GUI Design Essentials [Paperback]

Susan Weinschenk (Author), Pamela Jamar (Author), Sarah C. Yeo (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471175498 | ISBN-13: 978-0471175490 | Publication Date: March 24, 1997

Developing software interfaces and company-wide GUI standards can be difficult, but it is nothing like having to continually redesign software that end users can't work with. This powerful book/CD-ROM package takes the uncertainty out of GUI design by providing you with everything you need to know to quickly design interfaces and your own GUI standards. Drawing upon their experience as leading interface designers, educators, and constultants, the authors teach you the art and science of user centered design. They show you how to bring end users into the design process in order to dramatically enhance the usability of your designs, while making efficient use of your design time. They tell you the right questions to ask and how to translate user feedback into practical design solutions.

First, they describe the entire design process in detail, breaking it down into a series of steps accompanied by useful forms and checklists. Then they provide practical, step-by-step guidelines on how to design Windows 95, Windows 3.1, and the Web.

On the CD-ROM you will find: Design quidelines as an online document; design guidelines in Microsoft Word 7.0 for you to use and customize; and, forms and checklists in Microsoft Word 7.0 for you to use and customize.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The writers of GUI Design Essentials, all of whom have many years of experience in interface design and research, teach you how to plan, test, and construct successful Windows interfaces--ones that have a sensible structure, simplify user interaction, and have an attractive appearance without distracting the user. The book is peppered with tips on how to address users' needs and your design goals at the same time, and plenty of screenshots of good interfaces illuminate the writers' advice. Extensive coverage of Web- site design and online help is included. An appendix sums up the writers' design guidelines on windows, dialog boxes, menus, buttons, check boxes, tables and lists, screen layout, fonts, color choices, color combinations, graphics, Web-site design and navigation, online help, wizards, and more. This is a fantastic book for interface designers--and for developers and artists who are faced with the task of designing the perfect interface for any project. A CD-ROM includes the contents of the book in Microsoft Word 7.0 and Adobe Acrobat 3.0 formats.

From the Publisher

Developing software interfaces and company-wide GUI standards can be difficult, but it is nothing like having to continually redesign software that end users can't work with. This powerful book/CD-ROM package takes the uncertainty out of GUI design by providing you with everything you need to know to quickly design interfaces and your own GUI standards. Drawing upon their experience as leading interface designers, educators, and constultants, the authors teach you the art and science of user centered design. They show you how to bring end users into the design process in order to dramatically enhance the usability of your designs, while making efficient use of your design time. They tell you the right questions to ask and how to translate user feedback into practical design solutions. First, they describe the entire design process in detail, breaking it down into a series of steps accompanied by useful forms and checklists. Then they provide practical, step-by-step guidelines on how to design Windows 95, Windows 3.1, and the Web. On the CD-ROM you will find: Design quidelines as an online document; design guidelines in Microsoft Word 7.0 for you to use and customize; and, forms and checklists in Microsoft Word 7.0 for you to use and customize.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (March 24, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471175498
• ISBN-13: 978-0471175490
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,072,591 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars disappointment, March 15, 2000

By 

chris (munich, germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: GUI Design Essentials (Paperback)

i wrote my diploma thesis about interface design and this was the worst book i have read. the authors repeat themself again and again and again. to less info, too much blahblah. for me, this book was nearly useless (and as i live in europe i paid lots of money for it!). sorry, but i'm really upset. btw. the best book i have read was theo mandels elements of user interface design!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars good intro and guidelines (know-it-talls will profit), July 9, 1998

By 

Greg Wilson ([e-mail]) (Toronto) - See all my reviews

This review is from: GUI Design Essentials (Paperback)

Many GUI books are primarily about design, and are full of profound but essentially useless prescriptions such as "Use space creatively" or "Your design should be balanced, but hey, asymmetry can be cool, too." This book, in contrast, is primarily about GUI construction. The first part is about the mechanics of designing an interface: requirements gathering, prototyping, usability testing, and so on. The remainder is made up of checklists: Avoid horizontal scrolling; place pop-up windows in the center of the action; limit checkboxes to ten. The final chapter lists some best-practice guidelines with section headings like "Who to Involve" and "What to Customize."

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Publisher misleads on contents of CD (?) - text is just fine, April 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: GUI Design Essentials (Paperback)

The authors write a nice, although somewhat expensive alternative to Cooper's "About Face," Howlett's "Visual Interface Design," and Mullet's "Designing Visual Interfaces," etc. However, the contents of the CD do not match the statements made on the cover of the book, nor the text within the book. For example, despite what the publisher states, I found no pdf files on the CD. I suspect that they are shipping different versions (?) of the CD with the same book. I called the publisher, they seem to deny this, or maybe they are oblivious to it. Maybe the CD is nothing special (as another reader, Jarrett, December 15, suggests). Oh well.