Microsoft Silverlight Books

A very disappointing read

This book might help a beginner, but I mean REALLY, anyone who uses web applications on a regular basis and pays attention to the details, already knows this stuff. There are many other books that do a much better job at explaining the fine details and standards of interface design. My other problem with this book, is that it reads like a boring text book. I had to fight to keep from falling asleep! Unlike, "Information Architecture for the world wide web", a GREAT book from O'reilly that presents real world design problems & solutions, "Designing Interfaces" seemed like it was written by a non-designer, or "text book" designer, with very little "real world" experience in visual user interface design. At the end of the day, the most important information to be gained from instructional design books is the shared experience of the designer that wrote it. This is far more helpful than a book of design patterns.

Two thumbs down :-(



jpvisual
29 June, 2010

Kindle Version Layout Is Terrible

I bought the Kindle version of this book for the 'Kindle for PC' software, and while the content is probably good, the layout in this format is a nightmare. The sections are not obviously separated and it looks like one big run on sentence. Very disappointed given the price of even the Kindle version.

In fact, if most books look like this on the Kindle, I won't be getting one.

D. Rech
20 February, 2010

Not a very usefull book

Based on the Recommendation on Amazon I bought 3 copies of this book for my software development team.
We study various books and do weekly presentations as part of our process.
This book was beyond dissapointing.
Anyone who has used software or been involved in software dev for more than a year will already know 98% of this.

very dissapointing.

Brett

A. B. Powell
09 January, 2010

Does What It Was Written To Do

I had to get this book for one of my classes and I will admit it is not a book for experts in the field of "Designing Interfaces", but it's great for beginners and good for anyone less than an expert but more than a beginner.

Tidwell brings design patterns you see daily on the web and in programs like Microsoft Word to your attention and then gives them a name, tells you how to use it, when to use it, and why to and not to use it.

I liked the organization of the information, and although the font is a little tough to read with the san serif font used but it's not a big enough problem to keep me from reading it.

I feel that in the end the book gave what her description promised, It's gonna go next to Steve Kuges book "Don't Make Me Think" and Tuftes book "Visual Explinations" on my book shelf.

Ardit Veliu
03 November, 2009

This book is great for anyone designing any type of interface

Jenifer Tidwell, an interaction designer and software developer for The Mathworks, makes it easy for people from all different designing backgrounds (beginner to expert) to learn how to design an effective and "good" interface in her book "Designing Interfaces." Her book is presented in two parts; the first section is a broad look at all types of interfaces:

1. What Users Do
2. Organizing the Content
3. Getting Around
4. Organizing the Page
5. Doing Things

The second half of the book deals with more specific idioms. This section includes chapters on:

6. Showing Complex Data
7. Getting Input from Users
8. Builders and Editors
9. Making It Look Good

In every chapter, Tidwell helps the reader plan out and develop their interface by starting off with a brief introduction of the topic, and then going into lots of "patterns" (tool) that correspond with the topic. With each pattern, she describes what it is, when to use it, why it is important and how to use it. She then follows these up with many real world examples.

I found the structure of this book very beneficial. In each chapter, I could expect to learn the basics behind a topic (like what goes into organizing a website's content) and then learn the "patterns" on how to apply what I just learned about to the real world (and more specifically my interface). Also, the book has many text and picture examples of each "pattern." I happen to be a very visual learner, and found that the pictures helped me with any confusion I may have had understanding what the author was talking about.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the last chapter "Making It Look Good." As a person who loves designing ads, I found this chapter a very useful guide on how to approach making an interface (a website in my case) visually appealing and unique. The multiple examples on how one site can look completely different was a great addition.

That being said, the book does have a few disappointing aspects. While the author does a good job of covering many aspects of interface design, it is not possible to get into much depth with every topic. The author does a good job at addressing this issue by telling the reader that there are plenty of other books that go into great detail for the different topics. I also feel that some of the topics are very basic, even for a beginner like myself. This might make more expert designers irritated, or felt down-talked to. But the beauty of it being in a book is that the reader can skip over the parts that they already know.

All in all, I give this book 5/5 stars. It is interesting, to the point, well written, and a great book for designers of all skill levels. If you are designing an interface, I would recommend buying this book to have as a tool by your desk.

J. Robinson
27 September, 2009

Great foundation on interface design

This is the second book I have bought about interface design and it is the best one to date. I really like how the book breaks down the sections by devices and subject matter. It covers interfaces from desktops, mobile devices, to the internet. One area it did not talk about was console interfaces(like the Xbox360 or Wii). If you want to learn anything about how people manipulate game software, this book is not for you. That is where I give it 4 stars.

