Designing Interfaces
Designing a good interface isn't easy. Users demand software that is well-behaved, good-looking, and easy to use. Your clients or managers demand originality and a short time to market.
Designing Interfaces
Chapter 1. What Users Do
Section 1.1. A MEANS TO AN END
Section 1.2. THE BASICS OF USER RESEARCH
Section 1.3. USERS' MOTIVATION TO LEARN
Section 1.4. THE PATTERNS
Chapter 2. Organizing the Content:Information Architecture and Application Structure
Section 2.1. THE BASICS OF INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE: DIVIDING STUFF UP
Section 2.2. PHYSICAL STRUCTURE
Section 2.3. THE PATTERNS
Chapter 3. Getting Around:Navigation, Signposts, and Wayfinding
Section 3.1. STAYING FOUND
Section 3.2. THE COST OF NAVIGATION
Section 3.3. THE PATTERNS
Chapter 4. Organizing the Page:Layout of Page Elements
Section 4.1. THE BASICS OF PAGE LAYOUT
Section 4.2. THE PATTERNS
Chapter 5. Doing Things:Actions and Commands
Section 5.1. PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES
Section 5.2. THE PATTERNS
Chapter 6. Showing Complex Data:Trees, Tables, and Other Information Graphics
Section 6.1. THE BASICS OF INFORMATION GRAPHICS
Section 6.2. THE PATTERNS
Chapter 7. Getting Input from Users:Forms and Controls
Section 7.1. THE BASICS OF FORM DESIGN
Section 7.2. CONTROL CHOICE
Section 7.3. THE PATTERNS
Chapter 8. Builders and Editors
Section 8.1. THE BASICS OF EDITOR DESIGN
Section 8.2. THE PATTERNS
Chapter 9. Making It Look Good:Visual Style and Aesthetics
Section 9.1. SAME CONTENT, DIFFERENT STYLES
Section 9.2. THE BASICS OF VISUAL DESIGN
Section 9.3. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR DESKTOP APPLICATIONS
Section 9.4. THE PATTERNS
Designing Interfaces captures those best practices as design patterns -- solutions to common design problems, tailored to the situation at hand. Each pattern contains practical advice that you can put to use immediately, plus a variety of examples illustrated in full color. You'll get recommendations, design alternatives, and warnings on when not to use them.
Each Chapter's introduction describes key design concepts that are often misunderstood, such as affordances, visual hierarchy, navigational distance, and the use of color. These give you a deeper understanding of why the patterns work, and how to apply them with more insight.