introduction
key writings
pictures
interaction
standards
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interaction
This page of the Design Guide looks
at machine-user interaction studies.
User Centered System Design: New
Perspectives on Human-Computer Interaction (Hillsdale, Erlbaum
86), co-edited by Donald Norman, is a useful starting point for reading
about how we deal with machines.
Designing Visual Interfaces:
Communication Oriented Techniques (Saddle Valley, Prentice-Hall 94) by
Kevin Mullet & Darrel Sano is an excellent introduction to interface
principles.
We've mentioned Ben Schneiderman's Designing The
User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction
(Reading, Addison-Wesley 98) and the shorter, more abstract Visual
Intelligence: How We Create What We See (New York, Norton 98)
by Donald Hoffman.
The International Journal of Human-Computer Studies (IJHCS)
and Interactions
Online, the quarterly interactive product design journal published
by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM),
are also recommended. Both journals are of particular interest to
specialists.
The ACM's Human-Computer Interaction
Bibliography (HCIB) is
exhaustive.
Patricia Wallace's The Psychology of the
Internet (Cambridge, Cambridge Uni Press 00) provides a readable
introduction to how people behave online. There's more depth in The
Media Equation: How People Treat Computers, Television & New Media Like
Real People & Places (Cambridge, Cambridge Uni Press 96) by Byron
Reeves & Clifford Nass.
document design and perception studies
Karen Schriver's Dynamics In
Document Design (New York, Wiley 97) is empirically based, has an extensive
bibliography of recent literature and while primarily concerned with
print contains much of value for the online world.
WebReview
explores font and other issues, although primarily aimed at web
builders.
One of the more interesting studies of how
people use sites is underway in the US at the moment; preliminary reports
are available. The research is being conducted by Stanford University
and the Poynter Institute, an independent journalism teaching and research
body. It provides a picture of how people actually use online news
sites.
Unsurprisingly the results - which draw on nearly one million
clickstreams - are consistent with Nielsen's recommendations.
Donald Hoffman's Visual Intelligence:
How We Create What We See (New York, Norton 98) is an authoritative
yet approachable study of cognition and visual perception. It's a useful
starting point for understanding the science behind some of the usability studies in
our accessibility guide.
Andrew Treloar's June 2000 paper
on Spinning
the Right Path: Investigating the Effectiveness & Impact of Web
Navigation Systems offers an introduction to some navigation
questions.
next part (4: standards)
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