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The Elements of User Interface Design
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Author: Theo Mandel
List Price: $49.99
Our Price: Click to see the latest and low price
ISBN: 0471162671
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons (February, 1997)
Edition: Paperback
Sales Rank: 22,135
Average Customer Rating: 4 out of 5
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Customer ReviewsRating: 2 out of 5
for the novice really
the book isn't a bad book but it's more of a reference and a little on the novice side. If you haven't already, check out "The Human Interface" by Jef Raskin. That is a far superior book.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Focuses on "Desktop", not "Web" UIs
Mandel's book was one of several UI books I got when I was trying to implement a process for designing Web user interfaces at my workplace. Mandel has an entire chapter on it, "The User Interface Design Process", which on flipping through the pages seems quite comprehensive.It turns out, however, that Mandel's intention in this book is to introduce the theory and practice of Object Oriented User Interfaces (OOUIs), through a brilliant "foundations" part that covers the concepts and evolution of user interfaces, two OOUI parts that profile and detail OOUIs, and an "Advanced" part that looks at evolving user interface concepts and issues. Unfortunately, not only are Web interfaces covered in but a single chapter in the last part of the book, but the chapter merely explores, without a conclusion, how the Web interface is strikingly different from the traditional PC desktop interface. OOUI principles are in no way applicable to building Web applications (Consider what impact the OOUI tenet "Users must Understand Direct Manipulation (Drag and Drop)" would have on download time and cross-browser development costs in a Web project). Overall, the book is a great read, a necessary reference for any UI designer, but avoid it if you're looking for solutions, especially for Web-based applications.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Excellent resource for UI professionals or layperson
I'm a usability / human factors / HCI professional, and I thought I'd already read all the standard UI design books I'd ever need. After reading Mandel, I realized this book was an excellent standard reference. It belongs on the desk of anyone who is currently doing UI design, is planning to do UI design, or is merely curious about how good user interfaces can be created. This work has a good balance of friendly, accessible readability, and pointers to the basic scholarly research upon which the principles are based. Highly recommended.
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