User Interface Design for Programmers

Most programmers' fear of user interface (UI) programming comes from their fear of doing UI design. They think that UI design is like graphic design—the mysterious process by which creative, latte-drinking, all-black-wearing people produce cool-looking, artistic pieces. Most programmers see themselves as analytic, logical thinkers instead—strong at reasoning, weak on artistic judgment, and incapable of doing UI design. In this brilliantly readable book, author **Joel Spolsky** proposes simple, logical rules that can be applied without any artistic talent to improve any user interface, from traditional GUI applications to websites to consumer electronics. Spolsky's primary axiom, the importance of bringing the program model in line with the user model, is both rational and simple. In a fun and entertaining way, Spolky makes user interface design easy for programmers to grasp. After reading __User Interface Design for Programmers__, you'll know how to design interfaces with the user in mind. You'll learn the important principles that underlie all good UI design, and you'll learn how to perform usability testing that works. Annotation Most programmers' fear of user interface (UI) programming comes from their fear of doing UI design. They think that UI design is like graphic design—the mysterious process by which creative, latte-drinking, all-black-wearing people produce cool-looking, artistic pieces. Most programmers see themselves as analytic, logical thinkers instead—strong at reasoning, weak on artistic judgment, and incapable of doing UI design. In this brilliantly readable book, authorJoel Spolskyproposes simple, logical rules that can be applied without any artistic talent to improve any user interface, from traditional GUI applications to websites to consumer electronics. Spolsky's primary axiom, the importance of bringing the program model in line with the user model, is both rational and simple. In a fun and entertaining way, Spolky makes user interface design easy for programmers to grasp. After reading User Interface Design for Programmers , you'll know how to design interfaces with the user in mind. You'll learn the important principles that underlie all good UI design, and you'll learn how to perform usability testing that works. Front Matter....Pages N2-xv Controlling Your Environment Makes You Happy....Pages 1-6 Figuring Out What They Expected....Pages 7-13 Choices....Pages 15-22 Affordances and Metaphors....Pages 23-31 Broken Metaphors....Pages 33-42 Consistency and Other Hobgoblins....Pages 43-48 Putting the User in Charge....Pages 49-56 Design for Extremes....Pages 57-60 People Can’t Read....Pages 61-66 People Can’t Control the Mouse....Pages 67-74 People Can’t Remember....Pages 75-80 The Process of Designing a Product....Pages 81-88 Those Pesky Usability Tests....Pages 89-101 Relativity: Understanding UI Time Warps....Pages 103-108 “But...How Do It Know?”....Pages 109-113 Tricks of the Trade....Pages 115-119 Designing for the Web....Pages 121-131 Programming for Humans....Pages 133-134 Back Matter....Pages 135-144 Controlling Your Environment Makes You Happy -- Figuring Out What They Expected -- Choices -- Affordances And Metaphors -- Broken Metaphors -- Consistency And Other Hobgoblins -- Putting The User In Charge -- Design For Extremes -- People Can't Read -- People Can't Control The Mouse -- People Can't Remember -- The Process Of Designing A Product -- Those Pesky Usability Tests -- Relativity : Understanding Ui Time Warps -- But ... How Do It Know? -- Tricks Of The Trade 00 Designing For The Web -- Programming For Humans. Joel Spolsky. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 135-136) And Index. Annotation Designed with programmers in mind, this readable book examines User Interface Design and concentrates on the common mistakes that too many programs exhibit. It also includes numerous examples of how to improve common programs. Includes a foreword by one of the most influential programmers today, Dave Winer, founder of UserLand Software