Skip Intro
Flash Usability and Interface Design
Published on 23. April 2002
Book
Mixed media product
272 pages
978-0-7357-1178-5 (ISBN)
Description
Are you a Flash user constantly fighting the usability war?
Skip Intro is designed to help educate the Flash community specifically and designers/programmers at large that usability isn't a dirty word. It doesn't mean making boring pedestrian web sites, and it doesn't mean abandoning Flash. Quite the contrary, Flash offers advanced usability elements that traditional HTML websites could never hope to achieve. This book will show designers how to start thinking about their users and, more importantly, how to translate that understanding when they start designing or coding.
Skip Intro moves beyond traditional usability books by shying away from listing examples of "why this is wrong" or "why this is right." Instead, it guides designers through understanding the site requirements and their intended users and then starts them down the road of developing for those users, by taking them step-by-step through design scenerios, rather than providing strict rules of usability.
Skip Intro is designed to help educate the Flash community specifically and designers/programmers at large that usability isn't a dirty word. It doesn't mean making boring pedestrian web sites, and it doesn't mean abandoning Flash. Quite the contrary, Flash offers advanced usability elements that traditional HTML websites could never hope to achieve. This book will show designers how to start thinking about their users and, more importantly, how to translate that understanding when they start designing or coding.
Skip Intro moves beyond traditional usability books by shying away from listing examples of "why this is wrong" or "why this is right." Instead, it guides designers through understanding the site requirements and their intended users and then starts them down the road of developing for those users, by taking them step-by-step through design scenerios, rather than providing strict rules of usability.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Pearson Education (US)
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 253 mm
Width: 204 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
678 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7357-1178-5 (9780735711785)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Duncan McAlester (breathedesign.com) (BFA, Art Institute of Southern California) is an award-winning multimedia designer working in Laguna Beach, California. He has worked on projects for Lincoln/Mercury, Fox, Warner Bros. and Epson. He currently teaches a variety of classes, including a class on interface design at the University of California, Irvine Extension.
Michelangelo Capraro has designed user experiences for TV, web sites, CD-ROMs, and handheld devices. He believes that art and usability do not need to be opposing forces. He has designed everything from games, to Intranets, to desktop applications for clients such as IBM, Disney, Fox, and Amnesty International. He currently lives in the California Bay area and works as the Visual Experience Designer for PalmSource, Inc.
Michelangelo Capraro has designed user experiences for TV, web sites, CD-ROMs, and handheld devices. He believes that art and usability do not need to be opposing forces. He has designed everything from games, to Intranets, to desktop applications for clients such as IBM, Disney, Fox, and Amnesty International. He currently lives in the California Bay area and works as the Visual Experience Designer for PalmSource, Inc.
Content
Foreword.
Introduction.
Who This Book Is For. Who This Book Is Not For. What's the Goal of This Book? How This Book Works. Terminology. Typographical Conventions.
1. Bad Flashers Anonymous.
The Problem. Brains Versus Beauty. It's Not About Faster or Easier, It's About Better.
2. Basic Training.
The Flash Environment. The Coding Environment. Common Mistakes, Debugging, or What to Do When Code Doesn't Work. How We Build Our Projects. Other People's Code. Mac or PC? Conclusion.
SECTION I. HOEPART BOTHUR EXHIBIT SITE.
3. Overview-A Comfortable Situation.
Case Study: The Digital Museum. Defining Your Own Goals.
4. A Good Experience from the Start.
Solutions-Giving Nancy Time. Implementation. Construction. Conclusion.
5. Scrolling Without Boundaries.
Implementation. Construction. Conclusion.
6. Less Cluttered and More Usable.
Solutions. Implementation. Construction. Code. Conclusion.
7. A Point of Flexibility.
Implementation. Construction. Conclusion.
SECTION II. GROCERYCLICK.COM SITE DESIGN.
8. Overview-Convenience in a Flash.
Case Study: GroceryClick.com. Defining Your Own Goals.
9. Tabbed Windows-Convenient Access to Supplementary Information.
Solutions-Giving Sanjeev Access. Implementation. Construction. Code. Conclusion.
10. Needles and Haystacks-Site Searches.
Seeing It in Action. Implementation. Construction. Code. Conclusion.
SECTION III. WIND-AUTOMATA DEVELOPER SITE.
11. Overview-A Familiar Setting.
Case Study: Wind-Automata Knowledge Base. Defining Your Own Goals.
12. A Simple Hierarchy.
Implementation. Construction. Conclusion.
13. Tool Tips-Know Before You Go.
Overview. Solutions. Implementation. Construction. Code. Conclusion.
14. The End....
Key Points.
SECTION IV. APPENDIXES.
Appendix A. What Every Interface Designer Should Know.
Ten Usability Heuristics. Interface Design Principles. Proper Task Analysis. Cognitive Walkthrough. Testing, Testing....
Appendix B. Usability Resources.
Books. Web Sites. Newsgroups, Email Lists, Organizations.
Appendix C. Flash and Design Resources.
Web Sites. Books.
Index.
Introduction.
Who This Book Is For. Who This Book Is Not For. What's the Goal of This Book? How This Book Works. Terminology. Typographical Conventions.
1. Bad Flashers Anonymous.
The Problem. Brains Versus Beauty. It's Not About Faster or Easier, It's About Better.
2. Basic Training.
The Flash Environment. The Coding Environment. Common Mistakes, Debugging, or What to Do When Code Doesn't Work. How We Build Our Projects. Other People's Code. Mac or PC? Conclusion.
SECTION I. HOEPART BOTHUR EXHIBIT SITE.
3. Overview-A Comfortable Situation.
Case Study: The Digital Museum. Defining Your Own Goals.
4. A Good Experience from the Start.
Solutions-Giving Nancy Time. Implementation. Construction. Conclusion.
5. Scrolling Without Boundaries.
Implementation. Construction. Conclusion.
6. Less Cluttered and More Usable.
Solutions. Implementation. Construction. Code. Conclusion.
7. A Point of Flexibility.
Implementation. Construction. Conclusion.
SECTION II. GROCERYCLICK.COM SITE DESIGN.
8. Overview-Convenience in a Flash.
Case Study: GroceryClick.com. Defining Your Own Goals.
9. Tabbed Windows-Convenient Access to Supplementary Information.
Solutions-Giving Sanjeev Access. Implementation. Construction. Code. Conclusion.
10. Needles and Haystacks-Site Searches.
Seeing It in Action. Implementation. Construction. Code. Conclusion.
SECTION III. WIND-AUTOMATA DEVELOPER SITE.
11. Overview-A Familiar Setting.
Case Study: Wind-Automata Knowledge Base. Defining Your Own Goals.
12. A Simple Hierarchy.
Implementation. Construction. Conclusion.
13. Tool Tips-Know Before You Go.
Overview. Solutions. Implementation. Construction. Code. Conclusion.
14. The End....
Key Points.
SECTION IV. APPENDIXES.
Appendix A. What Every Interface Designer Should Know.
Ten Usability Heuristics. Interface Design Principles. Proper Task Analysis. Cognitive Walkthrough. Testing, Testing....
Appendix B. Usability Resources.
Books. Web Sites. Newsgroups, Email Lists, Organizations.
Appendix C. Flash and Design Resources.
Web Sites. Books.
Index.