quantitative research professionals? In Chapters 1 and 2. session analysis. failure analysis. (2011). 2011 in Gamifying UX Glasson. User Experience Magazine. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine.Don‘t forget to check out the companion website for Search Analytics for Your Site. Another Research Tool (Book Review). 10(4). where Rosenfeld provides additional content and has graciously made the book‘s diagrams and illustrations available under a Creative Common license. Topics: Analytics Published in: November. C.org/another-research-tool/ . Chapter 2 introduces speech technologies.A Book That Talks (Book Review) by Gerry Gaffney A review of Practical Speech User Interface Design by James R. other research has led me to make some changes in my design strategies. Lewis‘ Practical Speech User Interface Design is comprehensive. of Design Lewis James R. and fascinating. accessible. Lewis brings a depth of practical experience to bear in this book. As he states in the closing pages. [Read More] Gerry Gaffney A Practical By CRC Press. Recommended for students and seasoned practitioners with an interest in design of speech user interfaces. but more importantly. and only regret that I didn‘t have this book prior to embarking on them. This chapter also describes methods of speech production and discusses formant .‖ It is this combination of openness and expertise that makes the book such an asset for anyone interested in speech user interfaces—and what UX practitioner isn‘t? I‘ve had the pleasure of working on a small number of speech systems. 2010 Speech James review User Interface R. He has also added the breadth of the current state of research in the field. Lewis describes two types of language models in current use—finite state grammars (in which all legal words and phrases are fully specified) and statistical language models (in which users may speak the words in any order). some of the research he reviewed ―confirmed my current design practices. Lewis. practical. As an IBM human factors engineer for some thirty years. ‖ the steps listed are largely familiar (requirements. This chapter will serve a UX practitioner transitioning from GUI to SUI design particularly well. Lewis states that while personas can be useful. the production of ―convincingly natural and appealing‖ synthetic voices has been a challenge. Chapter 4 considers self-service technologies. and testing. and social considerations in conversation. and the propensity or willingness of people to use them and the factors affecting this willingness. timing and turn taking. ―it is reasonable to design in accordance with the capabilities of older adults. This focus on the practical also means that the author largely avoids prescriptive statements. most designs use recorded speech.coarticulation (the phenomenon whereby we run words into each other). their advantages and disadvantages. Chapter 8 gets into the gritty detail of how to script introductions. In the meaty Chapter 6. silences. design. however. they should not consume a large part of the design effort. and includes material on grammaticality. discourse markers (which signal conversational intents). and Lewis points out that businesses are reluctant to risk their brand images. ―Speech User Interface Development Methodology. test. he recognizes that all decisions must be subject to the constraints faced by the business and designer. whether to tell people to ―listen carefully‖ because of changed menus (don‘t). how to provide help. A section on discourse considers the patterns involved in our everyday conversations. deploy. While user needs analysis is dear to the heart of any UX practitioner. develop. he suggests that current accuracy means that it can only be used in low-security applications or when combined with other verification methods. development. the material is clearly presented. tune). which will be better rewarded by application elsewhere. It includes material on phonology (the study of the basic sounds of language). rather. Where prescriptiveness is possible. and a discussion . Accordingly. current systems are generally easy to understand. Chapter 3 is a fascinating discussion of human speech and its implications for design. However. While intelligibility of synthetic voices was once problematic. and prosody(intonational patterns). However.text-to-speech (think Stephen Hawking) and concatenative text-to-speech. Here. as it enables the application of existing knowledge to the new domain. supported by critically considered research. Lewis also discusses the use of speech biometrics (voiceprinting). prototyping. For example. and focused on being of practical use to the user interface designer. as throughout the book.‖ Lewis covers creating detailed dialog specifications. Lewis describes the specifics of doing the analysis for speech. and pauses. Lewis provides unambiguous advice by clearly identifying appropriate durations of wait times. he suggests that (in a project lacking countermanding data). There is an interesting discussion on the use of personas. but. as always.of appropriate menu lengths. 2011 in Mixed Topics Interaction Gaffney. and that broad menus are more effective than shorter menus requiring greater depth. and whether you‘re a student or a seasoned practitioner. G. If you have even the vaguest interest in design of speech user interfaces. Topics: Speech Published in: August. A Book That Talks (Book Review). (2011). Each chapter in the book concludes with a summary. 10(3). This might be seen as controversial (my eyebrows certainly went up). and a reader who does not need the details can simply read the summary to gain a fair grasp of the content of the earlier pages. User Experience Magazine.org/book_that_talks/ . Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. the author quotes extensively and critically from the available research and his own work. read this book. Lewis states that the common advice to limit menu length is a mistake (a misguideline to use his term). That case study was written by Tom Tullis. UXMagazine devoted an issue to remote usability testing guest edited by Tomer Sharon. Traditional usability testing has been focused on small sets of users. One of the articles that made me re-think my attitude was a case study comparing the relative usability of two sets of information about the Apollo program. Indeed Bill Albert said to me in an interview. [Read More] Gerry Gaffney A review Beyond the Usability Lab: Conducting Large-Scale Online By Bill Albert. www.com). episode 55. ―…if the goal is really just to identify usability issues. I confess to having had a rather skeptical view of the value of remote testing. In 2008. and the book does not take issue with this approach. saying six to eight users is plenty to identify the significant usability issues with a particular design. which takes the themes introduced in that issue (Vol 7. Tom Tullis. Donna Tedesco. Issue 3. one provided by NASA. 2008) and explores them in detail. Morgan Kaufmann. Tom Tullis.Book Review: Of Testing and Techniques by Gerry Gaffney A review of Beyond the Usability Lab: Conducting Large-Scale Online User Experience Studies by Bill Albert.uxpod. . I think I‘d fall in line with a lot of other people. one of the authors of Beyond the Usability Lab.‖ (User Experience podcast. and one by Wikipedia. This book is well-structured for practitioners of remote usability testing. As managing editor at the time. 2010 of User Experience Studies Donna Tedesco. and accessible. specific examples illustrate concepts and methods. analysis. The authors describe how to identify and deal with data from ―flat-liners‖—participants who complete studies as quickly as possible to obtain the associated incentive. UserZoom. what one can expect to achieve. and for exploring design issues in the users‘ own environment.‖ The book begins with an introduction describing what the authors mean by ―online usability studies. On the other hand. The authors provide detailed instructions for using Microsoft Excel to calculate appropriate averages and confidence intervals. designing. After the introduction. RelevantView. for collecting detailed and scalable usability metrics. there are many instances (such as identifying the major usability issues with early prototypes) when other methods are preferred.What the 2010 book concerns is the fact that web technology ―enables us to move beyond the lab and efficiently conduct user experience studies with a much larger sample of users. with all its attendant complexities. Remote studies are good for comparing designs. and the strengths and limitations. and presentation. I was particularly pleased with the simple explanations of statistical techniques. as well as advice on choosing the appropriate tool for your own study. in that it contains sufficient detail to enable a practitioner to engage the method with a degree of confidence. you can look to this book for practical and effective answers: Should you conduct a between-subjects or within-subject study? What variables do you need to consider? How can you deal with outliers? How can you calculate and display confidence intervals? . readable. and WebEffective) that can be used to conduct remote studies. including ―totally homegrown techniques for the adventurous. Chapter 7 provides good in-depth analysis of specific tools (Loop11. the following three chapters explore planning. The book is well-structured for the practitioner. piloting. The hands-on approach is reminiscent of Rubin‘s (and now Chisnell‘s) classic Handbook of Usability Testing.‖ Chapter 9 presents seven case studies of remote research conducted with between 24-300 users with a range of tools. Chapter 8 discusses discount methods. If you‘re interested in any of the following questions. It‘s a real pleasure to encounter a book that not only takes the reader on a journey through the rich possibilities of technique. but does so in a manner that is clear. Chapters 5 and 6 discuss data preparation.‖ including a description of when such studies are appropriate. and launching the study. Throughout the book. which are so often presented as incomprehensible. There is also advice on dealing with data gathered from open-ended questions (when simple numerical analysis is not adequate). and it will alert you to opportunities and dangers. Book Review: Of Testing and Techniques. which may mean you can‘t test with so-called novice users. or you are a complete newcomer. If I were to complain. 