Overview
Is your application or Web site ready for prime time?A major revision of a classic reference, GUI Bloopers 2.0 looks at user interface design bloopers from commercial software, Web sites, Web applications, and information appliances, explaining how intelligent, well-intentioned professionals make these mistakes--and how you can avoid them. While equipping you with the minimum of theory, GUI expert Jeff Johnson presents the reality of interface design in an entertaining, anecdotal, and instructive way.
* Updated to reflect the bloopers that are common today, incorporating many comments and suggestions from first edition readers.
* Takes a learn-by-example approach that teaches how to avoid common errors.
* Covers bloopers in a wide range of categories: GUI controls, graphic design and layout, text messages, interaction strategies, Web site design -- including search, link, and navigation, responsiveness issues, and management decision-making.
* Organized and formatted so information needed is quickly found, the new edition features call-outs for the examples and informative captions to enhance quick knowledge building.
* Hundreds of illustrations: both the DOs and the DON'Ts for each topic covered, with checklists and additional bloopers on gui-bloopers.com.
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
There are so many ways to foul up a user interface. But there's only one best way to avoid doing so: Read GUI Bloopers 2.0. The first edition was a classic. Programmers have been waiting ages for the second, but the wait's been worth it.Jeff Johnson again begins with first principles. ("Consider function first, presentation later.... Don't distract users from their goals.... Facilitate learning...deliver information, not just data...design for responsiveness.... Try it out on users, then fix it...") The principles are crucial; even more crucial is his guidance on actually implementing them.
Then, the "bloopers" -- and the fixes. Virtually every example here is new: those covering GUI control, navigation, text, layout, responsiveness, interaction, and more. Following its own philosophy, the book's own interface is improved. New callouts, captions, and checklists make it even more efficient and usable: You can finally retire your old, dog-eared copy. Bill Camarda, from the November 2007 Read Only
From the Publisher
“GUI Bloopers 2.0 is an extremely useful book for any software developer or interaction designer. If you have never made any of these mistakes, it’s because you have never designed a UI. If anything, these bloopers are even more common now than when version 1.0 was published, so the need for the book has only increased.” --Jakob Nielsen, Principal Nielsen Norman Group (www.nngroup.com)"This is the most entertaining design book I've read. Jeff Johnson has once again done a fabulous job of reminding us about all the silly design mistakes we can make and giving us great advice on how to avoid them in our own designs." --Jared M. Spool, Founding Principal, User Interface Engineering
“The second edition of GUI Bloopers is that true rarity: a sequel to something great that’s even better than the original. (Think Godfather II.) While Jeff could have settled for just updating the examples, as near as I can tell he’s rewritten nearly the entire book, and it shows. The organization is terrific, the insights are easier to grasp, and above all, the writing is leaner. If you ever picked it up in the past and ended up not plunking down your money, definitely take another look. It’s gone from a great book to an excellent one.“ --Steve Krug, Advanced Common Sense