Acknowledgments

The shadow of the two years I spent steeping in design at Carnegie Mellon University looms large over this book. As I wrote, I found myself constantly referring to my notes from that time and hearing the echoes of my professors' words, including those of Dan Boyarski, Kristen Hughes, Karen Moyer, and Jodi Forlizzi. I want to particularly note the infl uence of Dick Buchanan, who immeasurably broadened my understanding of this discipline, and my friend and advisor Shelley Evenson, who taught me at least half of what I know about interaction design. Without her knowledge and experience, poorly filtered through me, this book would be shallow indeed.

My interviewees were generous with their time and expertise, and I'd like to especially thank them. Your presence in my book honors me. A tip of the hat to Peter Merholz for the excellent suggestion.

The case studies, too, greatly improved this book, providing grounding for some of the big concepts. For their contributions, I'd like to thank Jennifer Fraser and Jessica Gould at Corel, Chad Thornton at Google, Maureen Wegner at Mayo, Andrew Shoben at Greyworld, and Michael Smith at Mind Candy Design. Thanks, too, to Katie Linder for her help in tracking these down.

I'm also grateful to companies who lent their beautiful product images to the book, illustrating my points better than I could have with words alone.

The staff at Peachpit/New Riders has been a tremendous help in making this book what it is, guiding me (sometimes dragging me) to make it better, and the book is much improved for it. My editors Cary Norsworthy, Michael Nolan, Ted Waitt, Becky Winter, and especially Judy Ziajka have polished my rough edges (and there were many) into the fine tome you have in your hands (or on your screen). Another special thanks goes to my friend and technical editor Phi-Hong Ha, who never hesitated to tell me I was wrong or that I could do better.

My colleagues at Adaptive Path have been generous with their patience and my schedule, not to mention my salary, which has allowed me to tackle this challenge. A special shout out to Jesse James Garrett who introduced me to New Riders.

Thanks to my parents, who bought me my first computer (a Timex Sinclair 2068) and a 300-baud modem and who paid the ensuing long-distance phone bills.

My daughter endured my frequent distractions and even-more-frequent grumpiness. Fiona, I'm sorry. There's now more time for Hello Kitty Uno and Princess Monopoly.

Last, and most important, without the support of my wife, Rachael King, the creation of this book would have been impossible. She convinced me I could do it, encouraged me when I faltered, and gave me the time to complete it. This book is as much a product of her generosity as it is of my words.