10(2). Whether you‘ve conducted remote studies in the past and want to extend your capability and knowledge. this excellent book is a necessary companion on your journey from the lab into the world outside.org/testing_techniques/ . (2011). For example. G. What more could you ask of a book? Topics: Remote Testing.The book does not shy away from the difficulties involved in conducting remote research. Usability Testing. UX Published in: June. 2011 in Design for Social Change Methods Gaffney. if you want click-stream data. it may be necessary to have participants install or allow a plug-in. You will refer to it often. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. User Experience Magazine. it would be about the need for a chapter specifically on conducting studies on mobile devices—an area that is ripe for a similarly detailed ―how-to‖ guide. ‖ The conference announcement stated: ―Observing and analyzing users and their tasks creates stories that will bring the user community alive in the minds of others. Little wonder that two recent books with different premises both focus on storytelling in relation to the topic of user experience The theme of UPA‘s 2006 conference was ―Usability Through Storytelling. absorbing with interest and amazement the wisdom. useful. soaking up facts. http://uxstorytellers. concepts. and sadness described. Stephen Köver. and engaging products and services. 2010 and UX Storytellers: Connecting the Dots Edited by Jan Jursa. Stephen Köver. and emotions.UX Storytelling (Book Review) by Aaron Marcus A review of Storytelling for User Experience by Whitney Quesenbery & Kevin Brooks and UX Storytellers: Connecting the Dots Edited by Jan Jursa.com Storytelling is one of our primary communication skills as human beings. humor. wit.blogspot. was the closing plenary speaker. & Jutta Grünewald. & Jutta Grünewald. a researcher at Motorola Labs and a professional storyteller.‖ Kevin Brooks. We have sat in front of prehistoric campfires and modern-day e-books. He has teamed up with Whitney Quesenbery to write a book about how to use storytelling in the development of usable. A [Read More] Aaron Marcus A review of Storytelling for User Experience: Crafting Stories for Better Design by Whitney Quesenbery & Kevin Brooks Rosenfeld Media. . ―thick. like delicious peanut butter. for something related but completely different. and inspire. this is a very useful guide for what most professionals sense they do frequently. life in agencies. and medium (oral. within their minds (full disclosure. As Jursa describes it in the book. Jan Jursa. I am one of the contributors). mixed-media). We all use stories to inform.Each of us has faced the need to explain to one‘s own team. from the UX development process. Facts. concepts. but then the book‘s orientation is more toward verbal storytelling than visual. explore. ―UX masterminds. context. persuade. and language). to the proverbial sex. and spend a few minutes. or hours. Storytelling for User Experience sets forth all the key principles of practice in a succinct. citations to further useful information. Stephen Köver. ingredients (perspective. Our stories help us better understand our users. My only minor lament is the scarce use of visuals that might have enhanced the text. Explaining why stories can be useful and why they work. and descriptions of projects. chunky‖ format. and demonstrate our design ideas. visual. and insightful memoirs of approximately fifty professionals from around the world. Here is professional expertise and experience set forth clearly to help you understand more and do better on your next project. or others. You can dive in almost anywhere and find guidelines. authors. To its credit. The book is divided into three parts: 1. and usability. That quibble aside. A review of the user experience development process. In three loosely convened chapters you can find just about anything and everything.‖ One can easily view the authors list. written. and the graphics it does include in its visual storytelling section. And now. 3. from research to evaluation. Detailed writing and use issues. and examples that help you see the point and understand what the principles mean in practice. how to deal with clients. All in all. horror stories. including selecting the correct audience. explain the results of our research. information architecture. 2. drugs. compelling narrative. describe. including ethical considerations when using stories about real people. and emotions together help us communicate ideas effectively in order to get people ―on the same page‖ and to achieve buy-in for our objectives. what we are doing and why. The book is an informative. the book is written and laid out in a readable. entertaining mish-mash and substantive contribution of the authors. framework (structure and plot). and rock-and-roll. select well-known names or lesser known figures. performance. . and Jutta Grünewald have put together a collection of the reminiscences. and big thinkers tell entertaining stories about user experience. imagery. more than just the anecdotal snippets you might have caught part of from some previous conference or social situation. learn about their objectives and goals. showing how stories can help each step. I applaud its reference to Scott McCloud‘s Understanding Comics. comical recountings. character. tools. perhaps. the writing styles. and detail vary. UX Storytelling (Book Review). structure. Nevertheless. professionals of every kind in the UX-related fields are certain to find valuable nuggets and ―aha!‖ moments in reading through this marvelous and impressive collection of stories. Topics: Storytelling Published in: March.The texts are more than just cocktail party stories. 10(1). A. Thankfully. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. and far from academic analyses of challenges encountered and. (2011). solved.org/ux-storytelling-book-review/ . pacing. 2011 in Children & Technology Marcus. an eight-page index allows the reader to search for topics of interest and to find references that may involve several storytellers. User Experience Magazine. Admittedly. Unfortunately. useful.W. one might think that what we have published already is sufficient. Facts. Wong W. in fact. Were it not for the everincreasing amount. and Figures By Dona M.Book Review: Do‘s and Don‘ts of Information Graphics by Aaron Marcus A review of The Wall Street Guide to Information Graphics: The Do's and Don'ts of Presenting Data. Her expertise is evident upon first looking at the book. Wong states her objectives clearly from the beginning. 2010 another guide appears providing assistance to both new and experienced professional communicators regarding information graphics. and her graduate education in graphic design at Yale University. Wong. especially in the business and advertising world. to have fallen by the wayside. The book is. Facts. and others of merit that are still available seem. [Read More] Aaron Marcus A review of The Wall Street Journal Guide to Information Graphics: The Do’s and Don’ts of Presenting Data. of information graphics communicated via the Internet. Readers will learn: Every few years. Guide to creating information graphics that are usable. . where she served as the graphics director beginning in 2001. and Figures by Dona M. if not quality. and confirmed by closer inspection. and appealing. many of the older. illustrated ―chart-design‖ workshop delivered in book format. One of the newer and better contributions is Dona Wong‘s The Wall Street Journal Guide to Information Graphics. brief. high-quality guides are no longer available. as well as on paper and in other media. Her credentials include the patronage of The Wall Street Journal. regrettably. a practical. Norton and Company. her earlier career at The New York Times. I hope many people. such as. useful. Each chapter has a short. The one serious quibble I have is with the color chapter. with engaging titles. clever title. The pages are inviting and filled with many easily demonstrated examples of what to do and what not to do in chart design. not to rhetorical persuasion as is sometimes evident in the meaningless multicolored charts so favored by advertisements for software or hardware manufacturers. has clear. Despite the many visual examples. ―It is most effective to place the largest segment [of a pie chart] at 12 o‘clock on the right to emphasize its importance. I would rather have seen a traditional Venetian or Chinese red. I find it in general agreement with what I understand to be the recommended practice of information designers and visualizers worldwide. On page 44. in the color subsection entitled ―Coloring for the color blind.‖ ―Tricky Situations. each example is provided with a graphical equivalent of a ―thumbs up‖ or a ―thumbs down‖ in the form of upward. only black. and appealing. my reading in decades past taught me that about one-in-twelve western males has color-deficient viewing. combining general introductory paragraphs with sufficient details to satisfy the designer looking for practical details. will be influenced by The Wall Street Journalpedigree to purchase and learn from this volume. .‖ This book seems designed for both the skimmer and the deep diver.‖ the author states. which contains ―Slicing and dicing. but the overall color palette is restrained and conducive to the clear contemplation of information. gray. and an orangey-brown are used to demonstrate most principles and techniques.‖ or typographical emphasis pointers about not using bold numbers for the scales of charts. I do not hesitate to recommend the book as a worthy contribution to the field. detailed sections and subsections. How to choose the best chart that fits the data How to communicate most effectively with decision makers when one has only a few minutes of their time How to chart currency fluctuations that affect global business How to use color effectively How to make a chart appealing. like ―Chart Smart. I was taught to refer to the challenge of ―color-deficient‖ viewers. even if only in black-and-white Just flipping through the pages reveals good thinking and good visual design at work. like the ―Pies‖ section. In looking over the book’s other numerous statements and examples. and who place great emphasis on the usability and usefulness aspects of information graphics. about one-in-ten men have some form of color blindness. because very few people have a complete absence of the ability to see color. who believe that information graphics should be usable. white.‖ In my graphic design education.‖ and ―Ready Reference. ―According to the National Institutes of Health. in turn.or downward-pointing arrows.