Much of interface design is about common trends and assumptions people have when they get on a device and need to manipulate it. This book really outlines those "mental models" and explains them with diagrams and pictures. Being in web design, I know that the mobile world is really taking off, so using design patterns from mobile devices and meshing them with web design is where design trends are going. Rules and habits are different on various devices, and this book really illuminates those areas if you haven't had much experience with software development or mobile usability testing.

Bottom Line: Great foundation book to have a better understanding of how to design for different devices.


Scott L. Petrovic
30 June, 2009

practically useless

This book may be helpful to people who have never used a computer before, but there's really very little new information here.

Anyone using the web or just about any software has seen the basic UI elements discussed in the book and should be familiar enough with them to know how they work.

The most irritating element of the book -- apart from the lack of useful information -- is the constant referring of sections later in the book. All too often one section will mention a method or a device that isn't described until a later chapter, making it very difficult to follow.

Overall: just bad.

Kevin Frey
21 May, 2009

Required for anyone involved in UI design

Designing Interfaces is worth its weight in gold. The detail and thought that went into this book is outstanding. You'll learn the patterns, when to use them, when not to, and most importantly, why. You'll learn how to think about each interface element and why it either works for a given situation or not. This is a skill anybody involved in interface design would appreciate and should know how to do.

J. Constant
10 April, 2009

A good reference and an easy read

The book contained a lot of valuable information, especially for someone new to interface design or digital design in general. If you've ever taken a design class or a programming class, you've probably covered most of what is in this book. Anything that you haven't officially covered will seem intuitive because you've been using software that follows these principles for many years. Not revolutionary, but the book is definitely a good reference to have on your shelf if you work with design, software, or some combination of the two.

Michael Martin
27 March, 2009

A dictionary for designers

This book takes the form of a long list of design elements (e.g. trees and cascading lists), with examples and suggestions on when you should use them. And that's all. It might be useful as a reference for communicating ideas to members of a team, if you don't have the vocabulary for all of the elements described in this book, but don't expect to find inspiration or excitement in these pages.

Trevor Burnham
13 March, 2009

Visual examples for designing for Information Interchange

This book is by far the best book that does for the User Interface world of computing what Edward R. Tufte's series of books does for the writer's of technical reports and their needs to present and represent many varied types of data and data interaction. Need to show the effects of miles marched, time required to cover terrain, and temperature on Napoleon's armies march on Moscow and show the number of troops he has left alive at every point along the journey? Tufte shows how the French engineer Charles Minard did so. "Designing Interfaces" does exactly the same thing by showing how various UI pioneers have done the same for the Man-Machine interface. Want to see which issues are getting the most reporting in Google News and how fast or slow those issues are fading from the landscape? Check out the marumishi "Treemap" described on page 205 of Designing Interfaces. Highly recommended.

Robert L. Marshall
26 September, 2008

Should read if ,,,

Nutshell review - If you design interfaces for any software project you should read this book. It covers all the bases, is extensive, comprehensive, well written and easy to use as a resource or refresher in interface design techniques.

Jos Pols
20 August, 2008

A staple for your design library

Designing Interfaces catalogs UI design patterns in use and provides guidance in using them, with plenty of examples. It takes a consistent approach to describing each pattern: What it is, when to use it, why to use it and how to use it. The book is both a good overview and a reference. If UI design is an area of interest to you, then read through this book and then keep it available as a reference.

2Sense
10 July, 2008

Great interface component reference

For many years now, I have been coding web sites and applications. Through all that time, nothing has ever been as tough for me as coming up with a design that I am truly happy with. Attempting to create an optimized and stable algorithm or coming up with the answer to a problem that requires non-conventional coding practices; these are always challenges, but ones that are most often eventually solved. Creating that mythical eye catching never-been-done-before layout is something that I have attempted and, sadly to say, usually fell short on. I suppose you'd consider this a case of a programmer wanting an application to not look like a programmer designed it. This was my reason for picking up the Designing Interfaces book.

The first chapter talks about how users think. However, as I finished the chapter introduction, I realized that the author and I are definitely coming from two very different places. In my experience, I get very little hands-on with the user base, or the client that the application is being built for. Even if I do talk to the client directly, instead of going through the levels of proper channels, they usually have a set design in mind, limiting my choices. That's not to say, however, that a good designer couldn't be creative given these design constraints. On the other hand, the author mentions that building a user profile is something that eats up a lot of time though it is always worth it, and while I agree whole-heartedly, sometimes a deadline approaches too quickly or it's just not in the budget to give this the time it truly needs. Past this quibble and reading on, the patterns of human behavior in the first chapter give an almost checklist of things to keep in mind when designing, and even though you read and probably think, "common sense", it is very helpful to have in one place.

