Comments on: Share Your Design Book Disappointments

By: Editor

Editor — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 07:31:18 +0000

LeMel – I think almost every book has at least one decent idea in it, so you don’t have to trash it completely.

On the other hand, all sorts of things can let a book down. The hype on the cover not matching the content, the design of the book itself obscuring the content (as in the case of Experience Design – like I said, the words are not too bad at all, it’s just hard to read them).

Lastly, I admire anyone who has gone through the endurance test of writing, editing, revising and publishing a book, even if it turns out to be pretty rubbish. But putting your ‘stuff’ out there in the world means facing the slings and arrows as well as the compliments. Besides, any authors can come here an defend themselves if they like – that would be superb.

By: LeMel

LeMel — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 04:39:00 +0000

If you approach Buxton’s book as if you were having a conversation with the man, you’ll do better in appreciating that book. Too many designers want to approach each and every book as if it were a syllabus or textbook.

I’m afraid to trash my own design book disappointments for fear of meeting the authors later. I know: coward.

By: Editor

Editor — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:25:17 +0000

Good pick Rob – I know it’s a contentious one for many UX folk. I got the IxDA list buzzing a few weeks back again too.

By: Rob Tannen

Rob Tannen — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:03:16 +0000

Hands down, John Maeda’s “The Laws of Simplicity” is the most disappointing UX_related book I have read. The content is unclear and trite, and provides little meaningful or actionable information. Yet it’s considered a work of art by some, so maybe I missed the point.

Here’s my full review from 2006:
http://humanfactors.typepad.com/idsa/2006/09/the_laws_of_sim.html

Rob Tannen’s last blog post..Interactive Video Object Manipulation

By: Editor

Editor — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:13:45 +0000

Daniel – Sorry, I just discovered your comment in Akismet’s spam bin. Rescued it now. Funnily enough another friend of mine was saying how much she was disappointed by Area 2.

By: Editor

Editor — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:15:20 +0000

Good to know. Someone pretty well-known in the UX community will be reviewing it soon (I hope!).

By: Daniele Rossi

Daniele Rossi — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:53:23 +0000

On the contrary, I enjoyed "Sketching User Interfaces" a lot. However, I do agree that it can be a bit of a hard read (I've only read the first part so far), it does drive the message of user experience design pretty hard. After all it's important. I wouldn't pass up this book as it gives interesting and pratical expamples of why spending time on usability research and product development is vital. Daniele Rossi's last blog post..WordPress theme building from scratch: phase 4 continued

By: Editor

Editor — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 21:15:28 +0000

Mathew, thanks for that. Interesting to know because it's a book I'm planning to get my hands on at some point. I like what Bill has to say usually and many on the IxDA listed it as a must have for interaction designers. I haven't seen the inside of it though - what is the layout like? Anyone else who has it and feels the same?

By: Mathew Sanders

Mathew Sanders — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 20:59:41 +0000

I was disappointed with Sketching User Experiences (Bill Buxton, 2007). The main message of the book (Getting the Design Right and the Right Design) is SO important for designers, and I'm a total convert but I just felt that the strength of the message was a bit abstract in this book. As for the format, I'm all for beautiful typography and layouts, but to me this just felt like a bit of a mess and personally I've found this book difficult to read, and whenever I return to this book I feel a bit lost. Bill is an amazing designer, and a great public speaker, who I truly respect, and maybe it was with these high expectations that the book disappointed me.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 12:46:36 +0000

I love Area (and Area_2 for that matter), but the text on the spine is the wrong way round, so for it to look at home on my bookshelf I have to stick it in upside down. It's the little things Daniel's last blog post..What the world has been waiting for: Diamond Shreddies