‖ Each chapter. and not setting type at angles in order to fit text along a chart‘s bottom or sides. Most people with some malfunctioning of the color-sensitive cones in the retina are color-deficient viewers. The ratio stated is also mildly unnerving. especially in the business world and the advertisers of information technology software and hardware. Book Review: Do‘s and Don‘ts of Information Graphics.Topics: Graphics. 2010 in Communication and UX Visualization Marcus. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. Information Published in: November. A. (2010). User Experience Magazine.org/information_graphics/ . 9(4). What is most compelling for the usability/user experience professional communities. Oh. Hearts to God by Amy Stechler Burns and Ken Burns The Art of the Shakers by Michael Horsham The Shaker Image by Elmer R.Shaker Design: Out of this World (Book Review) by Aaron Marcus A review of several books on the Shakers. and products were extremely well made. furniture. is that their implements. beautiful to behold. even users.” [Read More] Aaron Marcus A review of Shaker Design: Out of This World Edited by Jean M. Pearson and Julia Neal Shaker Design by June Sprigg Some usability and user-experience professionals may lament the plethora of unaware or uncaring managers. clothing. it would be heaven! But wait. ―modern‖ in their design simplicity. and appeal. and artifacts. noting the ways in which they pioneered what we would call today “user-centered design. there was actually a society that valued exactly these characteristics in the products it produced: the Shakers. journalists. The Shakers are famous for their simple. and easy to use. clean buildings. furniture. Burks The Shakers: Hands to Work. engineers. marketers. usefulness. of harmonious proportions. executives. They had no schools of design and no professional . Would that we were enmeshed in a society that valued more universally high achievements of product design that delivered usability. usability experts in user-experience design, evaluation, or strategy. How did they accomplish their achievements? For those not familiar with this group, it would be an eye-opening experience to read one or more of the books I have assembled for your consideration. Some of them are old, one is quite recent. I shall focus on the most recent and easily available book,Shaker Design: Out of this World edited by Burks. These two volumes are visually exuberant, offering large, fullcolor photos of some of the most outstanding examples of Shaker design. The Burns book, The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God, produced after the 1984 film documentary of the same name, provides more history, photos of notables of the Society, and some architectural photos. The Pearson and Neal book, The Shaker Image, primarily an historical analysis, shows only black-and-white photos or people and architecture. The Horsham book, The Art of the Shakers, while providing some history, divides its color figures among objects, architecture, and people. Burks notes that the Shakers embraced order, structure, and hierarchy. Order permeated their daily rituals and the daily objects by which they ate, slept, cooked, and secured food. They created a clear and functional hierarchical structure to administer to all of their spiritual, domestic, and commercial needs. In their buildings, they believed in proper ventilation, bathing, and sanitation. For example, a specific design of exterior windows allowed the insertion of a strip of wood to promote air circulation. Infirmaries were well stocked with medicine and equipment. Their progressive healthcare practices led to their surviving much longer than their outer-world contemporaries. One mid-nineteenth century commentator on the Shakers wrote that they were strict utilitarians; their first question was: would it be useful? A noteworthy testimony, indeed, to a society that promoted usability and usefulness. The Shakers also encouraged progress. They were quick to adopt new techniques and mechanisms to the manufacture of their own products and those they sold to the (outer) world to earn money. Today, one of the last active communities sells its herbs on the Internet. The Shakers were always searching for ways to simplify their lives and to streamline their workflow. They promoted gender equality in leadership and responsibility, as well as promoting racial equality, pacifism, and condemnation of capital punishment, all radical innovations for the time. They were inventive and shared, for the most part freely, their inventions with the world. The were the first to invent and, in some cases patent, wrinkleresistant fabric, condensed milk, a water-powered washing machine, and some believe, the circular saw. As Burks notes, they took the reality of human behavior into consideration when making design decisions. They pioneered what we would call today ―user-centered design.‖ Today we would call them innovative product designers, yet with a difference. For them, work and worship were inseparable; work was a form of worship. This approach may seem strange and distant to people today, but the quality of their designs, their fit to both earlier times, as well as to ours, gives us pause to consider what we do, and why. There are many lessons to be learned from Shaker creativity, innovation, usability, usefulness, and appeal. I would strongly recommend taking a look at what they accomplished, and how. Topics: Design Published in: August, 2010 in Eyetracking Marcus, A. (2010). Shaker Design: Out of this World (Book Review). User Experience Magazine, 9(3). Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine.org/shaker-design/ Book Review: Providing Access for All by Aaron Marcus This compendium provides intellectual tools for those active in changing the world by making products and services more available to all who could benefit from them. [Read More] Aaron Marcus A review of The Universal Access Handbook Edited by Constantine Stephanidis CRC Press: 2009 In less than a decade, concern for designing products and services for the less able, the elderly, and other non-typical users, has gone from a peripheral issue on the agenda of usability and user-experience conferences—and awareness of professionals—to a core concern. In part, this change is due to the natural aging of developers and users who must come to terms with their diminished capabilities. A decade ago, it was known that Japan would, within a few decades, have the largest percentage of old people of any nation. Universal access conferences held in that country already displayed strong corporate support for products designed for those with visual, auditory, and mobility challenges. In the USA, the government required government websites to conform to basic website accessibility. Consequently, publications on universal access began to appear for UX professionals. Typical examples are Thatcher et al.‘s Constructing Accessible Web Sites (2002) and Shawn Lawton Henry‘s Just Ask: Integrating Accessibility Throughout Design (2007). While thoroughness. security and privacy issues. and an understandably slight variance of writing tone. Overall. and what constitutes best practices. In the scope of this short review. the modest amount of illustration. . all major dimensions of universal access. Methods. especially with regard to universal access in ambient-intelligence environments Within this grand schema (including ninety-six contributors and forty-eight reviewers) one finds in this massive tome what one might expect: general principles as well as details. who for years has championed the Universal Access or User Interfaces for All movement for many years. these conditions create a somewhat academic and dry appearance. To its credit. extensive references. The only concerns one might have is the minimal graphic design given to the text page design. which may be quite desirable. and advisory board member for this book). for some readers. it is impossible to treat in detail the many topics covered in the sixty-one chapters of the UAH. the industry has lacked a comprehensive treatment of the subject in print. even necessary. contributions discuss policy and legislation issues as a framework for accessibility. and best practices Future perspectives. including: Historical roots of universal access Current perspectives and trends Implications for development lifecycle of products and services Implications for user-interface architectures Support tools for development of universally accessible products Examples. case studies. However. the UAH touches upon a number of non-technology issues in its closing sections. each chapter is very clearly organized by easily skimmed titles and subtitles. His first publication User Interfaces for All: Concepts. it is to the credit of the editor and his twenty-one member advisory board that a fairly constant and rigorous high level quality is maintained throughout (full disclosure: the author of this review served as a reviewer. the creation and maintenance of standards and guidelines. for the editor. The current version of that publication. That general reference was provided by Constantine Stephanidis. the management of design-for-all programs. For example. For those interested in a more prose-oriented approach. What one can say is that a twenty-two page index serves as a reasonable jumping off point for the reader in search of a specific topic. contributor. continues the original objectives in a more massive and complete treatment. but may leave others who desire a more visual or new generation approach slightly unsatisfied. and Tools (2001) was the first attempt to devote a major publication to a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach to all human-computer interaction and communication technologies. in order to find the specific content that might be of interest to the reader seeking a reference or training manual. these very books have helped to increase awareness and educate UX professionals. The Universal Access Handbook (UAH) (2009). and the non-sequential page numbers (they are linked to each chapter). The nine parts of this handbook address what constitute. which is to say a lot. educate. active in changing the world by making its products and services more available to all who could benefit from them Topics: Accessibility Published in: June.org/providing_access_for_all/ .Perhaps the only topic lacking here is a political action manual for how to convince the world (legislators. 