In a complex world, products that are easy to use win favor with consumers. This is the first book on the topic of simplicity aimed specifically at interaction designers. It shows how to drill down and simplify user experiences when designing digital tools and applications. It begins by explaining why simplicity is attractive, explores the laws of simplicity, and presents proven strategies for achieving simplicity. Remove, hide, organize and displace become guidelines for designers, who learn simplicity by seeing before and after examples and case studies where the results speak for themselves.
Simple and Usable Web, Mobile, and Interaction Design
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By Tyler Tate
Format:Paperback
We've all been frustrated by a gadget, from trying to install a printer to spending hours setting up a new mobile phone. Page one of Simple and Usable points out that: "[The] Technology that is supposed to make our lives easier often feels like it's on the march against us." What then is the antidote to confusing products, software, and web sites? The answer is--as one might guess from the title of the book--simplicity.
Simple and Usable is both an extremely approachable and an incredibly practical guide to simplicity. Author Giles Colborne compelling shares four fundamental strategies for accomplishing simplicity: remove, organize, hide, and displace.
First, figure out the most important tasks of mainstream users, and make those tasks really easy to accomplish. Then, kill all the features that aren't core. From limiting choice, to eliminating distraction, to using smart defaults, Giles offers many tangible tactics for reducing complexity.
But just throwing something out isn't the only way to simplify. Effective organization can make an interface feel simpler to use. "There are plenty of options open to you in organizing an interface--size, color, position, shape, hierarchy." Giles explains that organizing for simplicity involves emphasizing just one or two important elements. He shares useful techniques for achieving organization such as chunking, hard edges, grids, and layering.
For those features that can't be eliminated but that are used only rarely, Giles recommends a third strategy: hiding. "Often a feature has a few core controls for mainstreamers and extended, precision controls for experts," he says. "Hiding the precision controls is a good way to keep things simple." Giles shares how progressive disclosure and timely clues can be used to reveal a hidden feature at just the right moment.
While the first three strategies--remove, organize, and hide--work well in conjunction, the fourth strategy is, as Giles puts it, "a cheat." Displacement is the technique of moving functionality from one location, say a TV remote control, to a different location, such as onto the TV screen itself. "One of the secrets of creating simple experiences," Giles says, "is putting the right functionality on the right... part of the system."
Not only is Simple and Usable packed with practical strategies for achieving simplicity, but it's also quite an enjoyable read. Giles manages to infuse frequent examples into the book's impressively concise 1-page sections, making for inviting reading whether you're on a 3-minute bus ride or spending a Saturday at the cafe. As an advocate of simplicity myself, I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a hand in building websites, software, or products.
Simple and Usable is both an extremely approachable and an incredibly practical guide to simplicity. Author Giles Colborne compelling shares four fundamental strategies for accomplishing simplicity: remove, organize, hide, and displace.
First, figure out the most important tasks of mainstream users, and make those tasks really easy to accomplish. Then, kill all the features that aren't core. From limiting choice, to eliminating distraction, to using smart defaults, Giles offers many tangible tactics for reducing complexity.
But just throwing something out isn't the only way to simplify. Effective organization can make an interface feel simpler to use. "There are plenty of options open to you in organizing an interface--size, color, position, shape, hierarchy." Giles explains that organizing for simplicity involves emphasizing just one or two important elements. He shares useful techniques for achieving organization such as chunking, hard edges, grids, and layering.
For those features that can't be eliminated but that are used only rarely, Giles recommends a third strategy: hiding. "Often a feature has a few core controls for mainstreamers and extended, precision controls for experts," he says. "Hiding the precision controls is a good way to keep things simple." Giles shares how progressive disclosure and timely clues can be used to reveal a hidden feature at just the right moment.
While the first three strategies--remove, organize, and hide--work well in conjunction, the fourth strategy is, as Giles puts it, "a cheat." Displacement is the technique of moving functionality from one location, say a TV remote control, to a different location, such as onto the TV screen itself. "One of the secrets of creating simple experiences," Giles says, "is putting the right functionality on the right... part of the system."
