Insightful Books
Below is a list of insightful books that have inspired me over the years. All of them are well worth the read. From quick reads to extensive research, even if you just read a few pages, I am sure you’ll end up inspired.
by Alistair Croll, Sean Power
Complete Web Monitoring demonstrates how to measure every aspect of your web presence -- including analytics, backend performance, usability, communities, customer feedback, and competitive analysis -- whether you're running an e-commerce site, a community, a media property, or a Software-as-a-Service company. This book's concrete examples, clear explanations, and practical recommendations make it essential for anyone who runs a website.
Complete Web Monitoring demonstrates how to measure every aspect of your web presence -- including analytics, backend performance, usability, communities, customer feedback, and competitive analysis -- whether you're running an e-commerce site, a community, a media property, or a Software-as-a-Service company. This book's concrete examples, clear explanations, and practical recommendations make it essential for anyone who runs a website.
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by Eli Pariser
One of Eli Pariser's central points is that personalized internet services--Google, Facebook, advertising--can put you into a "you loop", in which they show you what you think you want, and then you wind up wanting those things more because you see them more often. Invisibly, your momentary impulses (click on this, ignore that) shape your reality, and your reality shapes what you respond to.
One of Eli Pariser's central points is that personalized internet services--Google, Facebook, advertising--can put you into a "you loop", in which they show you what you think you want, and then you wind up wanting those things more because you see them more often. Invisibly, your momentary impulses (click on this, ignore that) shape your reality, and your reality shapes what you respond to.
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by Susan Weinschenk
We design to elicit responses from people. We want them to buy something, read more, or take action of some kind. Designing without understanding what makes people act the way they do is like exploring a new city without a map: results will be haphazard, confusing, and inefficient. This book combines real science and research with practical examples to deliver a guide every designer needs. With it you’ll be able to design more intuitive and engaging work for print, websites, applications, and products that matches the way people think, work, and play.
We design to elicit responses from people. We want them to buy something, read more, or take action of some kind. Designing without understanding what makes people act the way they do is like exploring a new city without a map: results will be haphazard, confusing, and inefficient. This book combines real science and research with practical examples to deliver a guide every designer needs. With it you’ll be able to design more intuitive and engaging work for print, websites, applications, and products that matches the way people think, work, and play.
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by Leonard Mlodinow
This smart book will make you think. Academic yet easy to read, it explores how random events shape the world and how human intuition fights that fact. I found this point fascinating. It never occurred to me that our brains naturally want to see patterns and order, and life doesn't necessarily work like that.
This smart book will make you think. Academic yet easy to read, it explores how random events shape the world and how human intuition fights that fact. I found this point fascinating. It never occurred to me that our brains naturally want to see patterns and order, and life doesn't necessarily work like that.
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by Avinash Kaushik
The Web, online marketing, and advertising have been revolutionized in the last few years, yet the approach to using data has remained largely the same as a decade ago. Web analytics thought leader Avinash Kaushik presents the next-generation framework of web analytics in this exciting book that will dramatically enhance the ability of your organization to think smart and move fast.
The Web, online marketing, and advertising have been revolutionized in the last few years, yet the approach to using data has remained largely the same as a decade ago. Web analytics thought leader Avinash Kaushik presents the next-generation framework of web analytics in this exciting book that will dramatically enhance the ability of your organization to think smart and move fast.
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by Dan Ariely
Irrational behavior is a part of human nature, but as MIT professor Ariely has discovered in 20 years of researching behavioral economics, people tend to behave irrationally in a predictable fashion. Drawing on psychology and economics, behavioral economics can show us why cautious people make poor decisions about sex when aroused, why patients get greater relief from a more expensive drug over its cheaper counterpart and why honest people may steal office supplies or communal food, but not money.
Irrational behavior is a part of human nature, but as MIT professor Ariely has discovered in 20 years of researching behavioral economics, people tend to behave irrationally in a predictable fashion. Drawing on psychology and economics, behavioral economics can show us why cautious people make poor decisions about sex when aroused, why patients get greater relief from a more expensive drug over its cheaper counterpart and why honest people may steal office supplies or communal food, but not money.
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by Barry Schwartz
Who woulda thunk it? Here we are, in the early years of the twenty-first century, being driven bonkers by the staggering array of consumer goods from which we must choose. Choosing something as (seemingly) simple as shampoo can force us to wade through dozens, even hundreds, of brands. We are, the author suggests, overwhelmed by choice, and that's not such a good thing. Schwartz tells us that constantly being asked to make choices, even about the simplest things, forces us to "invest time, energy, and no small amount of self-doubt, and dread."
