Customer Reviews

Thoughts on Interaction Design

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As an interaction designer trying to find my place in the world, I typically am the sole designer on a team or the single designer in an organization. I enjoy evangelizing the power of design, however, feeling like you have to constantly explain and justify your existence can become tiresome.

Whenever I forget that other designers exist or feel like the ugly duckling among swans, I pick up this book and am reenergized knowing other people like me are out there. I'm a part of a larger community of passionate people who care about this stuff.

Jon's book is good at making me feel normal again and giving me the language to explain this fire I have to make the world better and help people in need.

I think this book does a beautiful job of explaining the intricacies and broad ideas of the field of Interaction Design (which is ironically appropriate for the subject matter). It often seems that the current identity of Interaction Design has gained ambiguity, however the representation given in these essays is a very up to date and accurate description.
I feel this book would be greatly appreciated by anyone who is interested in or is currently involved with Interaction Design or Industrial Design. A definite must read for any students involved with these fields (as I am one myself).
The collaboration of writing from other designers provides a great perspective on the current industry. Honest and straight-forward, this puts a refreshing emphasis on the humanistic values of design. Great job Jon, I look forward to what you do with the next project ;).

When we redesigned our Web service ([...]/) earlier this year, we read or at least skimmed through several books on human-computer interaction, usability, Web design, etc. We expected "Thoughts on Interaction Design" to be yet another set of user-interface guidelines. It isn't.

While "Thoughts on Interaction Design" may be of little use when one wants to know right now where on the Web page to put that button and in what size, it is well worth reading in order to both broaden and deepen one's understanding of interaction design--and to realize maybe that the position and size of that button are the least of one's problems. (No worries, "Thoughts on Interaction Design" explains how to get to a solution or at least what kind of person to ask.)

As a concluding remark, let me mention that "Thoughts on Interaction Design" makes for a great coffee-table book, too.

"Thoughts on Interaction Design" is much more than a book that explains what interaction design is; it documents a new way of thinking about the role of Design in modern society. In this book you will find an exploration of why the designer's role has become increasingly hazy and why the process of design is such a powerful tool for shaping behavior.
This is an indispensable tool for any designer that has a need to justify and articulate their true potential to employers and clients. It addresses the big-picture behind interaction design and helps to establish a greater understanding regarding the potential of interaction designers to shape the future.

The first part of this text is a little boring, unnecessary and a bit of a bear to get through. It's valuable to know and start off with (so don't get me wrong), but it just doesn't seem like it has a place in this book.

However... after that...

After that's it's pretty well all gold, but just a few scratches on the surface. The reflections and reviews provide some great "jewels of information" that you can carry with you and reflect on in your own experience. After working for what is approaching 7 years working for ISVs I can see my experiences in direct alignment with some things presented. I can also see some things that I am headed for. The stories provided in the "accumulated" areas are relevant, well chosen and entertaining.

This book really does focus well and provides a wonderful balance between the academic world, it's views, etc. and the business/real world's point of views in the same area.

So what are the "scratches" I spoke about? Well... while it has a decent flow, it doesn't follow its own advice. I'm sure that after reading a couple more related texts, I will forget which pieces of wisdom were reflected explicitly in this book. It has great information but does nothing to really encapsulate you.

I will be recommending this to a various set of people in the ISV world from CTO/CIO to Product Management and all the way down to the Architecture Engineers.

This sorely needed book does a brilliant job of defining, clarifying and exploring the role of the interaction designer in industry today. Those involved in contemporary design practice keep seeing the term "interaction" bandied about in a cavalier way, yet there is little collective knowledge out there to help define what it really means.

As a professional in the field of interaction design myself, I can personally attest to the difficulties that arise when this important role gets misunderstood, confounded with other disciplines, or, in the most painful instances, defined solely by the tools used to manifest the work. "Thoughts on Interaction Design" serves not only to champion interaction design as a discipline, but also helps to bring a unified vision, language and sense of purpose to those who are actively involved in it.

Beautifully designed, cleverly written, and logically organized, this book can serve as an important reference in ongoing efforts to reinforce a culture within the field of interaction design, while also providing a deeper understanding of it across all design disciplines.

For someone writing about usability the style of writing is all but that. Sometimes I think he writes this complicated so that other people might think how many difficult words he knows. If you compare his writing style and design (really small font and green on white) to Steve Krug's "don't make me think" you wonder why Mr. Kolko chose tho do it this way. Shouldn't books be usable too?
Beyond chapter 3 however it starts to get really interesting. And the writing gets more understandable.

Good book, but the design and style of writing really makes you plough through it more often than not.

It looks old, but really do the basic work for exploring form design which will last for a long time

A must have for engineers, designers, and product managers alike. If you believe in a world where technology is made for humans to use, you'll find inspiration here.

I've noticed this book on the used marketplace at outrageous starting prices. What these sellers don't want you to know is that the author switched publishers, and the book is currently being published by MK as Thoughts on Interaction Design. Note, the newer edition has a higher page count, even though it's still labeled as a 1st edition...