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casperpumpkin's review against another edition
5.0
To be fair, this is the first book I've read on this topic, so I can't compare it to the reigning literature.
But...for a non-fiction book on web design/usability, this is an easy read without all of the fluff.
Brief explanations and simple fixes for the major problems often seen with websites. Basically, sound bites for web designers. A great start for my new Web Content job.
Useful tips include: Make sure web buttons look like buttons. make sure their is a hierarchy for site navigators. Omit all needless words. Make sure to have persistent navigation. Make sure to have a You Are Here feature (such as Adults > Browse Our Collection > Self-help.) Use tabs for navigation.
Thanks for the recommend Alice & Maggie!
But...for a non-fiction book on web design/usability, this is an easy read without all of the fluff.
Brief explanations and simple fixes for the major problems often seen with websites. Basically, sound bites for web designers. A great start for my new Web Content job.
Useful tips include: Make sure web buttons look like buttons. make sure their is a hierarchy for site navigators. Omit all needless words. Make sure to have persistent navigation. Make sure to have a You Are Here feature (such as Adults > Browse Our Collection > Self-help.) Use tabs for navigation.
Thanks for the recommend Alice & Maggie!
dixmacabre's review against another edition
5.0
Still one of the clearest and to-the-point UX books out there that everyone should read. Still holds up well even now.
didicastii's review against another edition
4.0
Even though this book is not up to date (yet) I think it is the very beginners' guide into UX! Bravo!
nachofergie's review against another edition
4.0
Largely just commonsense stuff... but that's why it's a great read. Straightforward and implementable.
lizziet18's review against another edition
5.0
It's not often that I read a technical manual from cover to cover but this little gem is well written, practical, and leavened with humor. And did I mention concise? It's an excellent manual for anyone who edits web sites.
founddrama's review against another edition
4.0
Overall, Don't Make Me Think is a solid, layman's terms examination of UI design and usability issues, particularly as those issues apply to web sites. Steve Krug presents us with a plain-English approach that just about any web professional can quickly and easily digest and then rapidly apply to his work for maximum effectiveness. That said...:
(1) The book had relatively strong start but the "lessons" start to seem a bit "commonsensical" before you get very far. As they say in [b: Freakonomics|1202|Freakonomics A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (Freakonomics, #1)|Steven D. Levitt|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327909092s/1202.jpg|5397], there is certainly a great deal of value in questioning the conventional wisdom out there but at the same time, a little experience in the field seems to reveal these lessons well enough. Thinking about yourself as a user instead of a designer or developer.
(2) The book (sadly) feels a bit dated. Granted, there is a revised/updated version but the copy that I read was published in 2000. Again, the lessons translate well and most have not diminished over time but there is a statement in there that reads: "...barring a total collapse of the Internet boom..." Umm... Guys? Hubris?
Also (3) I give "points off" to Roger Black's foreword which says: "So Don't Make Me Think! is not about exhaustive statistics and thousands of hours of clinical trials, and tons of survey research jargon. Rather it contains sharp empirical observations..." [emphasis added] -- umm... no statistics or experimental data, eh? You are familiar with the definition of "empirical", right?
Bottom line? A bit dated but most lessons still apply. Definitely worth the read for anyone doing webdev and/or UI work. Bonus points for the chapter on usability testing "on the cheap".
(1) The book had relatively strong start but the "lessons" start to seem a bit "commonsensical" before you get very far. As they say in [b: Freakonomics|1202|Freakonomics A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (Freakonomics, #1)|Steven D. Levitt|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327909092s/1202.jpg|5397], there is certainly a great deal of value in questioning the conventional wisdom out there but at the same time, a little experience in the field seems to reveal these lessons well enough. Thinking about yourself as a user instead of a designer or developer.
(2) The book (sadly) feels a bit dated. Granted, there is a revised/updated version but the copy that I read was published in 2000. Again, the lessons translate well and most have not diminished over time but there is a statement in there that reads: "...barring a total collapse of the Internet boom..." Umm... Guys? Hubris?
Also (3) I give "points off" to Roger Black's foreword which says: "So Don't Make Me Think! is not about exhaustive statistics and thousands of hours of clinical trials, and tons of survey research jargon. Rather it contains sharp empirical observations..." [emphasis added] -- umm... no statistics or experimental data, eh? You are familiar with the definition of "empirical", right?
Bottom line? A bit dated but most lessons still apply. Definitely worth the read for anyone doing webdev and/or UI work. Bonus points for the chapter on usability testing "on the cheap".
neophi's review against another edition
4.0
A no nonsense approach on how to design web sites to be as effective as possible. The second edition adds information on treating users well and designing for accessibility while trimming the focus on how to conduct usability testing. It has been a number of years since I first skimmed this book and I found the changes welcome. My biggest complaint with the book continues to be a lack of a summary or checklist on the high level points with references to where the topic is covered in more detail. While the book is concise enough to easily skim through I frequently found myself wishing for some more than just the index to find material when I wanted to review a topic. If even half the advice given in the book was followed the web would be twice as easy to use.
zucchini_bread's review against another edition
5.0
The book itself is user friendly, it was short and made for skimming.