As the chapters passed one by one, I found the same patterns in my reading emerge. Read the introduction to the chapters the first time you pick up the book to get an idea behind why that particular chapter is important, or, at the very least, for posterity. After that, just skip to the section in each chapter marked as "Patterns" when you need them. These patterns are where the book really shines. Each of these patterns are laid out in a similar way letting you quickly see what it is, when you would use it, why it is used (as in why it is beneficial to your user), how you create the pattern, and then some examples of its use. Considering that there are nine chapters, each with about ten different patterns, this book contains a wealth of information.

I was originally hoping for more of a design lesson; color theory, placement with a hint of golden ratios, maybe a small college art class packed into 331 pages. Though I did not get much of that, at least until the last chapter or two, I definitely found an excellent reference to keep by my side. For example, if I'm building a layout, I'll open the book right up to chapter 4 to see what the common options are; for showing hierarchical data, I'm opening up to chapter 6 to see when and for what reason I might want to go with a tree map over a normal tree. I couldn't recommend it more to someone wanting a helpful component pocket guide of sorts for interfaces, but if you are looking for theory, I'd go with something more geared in that direction.

Caleb Winslow
13 June, 2008

More Practical Concepts, Less Psychology

While I don't own a physical copy of this book, I had used an electronic form of it in the course of my studies.

I will first forewarn those who are interested in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) that this text does not heavily focus on the science of Psychological principles such as Gestalt Perception, nor does it concern itself with techniques/methodologies such as Threading and Model-View-Controller (MVC) to improve the performance of programs. The focus of this text falls strictly on the layout and/or graphical design in regards to interfaces and web pages.

As well, each principle has certain uses depending on the medium used, which the text does a good job of elaborating (for example, cell phone programs would not be designed the same as a full Windows Application).

A word to the wise though: Requirements must come before Design. There are certain design principles outlined in this text that cannot be realized if the very requirements of the program do not allow for it - For example, Microsoft Office 2007 has in many ways disregarded the principle of habituation/familiarity (as it looks much different from typical Windows Applications in general). One will still need the skill of compromise in order to apply the information presented here effectively in the real world.

J. Patterson
11 April, 2008

Intelligent and Invaluable

Jenifer Tidwell's pattern based approach is amazingly good! She carefully organizes and enumerates a wide variety of effective user interface options for both small screen (ie: Blackberry, cell phones) and larger screen forms. I am not an expert in UI design by any means (I have read Donald Norman, Tagnazzini, Shneiderman and Mayhew but I have no background in graphic design), but I do project reviews and this book has given me some insight into problems and potential fixes in a few areas. I was also able to pick up on a couple of "hidden" features in some of the software tools that I do use and to label and critique several "features" that weren't working well.

The style is easy to read. Tidwell explains, illustrates and covers the merits of each user interface. The research is solid. For example she notes that the Fisheye menu, while slightly favored by programmers and experienced users is considered confusing by and less effective for casual users and recommends a hierarchical approach.

I recommend this book for corporate libraries and as a reference for individuals and groups working on what might become overly complicated design.

L. King
06 April, 2008

nice and comprehensive writing

the book covers all the major issues of its title.
it does not however gives you solutions for unique cases - those you have to think of by yourself. very "to the point" writing.
a bit puzzling the choice to write some of the examples as if the general user is a woman.
all in all , a much recommended title.

Yair Katz
28 March, 2008

Good but not user-friendly

This book does to UI design what the well-known "Design Patterns" did for software design. Many readers, specially those experienced in graphical and UI design will find much of the content familiar, when not trivial, but the purpose of a "pattern language" book is not to break new ground but to formalize and explain a well known language.

The book is beautifully laid out and illustrated. The amount of theory preceding each group of patterns seems right on the mark.

¿Why the low star rating?

The book's binding broke before I finished reading it, something that's completely not user-friendly. If you're not in a hurry I'd wait for a second edition that fixes the problem.



Juancarlo Anez
15 June, 2007

A good reference and prefab pattern library.

I found this a bit shallow as a read-through textbook or handbook, but it should make a very useful reference and may serve well as a prefab pattern library. I think it will serve best for those working on web sites and web apps, though it also covers desktop apps.

