Gui Design for Dummies [Paperback]

Laura Arlov (Author)

Book Description

Series: For Dummies (Computer/Tech) | Publication Date: September 19, 1997

Users can create successful interfaces with the help of proven design techniques from this guide. Many skill areas are covered to help readers reduce development time and find out how to conduct effective usability tests. The disk contains useful Word documents containing 85% of a finished draft for use as a style guide for a project.

Product Details

• Paperback: 359 pages
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc (Computers); Pap/Dskt edition (September 19, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764502131
• ISBN-13: 978-0764502132
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,841,008 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Starting Point, July 12, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Vancouver, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gui Design for Dummies (Paperback)

I reviewed this book hoping to find a good reference document for the GUI Design courses we teach. While my quest for the ideal reference continues, I am happy to recommend this book as supplementary reading. 'GUI Design for Dummies' certainly tackles the GUI topic as a process. Of the things I found lacking these items stood out:

* lack of discipline with terminology. Like many IT-related authors these days, Laura Arlov takes quite a bit of license when it comes to inventing terms. Perhaps they are not her invention, but little attempt is made to validate the origins of numerous words and phrases

* outdated conventions with repect to tasks and workflow (Use Case scenarios would be more appropriate than just 'task' and [navigational] scenario.

* very little material on transaction-based systems.

In Ms. Orlov's defense, most of these issues are not addressed in any of the other books I have reviewed.

Bottom line: an easy read. Examples are well matched to an overall process. Good start for developers that need an orientation to GUI concepts.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Contains useful nuggets, but unsatisfying overall, June 7, 2000

By 

J. Grey (Indianapolis, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gui Design for Dummies (Paperback)

If you're looking for one book to introduce you to GUI design and give you a solid grounding in design for usability, this isn't it. It gives many useful tips and truisms, however, and if you buy it as one element of your larger usability/UI design library, you will be well served. In my work, I'm sometimes called upon to provide usability inspections and design critiques. This book has provided good support for some of the improvements I've asked programmers and designers to make.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Survey of Interface Design, December 29, 1998

By 

Robert Crawford (Cincinnati, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gui Design for Dummies (Paperback)

This is an excellent starting place for anyone who wants to create usable GUI programs. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to get off to a good start.