9(2). up-to-date theoretical and practical knowledge that provides intellectual tools for those who are. (2010). Book Review: Providing Access for All. politicians. comprehensive. and professionals) to promote. At the very least. A. or will be. executives. 2010 in Usable Accessibility Marcus. and persuade key stakeholders to make universal access even more central to the development of all products and services. this compendium provides an outstanding repertoire of vetted. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. User Experience Magazine. and it covers a wide range of topics but is skimpy on details and specific information. Perhaps I had looked into too many encyclopedias. . but I stopped short of actually filling in any concrete knowledge. about everything. To his credit. planet.‖ He announces his topic. Now Nathan Shedroff has completed my fantasy project.‖ In short. appropriate and knowledgeable integration of people. it‘s for everyone. and profit. and another four to explain the paper vs. 2009 Nathan Shedroff tells us in the first few pages of Design Is the Problem that his book was ―written for the designer in all of us…helpful for engineers. intent. including accessibility. above all. plastic bag conundrum. cares about customers as people and not merely consumers. and anyone who wants to build a better. He writes four pages to explain usability. and it‘s about everything. and the design that. ―design that is about systems solutions. managers. more sustainable world. I even went so far as to begin outlining the toplevel headings and some of the secondary subheads. but there is no further development of the labels.Book Review: Design Problems in Book Form by Joe Bugental This book was written for everyone. there are references throughout the book to usability or user experience. students. As a college freshman. The result is a distracting mixture of sweeping generalizations and occasional fine-grained details. I imagined a fantasy project in which everything I knew could be organized and categorized taxonomically. [Read More] Joe Bugental Design is the Problem: The Future of Design Must be Sustainable By Nathan Shedroff Rosenfeld Media. cross-functional team and turn it into a book club. but encyclopedias get down to details and specific information in the short sections under the abstract headings. Nathan neglects to tell us ―how to. ―sending the recipe. There is no specific discussion of these terms. but my instinct says there is a pattern here. Design Is the Problem usually does not. One possible use for the book tantalizes: take a large. I haven‘t seen definitive proof of this yet. Then assign different portions of the book to appropriate team members who must read and do web searches to fill in all the how-to blanks in their respective portions. but forgets to devote any words to trends. Nathan leaves us hanging. 2009 in Sustainable Design . The section on recycling and disassembly of discarded products contains some basic information that was new and interesting to me. He proposes a distinction between a fad and a trend. Although it‘s never specified. The book is also downloadable as a PDF. The chapter ―Declaring Results‖ provides a detailed survey of both the challenges and the current solutions to the problem of rating corporate sustainability efforts and claims. often blank. echoing the diagram on page 112. allowing ―SIM cards‖ (SIMMs) and ―memory‖ to stand as distinct items in one list. The publishers. and there are websites and an RSS feed available by subscription. More typical is his statement: ―Again. To be sure. using purple to define major sections and green for chapters. confusing ―proceeding‖ with ―preceding‖ on another page. one hopes they used soy-based inks. and open-source design is an example of the latter.You have to wonder what source material Shedroff was working from. Topics: Sustainability Published in: November.‖ Sidebars and bulleted lists abound. and The 15 Core Meanings in alphabetical order from Accomplishment to Wonder. however. there are some nuggets that are at least as entertaining as they are useful. More often.‖ andinformationalization.‖ Nathan‘s copy editor lets him down occasionally. have given Nathan a gorgeous printed format with many pages of full-bleed color. Like an encyclopedia. it covers a wide range of topics. Car-sharing services are an example of the former. often merely citing a URL. User interface designers will love his injunction to ―choose metaphors that won‘t get old quickly (or don‘t use them at all)‖—it‘s the shortest of three bullet points on designing for durability. Page 113 contains two lists: The Five Levels of Significance – from Meaning/Reality to Performance/Features. This book should have been either narrower in its focus or many pages longer. The discussions of transmaterialization ―turning a service into a product. Too often. discusses fads for the rest of the paragraph.‖ are particularly disarming. There are no end notes to support his claims and only occasional footnotes. Bugental. J. 8(4).org/design_problems_book_form/ . Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. Book Review: Design Problems in Book Form. (2009). User Experience Magazine. The author obviously heard the same comment from others. and classified. and have representative users (or domain experts) sort them into meaningful categories. clearly written and illustrated. and well supported by case studies and examples. and well illustrated. 2009 A whole book on card sorting? Perhaps others shared my initial surprise when they learned that Donna Spencer was planning a whole book on the topic. Spencer manages to explore these in a way that is practical. clearly written and illustrated. with a foreword by Jesse James Garrett Rosenfeld Media. Chapter 1 introduces card sorting. simple. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of the fact that coming up with a perfect categorization scheme is an unachievable goal. but also alerts the reader to the availability of complementary. print things on them. Without avoiding underlying concepts such as centrality and the classical view of categorization. what‘s to know? Get a few index cards. user research activities. and well supported by case studies and examples. Chapter 2 is a succinct exploration of the ways in which information can be categorized. despite . This book is replete with solid advice.Deal Them Again: Card Sorting Revisited (Book Review) by Gerry Gaffney A whole book on card sorting? This book is replete with solid advice. and sometimes more appropriate. [Read More] Gerry Gaffney Card Sorting: Designing Usable Categories By Donna Spencer. After all. as Chapter 1 opens with the same question: ―A whole book on card sorting?‖ Spencer allayed any skepticism I had about how one might fill such a book with solid content. organized. and executing.) I felt the index was. I did find myself not entirely in agreement with the author on some points.rosenfeldmedia. I found this to be rather light and unsatisfying—particularly as this is an area where newcomers may need significant assistance. in the exhortation: ―Don‘t rely on a technique to do your thinking. I could not find them. she cautions that statistical analysis. a card-sorting session. although she makes it clear that her preference is to use physical cards. how to locate. but did suggest that example reports were available on the publisher‘s website (www. Overall. This part of the book gives the impression that while the material is included in the interest of completeness. and indeed. Beginning with instructions and examples on how to enter data into a spreadsheet. perhaps. ―can produce such nice outputs that it is easy to get drawn into a simple answer and forget about the underlying reason for the output. although her underlying concern was a valid one. and name content. whether to use individuals or teams (Spencer prefers teams). the statement that individuals can handle more cards than groups surprised me. I was certain I had come across a reference to facets (surely I did?) but word ―facet‖ does not appear in the index. select.‖ Chapter 3 is a discussion on defining the need to conduct a card sort. although on reflection it confirms my own experiences. For example. Chapter 8 is a hands-on tour through the practicalities of preparing for. it is not the author‘s own preferred approach to analysis. Spencer discusses the use of software tools for card sorting. and at times found her advice overly prescriptive. and the following two chapters discuss how to manage and analyze the material collected during the session. For example. the instruction not to mix function and content in a card sort is one that I would dispute. and how to choose participants. Spencer then covers cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling.‖ An appendix entitled ―Documentation‖ was extremely light on detail.com) although. ironically. the book is easy reading. and will be of benefit both to those who are new to the card sorting (who will find useful step-by-step guidance and straightforward advice) and to experienced practitioners who all too often fail (if I am any example) to question and reevaluate the practices that they feel they know thoroughly. The following chapters jump into the practicalities—whether and when to use open or closed card sorting (including explanations of each). (The author tells me they should be online by the time this review is in print.occasional client expectations that information architects should be able to do things ―in the right way.‖ This sentiment is also echoed towards the conclusion of the book. not comprehensive. . or intends to use. 2009 in Content & Context Research Gaffney. 8(3).Purists may feel that the books is not supported by sufficient theory or supporting references. card sorting. G. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. Deal Them Again: Card Sorting Revisited (Book Review). Use the code ―UXMAG‖ for a 15 percent discount on this book or any other item athttp://rosenfeldmedia.org/card_sorting_revisited/ . User Experience Magazine.