Who woulda thunk it? Here we are, in the early years of the twenty-first century, being driven bonkers by the staggering array of consumer goods from which we must choose. Choosing something as (seemingly) simple as shampoo can force us to wade through dozens, even hundreds, of brands. We are, the author suggests, overwhelmed by choice, and that's not such a good thing. Schwartz tells us that constantly being asked to make choices, even about the simplest things, forces us to "invest time, energy, and no small amount of self-doubt, and dread."
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by Caroline Jarrett, Gerry Gaffney
Designing good forms is trickier than people think. Jarrett and Gaffney come to the rescue with Designing Forms that Work, clearly explaining exactly how to design great forms for the web. Liberally illustrated with full-color examples, it guides readers on how to define requirements, how to write questions that users will understand and want to answer, and how to deal with instructions, progress indicators and errors.
Designing good forms is trickier than people think. Jarrett and Gaffney come to the rescue with Designing Forms that Work, clearly explaining exactly how to design great forms for the web. Liberally illustrated with full-color examples, it guides readers on how to define requirements, how to write questions that users will understand and want to answer, and how to deal with instructions, progress indicators and errors.
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by Susan M. Weinschenk
Why do people decide to buy a product online? Register at your Web site? Trust the information you provide? Neuro Web Design applies the research on motivation, decision making, and neuroscience to the design of Web sites. You will learn the unconscious reasons for people’s actions, how emotions affect decisions, and how to apply the principles of persuasion to design Web sites that encourage users to click.
Why do people decide to buy a product online? Register at your Web site? Trust the information you provide? Neuro Web Design applies the research on motivation, decision making, and neuroscience to the design of Web sites. You will learn the unconscious reasons for people’s actions, how emotions affect decisions, and how to apply the principles of persuasion to design Web sites that encourage users to click.
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by Luke Wroblewski
Forms make or break the most crucial online interactions: checkout, registration, and any task requiring information entry. In Web Form Design, Luke Wroblewski draws on original research, his considerable experience at Yahoo! and eBay, and the perspectives of many of the field's leading designers to show you everything you need to know about designing effective and engaging web forms.
Forms make or break the most crucial online interactions: checkout, registration, and any task requiring information entry. In Web Form Design, Luke Wroblewski draws on original research, his considerable experience at Yahoo! and eBay, and the perspectives of many of the field's leading designers to show you everything you need to know about designing effective and engaging web forms.
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by Stephen P. Anderson
This beautifully-designed book follows its own principles of seduction and examines what motivates and causes people to act. Topics include ways to create playful engagements during the moment; how to put people at ease through sense-making, reassurance, and clear communication; ways to grab attention through language, visuals, and emotions; and how to continue motivating long after the first encounter.
This beautifully-designed book follows its own principles of seduction and examines what motivates and causes people to act. Topics include ways to create playful engagements during the moment; how to put people at ease through sense-making, reassurance, and clear communication; ways to grab attention through language, visuals, and emotions; and how to continue motivating long after the first encounter.
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by Jan Jursa, Stephen Köver, Jutta Grünewald
[Kindle Only] Whether you’re a usability pro or a student of interaction design, whether you’re a senior information architect or a junior UX designer, you will find 42 entertaining stories in this book told by leading experts from all over the globe.
[Kindle Only] Whether you’re a usability pro or a student of interaction design, whether you’re a senior information architect or a junior UX designer, you will find 42 entertaining stories in this book told by leading experts from all over the globe.
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by Cennydd Bowles, James Box
Undercover User Experience is a pragmatic guide from the front lines, giving frank advice on making UX work in real companies with real problems. Readers will learn how to fit research, ideation, prototyping and testing into their daily workflow, and how to design good user experiences under the all-too-common constraints of time, budget and culture.
Undercover User Experience is a pragmatic guide from the front lines, giving frank advice on making UX work in real companies with real problems. Readers will learn how to fit research, ideation, prototyping and testing into their daily workflow, and how to design good user experiences under the all-too-common constraints of time, budget and culture.
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by Greg Nudelman, Pabini Gabriel-Petit
With this invaluable book, user experience designer and user researcher Greg Nudelman shares his years of experience working on popular ecommerce sites as he tackles even the most difficult ecommerce search design problems. Nudelman helps you create highly effective and intuitive ecommerce search design solutions and he takes a unique forward-thinking look at trends such as integrating searching with browsing to create a single-finding user interface.
With this invaluable book, user experience designer and user researcher Greg Nudelman shares his years of experience working on popular ecommerce sites as he tackles even the most difficult ecommerce search design problems. Nudelman helps you create highly effective and intuitive ecommerce search design solutions and he takes a unique forward-thinking look at trends such as integrating searching with browsing to create a single-finding user interface.
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