Becoming an interaction-design monk By an Amazon.com customer | |
 | Sketching User Experiences: Getting the Design Right and the Right Design (Interactive Technologies) by Bill Buxton Buy new: $30.36 / Used from: $15.04 Great book that describes methods (as well as ways of thinking) for exploring the temporal aspect of interaction design. |
 | The Simplicity Shift: Innovative Design Tactics in a Corporate World by Scott Jenson Buy new: $38.48 / Used from: $1.99 Introductory text that teaches foundational, and essential, stuff on personas, use cases and layering. Note, this is also available as a pdf download from the author's site. |
 | The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman Buy new: $11.05 / Used from: $1.70 You haven't read this?! Get out! Get out now, before I blow my top! |
 | The Art of Game Design: A book of lenses by Jesse Schell Buy new: $42.09 / Used from: $29.75 100 good design perspectives to keep in mind when designing games. At least 78% of these are relevant for ANY interaction design. |
 | Designing Visual Interfaces: Communication Oriented Techniques by Kevin Mullet Buy used from: $16.77 I've read this at least 7 times. I will read it again. Great primer and unique in its way of putting graphic design principles for user interfaces into words. Even if you happen to know this stuff, you may not know how to talk about it productively. |
 | Cracking Creativity: The Secrets of Creative Genius by Michael Michalko Buy new: $13.30 / Used from: $6.28 Tired of "creative workshops" where you are force fed post-it notes and asked to save the company? Me too! Here is one of the best books I've read on creativity. Filled to the brim with concrete methods. |
 | Mobile Interaction Design by Matt Jones Buy new: $53.35 / Used from: $31.95 Introductory text, but nice because it a) is better written than these books tend to be, b) addresses the area of mobile interaction design directly, c) references lots of interesting data that any interaction designer for mobile devices would benefit from knowing about. |
 | Natural-Born Cyborgs: Minds, Technologies, and the Future of Human Intelligence by Andy Clark Buy new: $12.35 / Used from: $7.60 I think Andy Clark brilliantly summarizes the state of cognitive science in his books. This particular one is fun because it describes our long lasting, and intimate, relationship to technology. |
 | The evolution of useful Things by Henry Petroski Buy used from: $20.00 Why are things the way they are? Entertaining and illuminating history of some common artefacts. |
 | Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker Buy used from: $1.60 A fun piece of fiction that describes the artefacts used during a lunch break in excruciating detail. Was actually included among the reading for a course on digital ethnography I took for Ed Hutchins. |
 | The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst Buy new: $17.70 / Used from: $12.82 Great book on typography. Beautiful and beautifully written. |
 | Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath Buy new: $14.99 / Used from: $7.48 One of the best books on presentation technique that I've read. |
 | Perfect Pitch: The Art of Selling Ideas and Winning New Business (Adweek Books) by Jon Steel Buy new: $17.63 / Used from: $14.95 Good book on how to pitch your ideas. |
 | 48 Laws of Power (A Joost Elffers Production) by Robert Greene Buy used from: $12.89 A stimulating resource for how to navigate the political landscape that any interaction design inevitably finds himself/herself in. |
 | Objects of Desire: Design and Society Since 1750 by Adrian Forty Buy new: $18.21 / Used from: $4.01 A thoughtful book about the political forces (admittedly, a decidedly Marxist analysis) that help shape things. |
 | Prisoners' Inventions by Temporary Services Buy used from: $81.86 A book detailing the objects made by American prisoners -- mostly using toilet Papier-mâché. Includes tables, chess sets and sex toys. |
 | Universal Principles of Design, Revised and Updated: 125 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach through Design by William Lidwell Buy new: $18.04 / Used from: $18.47 Good and fun overview (as well as pointer to further reading) of a 100 (now 125) principles relevant to design. |
 | Where the Action Is: The Foundations of Embodied Interaction (Bradford Books) by Paul Dourish Buy new: $19.31 / Used from: $9.00 At the very very top of my pile of next books to read... |
 | Impro for Storytellers (Theatre Arts (Routledge Paperback)) by Keith Johnstone Buy new: $22.56 / Used from: $20.49 This is ostensibly a book about improvisational technique for the theatre. For the thoughtful interaction designer it contains tools for creativity, as well as insights into what constitutes an original idea. |
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