Weston Thompson
29 April, 2007

Designing Interfaces

Designing Interfaces is a great book to get you started on the subject, wether you are a designer or a developer, this books will show you how important is to *design* you application.

Concepts are presented as design patterns and they are intended to help you resovle real world problems, some knowledge of UI design is recommended but every patten is described and explained very well, the use of the "Use When", "Why" and "How To" sections will give you al the information you need to know to make a decision on the use of any specific solution.

From web forms to destop application, this books will show you the right way to make the user's interaction experience as simple and intuitive as possible.

Marcos Sader
24 April, 2007

Jump-started my problem-solving process

Having already read through the first few chapters, today I sat down with an explicit need: to solve a problem that involved searching and filtering a large set of data. This book came through for me. Yes, some of it appears obvious when you first read through, but once you have a specific problem to address, its true utility emerges. I opened to the Showing Complex Data chapter, and as I read through, ideas began to form. Some came directly from the book, others were inspired by or related to what I was reading. I took notes, and those notes helped me develop the questions about the data and the users I need to answer in order to continue.

When you're faced with a design challenge, and you're a bit stymied as to how to proceed, this book will help move the solution forward. Even if you think you have a solution, this book can help you make it fresh and creative.

sonya34
20 March, 2007

Usefull, Concise - Great

This is a really usefull book. It's also simply interesting to read.

A. Hackmon
24 February, 2007

Good Primer, Great Resource

A fantastic how-to and reference for interface design. Well stocked with images and illustrations. The layout is beautiful and functional. It's incredibly easy to quickly find what you need in here.

Designing Interfaces is a good primer, but it's also a great reference. Shoot through the book for a quick understanding of how different interfaces work and what their design patterns are. Then keep it handy when interface discussions come up.

I've already recommended it to four people who've already purchased it and a few more are on the way.

Very highly recommended.

James Benson
15 February, 2007

A great way of looking at complex issues

There's much to enjoy about Designing Interfaces; the presentation, the clear writing, the organization of the design patterns. Strangely enough, I found it a little difficult to get into, but the specific design patterns are very valuable. Half the time it's was just to confirm long held beliefs about UI design, other times there was some wonderful insights.

There is now no longer a good reason to re-invent the UI wheel every time.

kl
10 January, 2007

Great Book

Excellent resource in the various theories and ideas in Interface Design. While I tried reading it front to back, I found it much more useful to simply refer to the chapters I was interested in. Thus, I feel it is more of a reference book than a read-it-all-the-way-through book.

C. Schofield
09 January, 2007

a must read

this book is an absolute must for any designer studying human factors and wanting to know more about designing usable interfaces. it's a very easy read and gives plenty of examples to help you fully understand everything being discussed. well worth the investment for anyone from web designers to software designers. two thumbs up.

J. Radwan
11 November, 2006

A Novice Reviews

This book takes an admirable stab at removing the arbitrariness in building an interface from scratch. Tidwell lucidly examines common gestalt design principles and their ramifications in actual designs of web pages, mobile devices and other graphical interface technologies. Proximity, for example, can mean the difference between intuitively linking items in an interface or intuitively creating a distinction between them. Other reviewers bash her for pointing out the obvious, but it is the cataloging, enumerating, condensing of the obvious (sprinkled with the insights of a professional) which makes this book helpful to anyone daunted by the task of making an app that is the Gmail to the quotidian, more-awful-to-use-by-the-second Hotmail.

Danny Armstrong
10 November, 2006

Not just for designers...

I arrived at "Designing Interfaces" with a hunger for detail and references as we head deep into revising the interface of a whole section of a web site I am in charge of. And the timing couldn't have been better. Jenifer (with one "n") Tidwell is right on the money when it comes to offering a broad range of options to address just about any interface design need you may run into. Her experience working with Matlab's Mathworks didn't limit her to offering advice for client software interface design.

Tidwell goes well beyond it, delving into web design and mobile interface waters, which she swims with equal comfort and efficiency. As a matter of fact, at times the presentation of samples from alternate media/platforms (client software or mobile) pulls those of us who are more comfortable within web application development out of our comfort zone, presenting us with innovative ways to solve old problems.

All in all, this becomes a must reference for anyone needing to learn or polish skills in software interface design for any medium. And this is not limited to designers: I am an Application Development Manager and I learned a lot from "Designing Interfaces" too.

Manny Hernandez
09 November, 2006

If you like baby food - this is for you

Good treatice on stating the obvious but light on meaningful detail and depth into particulars.

