Designing the Obvious: A Common Sense Approach to Web Application Design (First Edition)
by
Robert Hoekman Jr. (Goodreads Author)
Designing the Obvious belongs in the toolbox of every person charged with the design and development of Web-based software, from the CEO to the programming team. Designing the Obvious explores the character traits of great Web applications and uses them as guiding principles of application design so the end result of every project instills customer satisfaction and loyalty
...morePaperback, First Edition, 256 pages
Published
October 22nd 2006
by New Riders Press
(first published October 11th 2002)
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Highly recommend this book. It covers a lot of territory, so there was definitely a healthy dose of reminding me of things I already knew, while also continually introducing new concepts. The author writes in an extremely accessible tone, with enough personality and sarcasm to keep it from feeling dry. I kept a highlighter nearby while reading this one, and looking back, I'm pretty sure almost every page is marked up with good, quotable takeaways. If you're deep into UX already, you probably won...more
There have been many experiences over the last year and a half in my job at a user experience/interface design company where I've struggled to voice the logic and reasoning behind design choices and suggestions. A lot of what is logical to me is just that. Logical. I just KNOW it - yet, communicating the WHY and HOW of my why I think what I think has not come easily to me. Which is why I read books, blogs, and articles like this.
This book presents the reasoning behind design decisions and choice...more
This book presents the reasoning behind design decisions and choice...more
It's very good quick read and guidance to create user expereince design. The core things are requirements, reduction, and regularity of what you want to build. It's easy to say but this book explains really well how to do it. As an IA/UXD, chapter 4. Support the User’s Mental Model and chapter 5. Turn Beginners Into Intermediates, Immediately are very useful to have better sense to improve user experience.
Hoekman provides a great framework for approaching design and the continual process of refinement. Considering this text is now 4 years old, Internet years aside, some references remain true. Specifically web form design with inline validation. No matter how sophisticated applications become, data entry will always be essential for business and personal web interfaces. This book is an endless champion for simple intuitive design, creating useful applications that are powerful because their ease...more
Although this book has a few gems in it, it is for the most part exactly what the title suggests, but too much so. Most of the suggestions in the book were either too obvious or they were too specific and categorical. Probably a worthwhile read if you’re in the business of usability but probably not otherwise.
This should have been 3-5 long blog posts, and in style and grammar, it was. The content is good and worthy, but so fluffed to fill pages that I often had to re-read sections to get the essence, then stop reading before the fluff filled my head and pushed out the useful content.
Worth reading, but beware the fluff.
Worth reading, but beware the fluff.
Jan 17, 2010
Amber
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
user interface designers, web developers, designers
Shelves:
authors-i-know
Love this one. I really wish more UI folks would pick it up and implement it into their designs...
Jan 06, 2011
Elizabeth
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
academic-professional,
wishlist
Recommended by UX Magazine:
http://uxmag.com/design/user-experien...
http://uxmag.com/design/user-experien...
Dec 13, 2010
Natascha
is currently reading it
smart book,
lots of good information
lots of good information
Nov 20, 2011
Viirak
added it
<3 it!
The dedication gives you a sense of the book: "This book is dedicated to anyone who has ever used a Web application and resented the experience." I'm working on a Web-based ordering system which needs to be "intuitive" and "intuitive" doesn't happen on its own. So I'm looking for (and finding) inspiration in this book.
Jun 05, 2007
Ping
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Web application designers and devlopers
Shelves:
web-or-software-books
A great book on making your web apps more focused, pleasant for the user, and for lack of another word... more "obvious". Lots of screenshots of good examples of web apps, tons of advice, well-organized, with bits of humor thrown in. It's slim, but it packs a punch. Definitely will be sharing this with my coworkers.
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Robert Hoekman, Jr, is the author of the Amazon bestseller Designing the Obvious (1st and 2nd edition), Designing the Moment, and Web Anatomy (coauthored by Jared Spool). He has also written dozens of articles for web-industry sites including Adobe, A List Apart, Peachpit, and InformIT.
Robert is a passionate and outspoken user experience specialist who has worked with Adobe, MySpace, Dodge, Crafts...more
More about Robert Hoekman Jr....
Robert is a passionate and outspoken user experience specialist who has worked with Adobe, MySpace, Dodge, Crafts...more
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