‖ provide a way to learn that is almost as good as making one‘s own mistakes. I did not find this to be a weakness. this book is a must-read for anyone who uses. Minor quibbles aside. but given the strong practitioner focus. The comprehensive use of real-life case studies to illustrate concepts and practices and the frank admissions of instances where the author (and others) ―got it wrong. (2009).com Topics: User Published in: September. Looking through two editions separated by more than eighteen years. documentation. the latest incarnation uses many more color photos. . one is struck by the evolution of user-interface planning. it takes about three times to get anything complex right. six-month access to the book‘s companion website. and other techniques of modern book design to convey a contemporary feel. The book also comes with a pre-paid. Usually. with contributing authors Maxine S. but rewarding challenge. I have in my library at least two or three versions of the book now. 2009) Reviewing Ben Shneiderman‘s and Catherine Plaisant‘s most recent version of the classic text about designing user-interfaces is a daunting.The Classy Classic: Designing the User Interface (Book Review) by Aaron Marcus This updated edition of a text about designing user-interfaces is testament to the evolution of these and other related topics the past two decades. [Read More] Aaron Marcus Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction. evaluation. Fifth Edition By Ben Shneiderman and Catherine Plaisant. Jacobs (Addison Wesley. completed table of contents). In comparison to the second edition (1992). The book is also contemporary in evolving a web-based solution to new content and to readers‘ continuing service fees to obtain additional information. research. much more visual enhancement of chapters. Cohen and Steven M. analysis. summary tables of contents (in addition to the longer. However. and YouTube. tag clouds. what I found striking was the language in which the book was written. the authors had none of that.‘ and perhaps a brief history of userexperience design. social networks. the authors offer eight ways of using the book. intriguing examples illustrate different approaches.‘ ‗user interface.implementation. principals. who may not be aware of the full range and depth of user-interface development. Again. methods. but to their credit. concise. like information visualization. the images are succinct. incorporating the latest philosophies. the visuals played a significant part in furthering my understanding of the already readable content. and theory over the past sixty years throughout the world. One remarked: ―Upon reading through the contents. technical writing. well-selected supplements to the clear descriptions and explanations. surprisingly. appropriate. the authors treat more generally large-scope topics. Nevertheless. Right from the start. I would like to have seen some definitions of terms. it becomes impossible in a printed book to constantly update the images. I asked two younger (by thirty or forty years) associates what they thought of the new book. however. suggesting that they recognize the other levels of readership: the Baby Boomers. and easy to read. Gone are references to video disks and specification methods like user-action notation. They represent the newcomers to the field. Here it becomes impossible to provide extensive detailed design guidelines. it was very clear. seeking solutions for the widest and wildest challenges of user-interface design in the coming decade. practice. the authors actually retain a few choice morsels reaching back as far as the late 1980s. GenXers. For this new generation of readers. The references have been updated. business and information systems. psychology and sociology.‖ . In almost every topic that it tackles. and graphic design. but. the text summarizes the issues effectively and provides specific details that are often found in more narrow-focus guidebooks. Twitter. and the Millennials who will all be looking at this text. and techniques as best the authors and we understand them. and specific chapter sequences for readers coming from such disciplines as computer science (its core audience). and maintenance—as well as design—in the past two decades. At the beginning of the book. I expected to be bombarded with technical jargon that I wouldn‘t understand. ―Overall. the iPhone. In keeping with the user-centered design approach promoted by the book. the book was a good introduction to the meaning and importance of user-interface design. The book itself is a thorough time-capsule of the field. the book references blogs. Also. As a novice of user-interface design.‖ The other commented. In later chapters. training. such as ‗user experience. Of note is the sparse reference to user-experience (UX) concepts. Clearly. Topics: Interface design. However. in my opinion. readable. might have been given a little more space. 8(3). The Classy Classic: Designing the User Interface (Book Review). Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. energy. comprehensive. worldwide field bursting with enthusiasm. The book maintains its legendary value as an indispensable. and innovation. fast-growing. one cannot be all things to all people. the second comment touched on one or two items that. A. although they are covered as usability engineering and user-interface architecture concepts and are mentioned explicitly a few times. User-centered Published in: September. This book presents both a bird‘s eye view and a ground-level view of the terrain. high-quality treatment of a still bustling. User Experience Magazine. 2009 in Content & Context design Marcus. (2009). these are quibbles.org/classy-classic/ . . [Read More] Aaron Marcus Forms that Work: Designing Web Forms for Usability By Caroline Jarrett & Gerry Gaffney Morgan Kaufman.e. providing solutions. collect and present information. and presenting their approach in book design storytelling.Formally Speaking: Two Guidebooks about Designing Forms by Aaron Marcus Two books about designing forms. and interactive controls. two very good books are devoted to interactive forms design for the Web. complex layouts of text. 2009 Web Form Design By Luke Wroblewski Rosenfeld Media. i.organize knowledge. The other is Luke Wroblewski‘s Web Form Design (WFD). Fortunately. graphics. similar in subject matter but contain different approaches to defining problems. and facilitate decision-making. has been given little attention. 2008 Designing forms. One is Caroline Jarrett and Gerry Gaffney‘s Forms that Work: Designing Web Forms for Usability (FTW). Both books consider almost all two-dimensional typographic or verbi-visual arrangements as forms. despite the contribution that forms make: they help us to access data. . even though it is far removed from the complexity of federal income tax forms. and would call even Google‘s homepage a form (which one must admit it technically is). detailed. Considering the many large empty pages of color in . is laconic. technical. those seeking a quick check of ―what I learned or know. If one has a good understanding of usability and user-experience design. design. WFD focuses on the artifact. testing (terms missing in WFD‘s index). on the other hand. providing solutions.‖ or those wanting a reminder when returning to the book to refresh their understanding. however. but not always. most notably. One might sum up the two world views by calling FTW more ―Apollonian‖ (more verbal. and how to construct the design so that is usable. imply appropriate solutions. analysis. begins with framing questions about what using forms should accomplish as a subset of all user-interface planning. WFD is notable for having colored call-outs that show likely user thoughts or responses: favorable (green smiley face). Although these signs clutter the layout. and eventually. negative (red unhappy face). all point to additional layers of conceptual analysis and modeling that have benefits for general user analysis and business analysis. artifact-. FTW. they effectively point to key design issues and often. and appealing. of all relevant topics and subtopics: from the introductory ―What is a Form?‖ to the telling conclusion ―Testing (The Best Bit). are quite successful in both books. as well as forms. then one can find here very valuable guidance on the design elements and their combinations and patterns that provide assistance for even the most challenging circumstances. almost like an instruction manual. Both use frequent illustrations in color. The differences in the two books are apparent just from looking at each table of contents (ToC). research. No further information appears about the content within each topic. In general. The book‘s discussion of process. the books are similar in content. If I didn‘t miscount. but when the label says ―Field Lengths. to presenting their approach in their book design storytelling. and warning (yellow neutral face). and trust. and the illustrations. which begins in the TOCs. This approach is very practical for those with little time to read through either book‘s pages. They do differ in their approach to storytelling. One fundamental difference is how each frames the process of thinking about what it means to design good forms and the user experience of forms. Both books adopt a sometimes conversational approach to what ―you‖ might do or should do and what ―we‖ think is better. and appeal-oriented). detailed account. One noticeable structure of the book is that each chapter presents its informative content and then concludes with a bullet list called ―Best Practices. there seem to be few places in which comparable advice differs substantially. FTW has 189 entries. making the entries brief labels of the topics being discussed. and usability-oriented) and WFD more ―Dionysian‖ (more visual. while WFD has 93. this is essentially a 2:1 difference in detail. the details.‖ which summarizes the most salient pieces of advice in the chapter.‖ WFD‘s ToC. personas.The two books are similar in their basic subject matter but take different approaches to defining the problems. on the other hand. the examples. useful. FTW‘s ToC gives the impression of being a definitive.‖ presumably there is not that much hierarchical complexity below. In general. and. the extent of content detail. A.org/guidebooks_designing_forms/ . (2009). 2009 in Forms Marcus. If you want a more usability-oriented.WFD as chapter indicators or the end of chapters. user-centered design approach. ―design-oriented‖ appearance. If you are sensitive to and desire more visual design quality and a more elegant presentation of the contents. