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Visual Usability
Principles and Practices for Designing Digital Applications
1st Edition - March 21, 2013
Authors: Tania Schlatter, Deborah Levinson
Paperback ISBN:9780123985361
9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 3 9 8 5 3 6 - 1
eBook ISBN:9780124017139
9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 4 0 1 7 1 3 - 9
Imagine how much easier creating web and mobile applications would be if you had a practical and concise, hands-on guide to visual design. Visual Usability gets into the… Read more
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Imagine how much easier creating web and mobile applications would be if you had a practical and concise, hands-on guide to visual design. Visual Usability gets into the nitty-gritty of applying visual design principles to complex application design.You’ll learn how to avoid common mistakes, make informed decisions about application design, and elevate the ordinary. We’ll review three key principles that affect application design – consistency, hierarchy, and personality – and illustrate how to apply tools like typography, color, and layout to digital application design. Whether you’re a UI professional looking to fine-tune your skills, a developer who cares about making applications beautiful and usable, or someone entirely new to the design arena, Visual Usability is your one-stop, practical guide to visual design.
Discover the principles and rules that underlie successful application design
Learn how to develop a rationale to support design strategy and move teams forward
Master the visual design toolkit to increase user-friendliness and make complicated processes feel straightforward for your product
Designers and UI professionals; students of usability courses, software developers and development teams
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Introduction
The challenge
Approach and organization
Embodying form and function
Part I: The Meta-Principles
Chapter 1. Consistency
What do we mean by consistency?
What role does consistency play in application design?
What if you can’t be consistent?
A brief aside about accessibility
Avoid common mistakes
Make informed decisions
Elevate the ordinary
Chapter 2. Hierarchy
What do we mean by hierarchy?
Characteristics of hierarchy
Interplay of characteristics
Defining a hierarchy
Avoid common mistakes
Make informed decisions
Elevate the ordinary
Chapter 3. Personality
Elements of interface personality
Establishing criteria for personality
Exploring a personality’s possibilities
Avoid common mistakes
Make informed decisions
Elevate the ordinary
Part II: The Visual Usability Tools
Chapter 4. Layout
The language of layout
Layout and the meta-principles
One big bite, or a few little ones?
Avoid common mistakes
Make informed decisions
Elevate the ordinary
Chapter 5. Type
The language of type
Typesetting considerations
How type affects the meta-principles
Defining a rationale for type
Avoid common mistakes
Make informed decisions
Elevate the ordinary
Chapter 6. Color
What color can do
Color basics
Defining a rationale for color
Avoid common mistakes
Make informed decisions
Elevate the ordinary
Chapter 7. Imagery
Communicating with images
Types of imagery and uses
Using images in your application
Imagery and the meta-principles
Avoid common mistakes
Make informed decisions
Elevate the ordinary
Chapter 8. Controls and Affordances
Using design to reveal affordances
Controls, affordances, and the meta-principles
Avoid common mistakes
Make informed decisions
Elevate the ordinary
Summary: Interface Design as Visual Conversation
Recommended Resources
Interaction, interface, and user experience design
Personality
Layout
Type
Color
Imagery
Controls and Affordances
Bibliography
Index
No. of pages: 342
Language: English
Published: March 21, 2013
Imprint: Morgan Kaufmann
Paperback ISBN: 9780123985361
eBook ISBN: 9780124017139
TS
Tania Schlatter
Affiliations and expertise
Tania Schlatter is a visual designer and lecturer specializing in user-centered design.
DL
Deborah Levinson
Affiliations and expertise
Deborah Levinson is an interface designer and published author.