Not only is Simple and Usable packed with practical strategies for achieving simplicity, but it's also quite an enjoyable read. Giles manages to infuse frequent examples into the book's impressively concise 1-page sections, making for inviting reading whether you're on a 3-minute bus ride or spending a Saturday at the cafe. As an advocate of simplicity myself, I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a hand in building websites, software, or products.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Tim
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I am impressed with this book on several counts.
1. The content combines succinct mini-chapters with gorgeous and complementary images.
2. The quality of the paper stock, the book's information design, and the overall package is top notch.
3. I learned a couple new things despite having been around the profession for a while.
4. The focus is not on one particular type of product.
I don't think the book is all things to all people and I suspect it was not meant to be. A seasoned UX professional may not learn a lot from it, but this is a good book for students and for business people who might need an introduction to good user experience research and design principles. For the experienced UX person, I think the book could be a good review of some key precepts that sometimes might seem distant in the day-to-day rush of getting things done.
I do wish there were footnotes to the interesting research studies the author sometimes refers to in the chapters. The more we UX pros back up our assertions with proper research, the more we will be taken seriously by our employers and clients. Perhaps a bibliography on the simpleandusable.com website would be a good adjunct to the book?
1. The content combines succinct mini-chapters with gorgeous and complementary images.
2. The quality of the paper stock, the book's information design, and the overall package is top notch.
3. I learned a couple new things despite having been around the profession for a while.
4. The focus is not on one particular type of product.
I don't think the book is all things to all people and I suspect it was not meant to be. A seasoned UX professional may not learn a lot from it, but this is a good book for students and for business people who might need an introduction to good user experience research and design principles. For the experienced UX person, I think the book could be a good review of some key precepts that sometimes might seem distant in the day-to-day rush of getting things done.
I do wish there were footnotes to the interesting research studies the author sometimes refers to in the chapters. The more we UX pros back up our assertions with proper research, the more we will be taken seriously by our employers and clients. Perhaps a bibliography on the simpleandusable.com website would be a good adjunct to the book?
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Adam
Format:Paperback
There is a short list of books that I recommend when asked "What book should I read in order to understand what you do?" This is it! I already own two copies. It's so intelligently broken down that it's very quotable. The only thing that would make it better would be quick reference tabs but that would ruin the aesthetic.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Read in one sitting
A simple and precise reminder to many ux design elements you already know. I use this book as a checklist after every prototype now. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Rajesh Chigurupati
5.0 out of 5 stars
This was requested as a gift for a new Graphic Artist
My daughter requested this book and is very happy with it. It is a popular guide for those designing websites. It makes a great gift for those new to the field.
Published 2 months ago by S. Warner
5.0 out of 5 stars
Foundation for UX in an Agile environment
In the past year, I've spoken to many UX professionals who are experiencing difficulty adapting to a Lean Agile work environment. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Brooke
2.0 out of 5 stars
Simplistic and under-whelming
This is a very light read with little detail regarding simple and usable design. Yes, it gives you the tired analogies that we've seen many times before, but the author does not... Read more
Published on March 5, 2011 by R. Dorris
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exactly what I needed
I'm going to pick up another copy of this book so I can compensate for my beer-stained, coffee-ringed, bent-up and broken-in copy. Read more
Published on February 27, 2011 by Dan Bergevin
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exceptional book - must read!
This is the one of the most productive books I've ever read! Not only does the layout of each page justify the book's title but the content is quite mind blowing. Read more
Published on January 13, 2011 by Heddi Cundle
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Read
The content of the book is a true reflection of the title and it was a good read. As a practioner in UxD, the author's book title "simple and usable" supported his well illustrated... Read more
Published on November 29, 2010 by Spencer Ivery
4.0 out of 5 stars
What it says on the cover
This book is a delight. Everything about it is Simple and Usable - the layout, the beautiful illustrations, and the text. Read more
Published on October 30, 2010 by Drys
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dip in, think, act
Let's be clear: this is a very short book. It's not going to teach you tons of stuff about how to create a better product. It's not a textbook. Read more
Published on October 21, 2010 by C. Jarrett
5.0 out of 5 stars
You CAN Judge This Book by Its Cover!
Like its predecessor by Steve Krug "Don't Make Me Think", which clearly inspired author Giles Colborne, "Simple and Usable" weaves a practical framework for making intelligent... Read more
Published on October 18, 2010 by Scott Herring
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