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Title:
About Face 2.0: The Essentials of Interaction Design
Review:
At 506 pages of main text, this book is probably a little long for end
users to read simply for interest. As an information worker involved
in websites, evaluating or training on software, it is a useful if
lengthy 'should-read'. For those considering a career in usability
or interaction design this is, fairly obviously, a must-read.
As a user/information worker my first verdict was "I wish half the
programmers who designed the software I use had had to read this".
Cooper has a lively turn of phrase - "lipstick on the pig" for badly
designed software with a prettied-up user interface, "fascist-ware"
for programs which will only accept your input on their terms and,
expressing our typical frustration with programs which are not helping
us: "if a 10 year old child behaved like some software programs, he'd
be sent to his bed without any supper".
As well as the almost evangelical tone - taking up the cause of users
- there is an impressive amount of technical but mostly jargon-free
detail on building robust user-focussed interfaces. The book starts
from a description of the goal-directed design process (modelling
users and their goals, building scenarios) moves to general usability
issues (eliminating excise, making software considerate) to visual
design issues (designing look and feel) to detailed discussion of
interaction fundamentals (mice, controls, dialogs,) but surprisingly
does not question keyboards. He finishes with, for me, the most
thought-provoking sections on communicating with users (errors,
confirmations etc.) and current issues: designing for the web and for
embedded systems (mobiles kiosks etc). One-line "axioms" & "design
tips" flag up the issues which the authors see as most important
throughout the book, and are collated in appendices.
Programmers should probably read this but may well feel that as a
breed they have been unfairly treated with the message that they
cannot represent the interests of users on a design team as their
interests and motivations are focussed elsewhere. Online reactions I
read elsewhere varied from someone who wasn't sure about the author's
attitude to programmers, to an enthusiast who claimed to have read it
in a weekend (what, all of it?). Some in the industry may still find
the focus of this book too Microsoft or Windows focussed.
Between About Face and About Face 2.0 there has been a gap of eight
years, several lifetimes in software terms. It will be interesting to
see, by the time About Face 3.0 comes out, how many of his
recommendations have been taken up by the major vendors as common
practice and how many remain on the campaigning list. I look forward
to reading the next version, whenever it appears. I wouldn't imagine
we will have to wait eight years for it.
FreePint Reviewer:
Veronica Bezear is an Information Officer working for Surrey County Council's Adults and Community Care service. She writes here in a personal capacity.
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