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The Elements of User Experience: User-Centered Design for the Web (Voices (New Riders)
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Smart organizations recognize that Web design is more than just creating clean code and sharp graphics. A site that really works fulfills your strategic objectives while meeting the needs of your users. Even the best content and the most sophisticated technology won't help you balance those goals without a cohesive, consistent user experience to support it.
But creating
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Start your review of The Elements of User Experience: User-Centered Design for the Web (Voices (New Riders)
Somewhere, Nietzsche has a quote (probably directed at Kant) dissing philosophers who, rather than introduce new ideas or vectors of exploration, simply schematize already existing terms. That is, they take a bunch of signifiers and try to ground them in reality or each other.
Jesse James Garrett takes schematization to a new level in The Elements of User Experience: User-Centered Design for the Web, unfortunately. See, the problem with user experience is we haven't defined its constituent terms ...more
Jesse James Garrett takes schematization to a new level in The Elements of User Experience: User-Centered Design for the Web, unfortunately. See, the problem with user experience is we haven't defined its constituent terms ...more
This book essentially dissects the process of website creation, clearly defining every element that goes into planning and implementing a website. This would have provided an invaluable visual map during our last website redesign. Rather than a tangled ball of yarn, I can now see all of the wheels and cogs fit together in a logical manner.
It seems that, of the five planes of the user experience development process (the surface plane, the skeleton plane, the structure plane, the scope plane and ...more
It seems that, of the five planes of the user experience development process (the surface plane, the skeleton plane, the structure plane, the scope plane and ...more
Jul 03, 2013
Asia Hoe
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
User Experience Designers, Business Analysts, Etc.
Recommended to Asia by:
General Assembly
I read this book in preparation for a class at General Assembly on User Experience Design. Excellent resource on User Experience for both designers and everyone they meet in a product's life cycle. The methodologies herein are invaluable and worth revisiting at the start of each project, and at each phase of a project. You won't find specific examples, as the book is more about methodology than application. This is helpful if you're trying to wrap your mind around what UX is, and how to go about
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The diagram that lies at the heart of the book, a layered view of user experience design, is solid. The book itself feels kind of padded, though, and I found myself skimming a lot. You might be better served by simply meditating on the diagram itself ( http://jjg.net/elements/pdf/elements.pdf ), and only referring to the book if you need more explication.
This is a must-read book for anyone involved in web development.
It takes a holistic look at the subject of user experience and provides a very useful vocabulary for all the elements involved in user experience design.
The author provides a model that consists of 5 planes that cover the abstract as well as the concrete aspects of the user experience.
The 5 planes are:
1- Strategy (why you're building the site for you and your users)
2- Scope
3- Structure
4- Skeleton
5- Surface (the visual elements of ...more
It takes a holistic look at the subject of user experience and provides a very useful vocabulary for all the elements involved in user experience design.
The author provides a model that consists of 5 planes that cover the abstract as well as the concrete aspects of the user experience.
The 5 planes are:
1- Strategy (why you're building the site for you and your users)
2- Scope
3- Structure
4- Skeleton
5- Surface (the visual elements of ...more
A basic of UX it didn't impress me as much as others. That websites have layers of meaning, interactivity and can trigger various emotions is something that perhaps more than 10 years after the book was written we now take for granted?
Essential reading, for almost every aspect of website development, including management, will be a book that is kept handy to my desk from now on.
Aug 03, 2008
Kelley
rated it
liked it
Recommends it for:
Web developers and designers who want to understand UX
I just finished Andy Clarke's Transcending CSS and deciding to delve into The Elements of User Experience which I picked up because, skimming, I realized it was giving me names for what most of us are already doing.
So far, it's concise and Garrett does a nice job of making sure that a web developer doesn't leave a reading of the book with impression that user-centered design isn't connected to a much bigger discipline, human factors design. Garrett hasn't used that word -- or Computer Human ...more
So far, it's concise and Garrett does a nice job of making sure that a web developer doesn't leave a reading of the book with impression that user-centered design isn't connected to a much bigger discipline, human factors design. Garrett hasn't used that word -- or Computer Human ...more
This book defines each phrase of user-centered designs well.
