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Title: Universal Principles of Design: 100 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach Through Design
Authors: William Lidwell, Jill Butler, Kritina Holden
Genre: Design
Thingummies: 3.5
Synopsis: An encyclopedia of design concepts, from graphic design to architecture to engineering to programming.
Thoughts: While this wasn't really quite what I was expecting, it was definitely interesting.
This isn't a particularly good way to learn design, and it's not really meant to be read straight through. (Although I'll admit, I'm having a little trouble figuring out how it's intended to be used.) What it does is define and provide advice and examples on a number of design terms, in an attempt to universalize the language of design from across multiple disciplines.
So "Desire Lines" take examples from GUIs and landscaping. "Progressive Disclosure" references nested software functionality and amusement park lines. They start with the 80/20 rule and end with the "Weakest Link" principle.
It's an interesting reference book, and a fascinating way of tying together disciplines. All design exists to help humans negotiate obstacles, whether external or inside our own heads, to accomplish tasks more efficiently and effectively. But designers from different disciplines are often not encouraged to share their findings, and it's refreshing to see effort being put towards pooling the knowledge.
Still not sure how I'm going to use the darn thing, though.
Authors: William Lidwell, Jill Butler, Kritina Holden
Genre: Design
Thingummies: 3.5
Synopsis: An encyclopedia of design concepts, from graphic design to architecture to engineering to programming.
Thoughts: While this wasn't really quite what I was expecting, it was definitely interesting.
This isn't a particularly good way to learn design, and it's not really meant to be read straight through. (Although I'll admit, I'm having a little trouble figuring out how it's intended to be used.) What it does is define and provide advice and examples on a number of design terms, in an attempt to universalize the language of design from across multiple disciplines.
So "Desire Lines" take examples from GUIs and landscaping. "Progressive Disclosure" references nested software functionality and amusement park lines. They start with the 80/20 rule and end with the "Weakest Link" principle.
It's an interesting reference book, and a fascinating way of tying together disciplines. All design exists to help humans negotiate obstacles, whether external or inside our own heads, to accomplish tasks more efficiently and effectively. But designers from different disciplines are often not encouraged to share their findings, and it's refreshing to see effort being put towards pooling the knowledge.
Still not sure how I'm going to use the darn thing, though.
