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5th out of 33 books
—
37 voters
About Face 3: The Essentials of Interaction Design
This completely updated volume presents the effective and practical tools you need to design great desktop applications, Web 2.0 sites, and mobile devices. You'll learn the principles of good product behavior and gain an understanding of Cooper's Goal-Directed Design method, which involves everything from conducting user research to defining your product using personas and...more
Paperback, 610 pages
Published
May 1st 2007
by John Wiley & Sons
(first published 1995)
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About Face is widely considered one of the most important books ever written about Interaction Design: the design of software, websites, mobile apps, or any other digitally-mediated experience.
Alan Cooper pioneered key concepts like designing for intermediates, goal-directed design, and personas which have become cornerstones of this burgeoning profession. In these moments of the book, Cooper is nothing short of genius. He literally helped invent a new field, consequently changing how we all use...more
Alan Cooper pioneered key concepts like designing for intermediates, goal-directed design, and personas which have become cornerstones of this burgeoning profession. In these moments of the book, Cooper is nothing short of genius. He literally helped invent a new field, consequently changing how we all use...more
This is an opinionated "bible" or "end-all be-all" style of book. It covers everything from the methods that you use in research and design to chapters on the specifics of dialogs and menus vs. toolbars. Full disclosure: I tend to prefer books that focus on a particular topic and are shorter.
Alan Cooper professes his opinions unapologetically, but that's to be expected. If you're not familiar with his opinions, start with The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy...more
Alan Cooper professes his opinions unapologetically, but that's to be expected. If you're not familiar with his opinions, start with The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy...more
I am a bit conflicted on this book. On one hand, it is thorough and well composed, giving an overview of almost every common UI widget out there.
On the other hand, it describes UI widgets. And a UI widget does not make a UX, no matter how beautifully it is laid out.
And as someone who has used and suffered through bad UI, I don't think I'm learning anything from tips like "don't overuse dialog boxes." It is pretty obvious why. The detailed breakdown of drag and drop and mouse / keyboard interact...more
On the other hand, it describes UI widgets. And a UI widget does not make a UX, no matter how beautifully it is laid out.
And as someone who has used and suffered through bad UI, I don't think I'm learning anything from tips like "don't overuse dialog boxes." It is pretty obvious why. The detailed breakdown of drag and drop and mouse / keyboard interact...more
Excellent handbook and manual for design professionals. Simple and concise, yet mostly accurate and based on science and experience. Rather simple and does not get bogged down with detail and psychological theory, so it ends up being quite practical.
Richly rewarding and incredibly useful. Other User Experience oriented books may deliver a punchier message in fewer pages but, when it comes to software design, 'About Face' remains the most comprehensive and convincing book I've read.
This is a very good book for anyone who builds websites or wants a deep insight into how to create a visual language. This is a must have for any UX/UI Designer.
A good discussion of how user interfaces should be; but some of the things are just so hard to technically achieve.
Wish it had more screenshots of "bad" and "good".
Wish it had more screenshots of "bad" and "good".
I know the content is supposed to be amazing, but I was so bored with page after page of text and theory so I couldn't finish the book.
Good book, although I don't think you'll succeed in following this process by yourself simply by reading this.
Must-have for interaction designers. Don't read it from a-z, but use it as guide you pick up once in a while.
A book I read for work - User Interface design. Very interesting with a large psychological component to it.
must read for all in the field of Ixd / Usability or UX . Recommended for Developers / Techies, too.
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its a good book you will change your way of thinking in designing a system
It's dated for sure but overall the interaction design bible.
Nice Book but a bit too theoretical at some places....
Good basic text-book on the subject
Essential. I use this every single day of my working life.
Very comprehensive book about the world of interaction design. Wether your new or an veteran this talks about do's, donts and why of interaction design.
Furthermore Cooper also talks about how to approach and describe your user (i.e. Personas) and how to define your user's need and wants in order to translate that to your designs.
Last but certainly not least: the design principles. Throughout the book Cooper notes design principles which are very usefull.
Furthermore Cooper also talks about how to approach and describe your user (i.e. Personas) and how to define your user's need and wants in order to translate that to your designs.
Last but certainly not least: the design principles. Throughout the book Cooper notes design principles which are very usefull.
Alan Cooper’s About Face is one of those pillars of UI/UX design, the reading of which is a rite of passage. I figured few books would be more appropriate as a capstone to my long list of design-oriented reads. It is nearly an institution in and of itself. Last night I turned the final page and ticked a pretty big 560-page book off of my reading list.
Full review at http://livollmers.net/index.php/2008/...
Full review at http://livollmers.net/index.php/2008/...
This book is pretty much the bible of interaction design. Covers project process, Goal-Directed Design, persona development and everything about windows, dialogs, controls, user feedback. Very comprehensive and well-presented. You can probably get away with reading the first third of it and then using the rest for references as needed for when implementing drag-and-drop interactions etc.
Comprehensive. Great reference. I'll be coming back to this one again.
One of the few books I know that explains how to do a UI right instead of spending all its time whining about what is wrong with UIs. Worked with Coopers on a UI and they do excellent work. On page 446/574.
Cooper certainly is one of the quintessential authors on Interaction Design and this is must-read for designers of all walks. It's an interesting read, but just a tad long-winded at times.
Huge, weighty, and quite philisophical book on UX practices. Tough to sink teeth into, but great for keeping on desk for reference.
Alan Cooper really gets it about what makes most software painful to use and how to make it pleasant to use instead.
Finally read it. Wish there was a PDF version so that I can easily take it to work as a reference.
Apr 06, 2008
Bridget
marked it as to-read
Recommended to Bridget by:
Patrick Grizzard
Shelves:
job-related
Patrick recommendations
rec by Jennier Bove
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