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. Topics: Design. you‘ll probably be drawn to FTW. user-testing. User Experience Magazine. but what WFD shows is presented in a more readable. FTW probably has more actual content. Formally Speaking: Two Guidebooks about Designing Forms. Forms Published in: June. then you‘ll be more at home in WFD. 8(2). Major corporations. have all published guidelines. [Read More] Aaron Marcus Just Ask: Integrating Accessibility Throughout Design Shawn Lawton Henry Lulu. universal design. IBM‘s elaborate guidelines contain introductions to the subject and thorough treatments intended for . Europe and North America have similar organizations. both of which focus on issues of universal access.com. such as Fujitsu. For example. and accessibility are finally getting the attention they deserve. Japan has the Human-Centered Design Network and the International Association for Universal Design . Fujitsu‘s extensive guidelines for web design and color selection tools are oriented to universal design. IBM.More than Skin Deep (Book Review) by Aaron Marcus This book’s focus on accessibility during the entire user-centered design process integrates accessibility throughout product development and provides readers with a readable introduction to incorporating these concerns into daily professional practice. 2007 Universal access. Centers for the professional disciplines of universal analysis and design have emerged worldwide. and Microsoft. computer-based information technology. process. Shawn Lawton Henry‘s book even has two Tables of Contents: a summary for skimmers. she cites the task of changing retirement account investments and adds detailed commentary about the difficulties of reading small-sized text. Similarly. and decreased muscle mass and bone density. Microsoft offers a comparable set of guidelines on the Internet. usable. how to involve people with disabilities in a project and how to interact with them. not user experience professionals. Especially helpful are user-group example profiles that she provides for retirees and college students. and a detailed version. After introducing the basics. we need cogent. thorough. For retirees. the integrated software methods and software engineering resources don‘t yet treat the subject thoroughly. solutions. . A reader can sense immediately that the author covers the essence of user-centered design and shows how to incorporate accessibility as an objective early and throughout the development process.software developers (but apparently not updated since 2004). briefly listing the key attributes of such classic topics as workflow analysis. in particular. do we need yet another book on the subject? The answer is definitely yes! Shawn Lawton Henry has provided us with a book that is readable. Henry covers topics that essentially are an introduction to user-centered design.) With all of these copious resources. higher color contrast. software-. Ms. and manipulating the mouse to select items. for example. and rates the importance of the guidelines and the disabilities that are affected. as well as providing a foundation for testing software. let‘s face facts: universal design and universal access are not on the tip of the tongue for the general public and even among many research and development professionals. neurological conditions. finding small targets to select. The book seems to accomplish this objective. Note that the book does not address compliance with legal or other specific accessibility standards. web-. many of the guideline resources are oriented to software developers. Second. the author provides good example detail in task scenarios for the same user groups. The author acknowledges that the book is oriented to electronic. user-interface and interaction design. Such a delicate subject is important in the humane treatment of ―subject-matter experts‖ to get their best possible contributions. And fourth. hardware-. and techniques. There are other specialized resources for these topics in the items cited in the references to this review. Third. and. user profiles/personas. until we see published a (ital)Universal Access and User-Centered Design for Dummies book in that ubiquitous series. cataracts. readable summaries like (ital)Just Ask to guide us through the terminology. First of all. and engaging for practitioners in the usability analysis. in the end. and mobile-device-based products and services. useful. larger targets. each of which includes accessibility considerations. The implications for design include the use of larger fonts. age-related considerations include macular degeneration. The author takes the time to discuss what one should call their disabilities and where to find such people. For the example of retirees. feedback. and keyboard functionality that obviates the use of a mouse. and task scenarios. (The references in the sidebar will lead the reader to these and other sources of information. and user-experience professions. one other very practical detail: online free athttp://www. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. (2008). heuristic evaluations. More than Skin Deep (Book Review). and suggestions for adding accessibility considerations to what before may have been known steps in the development process but where developers did not know what specific accessibility issues can or should be considered. screening techniques (identifying potential accessibility barriers in product/service design). usability testing. Its focus on accessibility during the entire user-centered design process not only achieves the author‘s stated objective of integrating accessibility throughout product development. practical.com/JustAsk. design walkthroughs. but provides readers with a very down-to-earth.. etc. A.uiAccess.In later sections on accessibility evaluation tools. Oh. and readable introduction to incorporating these concerns into daily professional practice. 2008 in Mandating Usability book is available Testing Marcus. the Topics: Accessibility. Even without the focus on accessibility.org/more_than_skin_deep/ . resources. 7(1). she provides further information. the book is a useful review of key steps in usercentered design. User Experience Magazine. which is where many of us would like to be in our professional lives. Usability Published in: March. . Her book. but because of her matter-of-fact approach to dealing with the problems and strengths of autistic people. not just because she so clearly describes the effect of autism on the senses. [Read More] Susan Fowler Life and Love: Positive Strategies for Autistic Adults By Zosia Zaks AuthorHouse. and a member of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825. Asperger‘s syndrome advocate. and is now a friend and respected colleague. Life and Love: Positive Strategies for Autistic Adults. New York. 2006 Zosia Zaks. was one of my best technical communication students at Polytechnic University in Brooklyn. is an eye-opener.Book Review: Seeing the World through a Differently Wired Brain by Susan Fowler This book contains a matter-of-fact approach to dealing with the problems and strengths of autistic people by providing a different way of seeing the world. ‖ such as a small table near the front door where you always leave your keys (it also helps to pin up a picture of keys on the wall).‖ which she says ranges from classic autism to Asperger‘s syndrome. and everyday objects (organizing piles of clothes and newspapers). It‘s best to leave me alone…This is what autistic people call a sensory meltdown or being ‗overstimulated‘‖ (pp. but about what it‘s like to have a brain wired differently from most other people. Engineer and author Temple Grandin (Thinking in Pictures) is considered to be a high-functioning autistic person. I can‘t tolerate receiving any more sensory information…I need time to calm my nervous system. and sounds like ―neuro-typical‖ individuals do. Bean often behaves like a person with Asperger‘s syndrome. setting priorities for chores. but may be lacking social skills. the affected child shows serious cognitive difficulties as well as developmental delays in walking and talking. A high-functioning autistic person may have developmental delays and cognitive difficulties. this means retreating to a quiet. Even kind and gentle suggestions like ‗Would you like some help?‘ continue the sensory depletion rather than helping matters. In a recent talk. and other zones for which you set rules—for example. has no developmental delays and often does well in school. smells. dark spot where I will not be interrupted. 8-9). In Chapter 1. until someone intervened and explained the problem to his boss. who let him work from home until the construction was finished. For example. ―Coping with Sensory Inputs.‖ she says. He almost lost his job. her diagram says ―No food!‖ The zone map also shows ―absolute spots. ―My senses seem to work on a quota system. Zosia‘s book isn‘t about medicine and syndromes. bathroom. starting with sanitation (taking the trash out weekly and making sure your kitchen is clean enough to cook in). He couldn‘t get past the detour to get to work. she said. Zosia mentioned a friend whose route to work was interrupted by a detour for road construction. . Zosia describes zone maps and absolute spots as a way to keep clutter under control. bedroom. ―I only have a set amount of energy or capacity to deal with incoming sensory information…What happens when [that capacity] is used up? Basically. Chapters 2 and 3. ―Maintaining a Home‖ and ―Living on Your Own. A child or adult with Asperger‘s syndrome.‖ explain in detail what you have to do to live in your own home—for instance. safety (getting the landlord to fix wires hanging out of the ceiling fan). Autistic individuals are often overwhelmed by their surroundings because they can‘t filter out sights.In the introduction to the book. Zosia describes the ―autism spectrum. but can function fairly well in the non-autistic world. A zone map is a drawing of your home divided into kitchen. on the other hand. in the Home Office Zone. In classic autism. Rowan Atkinson‘s comedic character Mr.‖ Zosia explains how autistic sensory processing works. Usually. some autistic people have trouble changing their routines. body care (taking regular showers). Example of a zone map: It includes applicable zone rules and on Absolute Spot for keys. and your diagnosis. disclosing your diagnosis. too. to make sure that she buys the healthy food she really wants. this is also important information for emergency workers to know so they do not misinterpret your behavior and falsely assume you are on drugs.‖ Zosia explains that grocery shopping is so difficult that. which was usually unhealthy junk food. Chapters 5 to 7 in Part 1. and work. for instance‖ (p. she suggests wearing dark glasses. ―Shopping. listening to a Walkman or iPod. For dealing with a hospital stay: ―Don‘t forget an emergency card that states your name. . and any special behaviors or sensitivities that you have…For example. and invisibility and self-esteem in the autistic community. your address. For example. friendships. she brings a map of the store with the items she wants marked on the aisles. 