Can we reasonably judge authority? How can we make good decisions in the information age? How do we know enough to ask the right questions? Peter Morville takes a moment to talk with us about these and other potential answers, his most recent book, the death of data, and our fascination with the future.
Book Reviews
Can project management be an art? Has Berkun truly created a jargon-free guide for the whole project team? Kalbach leads us through the high-level tasks and the major milestones of this new book, while keeping us on task.
The Art of Project Management
With all the attention to usability over the last five years or so and the wonderful swelling of information-architecture-related books just since 2001, you would think we would have enough methods and advice to keep our projects in perfect tack. But so many of these resources, excellent though they are, tend to be more about how to pilot the ship than how to find that all-important star and keep it in sight.
Observing the User Experience: A Practitioner’s Guide to User Research
Combine the probing thoughts of media culture sage Marshall McLuhan with the visual insights of design guru David Carson and the result is the quintessential coffee table book for anyone that works with technology and design.
The Book of Probes
Whether you have been paying attention or not we are living in an age of aesthetics. So says Virginia Postrel in her latest book, The Substance of Style: How the Rise of Aesthetic Value Is Remaking Commerce, Culture, and Consciousness. Postrel examines how the role of aesthetics and style are transforming our culture and economy in a variety of ways.
The Substance of Style: How the Rise of Aesthetic Value Is Remaking Commerce, Culture, and Consciousness
Boxes and Arrows contributing writer Steve MacLaughlin caught up with author Virginia Postrel to get her thoughts on the age of aesthetics and what it means for design professionals. Postrel’s new book, The Substance of Style, explores the economic, cultural, social, personal, and political implications of the growing importance of aesthetics in business and society.
Talking with Virginia Postrel
In the business world, user experience endeavors are typically seen as a cost—a line item expense to be minimized to the greatest extent possible while still remaining competitive. This has led to a number of essays, articles, and books on proving the value of user experience, including a recent report by the Nielsen Norman Group.
Report Review: Nielsen/Norman Group’s Usability Return on Investment
In this column, you’ll find an overview of three IA books from a deliverables point of view. The purpose of this article is not to say whether one book is better than another, or even to comment on the overall quality of the books, but to provide a guide to what kind of deliverables information you can find in each book, and where.
IA Library Quick Reference: Special Deliverable #7
“Making the Web Work: Designing Effective Web Applications” is a well-written, meaty book on the entire process of designing interactive websites from a user interface perspective. Those new to the field of user-centered design will find it most useful; intermediate or advanced practitioners looking for in-depth information specific to web applications may want to look elsewhere.
Making the Web Work: Designing Effective Web Applications
To welcome in December and the holiday season, the staff at Boxes and Arrows has put together a list of their favorite books. These are the tried and true. The books we can’t live without or have learned great lessons from over the years.