D. Karns
28 October, 2006

collection of interface design patterns

this is not a "how to design interfaces" book - more of a "here is what has worked in the past when people designed interfaces". it's great for inspiration, as its examples range across web apps, desktop apps, mobile devices and others.

Nathanael Clinton
30 August, 2006

Clearly written, thoughtful content

I enjoyed this book for two reasons:
1. It is nicely structured - whether you read it from beginning to end, or dip into it, it is understandable even if you're not a trained designer (I'm not)
2. It is not tied to a particular technology or interface - Tidewell (rightly) concentrates on desigining for human behaviour rather than for specific devices. So it should (mostly) remain relevant to designers for several years.

Previous reviewers have commented that the design of the book itself left a lot to be desired. However, with one exception (see below) I did not notice anything about the book's design that interfered with my reading experience.

One small quibble. The references are presented in a very inefficient way. The citations in the text are not comprehensive enough for the reader to remember whether or not they have looked at the reference before, and the list of references at the end of the book is highly repetitive: references are listed under chapter headings, so if a reference is cited in three chapters, it is listed three times. This makes me cynically wonder whether the publishers wanted to give the impression of a much longer reference list than was actually cited. I would have much prefered a more scientific approach: cite the reference in the text not only with the title but with the author(s) and year, and list the references at the end in alphabetical order of first author's surname (optionally, each reference could be followed by a list of chapters). As it is, it's difficult to remember if a reference has already been cited, and to look a reference up. A minor detraction in credibility from what is otherwise an authoritative and clear book.

antenna
11 August, 2006

I learned virtually nothing.

There is little (if any) content in here that an intermediate or senior level designer could use. Most of what is in this book is obvious (and if it's not maybe this shouldn't be your line of work). It was a painful read because most of the time I felt like I was wasting my time. I was (I kid you not) already more than halfway through the book when she started talking about using alternating colors to visually distinguish rows of data. Ya, duh? And she is verbose about the most obvious of things, to the point where it's almost hard to read because you think maybe you're missing something, and so you get someone else to read it too and they go, "Huh, didn't she just say the exact same thing in the last sentence but just with different words?" Yes, she did. It's irksome. It's irritating. It's annoying. (See what I mean?) This is a hot dog of a book - all filler.

This might be a good book for a novice, but I wouldn't recommend it for someone who is well into the industry, as you will probably just wish you could get that time back.

The only good thing about it is that you will learn the vocabulary of the industry. It's like a fluffed up data dictionary, that's all. I don't recommend it unless you have time to waste. It's nicely designed though.

retrostar76
03 August, 2006

Interfaces need Design

I've always been analytical about user interfaces, and human interfaces in general. Donald Norman's book "The Design of Everyday Things" is an excellent read for how the things we operate with on a daily basis have unintuitive ways of operation.

This book, "Designing Interfaces", shows the pitfalls of navigation and user interaction on the computer environment. One of the major computer magazines (I believe it was PC World) used to have a regular section on renovating a user interface to make it more understandable. This book seems to be the logical follow-up to the ideas there.

One caveat: the printing process used for this book was shoddy, with color diagrams printed with offsets that make them look blurry on the page. The content is valuable, but the way it's illustrated in the book sometimes makes it difficult to understand because of this.

Antonio A. Rodriguez
26 June, 2006

WEB DESIGN IS DIFFERENT FROM BOOK DESIGN

Jenifer Tidwell's book is excellent, both for its organization and information content. It is indeed unfortunate that the book's designers had so little experience designing books.
From a design viewpoint, their visual structure is well done. However, the choice of an expanded sans serif type, coupled with a 6.5 inch line length makes for poor, difficult readability. The readability standard for line length is 1 1/2 to 2 lengths of the chosen alphabet. In addition, although the book's paper has a matt gloss finish, it is still reflective under a reading lamp, adding to the lack of ease in reading.

I find it interesting that a book that dwells so well on aspects of the various patterns that can be used for good web sites ranks so poorly in the text that describes it. As far back as the 1950's, people like Miles Tinker researched and wrote extensively on what today might be called "patterns for print readability." To find it so ignored in this otherwise excellent text makes me rank it far lower on the scale than it otherwise deserves.

Other books that O'Reilly has published such as Information Architecture for the World Wide Web use an easy to read serif type, and a paper stock that is non-relective under a desk lamp. For a less flashy design, but one that is much more reader-friendly regarding ease of reading the content, look at The Design of Sites, published by Addison Wesley.

Print is still around, and although it is not as compelling an area for new book design as the Web is, good readable design for print still matters.