2006 by Autisim Asperger Publishing Company In Chapter 4. if you are in a lot of pain. and to cut down on the background noise. many neuro-typicals also have trouble with supermarkets (and keys). healthcare. spectrum/non-spectrum relationships. gender issues. Part 2 of the book is about love and emotion. The nurses may try to take off your sunglasses thinking they are helping you. you may not be able to explain why you need to keep your sunglasses on. address transportation and travel. and her strategies might be useful for us. To reduce the glare of the indoor lights. she would often just grab whatever was nearest the cash registers. Life. 125). until she developed shopping strategies. including topics about dating on the spectrum (dating other autistic people). Or if rocking back and forth soothes you. However. for example). keeping safe (avoiding sexual violence. Rather. and anything requiring visual information. We connect with animals. sorting. can be a real trip. avoid flowery or metaphorical language and inside jokes.org/differently_wired_brain/ . Cognitive Published in: November. (2007).This is not a ―poor pitiful me‖ book. User Experience Magazine. S. ―we‘re great at shipping-and-handling jobs. However. what Zosia‘s book does best is show us a different way of seeing the world. Zosia said. and cut down on the buzzy. 6(4). Book Review: Seeing the World through a Differently Wired Brain. We‘re passionate about our interests and love learning. We have robust memories and we think in pictures. bangy stuff. and I do mean that in the Sixties sense of the word Topics: Accessibility. In terms of jobs. smashy. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine.‖ which is why the supermarket map works so well. ―We‘re direct and honest in our language—we don‘t understand sarcasm and don‘t play games—and for that reason we can communicate more easily across cultures. albeit briefly. ignoring the filters that we use to block out most of what‘s around us. Zosia shows how autistic people learn to cope using ―strength-based therapies‖ that help them skirt their difficulties and build on their strengths. Also. We‘re curious and won‘t stop at anything to get an answer.‖ But what do Zosia‘s experiences and ideas tell us about usable and accessible design? I believe that they reinforce what we already know: create logical navigation strategies. Once you‘ve looked at a hospital—or a friendship—through her eyes. organizing factories. During a recent book-tour lecture. scheduling rooms. Zosia said. the inexplicable behaviors of friends or acquaintances suddenly make more sense. 2007 in Usability in Healthcare Disability Fowler. He candidly admits that the book is a collection of graduate papers he has edited and embellished from a course he has taught for fifteen years. 2006 the Information Richard and Communication F. technology details. An amazing. this . Industry Bellaver When I started to read this 300 plus page book. [Read More] Aaron Marcus Characters of By AuthorHouse. Unfortunately. 500 years later. and communication. and personal quirks of some of the fabulous—almost mythical—people who have animated and adorned our world of technology. I thought: What a humdrum title. and has served as a UPA Board member. tumultuous. computers.What a Character! (Book Review) by Aaron Marcus A review of Characters of the Information and Communication Industry by Richard Bellaver. tumultuous. 500 years later.. and awe-inspiring journey that begins with Gutenberg and continues onward to the present day. What have we got here? ASCII characters or some of the current weirdoes of our industry? What I discovered was a wealth of historical data. and awe-inspiring journey begins with Gutenberg and continues onward to the present day. I must first mention that Professor Bellaver of Ball State University has forty years of experience in telecommunications and information technology. The amazing. of what. unexpected twists of narrative. financial. but only three sons survived to adulthood. The text holds many nuggets of curious facts. the ability to construct cogent arguments. anonymously) as ―precocious. led by potent visions of what can be. inevitably must be. the newspaper and freedom of the press.) the basic premise and content of the book should interest anyone who is curious about information technology. The heroes and heroines are impatient souls.‖ How many sons did he have originally? Is the number of surviving sons important? One begins to wonder about the quality of graduate student writing capabilities. parents. for them. most of them male. and accidents The psychological. with occasional ambiguities or loose ends left unexplained. Despite these minor off-putting characteristics (which make one want to read through the book with a red pen to mark the typos or writing-style expressions that need editing. The book‘s title is indeed about character. yet seeking to be meek and humble. stubbornly persevering. Charles Babbage ―produced eight children. After Gutenberg. technical details.heritage shows: from typos in the foreword of the book. as demonstrated in his foreword. the telegraph and telephone. and eventually the Internet. legal. as well as unforgettable characters. the first electrical devices. pugnacious to the point of bullying ruthlessness. the AT&T monopoly. and the ability to employ our language‘s full power to embellish structured thought. resembling encyclopedia entries. and a writing style that is sometimes bland. the personal computer.‖ The chapters are replete with: Detailed descriptions of technical accomplishments Geographic/historical milieu Spouses. In addition to numerous . Bellaver‘s own text has much more engaging rhetorical flourishes. and frequent (but not certain) achievement of successful innovation through bold initiatives. and mental health This should give you a sense for the richly textured panorama. Charles Babbage is described as ―notoriously incoherent when he spoke in public. a perfectionist. who is described on page 18 (alas. the use of underlined text instead of italics (as though a quaint throwback to typewritten student reports from the 1960s and ‗70s). IBM. For example. and educational struggles of the protagonists Occasional breakdowns in physical. offspring. and personality quirks. sometimes too far ahead of their times. the first calculators and computers. siblings. I began to fear for this gradual degradation when I taught at Princeton University in the 1970s. radio and television. the book holds forth on world-stage events (but focuses primarily on European and North American originators. including Blaise Pascal.‖ Then Bellaver asks rhetorically ―Does this remind you of any one in our business these days?‖ I had to smile as I mused upon possible resemblances. dares. perseverance. bluffs. and the personalities that have produced these far-reaching changes. Or. in a later passage. What emerges are underlying shared threads of struggle. the recent centuries of personal and mass communication. emotional. Grace Hopper. This book is a sampler from about thirty years later. and Barbara Walters) such as the emergence of printed books. but does include women including Ada Byron/Lady Lovelace. uproarious oddities. the emergence of computers. and other complex family relations The seemingly random role of bets. org/what_a_character/ . 2007 in Interactive & Mobile TV Marcus. User Experience Magazine. Topics: Careers Published in: September. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. and intellectual property rights? How does convergence stimulate new technology directions? Once you begin reading a chapter—any of the twenty-one in this book—you may find it hard to stop. A. the book is an informative. the first transistor radio sold by Raytheon cost $80 in 1954—the story of innovation touches on many modern themes and issues: who exactly innovates? Who benefits? Who controls? What is the role of government? What are appropriate levels of censorship. What a Character! (Book Review). By recounting the past. Despite the occasional imperfections of scholarship. 6(3). monopolies. entertaining collection of biographies and narratives of technology development during the past half-millennium. the author provides much food for thought regarding how we consider our current innovators and their likely future. (2007).factoids—the average wage for a servant in the City of London in the early eighteenth century was four-to-five cents per day. [Read More] Aaron Marcus .Book Review: It‘s Show Time! by Aaron Marcus These guidebooks are for those who have not been exposed to the philosophy. principles. and techniques of information design and information visualization. is one such standard bearer. and highlighting: all of the nuances that make for superior graphic design. through tables and charts. The fundamentals are presented succinctly. He also notes that 3D charts provide visual clutter without enhancing communication. but Stephen Few remains skeptical about the user-friendliness of many dashboards that seek to assemble just the right information to give people insight into key business structures and processes. and techniques of information design and information visualization. quantitative data and relationships. basic. They are defined and demonstrated. 2006 Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten Stephen Few Analytics Press. and even a brief history of chart-making. and others all have their moment. These two books are good introductions to that field. correlation charts. 2004 Every decade. and clear. Information Dashboard Design. a few valiant standard-bearers for effective visual communication arise and publish guidebooks for those who have not been exposed to the philosophy.