Skip Intro: Flash Usability and Interface Design (Paperback)

~ (Author), Michelangelo Capraro (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Are you a Flash user constantly fighting the usability war?

Skip Intro is designed to help educate the Flash community specifically and designers/programmers at large that usability isn't a dirty word. It doesn't mean making boring pedestrian web sites, and it doesn't mean abandoning Flash. Quite the contrary, Flash offers advanced usability elements that traditional HTML websites could never hope to achieve. This book will show designers how to start thinking about their users and, more importantly, how to translate that understanding when they start designing or coding.

Skip Intro moves beyond traditional usability books by shying away from listing examples of "why this is wrong" or "why this is right." Instead, it guides designers through understanding the site requirements and their intended users and then starts them down the road of developing for those users, by taking them step-by-step through design scenerios, rather than providing strict rules of usability.

From the Publisher

At New Riders, we've made web usability and the promotion of good thinking in design a priority in our publishing plan, and for good reason: we're all better off if the technologies we use are easier to use (see also famous quote supposedly uttered by one A.Einstein "Everything should be as simple as possible but not simplistic"). Jakob Nielsen's books (Designing Web Usability and Homepage Usability), Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability (Steve Krug), Back to the User: Creating User-Focused Web Sites (Tammy Sachs and Gary McClain), Designing from Both Sides of the Screen (Ellen Isaacs and Alan Walendowski), Hot Text: Web Writing that Works (Jonathan Price and Lisa Price), Web ReDesign: Workflow that Works (Kelly Goto and Emily Cotler), Design for Community (Derek Powazek), The Art & Science of Web Design (Jeffrey Veen), are among the leading titles, written by the leading voices, in their specific areas. And we needed to do the same targeted publishing with regard to Flash.

That's why our heads turned when Duncan McAlester approached us about a book no one else was talking about but that we all knew had to be done. Flash. Usability. Somebody who knows about these things needs to put pen to paper. Even the most ardent opponent of Jakob Nielsen will likely admit--albeit privately--that a lot of what Jakob says is true ("It's just *how* he says it that I don't like..."). Duncan and his co-author, Michelangelo Capraro, have been thinking about, doing, and teaching the combination of Flash design, interface design, and usability since well before the rest of us. They love what you can do with Flash and they realize a lot of what is called bad Flash design is simply a matter of understanding purpose and user, then working through tangible design steps to get them what they need with nothing that takes away from what they need.

I also like that they came to a publisher with this idea, and not the other way around. That's the best way to do a book like this. I knew we'd made a great partnership when I first met Duncan and Michelangelo (their wit, passion and intelligence stays with you days after you've last met with them). I knew we'd made a great book when *Alan Cooper reviewed it and said "Capraro and McAlester GET IT! They identify Flash for what it is: a powerful tool, but not a replacement for good design focused on users and their goals. While their detailed techniques and code samples will help you harness Flash's power and complexity, their insights will give you an important new perspective: Your Flash expertise is for creating a better user experience, not for creating the next blinking widget monstrosity." *(Alan is one of the people who've helped define the field of software design and user-interface design. Read his books.) Is Flash 99% bad (see famous quote supposedly uttered by one J.Nielsen)? In the wrong hands, it could be. Even the best Flash designer can point out any painful slew of examples of terrible Flash design, and that's not counting the aesthetically-impaired sites. But Flash is here, it is being used everywhere, and it's up to you to use it appropriately. You owe it to the people coming to your site. Thanks for listening, and let us know how the book works for you. Steve Weiss, executive editor, [e-mail]. April, 2002.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: New Riders Press (April 11, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 073571178X
• ISBN-13: 978-0735711785
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,144,264 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good flash application book for the "real-world"!, May 28, 2002

By	patricia waterman - See all my reviews

Instead of just showing how to do super cool tricks, the authors teach functional techniques that lead to ease of use for the end-user.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read!, May 29, 2002

By	Gary Birch (USA) - See all my reviews

Skip Intro is a must read for the serious web designer, whether a seasoned and experienced veteran, or an excited, inexperienced novice. Interface design is the most important element in creating a website that is easy to navigate, enjoyable, entertaining,, and keeps users coming back making it "Sticky". Poor interface design can bounce the user straight off your site and into your competition's.

Correctly used, Macromedia Flash is the most powerful authoring tool for efficient and effective web design. Skip Into comprehensively covers the philosophy of effective design (the why) and the specific graphic and scripting required to implement (the how).

Expect a well-worn copy of Skip Intro at the desk of leading web designers, and take note fellow educators--this is a must read and know for our graphic design majors.

A great plus - developers will create reusable tools that will simplify your life and improve your users' navigation experience.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sense and sensibility, May 15, 2002

By A Customer

What a relief to finally find a book on technology that is well-laid out, simple, clear and easy to understand and, dare I say it, even fun. Isn't this what interactive design should be about; focussing on the users' experience rather than demonstrating how clever the flash designer is. I think this book does a great job in terms of its content and its actual design and layout. It represents the maturing and professionalism of the industry.
As someone who employs interactive designers I found this book very useful in helping me select and work with designers and agencies who will produce workable and functioning sites that look great and provide the right experience for the user without alienating them.