B. T. Glenn
19 June, 2006

Tips on everything from navigation and forms to using graphic editors and structuring for actions

Jenifer Tidwell's Designing Interfaces: Patterns For Effective Interaction Design tells how to design a range of interactive software applications for the web and other services, showing software engineers how to understand the patterns common to design solutions. Here are tips on everything from navigation and forms to using graphic editors and structuring for actions. Color screen shots, graphs and tables pack pages which demonstrate the how, when and why of interface design.

Midwest Book Review
05 June, 2006

Please read this if you program user interfaces

It is hard to write a review on a book that has a title that explains the subject well and the book does an excellent job with the subject without straying off course. That is the problem with this one. The book is entirely on the subject of software interfaces for the user. As such it addresses some of the most frustrating problems a user faces - poor design, unclear layout, lack of intuitiveness, and sometimes just a bother to use. The author examines various interfaces and by clearly examining the purpose of the software shows when and how to display information in an understandable and user-friendly format. Areas discussed include when to use lists, tables, graphs, drilldowns, alternative views, using wizards, entry points, navigation models, sequences, breadcrumbs, page layout, using panels, undo, informational graphics, user forms and controls, and aesthetics. As a user frustrated with many software packages and poorly designed interfaces, Designing Interfaces should be read by everyone working with trying to create a user-friendly product.

Harold McFarland
31 May, 2006

Badly printed

Don't know where the book has been printed, but I think that a book about design, with a lot of images used as reference, should avoid such errors like wrong offsets and dotted prints, making images sometimes unreadeable.

C. Rastelli
22 May, 2006

VERY VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

Do you design user interfaces in any capacity? If you do, then this book is for you! Author Jenifer Tidwell, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that will help you design attractive, easy-to-use interfaces.

Tidwell, begins by discussing common behavior and usage patterns supported well by good interfaces. Then, the author discusses information architecture as it applies to highly interactive interfaces. She continues by discussing navigation. Next, the author describes patterns for the layout and placement of page elements. Then she describes how to present actions and commands. She also discusses the cognitive aspects of data presentation, and how to use them to communicate knowledge and meaning. Then, she deals with forms and controls. The author continues by discussing techniques and patterns often used in WYSIWYG graphic editors and text editors. Finally, the author deals with aesthetics and fit-and-finish.

This most excellent book will be a valuable resource for software developers, interaction designers, graphic designers, and everyone who creates software. Furthermore, you should use this dynamic book when you're looking for solutions!


John R. Vacca
20 May, 2006

A must read for anyone involved in UI design

We all know the difference between an application user interface that meets the requirements and a UI that actually feels good to use. I think all of us who design applications aspire to design great user interfaces but often, for various reasons, end up focusing on the hard requirements and cut short the time we spend on really optimizing our UIs. Just like the classic Design Patterns changed the fundamental way software developers talk about code, Designing Interfaces : Patterns for Effective Interaction Design can change the way we talk about the UIs we design. This book categorizes commonly seen UI concepts as a set of patterns. Each pattern is given a name and explored in detail. The book is broken up into nine chapters covering more than 80 different patterns.

Table of Contents:
1 - What Users Do
2 - Organizing the Content: Information Architecture and Application Structure
3 - Getting Around: Navigation, Signposts, and Wayfinding
4 - Organizing the Page: Layout of Page Elements
5 - Doing Thing: Actions and Commands
6 - Showing Complex Data: Trees, Tables, and Other Information Graphics
7 - Getting Input from Users: Forms and Controls
8 - Builders and Editors
9 - Making it Look Good: Visual Style and Aesthetics

The book is well organized. It's a good read front to back but it's also easy to find a particular topic if you need some help as you're working on a UI. Each pattern in the book is presented with a description and a discussion of when, how, and why you might want to use it. The book is beautifully printed in full color and includes tons of screenshot examples of each pattern. If you're interested in improving the user interfaces in the applications you design, take a look at this book. Head over to oreilly.com and check out the sample chapter. Highly Recommended!

Jim Anderton
16 May, 2006

This book has all that's required to become a classic in the field

This book has all that's required to become a classic in the field. First of all, the content wasn't quickly put together; instead it has been distilled and refined along many years of hard work. Then, due to the generic nature of the topic, this is going to be a valuable reading for many years to come, definitely something that isn't going to become outdated very soon.
The only negative comment I could find is that it's not really an engaging read, especially if you read the whole in a linear way, but that something that, more or less, apply to every pattern catalogue. In the end the format lend itself better if used as a reference.