‖ This book seeks to assist in that effort. He considers what makes for good visual displays: all of the techniques discussed in the first book must now work together in an assemblage of multiple charts and tables that provide a single view. principal of the consulting firm Perceptual Edge. Stephen Few.Information Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual Communication of Data Stephen Few O‘Reilly Press. The author shows and comments on a dozen complex business-based dashboards. . delivering the goods in a way that does not distract. and advice is given for their best presentation. Show Me the Numbers covers the essentials of communicating. it seems. principles. The older and more fundamental is Show Me the Numbers. Later chapters focus on details of arrangement. and its advice is sound. takes us to the next level. such as when to use tables and charts. Standarddeviation charts. Sophisticated data mining can reveal complex relationships and provide new insights. bar charts. Few denounces the pie chart as ineffective (because it is hard to judge angular relationships and hard to label things in a readable manner around a circle). definitions of charting types. The second book. where a ―more skilled presentation of information will help you and your business to prosper. labels. The text and illustrations are simple. line charts. I recommend it to all who seek such advice. color. especially summaries—a key challenge for the busy professional. scatter plots. The publisher‘s comments identify it as a ―practical and commonsense guide‖ that one can use in business. and splitting items off onto additional screens. information chunking. The second half of the book focuses on details. these devote little space to testing. (2007). All the techniques are described in simple. ready to be refined further by testing. by questions posed to the reader. Book Review: It‘s Show Time!. Only one page is devoted to testing your designs for usability.org/book-review-its-show-time/ . Information Published in: March. But at least that page is there. A. 2007 in Usability Around the World Visualization Marcus. It covers typography. including myself. as in his earlier book. 6(1). Topics: Information Design. color. from snapshots of the moment to long historical perspectives. With no industry standard for how these items are to be assembled and presented. Like many guidebooks written by others. clear. Timeframes can vary enormously. User Experience Magazine. you should be able to produce effective designs. readable text. it is no wonder that many are poorly done. With the help of Few‘s books. punctuated. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine.The challenge is daunting. Book Review: What We Find Changes Who We Become by Michele Visciola This book claims that ―findability is going ambient,‖- all we know about helping people find information on the Internet will help people find things in their physical environments.[Read More] Michele Visciola Ambient By O’Reilly, 2005 Peter Findability Morville Ambient Findability is the second book written by Peter Morville. His first, Information Architecture, was co-authored with Louis Rosenfeld. While Information Architectureprovided a basic overview of a new field of knowledge and design practices, his second book looks far ahead in the field, trying to set new frontiers for both practitioners and academics. It is definitely worth reading and, as it is an intense 188-page book, it might be necessary to read it twice, perhaps more slowly, to better taste the different flavors and perspectives suggested to the reader. I found many interesting theses, observations, new inspirations, and reflective views. Some of them are just confirming, I believe, the state-of-the-art of current research in the fields of interaction design and information architecture; others are new views opening potential new fields of investigation and even helping us to better understand the current limitations of ideas, concepts, and cultures that characterize the intersection of usability and interaction design today. In fact, it is more a book of vision than a book of recommendations to follow in your work. This book claims that ―findability is going ambient,‖ which means that all we know about helping people find information on the Internet will also be of value in helping people find things in their physical environments—that is, as soon as ubiquitous computing transforms the ―Web into both interface and infrastructure for an ambient internet of objects.‖ (Ubiquitous computing moves computation into the environment and everyday objects, rather than having computers as distinct objects.) This very valuable observation immediately raises a question for information designers: ―Can users find what they need from wherever they are?‖ The book sets out to answer this question. Ambient Findability contains seven intense chapters. In the first, ―Lost and Found,‖ Morville starts from observations of our everyday lives. He shows us that we can already find our ways with mobile devices and that we are always connected to our network of people. As soon as the infrastructure we use to connect to others meets the digital infrastructure of our physical environment, ―the histories of navigation, communication, commerce, and information seeking converge,‖ Morville argues. The second and third chapters, ―A Brief History of Wayfinding‖ and ―Information Interaction‖, illustrate the new concept of ambient findability: In the author‘s words, ―Ambient findability describes a fast emerging world where we can find anyone or anything from anywhere at anytime.‖ In pursuing this idea, the book reinterprets the language and the concepts of the ubiquitous-computing paradigm and provides many new inspirations for design. The fourth chapter is titled ―Intertwingled‖ from the word used by Ted Nelson to explain hypertext, hypermedia, and the fact that things, information, and ideas are connected in a non-sequential way. The chapter refers to current practices that support way finding (i.e. tagging objects with RFID and wireless technologies) on one side, and metadata-tagging on the Web on the other. ―How will we Google our way through a trillion objects in motion?‖ asks Morville. How will we trust information? With whom will we share information in a world where physical positions are converted into symbolic locations and, more generally, physical data do have corresponding symbolic information? Of course, the answers to these complex questions are left to ongoing research. While the final chapters present some immediate answers, this chapter suggests a faith in the changes that digital and wireless technology will bring to us. ―Our destination lies shrouded in fog, but our direction is clear. We are on the yellow brick road to ambient findability and we‘ve got magic slippers to help us find our way.‖ But only a few pages later, Morville asks: ―Do we really want to go there? This is a question we must continue to ask as we intertwingle ourselves into a future with existing benefits but cloudy costs…Our enthusiasm for [ubiquitous computing] will undoubtedly be tempered by reality. Our future will be at least as messy as our present. But we will muddle through as usual, satisfying under conditions of bounded rationality.‖ I find this view a bit undetermined. I believe it does not completely take the position I would have expected from a findability evangelist. Isn‘t it our responsibility to envision and to design reality? We do not need to espouse idealistic views to be able to help user-centered innovation perspectives to take place. As a matter of fact, that is our mission. There are already many researchers, practitioners, managers, designers, and bloggers who are advancing proposals and views to make ubiquitous computing and innovation user-oriented. Morville is well aware of that; he acknowledges and openly refers to them. It may be that these words of caution are devoted to the larger community of techno-evangelists who do not care about the impact generated by technology on everyone‘s life. I think I understood these words of caution better in the fifth chapter ―Push and Pull,‖ which courageously embraces search engine advertisement and search engine optimization. Morville brings his readers into the marketing realm and connects us to the most interesting approaches for the usability community, I believe. So, besides the influence of the ―Cluetrain Manifesto‖ (the classic view that ―market are conversations‖), you will find intuitions like, ―as technology disrupts and transforms the marketplace, only those who listen carefully will profit from this persistent disequilibrium between supply and demand.‖ That is great! But all in all, I found the sixth chapter, ―The Sociosemantic Web,‖ the most interesting. I deeply agree with the author, who is skeptical about the future of the Web as the semantic web but has a strong belief in the future of so-called ―folksonomies.‖ The skepticism is justified by the observation that ―hyperlinks subvert hierarchies‖ and that ―the design of shared classification systems is complex, messy, and expensive.‖ Unlike large standardized classification systems, folksonomies are respectful of participatory tagging and classification systems. This is of great interest for the usability community, which can help these peripheral and local knowledge systems gain their legitimate role in the world and global markets. As Morville observes, ―things get interesting when many people apply different tags to the same object and when many people apply the same tag to different objects.‖ I believe views like this balance the standardization approach in the usability community. Globalization can be detrimental if it just means sanitization and reduction of diversities and differences. As Morville writes in his elegant English, ―Folksonomies flourish in the cornucopia of the commons without noticeable costs.‖ and learn independently. I will quote some of the contents which I believe are masterful: ―We should proceed cautiously before placing our lives in the invisible hands of smart mobs.‖ ―Internet end-to-end architecture locates intelligence at the ends rather than the center. Retrieved from http://uxpamagazine. Search Published in: November.org/what_we_find/ . Good practices stem from thorough observations and sound theories. have a role in facilitating this shift. and there is a promising future for folksonomies.Ontologies. allowing for an innovation of commons that‘s central with respect to applications and controls. M. User Experience Magazine. as a usability community. Topics: Information Architecture. 5(4). 2006 in Word Wide Government Visciola. this means that we.‖ ―What we find influences what we do.‖ To me. allocate trust. (2006). taxonomies. make decisions. and folksonomies are not mutually exclusive.‖ And what I find most interesting: ―Findability is at the center of a fundamental shift in the way we define authority. ―Collective wise decisions‖ closes one of the many loops which were opened in the very first half of the book. Finally the seventh chapter. Book Review: What We Find Changes Who We Become.