Vampire bears, bacteria and stinky bunnies are among the examples you’ll find in this book, one that makes an excellent case for visual explanations. As UX designers, we rely on visual explanations to communicate our design ideas. Technical communicators can also use visual explanations to complement text.

Some of the main points you can derive from this book:

• Moyer points out how pictures draw us in. We’re more inclined to try out a new recipe when there’s a picture of what we can expect to create.

• Pictures also help us overcome language barriers, which is useful when dealing with international projects such as creating multilingual interfaces.

• Anyone can draw – your visual explanations do not have to be art gallery worthy. Throughout the book, Moyer gives examples of how to draw stick people and other figures. You can reuse an image by attaching different labels as needed (the shape of an otherwise generic dumbbell can also work for a depiction of a pepper mill.)

The lucky 20 people who have signed up for Moyer’s workshop this Friday, March 25th, will be in for a huge treat. You’ll get a chance to work on a few mini-exercises that drive home his points about visual explanations. And stick around after the workshop if you happen to like Japanese food. :)

If you missed out on the workshop but still want to hear Don Moyer’s perspective on visual explanations, attend the STC Mid-Atlantic conference on Saturday, March 26th. He will be giving the keynote presentation at 9 AM.

For more information and to register for the conference (while there’s still spots left!), visit the STC Philly Metro Chapter website.

Prototyping: A Practitioner’s Guide by Todd Zaki Warfel

This book couldn’t have come out at a better time for UX designers. It was an immense help during my stint at Comcast (and also kept me productively occupied on my train commute.) And I’ve learned to say “prototyping” instead of “wireframing.”

Most of us already know the importance of prototyping. As mentioned in the foreword by Dave Gray, “to build a product or service before you test it is insane.” Some may view making prototypes as a waste of time, money and effort, but it’s better to “waste” such things at the testing stage than to present something to the world that’s a fail whale.

Warfel gives tips on how to make prototypes quickly and with little cost. Many of us are so dazzled by technology that we tend to think that to make a prototype we have to do raw coding or use a language like Java. A prototype can be made from paper and index cards, among other things. What really impressed me is that paper prototypes can also be made for devices like the iPhone.

Other great points about the book:

• The emphasis of prototyping as a process, and the need to brainstorm freely, emphasizing quantity over quality.

• Getting to use your imagination more readily by sketching rather than boxing yourself in by using an application right away. “Rough sketch” prototypes actually reduce cost and risk by working out the kinks now rather than with a finished product.

• There’s information that’s useful for both beginners and seasoned designers. Like many others who’ve read it, it’s hard to point out any flaws in the book. The only thing I can think of is the fact there’s no review or tips on using OmniGraffle, InDesign or Balsamiq, among others. But there may be a revised edition in the future, so hopefully these will be included.

Now if only the concept “If you can’t make it, fake it” could apply to all areas of life….

Okay, so I said I would write a review of Subject to Change, but this book has floored me and I had to write about it. You know this book is good for UX designers if Bill Buxton offered his insights and reviewed the manuscript of it!

Roger Martin has written a much-needed call to arms to fuse analysis and intuition in our design thinking; too many have the tendency to lean towards one or the other, which often leads to either a lack of innovation (as seen when Nokia was knocked from its pedestal) or to impractical design. He writes at length about “abductive logic,” a term coined by Charles Sanders Pierce that essentially states that new ideas can only be validated through the unfolding of future events.

We should always “ask what could be.” (25) It’s the reason behind the success of the likes of Mike Lazaridis of Research In Motion and Guy Laliberté of Cirque du Soleil. Martin outlines the three things a design thinker needs in their arsenal: a personal stance, tools and experiences. It’s essential to follow this order so your design thinking can flourish. Be conscious of how you see the world and your place in it, and then develop a toolkit of sorts based on your stance, using the powers of observation and imagination, among other things. Accumulating experiences will then allow you to hone your sensitivity and skills. Martin likens it to being a chef: sensitivity is what allows a chef to determine if a dish is well-prepared, and skills allow them to determine when it’s not. (155)

Designers tend to run into and work with those who are either reliability-driven analytical thinkers or validity-driven intuitive thinkers. (168) While the personal goal is to have a balance of both, it’s possible to be a good mediator when dealing with both types. Much like learning a language, the best way to learn is to spend time among native speakers using it in native context.

It’s ironic that I’m writing about this book considering there are already boatloads of reviews on other UX-related blogs. So I’m late to the party on this. It isn’t meant to be an in-depth analysis, but reading this has given me food for thought when it comes to designing.

This is not a book about UX design, but it certainly has some takeaway points. Schwartz isn’t advocating for no choice at all, but anyone who’s gone shopping for something as simple as a bottle of shampoo realizes that having too many choices can be just as oppressive. As designers, we need to be aware that there are numerous other aspects of a user’s life that require hefty thought – this shouldn’t be the case when it comes to visiting a website, as Steven Krug would say. If anything, Schwartz’s idea of making decisions irreversible is one that can’t be fully applied to interfaces, websites, etc. Surely we’re glad that we can remove an item from our shopping cart when we feel the need to. On the other hand, it’s nice to go to a website that doesn’t have a laundry list of links to scroll through and click on, or be able to pick and choose what icons we want to appear on the screen (if any) when we boot up a device.

We need to give users meaningful choices, even though Schwartz rightfully points out that “we don’t always know what we want.” (51) Nevertheless, we should try to strike a balance between a user being boxed into an option that may not be what they need or want, and having free reign to choose whatever, which may make the user not choose anything at all. The biggest point that really stood out to me was “Don’t be tempted by ‘new and improved.’” (228) If there’s a pet peeve I have about design it’s innovation for its own sake. Keep interfaces simple and consistent (I’m looking at you, Microsoft!)

Next review to come – Subject to Change by Peter Merholz. I’m sure there’s a ton of reviews already, but I’m writing one anyway. Because I can.