Design Bookshelf for designers, desktop publishing, graphics and digital photography

New Riders 420 Pages Buy it now Support the Design & Publishing Center and take advantage of Amazon's discount

Designing Web Usability Jakob Nielson Why wait for the summary? I'll give you a sneak preview right now-This book is so good it's a MUST HAVE for any serious Web Site designer! __ Mr. Nielson leaves no stone unturned when it comes to designing the usability of a Web Site and he is totally impartial in his choices of examples. He is an expert in the field, until 1998 he was a Sun Microsystems distinguished engineer and the company's web usability guru, and it certainly shows in this extensive work. His examples are large enough to actually see (in color too) and they are plentiful. You will see what a Site looks like (or did at the time) and how it could be better, or how it was actually changed and made better.

Designing Web Usability is the "What" of good Web Sites and Mr. Nielson's next book will be the "How" I can't wait. Here is Nielson's description of how to design usability: "Relish simplicity, and focus on the users' goals rather than glitzy design." __ That pretty much sums up this book. Keep in mind, though, that what you read is not just the opinion of one man (though he has strong opinions) butt is based on many, many usability studies of real users. __ The main areas of Web design are covered: page design, content design and the overall site architecture. Special issues are discussed as well, such as intranets, users with disabilities, and international users. The book wraps up with a view of the future of the Internet and a discussion of new developments. __ The screenshots throughout are of "real" Web designs. Of course, by now a lot of them have changed the smart ones took Mr. Nielsons advice. He found one site where you will see that the original design worked better than their new design (this is not an example of taking Mr. Nielson's advice but an example of someone trying to improve the look and end up with a usability problem) __ What you won't find here is how to write HTML code or how to make graphics. What you will find is good solid information about producing web sites designed for your visitors. __ Two common design errors discussed are making the Web site a brochure, or treating the web site like a traditional corporate project that mirrors the company's structure instead of how the site will be used. __ Have you ever arrived at a site and ended up somewhere in Never-Never Land? You know what I mean-there is no internal navigation. Maybe it's a framed site with an outside link that was accessed and suddenly you are-who knows where. You can avoid this costly mistake and many more by reading Designing Web Usability. Get it now before you finish your next site. I went back and made several changes to my sites after reading this eye-opening book. Joyce When you click here to buy... you support the Design & Publishing Center and still get to take advantage of Amazon.com's great discount Joyce Evans from Idea Design Copyright 2000 Joyce Evans, All Rights Reserved