free scribbles

Book Review: Web Standards Solutions

I am not a web developer. 

But, in my approximately two years working at my current agency I have learned a fair amount about coding.  I think I have asked the right questions and admitted when I didn't know what the hell was being said.  It helped that I lived in developer land for almost a year (and I miss it now). 

For multiple reasons: the desire to understand websites completely, a recommendation from Brad Noble, interest in amateur coding, and my ultimate goal of developing into a smart information architect, I picked up Dan Cederholm's Wed Standards Solutions: The Markup and Style Handbook. 

Its not exactly a book for the general masses, but for anyone dealing with building websites, be it developers, information architects, and designers to project and account managers will take something away from it.  Cederholm's writes in an easily digestible format on a complicated topics. 

Chapters tackle one singular topic, starting with lists and headers and moving on to image replacement.   Each topic is explained through images, code examples, and explanatory copy.  Multiple methods of achieving the same visual display are laid out.  The pros and cons of each method are discussed and finally, he takes each topic further extending the applications and techniques in what he terms "extra credit."  This extra credit builds on the simple coding to change and enhance the final display or, better yet, makes things 508 compliant and accessible to all. 

Website builders will better understand what a web developer can do for a designer's vision or consider some of the challenges that a design may face when it comes time to build.  Some of the information may no longer be 100% relevant, like the Internet Explorer 5 hacks, but its still a good primer.  Project and Account Managers will get a better sense of the practicality and challenge of their expectations and be able to better understand and communicate with web developers provided they don't throw about fancy words willy nilly. 

Still not a web developer, but learning more every day.   

Book Review: Envisioning Information

Before I even cracked the spine, Envisioning Information impressed me.  The dust jacket conveyed quality with its hardy stock.  As I leafed through the first pages, the same quality in the paper was present.  This felt more like a coffee table art book than a book about quantitative data and its display.  As an avid reader, the very nature of the book's physical construction excited me beyond the written material itself.

Written in 1990 by Edward Tufte, "the da Vinci of Data," it takes a historical look at how information has been displayed, both the good and those that need improvement.  He breaks the various types of information into six chapters, Escaping Flatland, Micro/Macro Readings, Layering and Separation, Small Multiples, Color and Information, and Narratives of Space and Time.  All of them easily digestible.  Each good example is thoroughly broken down, showing why it has stood the test of time. 

This book is a fairly quick read, identify the key point and building the case behind it with vivid and colorful examples, all of which is a good sign for a book about relaying information effectively.  Cited by many information designers and statisticians, it is great read for anyone who builds presentations often, especially relating to quantitative results and designers looking to show something beyond their prowess with Photoshop or Flash.  Perhaps before that next powerpoint, you may want to gloss over some of the pages.

A great book and one that I am sure to pick up and read cover to cover again. Any book that still carries significant relevancy over  a quarter of a century despite the great changes in technology is worth a second look.

Book Review: The Design of Everyday Things

Plane rides have become a fantastic time for me to lower the stack of books in progress, or at the very least, allow space for some new ones to be added.  Most recently, Donald Norman's Design of Everyday Things has left the stack to be relocated to the bookshelf. 

For those of you who don't know who Dr. Norman is, he is part of the Nielsen Norman Group, a pioneering group in the field of user experience.  He is also a retired professor of cognitive science, a consultant, and an author.

Given his unique background and engaging way of describing the common problems that many users have with something as simple as a door to something more complicated as computer software, I found this book highly enjoyable. My approach to the book came from a web perspective, knowing Dr. Norman from the NNG and several articles I've read, and yet I feel confident walking away that I can draw meaning from his anecdotal stories and the incidents shared throughout the pages.

Anyone who works in the creative or productive fields would be served well from reading this book.  Designing and constructing hardware, software, living spaces, etc. all come from the need to serve the purpose of both the creator and the user. 

One challenge arises when the creator cannot think as a user.  But the bigger challenge, that Dr. Norman stresses, is that of the user not blaming himself for failure and continuing to pay for this negative privilege.  Only through firm action (read: financial distress) will the creators realize that their product needs improvement.

I look forward to reading his latest book, The Design of Future Things, and hope I enjoy it as much as this one.  He writes well and establishes a clear point carried throughout the book, while adding value as you progress by elaborating on the who, what, where, why, and how design can be better. 

Books in Progress

I can't claim this is an original thought, one of the many feeds I follow did this and I thought it was a cool idea.  Taking a picture of all the books that I currently am in the progress of reading or are in the short stack of books to read in the immediate future.  From top to bottom: The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass, Influence, The Design of Everyday Things, The Areas of My Expertise, The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently and Why, Bowerman and the Men of Oregon, Running with the Buffaloes, About Face 3: The Essentials of Interaction Design, and The World is Flat.  I like to scatter books around to read when I can, even if its in 3 page increments. 

Book Review: The Elements of User Experience

Jesse James Garrett's book was an enjoyable and easily-consumed piece on web design.  Despite being written in 2002, the book still feels very contemporary as the overarching themes addressed haven't changed despite social media and a more "open" internet than at the time of publication.

His simple diagram of the five "planes" of a website clearly articulates not only the stages of thought, but the required skills that need to be utilized at each level.  I am fortunate to work with experts in the fields of information architecture, development, and design (copy & art direction), but any success that is achieved as a unit comes from the ability to get/have them thinking and compromising across channels.

The main premise of the book is to make the connections between final site design and the beginning kernels of purpose and everything in between.  The question "why?" asked of the marketing department early on is very similar to the "why?" asked of the art director right before launch. 

At 174 pages and chocked full of simple analogies, its a quick read and worth the time for anyone in the interactive marketing sector, especially those impacting website design seeking to look at the picture more holistically.