Foti Massimo
24 April, 2006

All You Wanted To Know About User Interfaces (But Were Afraid To Ask)

'Designing Interfaces' by Jenifer Tidwell is a gorgeous look at all the different types of UI choices available to developers, the pros and cons of using one choice over another, and the goals one hopes to achieve by putting in place one UI solution over another.

Focusing on patterns, this wonderfully laid out and well-written text gives solid input from UI veteran, providing her wisdom and expertise in every section. If you do UI work at your job or just want to learn more about the different UI choices that are out there, this is a great book to pick up. If you have an existing application that users are not happy with, and you want to learn more about what can be done to improve things next time you get the opportunity to go back and update the interface, this is recommended reading before you begin the massive amounts of work that no doubt are staring you in the face.

***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Daniel McKinnon
18 April, 2006

Imparts the language to voice sound design

Knowing what is possible with technology is one of the advantages software professionals. Some of this insight comes from being connected to the larger technology community. Of course, the rest is about the experience of producing the solution.

The price of this deep insight may have trade-offs in effective disclosure of ideas. This book's potential is in providing a vocabulary for properly expressing the interactive opportunities possible in technology. It also provides a way to structure ideas that help improve a prototype, a product in development, or an existing solution to a more useable form. Reading this book will provide you with insights in human factors and design that don't harbor solely on aesthetics.

Michael Gautier
13 March, 2006

Something for your creative toolbox

Interfaces. Everything has one. Even this website, or journal you are reading.

This book will appeal to designers of websites and to software designers. Today software may run on the web, desktop, handheld or phone. With so many different ways to deliver information and content, its a daunting thing to deal with the differing nuances of each interface - an interface determined by the device.

This book is very up todate, but probably will requrie a new edition by this time next year as next generation phones hit the North American market in full stride.

The strong message in this book is the need for simplicity. Too often a product gets overdesigned. Usually by a product manager. They should be forced fed this book, though that might make them think they are designers, so not a good idea maybe.

Each chapter is divided into two parts.
First is the subject experience such as layout. This section is followed up by a great Patterns showcase of new and familiar interfaces and how they meet the challenges and elements that the chapter discusses.

The chapters themselves are grouped into three parts: overall (OS, web, apps, etc.), specific items (data, user input, text and graphic editors) and polish (style, form and function).

This is a great reference, and - yes - and lazy Sunday afternoon read. You should be a design professional and ahve experience under your belt such as nav bars, dialogue boxes and what a drop down is, and what it is used for effectively. This book does not tell or show you how to get that golden interface (nor should it). Designing Interfaces explains some of the key things that you should know inheritly (if not know, after you have read it) and helps strenghten your cerebral toolbox and amaze yourself.

Halifax Creative User Group
06 March, 2006

Great idea generator

The graphical approach to this book makes all the difference. The content is good, overall, but what makes it most useful is the ability to flip through the pages and see examples of how other software companies have deployed variations of interfaces (with both good and bad results).
If you're designing applications this belongs on your bookshelf.


Barry S. Graubart
21 February, 2006

Buy it, read it, pass it on!

Simply brilliant! Absolutely the best book on UI design patterns, it is also one of the best new books on interaction design in years. Clear, crisp, and engagingly written, this text manages a mix of fundamentals and sophisticated concepts to satisfy beginners and boffins alike. It goes way beyond the trivially obvious of so many "pattern languages" to explore and expose subtle tradeoffs and genuine dilemmas in interaction design. More than just a collection of patterns, this is virtually a complete course in modern visual and interaction design. It is must reading for designers of every ilk.

Larry Constantine
20 February, 2006

Great catalog of user interface elements

A thorough and well-written catalog of common user interface elements, illustrated with screenshots from popular applications. Each item is explained in detail, though a better discussion of usability problems would have been welcome. But perhaps that's a book of it's own...

Eric Jain
19 February, 2006

Earns a spot on my bookshelf at work...

OK... this one earns a spot on my bookshelf at work... Designing Interfaces by Jenifer Tidwell.

Contents: What Users Do; Organizing The Content; Getting Around; Organizing The Page; Doing Things; Showing Complex Data; Getting Input From Users; Builders and Editors; Making It Look Good; References; Index

This is one of those books that you'll read once and then start making post-it note bookmarks in certain areas. Tidwell starts each chapter with an explanation of that particular area of interface design. For instance, in Organizing The Content, she talks about how layout of content makes a difference in how users find and perceive the data. In addition, you have a number of constraints to work under, depending on the target of your application (full-screen monitor vs. cell phone browser). Then things get really good. She presents a number of "patterns", or practical examples of how you can implement a design technique. Sticking with the Organizing chapter, you have the following patterns: Two-Panel Selector, Canvas Plus Palette, One-Window Drilldown, Alternative Views, Wizard, Extras on Demand, Intriguing Branches, and Multi-Level Help. Each pattern has a visual showing what it looks like, a "what" explanation, a "use when" description of when it should be considered, "why" it works as a technique, "how" it should be implemented, and some "examples" of how it's used in real software and websites. What you end up with is a rich volume of design techniques that can make the difference between a "wow" application and shelfware...

