In the process of preparing to write a report for a major client, I’ve been reading or rereading all these in depth the past two weeks to ensure that my mind is as full of the necessary information as possible. Now I’ve read and digested, I’m ready to start writing. That’s how I do it.
Books
These are the core of my experience and design library. Happy to loan any of them. Some of them I have as Kindle books, so a touch harder. I’ve reread every one of them in the past fortnight.
- The Elements of User Experience: User-centered design for the web, Jesse James Garrett, ISBN 9780735712027
- Designing the Moment: Web Interface Design Concepts in Action, Robert Hoekman, Jr., ISBN 9780321535085
- Designing the Obvious: A Common Sense Approach to Web Application Design, Robert Hoekman, Jr., ISBN 9780321453457
- Forms that Work, Caroline Jarrett and Gerry Gaffney, ISBN 9781558607101
- Don’t Make Me Think!: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, Steve Krug, ISBN 9780321344755
- Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems, Steve Krug, ISBN 9780321657299
- Card Sorting: Designing Usable Categories, Donna Spencer, ISBN 9781933820026
- A Project Guide to UX Design: For user experience designers in the field or in the making, Russ Unger, ISBN 9780321607379
- Prototyping: A Practitioner’s Guide, Todd Zaki Warfel, ISBN 9781933820217
- Web Form Design: Filling in the Blanks, Luke Wrobleski, ISBN 9781933820248
There are a great many more books that I refer to regularly that you can see either at GoodReads or LibraryThing (I try to keep both up to date, but am not always 100 per cent successful).
Mailing lists
I read the full content of interesting new posts on these every day. Also, often delve into past conversations. A rich and useful resource.
- IA Institute, http://iainstitute.org/en/members/lists/email_lists.php
- IxDA, http://www.ixda.org/discussion
More recent online information
Stuff mostly from this year that is giving me additional input.
- Pretty much everything at 52 Weeks of UX, a definite must read, http://52weeksofux.com/
- What is Design Thinking?, http://noisebetweenstations.com/personal/weblogs/?page_id=1688&utm_source=IATV&utm_medium=twitter
- AEGIS Project: Personas, http://www.aegis-project.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=63&Itemid=53
- “Mad Libs” Style Form Increases Conversion 25-40%, http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?1007
- I am not a user, http://www.iamnotauser.com/
- A new global visual language for the BBC’s digital services, http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2010/02/a_new_global_visual_language_f.html
