Customer Reviews

Train of Thoughts: Designing the Effective Web Experience (Voices)

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

 

 

There's no doubt that this will be viewed as one of the most controversial books written on the subject of Web design. Even so, having just read some of the early reviews trashing this book, I had to laugh. The design community has been crying out against the extreme rhetoric of the usability experts, but hasn't had a solid academic rallying point from which to argue until now. Lenker comes along with some solid intellectual arguments FOR creativity and content development and people seem to be crying bloody murder. It would seem that a few nerves have has been touched!

Truly, Lenker has written an inspired work that draws from research, experience, and original thinking. Some reviewers are claiming that the book is poorly designed, but so far, not one critic has substantiated their criticism by giving examples of design principles that the book violates! Also, not one person has given any example of a specific point Lenker makes that they think is off-base. The reason? Well, my guess is that they haven't actually read the book -- these early reviews were posted two days after the book shipped. I've had an advanced copy, and I'm just now finishing it!

Sure, it's true that there's some room left on every page for imagery--it's called white space and this is a good thing. The reason is that Lenker was smart enough NOT to overwhelm people with page after page filled with solid text containing his thoughtful arguments. I did a quick estimate and it would appear that there are anywhere from 80,000 to 100,000 words in this typographically refined, full color, 1-inch thick, 9" x 9"
book. Yes it's a picture book suitable for your coffee table, but it will likely also serve as a college textbook. Imagine that--could making a college textbook interesting to read be a good idea? Must be why there are a number of people with PhDs that have written glowing editorial reviews for this book.

Make no mistake. This is not a Web design "show-me-how" book. There are no "step-by-step" examples. Why would there be? This is an online communications philosophy book (says so on the back cover) and presents theories and principles that are solid enough to go toe-to-toe with the one-sided arguments presented in Jakob Nielsen's "Designing Web Usability."

At the end of the day, if you're looking for something written at the third-grade level that you can breeze through in an evening of light reading--read something else. There are plenty of slapped-together-books for you to choose from. If on the other hand, you're looking for something to jump-start your work as a Web designer, read Train of Thoughts. This well conceived, well designed, and well argued book will challenge you, inspire you, and will teach you then concepts needed to design truly effective Web experiences (just like the title says).

The best pieces of work in art, music and literature always stir extremely strong emotions in people. An audience's reception to the 'New' is always varied, as understanding and preconceptions (in the case of 'Train of Thoughts', the way in which we view and understand the web experience) are challenged. This is nothing but a good thing.

Instead of advocating archaic rules and conventions that are merely reactionary to the mistakes made in the last few years, 'Train of Thoughts' takes steps to review and proactively improve/expand upon the manner in which we communicate and do business on the web in the future. The views here are a world away from Nielsen et al - and as such are extremely valuable for at the very least providing balance to the usability argument, and at the most, changing your perception of what is and isn't a good website and providing you with new ways to approach your work.

I have been in the web industry in the UK for 6 years now, and I have a constant battle to change perceptions in people - both within the company I work for, and in clients (potential and existing) of the company I work for. This book is going to be a great help to me in changing those perceptions.

Whether you agree with John Lenker's views or not (for the record - I do), this is a fantastic book that every web professional whether design or business focused (or both) should read.

I can't recall the last time I was so utterly (and pleasantly) suprised when I opened a book. Books that espouse usability don't tend to be much to look at, but this book is exquisite. Lenker is going to have to expect the negative reviews from all the Nielsen drones who think that the world should have all the character and appeal of a sign post (sans the sign). Those who are more open-minded (and I would argue, more in tune with the real world) will be treated to a far more balanced perspective on usability. You'll actually get useful information in every chapter--not just the same basic and essentially obvious concepts repeated chapter after chapter like so many "popular" usability books tend to do. I only hope people don't listen to the sign post lovers. This book is simply outstanding.

This book is not one that is easily read. The pages are heavily designed graphic design treats, but the text and the messages play second fiddle to the layouts, distracting full color background images, and other visually focused entertainments and explorations. This book perhpas makes for a coffee table book, or a book to flip through to find ocassional inspiration, but not much more. The written ideas are lost in the visuals.

Train of Thoughts is an intelligent discussion that strongly supports a subject dear to my heart-the value of engagement on websites. As a curator of online museum exhibits, I am deeply interested in moving beyond the very useful but cold facts of so many online resources and into experiences that have something akin to art and storytelling. Mr. Lenker finally says what I've been longing to hear, and he supports it with multi-disciplinary research and makes it intelligible through well-conceived diagrams. This is not how-to-build-a-website, as another reviewer points out, but how-to-imagine-the-potential-of-websites. It is also not just philosophical ramblings (as the title might seem to imply) but practical advice, complete with case-studies of successful websites and interviews with their creators.