Like many good designs, you will probably look at some of these and not even realize that there was a pattern at play. Some designs have become de-facto standards for particular situations, and we don't even think about them any more. But when you deconstruct a site and see what's really going on, you can start to become more savvy in your choice of layout and interaction with the user. And for those of us who are more comfortable with back-end coding than front-end user interfaces, we'll take all the help we can get!

This book will carve out a space within arm's reach on my work bookshelf. Periodic review of the contents will go far in making me a better designer in my development activities. I really like this book...

Thomas Duff
10 February, 2006

A Different Approach to Interface Design Books

Designing Interfaces is not like most books about interface design. It presents "patterns" that the author has seen in Interaction Design and in developing user interfaces. The ninety-four patterns are divided into categories with each category/chapter having a brief introduction and overview. The pattern categories are:

What Users Do
Organizing the Content
Getting Around
Organizing the Page
Doing Things
Showing Complex Data
Getting Input from Users
Builders and Editors
Making It Look Good

The twelve patterns in the What Users Do section are different from the other patterns in the book in content and length. With names such as "Safe Exploration", Satisficing", and "Spatial Memory" the patterns deal with how people work with and react to interfaces and the information they present. These patterns range from a few paragraphs to a page in length.

The rest of the patterns are somewhat more akin to those found in the Gang of Four's Design Patterns book. Each pattern has what, use when, why, how, and examples sections. The how section presents a scenario or design choices for how the pattern can be used. There are multiple figures illustrating the pattern and references to related patterns.

The book's good points are the brief but good content of the chapter overviews, the how sections of each pattern, and the illustrations. The numerous figures highlight key points of the section or pattern with which they are associated. I particularly liked the "trunk test" illustrations in the Organizing the Page section and the figures throughout the Making It Look Good section.

My complaints about the book are minor. When one pattern referenced another I would have liked the page number of the referenced pattern to be listed instead of just the name. I found the grey color of the text a bit tough on the eyes and the font size for the figure descriptions a bit small.

I found this to be a very good and interesting book. One of the major benefits of the Design Patterns book was that it provided a common vocabulary with which to discuss and communicate software designs. It will be interesting to see if this book has the same effect on interaction and interface design.

Full disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of the book for review.

John Wetherbie
05 February, 2006

Finally, a practical design book

I love this book! It takes common design problems and gives patterns that you can use to solve those problems. And the solutions are illustrated in brilliant color using real world web sites and hardware devices. This is the practical design book that I have been looking for.

Jack D. Herrington
26 January, 2006

At last, a good intermediate-level interface book

Let's start with the worst thing about the book - the title. The book is really a book of UI design patterns. You won't learn how to design an interface from reading this book. What you will get is a large collection of useful patterns and principles for applying them. Given my choice, I would have called the book "Interface Design Patterns and Principles."

The best thing about this book is that it hits its target spot-on: the intermediate-level designer. I have shelves full of beginner/introductory books and quite a few specialist books for advanced designers. However, before I got this book I had nothing at all that was good for the middle of that range. Tidwell doesn't waste pages trying to bring a beginner up to the point where she could understand and use these patterns, nor does she try to get into the kinds of esoteric details that would make someone a master. I found reading the book pleasant and informative.

One important metric for me of any O'Reilly book is its reference value. I don't expect them to produce step-by-step texts; rather, I use their books for answering questions, getting guidance, and giving insights. I feel this book does a fabulous job as a useful reference. I've already had several chances to refer back to it and I expect it to keep a prominent place on my reference shelf.

The patterns that Tidwell develops in the book are useful and I'm particularly glad she has included a large number of examples. I might wish for more negative or counter-examples, since it's sometimes easier to learn from mistakes, but I recognize that pointing out design errors can be a tricky business. Likewise, the organization of the patterns into groups is something that just about anyone could quibble about but we'd all agree that some sort of organization is necessary to make this a good reference and not just a laundry list, and the book does that well.

Alan Wexelblat
18 January, 2006