The trick to great design is knowing how to think through each decision so that users don't have to. In Designing the Moment: Web Interface Design Concepts in Action, Robert Hoekman, Jr., author of Designing the Obvious, presents over 30 stories that illustrate how to put good design principles to work on real-world web application interfaces to make them obvious and compelling. From the first impression to the last, Hoekman takes a think out loud approach to interface design to show us how to look critically at design decisions to ensure that human beings, the kind that make mistakes and do things we don't expect, can walk away from our software feeling productive, respected, and smart.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Advice from a Humble Yet Seasoned Web Designer:
This is a follow on book by the author of the popular Designing the Obvious: A Common Sense Approach to Web Application Design. The author is a web designer who has started his own company. His advice seems to me to be very practical and valuable. He starts with some basics on layout and design continuity to form a more positive impression. He presents some advice on what to do and not to do when it comes to web site navigation. He talks about content patterns such as trigger words, making the text... more info
Desiging the Moment makes my job 100% easier!:
I recommend this book and Designing the Obvious to web designers, and burgeoning IA's . These two books combined take seemingly daunting but painfully simple interfaces and functionality and turn them into easy cheezy solutions that are plug-n-play ready to go! No matter what type of website you are working on, these core pieces allow you to embrace to basic in order to excel in the complex. Such a breeze to read, and fun too! Robert, you're amazing. If I could ever work with you, it would be a dream come... more info
Good insight, doesn't go far enough:
There are many useful concepts illustrated in this book, including: * Gutenberg diagram-Primary optical area and terminal anchor
* Ambient signifiers by Ross Howard - color, size, transparency level
* The goal to create positive moments, with a great example of the use of autocomplete
* Video!
* Display validation pre-submit, aka check boxes which activate next to a validated form as the user tabs through the interface
* Many other nuanced goodies One of the... more info
Needs some weight:
Hoekmann's last book Designing the Obvious was pretty good: a short, readable survey of some user experience tactics and tips. Nearly all of it was applicable and relevant. This book (published, what, a year later?) seems hurried and much more superficial. It's really just a collection of short essays that run the gamut from mildly useful to simply wrong. Unfortunately, Hoekman's decided that *none* of his user interface design advice needs support from research, usability, or even real-world... more info