In the process, Mr. Lenker revisits the design of a book. Structurally, this is the most successful translation I've seen of the web onto the page. It is not chapters of text but-like a good website-short blocks of text, intelligently headlined, that together complete a larger series of thought. The organization is not standard, but it is easily navigable, enjoyable, and it serves to underscore his points, especially his mantra: attract, inform, invoke.

This is a must-read for those of us who create websites. It is not the last word, as the author clearly states, but an eloquent invocation of discussion that I hope will lead to a new vision.

After reading some other books on the topic, I got the impression that some of these authors are so intellectual (or trying so hard to be), that they forget the fact that 99% of the world is simple, uninterested, and in a hurry. In this book, John captures and analyzes what it is that stimulates the average mind. He challenges you to understand the people that realistically you aim to target as a web designer. Today after reading this book, I feel like a more cognizant, perceptive person as it relates to what it is that makes me click - no pun intended.

Mr. Lenker has done an excellent job of bringing to the forefront an issue that has begun to plague many otherwise well-intentioned Web sites: the focus on usabilty as the exclusive barometer of Web site design success. As a Web designer/producer, I applaud his efforts to keep usability in perspective with the other important attributes of a well-designed user experience.
I did find the book a little difficult to read because of its formatting, but I appreciate the reinforcement of 'visitor experience' based on more than usability that Mr. Lenker provides.

I have to admit that I was initially put off by this book's unusual design. It felt heavy handed, as if the art direction would surely overwhelm the content - a case of form over function, or designer's ego over concern for the reader's experience, was my thought. Too fashionable - as in, this will go out of style about five minutes after it enjoys a short-lived "trendy" moment. The font seemed unreadable - too condensed for comfort, too many odd shapes and flourishes for a restful read.

As I forced myself past my initial judgements, and read Lenker's words, I found myself thoroughly captivated and engrossed. The fact that the font was a little challenging to read made me concentrate a bit harder to absorb each concept put forth. The interesting background images allowed my mind to wander a bit as I rested after reading the text on each page. A few chapters in, I found myself enjoying the read and the design more than my first harsh suspicions would have thought possible.

After finishing and thoroughly enjoying this book, I decided that the overbearing design made a point. Like David Carson's illegible type treatments that have forever altered typographic design, what was unreadable became imminently more interesting, what was challenging caused me to meet the challenge.

This book taunts you to test your preconceptions. The disconcerting design is perfect. The content, provocative and original. The author took risks to state his true beliefs in an uncommon manner. His belief that design should not always be safe or predictable. His belief that our audience is more intelligent than we give them credit for, his belief that design, originality and creativity have value. Value to shock, value to intrigue and delight, value to make us stop to think. Value to make us feel things.

In the end, this turned out to be one of the best books I've read in a long time. It didn't regurgitate what other web design books out there have to say. My highest respects to an author who took a risk, spoke his mind, backed it up with many clear ideas and obvious research. Thanks for writing this - it clearly contains heartfelt convictions. Something rare in this industry - indeed! This book provides a lot of stimulating thoughts for those willing to question authority and dig a little deeper. Kudos, and thanks to Lenker for writing it and New Riders for publishing it!

In Train of Thoughts, Lenker analyses what we see, feel, and hear everyday. He breaks down concepts (learning, usability, emotion, etc) into even smaller concepts to show why people react the way they do. Once that is fully understood applications can be tailored to this new understanding. All aboard! Not likely any time soon. While Lenker gives many amazing "different" looks at the status quo (what is right and what is wrong) it is not likely that the industry will be changing any time soon. There has to be a first, and Lenker is that visionary. Hopefully designers, developers, and companies will takes this book as at the very least, a step in the right direction. There are problems with the web today. How can they be dealt with? Read the book!

The design of this book kept me from purchasing it, even though I was interested in the content.

I was looking for a thoughtful discussion about desigining for the web. After a very brief scan through the book, it looked like it might meet my needs. I continued my evaluation with an in-depth look at the book.

The chapter summaries at the beginning of the book were unique and very helpful, as was how Lenker labels each chunk of information. The graphics were elegantly simple. Overall, the book was very attractive.

After I sampled several paragraphs of text, I reached my decision to not purchase the book. The information seemed interesting and well-written. Unfortunately, there were 2 problems: the text was too small to read comfortably for extended periods and the background graphics on the pages were too distracting (the text itself is displayed in a white box). I don't object to the background graphics themselves - perhaps if they had been muted, they wouldn't be so distracting. I'll also admit that I'm at a point in my life that I'm wearing bifocals, but the text would have been too small even before I started wearing bifocals. I don't believe that the design of the book would have been compromised if the text were a little larger and the background graphics muted a bit.

I was very disappointed - there are few good theoretical web design books available. On the other hand, perhaps I'm not a member of the book's intended demographic, even if I am in charge of my organization's web site.