Whitney Quesenbery

Think things have to be complicated to be powerful? Think again. In this clear, compelling (and beautiful) book, Giles Colborne makes the argument for simplicity. He shows us design as a process of thoughtfully crafting a product that is just simple enough.

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Alphabets

There’s an old joke: Where does “finish” come before “start”? In the dictionary. Alphabetizing a list jumbles items. So while alphabetical lists look simple, they’re often hard to use. If users don’t know the correct word for what they’re trying to find, they’re lost. Are …

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Errors

Even small errors can add to the load on users. Squishing them is a great route to simplifying a user experience. A few years ago I was asked to design a current account display for an online bank. The bank wanted the service to match …

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Alignment

If you’re designing for an organization, then other people, stakeholders, will be involved. Often, they will pull in different directions creating friction that slows progress. If things get bad enough, the project will fail. To keep things moving, it’s tempting to allow each one to …

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Table of contents

Part 1: Why are we here? A story about simplicity The power of simplicity Increasing complexity is unsustainable Fake simplicity Things fall apart Elegant simplicity Not that kind of simple Character Be single-minded Part 2: Setting a vision Making sense of the muddle Alignment Get …

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Adam Polanski

Whether you’re new to design or a long-time practitioner, this book should be in your library. Simple and Usable offers a clear perspective on design that can be easily understood and repeated. This book is designed deliberately to offer more than words but to create an experience. Read it. Learn it. Live it.

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Giles Colborne

Giles Colborne has been designing interactive user experiences since the early 1990s and it’s about time he did something useful like writing a book. When he’s not doing that he he’s busy with cxpartners, the design consultancy he founded that helps some of the worlds most …

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