Press Release
December 8, 2005
Designing Interfaces: Bringing the Power of Patterns to Interface Design
Sebastopol, CA-- Over the past few years "patterns" have swept across the
programming landscape. Whether it is patterns in Java or patterns in Ruby,
programmers can now find coding assistance in a plethora of books. When it
comes to the visual elements of software--the interface--then the field is
much lighter. Jenifer Tidwell provides a substantial body of patterns in
interface design in her new book Designing Interfaces (O'Reilly, US
$49.95). With practical design advice and full color illustrations
throughout, Tidwell presents a valuable resource for software developers,
interaction designers, graphic designers, and anyone who creates
user-facing software.
Tidwell herself expresses surprise that so few books have been written on
the subject of patterns for user interface design. "The software industry
has always needed ways to capture reusable UI design knowledge and best
practices, and patterns work at just the right level of abstraction to do
that," she explains. "They're based on good design principles, but they
provide focused solutions without being limited to a single UI platform or
toolkit. A UI technique that works in Java might work just as well in
AJAX, for example. "
While observing that some applications, devices, and web apps are easy to
use, Tidwell adds, "Many aren't. Following style guides was never a
guarantee of usability anyhow, but now designers have even more choices
than before (which, paradoxically, can make design a lot harder)."
As people have come to depend more and more upon interactive software--web
apps, mobile, and other digital devices--good interface design has become
even more important. It increases loyalty, reduces support costs, and
results in happier, less stressed users overall. From the developers'
end, Tidwell contends that using UI patterns during the software design
process can help reduce the cost of a project by providing workable ideas
and alternatives early on, before getting to the point of usability
testing or full implementation.
Designing Interfaces is for a wider audience than just software
developers, however. "People doing UI and interaction design at all levels
could use these patterns. Experienced designers can even skip all the
introductory material and go straight to the examples. The book is meant
to spur creativity, too," Tidwell points out. "If a designer is stuck, he
can flip around in the book and see if anything catches his eye."
Tidwell notes that apps that are easy to use are designed to be familiar.
In Designing Interfaces, she catalogs many of those familiar parts, in
ways that can be reused in many different contexts. The patterns in the
book are designed to work for both desktop and web-based applications.
Many patterns also apply to handheld digital devices such as cell phones
and PDAs.
The first set of chapters is applicable to almost any interface one might
design:
Chapter 1, "What Users Do," talks about common behavior and usage
patterns.
Chapter 2, "Organizing the Content, discusses information architecture as
it applies to highly interactive interfaces.
Chapter 3, "Getting Around," discusses navigation.
Chapter 4, "Organizing the Page," describes patterns for the layout and
placement of page elements.
Chapter 5, "Doing Things," talks about how to present actions and
commands.
Next comes a set of chapters that deals with specific idioms:
Chapter 6, "Showing Complex Data," contains patterns for trees, tables,
charts and informational graphics in general.
Chapter 7, "Getting Input From Users," deals with forms and controls. It
includes a table that maps desired data types to controls that can
represent them.
Chapter 8, "Builders and Editors," discusses techniques and patterns
often used in graphic and text editors.
Finally:
Chapter 9, "Making It Look Good," deals with aesthetics and
fit-and-finish.
Taken as a whole, the book deals with all the important facets of
interface design in a manner that is approachable and usable by both
formal interface designers and programmers wishing to improve the
interfaces they build themselves.
Additional Resources:
Designing Interfaces
Jenifer Tidwell
ISBN: 0-596-00803-1, 331 pages, $49.95 US
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938; 1-707-827-7000
About O'Reilly
O'Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O'Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying "faint signals" from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.
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