Strategy(user needs, site objectives),
Scope(functional spedifications, content requirements),
Structure(interaction design, information architecture),
Skeleton(information design), and
Surface(visual design)
Strategy(user needs, site objectives),
Scope(functional spedifications, content requirements),
Structure(interaction design, information architecture),
Skeleton(information design), and
Surface(visual design)
Jesse James Garrett exposes in a very clear way the essence of user experience for the web. He breaks down the ux for the web into five different planes going deep into the vocabulary and strategy for designing better experiences for our digital world.
Absolutely essential reading if this is an area of professional or personal interest.
I try and reread this book once a year as a kind of grounding and to re-establish the key processes and steps involved in considered and effective UX design.
I try and reread this book once a year as a kind of grounding and to re-establish the key processes and steps involved in considered and effective UX design.
It's good for beginners
If you could marry a professional book, this would be at the top of my list.
In reality, I have probably read this book through at least 3 time using it as a guide and source through my UX practice, and never sitting down and just reading it from cover to cover in one sitting. I can imagine that that would be pretty boring. These types of books are hard to rate, given that in as little as a few months they could be rendered obsolete, and a new edition will come out within a year with how quickly things change. But, pretty sure this s the most up-to-date one since it’s
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What it's about: Using design as a way to achieve business goals + user goals, including an important framework ("5 Planes") for thinking about user experience.
Why Read It: A foundational way to think about design strategy, helpful for approaching new projects
When to Read it: This is one of those reads that makes you step back and reevaluate your work, and the way you work.
Reading this book gives you depth. While most people spend time arguing about how UX is not UI (which is true), you see ...more
Why Read It: A foundational way to think about design strategy, helpful for approaching new projects
When to Read it: This is one of those reads that makes you step back and reevaluate your work, and the way you work.
Reading this book gives you depth. While most people spend time arguing about how UX is not UI (which is true), you see ...more
One of the classics and a must have for any designer working in UI / UX professions.
What makes this book so great is its timeless quality - Strategy, Scope, Structure, Skeleton, Skin is easy to remember and applies to software 20 years ago and will apply to software / experiences 20 years from now - Who the heck knows what we will be designing? Immersive mixed reality co-creative experiences? The same general approach applies.
While this is not a definitive source of information like some ...more
What makes this book so great is its timeless quality - Strategy, Scope, Structure, Skeleton, Skin is easy to remember and applies to software 20 years ago and will apply to software / experiences 20 years from now - Who the heck knows what we will be designing? Immersive mixed reality co-creative experiences? The same general approach applies.
While this is not a definitive source of information like some ...more
I like how the author breaks down the complex field of UX design into a series of individual elements, separated into five different "planes". The five planes are Strategy, Scope, Structure, Skeleton and Surface, stacked on top of one another to illustrate how a UX project is structured. Each plane build upon the decisions made on the underlying plane(s), while also informing the options on the plane(s) above.
Especially the first version of the book focuses on UX of websites, but I think most of ...more
Especially the first version of the book focuses on UX of websites, but I think most of ...more
I likely would have rated this book higher had I read it years ago. The content is solid but dry. It reminded me way too much of sitting in core university classes. Garrett's diagram is a great place to start understanding the fundamentals of UX for web. I believe that is all this book intended to be, so I won't criticize it for lacking more practical and interesting concepts. I would certainly recommend it to someone just starting out in UX, but I wouldn't bother with a recommendation to
...more
An essential guide to understanding the general concept of UX on different levels. The author argued there are five elements of any design - strategy, scope, structure, skeleton, and surface, and two types of digital products - product as functionality and product as information. In his book, the author studied each element/layer from both perspectives of web applications and content websites which made this book extremely useful. Especially, I liked the visual component of presenting his
...more
Excellent primer that covers the end to end process of UX design. Short enough to be absorbed quickly, this book is packed with great nuggets and sensible terminology. Not pretentious. Basically it comes down to understanding what the problem is, and the consequences of the solution you are proposing. Broken up as elements, this acknowledges overlap between the stages of a project, and doesn't feel prescriptive. Deserves its place as a must read. Much of this won't be new to you if you work in
...more
An absolutely incredible book for beginner to intermediate user experience designers. If you want to know what the heck UX is, this book is for you. It mostly focuses on web design, but I prefer that side of UX so I was really pleased. Even the book had a great user experience: great pictures, color coded chapters, small text in a big page so you feel like you're reading faster, bolded key information. My only complaint is that some of the graphic design examples are outdated. Garrett walks
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Recommended to anyone learning about User Experience or has to sell it as part of their job.
