HOW THIS BOOK IS ORGANIZED


These patterns are grouped into thematic chapters, and each chapter has an introduction that briefly covers the concepts those patterns are built upon. I want to emphasize briefly. Some of these concepts could have entire books written about them. But the introductions will give you some context; if you already know this stuff, they'll be review material, and if not, they'll tell you what topics you might want to learn more about.

The first set of chapters are applicable to almost any interface you might design, whether it's a desktop application, web application, web site, hardware device, or whatever you can think of:

  • Chapter 1, What Users Do, talks about common behavior and usage patterns supported well by good interfaces.

  • Chapter 2, Organizing the Content, discusses information architecture as it applies to highly interactive interfaces. It deals with different organizational models, the amount of content a user sees at one time, and the best way to use windows, panels, and pages.

  • Chapter 3, Getting Around, discusses navigation. It describes patterns for moving around an interfacebetween pages, among windows, and within large virtual spaces.

  • Chapter 4, Organizing the Page, describes patterns for the layout and placement of page elements. It talks about how to communicate meaning simply by putting things in the right places.

  • Chapter 5, Doing Things, talks about how to present actions and commands; use these patterns to handle the "verbs" of an interface.

Next comes a set of chapters that deal with specific idioms. It's fine to read them all, but real-life projects probably won't use all of them. Chapters 6 and 7 are the most broadly applicable, since most modern interfaces use trees, tables, or forms in some fashion.

  • Chapter 6, Showing Complex Data, contains patterns for trees, tables, charts, and information graphics in general. It discusses the cognitive aspects of data presentation, and how to use them to communicate knowledge and meaning.

  • Chapter 7, Getting Input from Users, deals with forms and controls. Along with the patterns, this chapter has a table that maps data types to various controls that can represent them.

  • Chapter 8, Builders and Editors, discusses techniques and patterns often used in WYSIWYG graphic editors and text editors.

Finally, the last chapter comes at the end of the design progression, but it too applies to almost anything you design.

  • Chapter 9, Making It Look Good, deals with aesthetics and fit-and-finish. It uses graphic-design principles and patterns to show how (and why) to polish the look-and-feel of an interface, once its behavior is established.

I chose this book's examples based on many factors. The most important factor is how well an example demonstrates a given pattern or concept, of course, but other considerations include general design fitness, printability, platform varietydesktop applications, web sites, devices, etc.and how well-known and accessible these applications might be to readers. As such, the examples are weighted heavily toward Microsoft and Apple software, certain web sites, and easily-found consumer software and devices. This is not to say that they are always paragons of good design. They're not, and I do not mean to slight the excellent work done by countless designers on less well-known applications. If you know of examples that might meet these criteria, please suggest them to me.




Designing Interfaces
Designing Interfaces: Patterns for Effective Interaction Design
ISBN: 0596008031
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 75

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