fabian's thoughts

Invitation

fabian — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:22:48 +0100

Click to enlarge.

Another interesting book

fabian — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 11:37:08 +0100

Very interesting

Questionnaire Design

fabian — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 10:20:39 +0100

What are your experiences with questionnaires? I am taking a university course now to learn more about it- do you have any literature you can recommend, from a designer's perspective?

Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten

fabian — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 10:09:45 +0100

Dr. Richard Mayer, Professor of Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara
"A real gem…clear, concise, and comprehensive."

Dr. Pat Hanrahan, Professor of Computer Science, Stanford University
"More accessible than Cleveland's books and...more practical advice than Tufte's. I highly recommend it."

Hardcover: 280 pages
Publisher: Analytics Press (September 1, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0970601999
ISBN-13: 978-0970601995

Visual & Statistical Thinking: Displays of Evidence for Decision Making

fabian — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 10:07:23 +0100

This is really a booklet, a reprint of a chapter of one of his books, and is a great way to get started on the way he thinks. It explores how graphics were used to track down the source of a cholera epidemic in London -- and how bad chart-making and graphics could have led to the wrong conclusion. The second example in this excerpt explores the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger. In this absorbing example, Tufte takes the 13 pages of (badly organized) data that the engineers debated on the night before the space shuttle was scheduled to blast off. Tufte first tears apart the charts, and demonstrates why even though the engineers reached the right conclusion (don't launch), why the data was presented so badly that NASA overruled them (resulting in the Challenger explosion). Then, Tufte rearranges the same data into a couple of clear graphic displays that demonstrate they clearly had enough data to demonstrate that the launch of the Challenger was clearly occurring at grave risk. A great example of clear thinking at work.

OK, so maybe great graphics won't save the world. But this is a good, well priced introduction into Tufte's line of thinking. If you think you might like his stuff, buy this; get hooked; buy the big books.

Review by Steve Frazier, Seattle

Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Graphics Press (April 1997)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0961392134
ISBN-13: 978-0961392130

Envisioning Information

fabian — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 10:01:22 +0100

A very nice flip-through, very nice visual argumentation. Not exactly a research book, but well argumented.

It is interesting to see how Tufte's work develops over the course of his different books.

Hardcover: 126 pages
Publisher: Graphics Press (May 1990)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0961392118
ISBN-13: 978-0961392116

Laws of Simplicity

fabian — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 09:49:22 +0100

I enjoyed reading this book very much, even though there is not too much to take out of it. Anyhow definetely worth a read!

"Maeda's upbeat explanations usefully break down the power of less-fewer features, fewer buttons and fewer distractions-while providing practical strategies for harnessing that power. . . . Emphasizing the delicate balance-work involved in simplifying the complex, Maeda admits the process isn't easy, and that his ten laws don't necessarily provide all the answers-in numerous places, he directs readers to the web site where his theories continue to develop. Despite that, this slim book feels complete in itself; not only will it stimulate ideas, it will keep readers thumbing back for a second and third look at Maeda's deceptively simple advice."
-- Publishers Weekly

Hardcover: 127 pages
Publisher: The MIT Press (August 21, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0262134721
ISBN-13: 978-0262134729

Designing Interactions

fabian — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 09:39:25 +0100

This is a good overview book for the development of human-computer interaction, with very nice interviews with people who contributed to the state of the art.

"During the past forty years, interaction designers have powerfully transformed the daily lives of billions. Designing Interactions is a deeply knowing, intimate portrayal of these people: who they are, how they think, and precisely what they do. If you live or work with computers or cell phones--and who among us has any choice about that?--then you owe it to yourself to read this. A labor of love that was years in the making, this classic has no rival in its field."
--Bruce Sterling, author of Shaping Things

Hardcover: 800 pages
Publisher: The MIT Press; 1 edition (October 1, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0262134748
ISBN-13: 978-0262134743