This book does a good job explaining the fundamental aspects of user experience, defining all the various, seemingly interchangeable terms, and shows how they are all related. It is not an "actionable" book, meaning you can't read it and go redo the UX of a website. It doesn't have the principle/example format of other books such as "Don't Make Me Think". I don't see it as a stand-alone book but, rather, ...more
This book does a good job explaining the fundamental aspects of user experience, defining all the various, seemingly interchangeable terms, and shows how they are all related. It is not an "actionable" book, meaning you can't read it and go redo the UX of a website. It doesn't have the principle/example format of other books such as "Don't Make Me Think". I don't see it as a stand-alone book but, rather, ...more
Lacks concrete examples for actual interaction design beat practices
I think that the this is a good book, but it kinda falls short ehen it comes to concrete examples of planning interaction.
As far as I understood, the author suggest using the framework described in the book for managing software solutions as a whole. The framework itself is not bad, but the scope, strategy and stru ture planes kinda try to steal away the glory from the good old fashioned software requirement specification ...more
I think that the this is a good book, but it kinda falls short ehen it comes to concrete examples of planning interaction.
As far as I understood, the author suggest using the framework described in the book for managing software solutions as a whole. The framework itself is not bad, but the scope, strategy and stru ture planes kinda try to steal away the glory from the good old fashioned software requirement specification ...more
For years, this book serves as the foundation for the UX career path. Even when you learn all the processes and skills that make up UX Design, this book maintains itself as a worthwhile reference. There are many crucial pieces of advice in this book, regardless if you're
Crucial foundation for those developing a product. Especially if you're in the field of UX Design. Great to keep to referencing structure ideas for project planning.
Crucial foundation for those developing a product. Especially if you're in the field of UX Design. Great to keep to referencing structure ideas for project planning.
I’d like to revisit this book sometime, when I’m able to give it some day-time level attention and note-taking. Most of the ideas presented in here were ones I’d encountered before, usually divorced from this (original?) context. (It was published in 2011, after all.) that said, his “five elements” framework feels like an excellent foundation to work from, and I’ve already tried to apply it to my work.
Enjoyed this more than I expected. The author includes enough simple examples to make it a great introductory text, as well as plenty of theory to provide reference in the future. I used some of his points as starting places for further research, both online and internal to my organization, and I'm excited to see where that research will take me. For a newbie to UX, this book was well worth reading!
This book is one of the best a beginner can read and I would even recommend it to project/product managers or anyone who doesn't yet see the value of design. A very light read with notions easy to comprehend.
I believe it will get outdated soon since the process and the way people are thinking about design is changing fast, but it should be good for another 2-3 years.
I believe it will get outdated soon since the process and the way people are thinking about design is changing fast, but it should be good for another 2-3 years.
This is a really outdated UX book. Some basic concepts are still valid, but most a very basic and others rely too much on ye olde days waterfall system of design. I guess there's still some value, if this is a first design book you'll ever read.
Good summary of modern design thinking
Short, quick read. Good ideas and structure. Nothing dramatically new, but a good distillation and consolidation of modern design think. Not a how-to guide.
Short, quick read. Good ideas and structure. Nothing dramatically new, but a good distillation and consolidation of modern design think. Not a how-to guide.
The conceptual model of the five elements is useful to understand how the different disciplines and tools for delivering user experiences fit together, but that was really summed up in a single diagram. Otherwise, it didn’t really bring anything new to the table, and in fact seems quite dated now.
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Jesse James Garrett is a user experience designer as well as a co-founder of Adaptive Path, a user experience strategy and design firm, and of the Information Architecture Institute. His essays have appeared in New Architect, Boxes and Arrows, and Digital Web Magazine. Jesse attended the University of Florida.
Garrett authored The Elements of User Experience, a conceptual model of user-centered ...more
Garrett authored The Elements of User Experience, a conceptual model of user-centered ...more
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“Presenting a style on your Web site that’s inconsistent with your style in other media doesn’t just affect the audience’s impression of that product; it affects their impression of your company as a whole. People respond positively to companies with clearly defined identities. Inconsistent visual styles undermine the clarity of your corporate image and leave the audience with the impression that this is a company that hasn’t quite figured out who it is.”
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