Practical and hands-on in approach, this book/exercise manual speaks clearly to beginning graphic designers and others involved with type about the complex meeting of message, image, and history surrounding typography.

    But with a typical price tag of $5,000 to $10,000 for a usability consultant to conduct each round of tests, it rarely happens. In this how-to companion to Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, Steve Krug spells out an approach to usability testing that anyone can easily apply to their own web site, application, or other product. (As he said in Don't Make Me Think, "It's not rocket surgery".)In this new book, Steve explains how to: -Test any design, from a sketch on a napkin to a fully-functioning web site or application-Keep your focus on finding the most important problems (because no one has the time or resources to fix them all)-Fix the problems that you find, using his "The least you can do" approachBy pairing the process of testing and fixing products down to its essentials (A morning a month, that's all we ask ), Rocket Surgery makes it realistic for teams to test early and often, catching problems while it's still easy to fix them. Rocket Surgery Made Easy adds demonstration videos to the proven mix of clear writing, before-and-after examples, witty illustrations, and practical advice that made Don't Make Me Think so popular.

    Ideas for new businesses, solutions to the world's problems, and artistic breakthroughs are common, but great execution is rare. According to Scott Belsky, the capacity to make ideas happen can be developed by anyone willing to develop their organizational habits and leadership capability. That's why he founded Behance, a company that helps creative people and teams across industries develop these skills. Belsky has spent six years studying the habits of creative people and teams that are especially productive-the ones who make their ideas happen time and time again. After interviewing hundreds of successful creatives, he has compiled their most powerful-and often counterintuitive-practices, such as: •Generate ideas in moderation and kill ideas liberally •Prioritize through nagging •Encourage fighting within your team While many of us obsess about discovering great new ideas, Belsky shows why it's better to develop the capacity to make ideas happen-a capacity that endures over time.

    In this insightful book, leading advocate Jeff Gothelf teaches you valuable Lean UX principles, tactics, and techniques from the ground up—how to rapidly experiment with design ideas, validate them with real users, and continually adjust your design based on what you learn.Inspired by Lean and Agile development theories, Lean UX lets you focus on the actual experience being designed, rather than deliverables. This book shows you how to collaborate closely with other members of the product team, and gather feedback early and often. You’ll learn how to drive the design in short, iterative cycles to assess what works best for the business and the user. Lean UX shows you how to make this change—for the better.Frame a vision of the problem you’re solving and focus your team on the right outcomesBring the designers’ toolkit to the rest of your product teamShare your insights with your team much earlier in the processCreate Minimum Viable Products to determine which ideas are validIncorporate the voice of the customer throughout the project cycleMake your team more productive: combine Lean UX with Agile’s Scrum frameworkUnderstand the organizational shifts necessary to integrate Lean UXLean UX received the 2013 Jolt Award from Dr. Dobb's Journal as the best book of the year. The publication's panel of judges chose five notable books, published during a 12-month period ending June 30, that every serious programmer should read.

    Traditional linear thinking has beendisparaged by the popular media as being inadequate for dealing with the global economic crisis. Standard forms of marketing and product development have been rejected by businesses who need to find a way to stay competitive in a global economy. Yet little has been offered as an alternative. It isnot enough to demand that someone be more innovative without giving him the tools to succeed.Design synthesis is a way of thinking about complicated, multifaceted problems of this scale with a repeatable degree of success. Design synthesis methods can be applied in business, with the goal of producing new and compelling products and services, and they can be applied in government, with thegoal of changing culture and bettering society. In both contexts, however, there is a need for speed and for aggressive action. This text is immediately relevant, and is more relevant than ever, as we acknowledge and continually reference a feeling of an impending and massive change. Simply, thistext is intended to act as a practitioner's guide to exposing the magic of design.There are three simple goals for this text.The first goal is to present a theory of design synthesis in a simple and concise manner. This theory is based on academic research and discourse, but presented in a way that is clear and valuable to a practicing design manager, designer or design researcher. This theory of design synthesis can thenbe used to substantiate single methods of synthesis.The second goal is to offer a rationalization of why design synthesis is important, both in a general sense (why should I care about this at all?) as well as in a more immediate sense (why should I care about this right now?).The final goal is to present a set of actionable, learnable methods for design synthesis that can be applied to any design problem. Practicing industrial designers, interaction designers, interface designers, and designers of other disciplines can use these methods to make sense of complicateddesign problems and to move seamlessly from various forms of research to design. The methods can add a systematic sense of rigor to an otherwise subjective, often introspective process.

    This classic study shows how humans express thought through graphic means and why certain shapes and configurations of dot and line are perceived and remembered more easily than others.

    How does this affect the products and services we consume? How does it influence the way we feel about organizations? Are corporations here to maximize profits and grow, or to help society, or both? With the rapid rise of new markets in India, China, Brazil, and elsewhere, will new global brands emerge based around local cultural strengths and heritage? If so, what will this mean for the traditional dominance of brands based on Western cultural norms?Wally Olins's fascinating book looks at every aspect of the world of branding. With his customary flair and no-nonsense prose, he analyzes the problems facing today's organizations, criticizes corporate missteps, praises those companies who seem to be building and sustaining brands efficiently in our brave new world, and  predicts the future of branding. No one interested in marketing, business, or contemporary culture will want to be without this book.

    A simple, easy-to-follow guide, illustrated with plenty of full-color examples, this book will lead you through the process of creating great designs from start to finish. Good design principles are not rocket science, and using the information contained in this book will help you create stunning web sites.Understand the design process, from discovery to implementation Understand what makes "good design" Developing pleasing layouts using grids, the rule of thirds, balance and symmetry Use color effectively, develop color schemes and create a palette Use textures, lines, points, shapes, volumes and depth Learn how good typography can make ordinary designs look great Effective imagery: choosing, editing and placing images And much more Throughout the book, you'll follow an example design, from concept to completion, learning along the way. The book's full-color layout and large format (8" x 10") make The Principles Of Beautiful Wed Design a pleasure to read.Editorial Reviews"The Principles of Beautiful Web Design is a good book to kick start your graphic-design journey. The biggest benefit that I got from this book is the knowledge to learn from great designs as opposed to just admiring them in a state of awe." - Slashdot.org"Jason is a great writer, and the book is quite easy to read. It's put together wonderfully, including many full color screenshots and other forms of imagery that make the book a pleasure to read. I'd definitely recommend the book to anyone in Web design." - MondayByNoon"Jason Beaird covers web design in a way that non-designers can understand. He walks you through all of the aspects of design development from initial meeting to finished product. If you are just getting into web development, this is a must read." - Blogcritics.org"This is a thoroughly practical guide to web design that is very well written: good technical depth in easy-to-understand language with excellent illustrations and graphics that support the text. For many users it will be the only web-design text they will need. For those who want to further advance their skills and knowledge it will provide a sound foundation." - PC Update"His "Don't just tell, show!" style makes this book accessible to everyone... It strikes a carefully thought-out balance between describing principles and illustrating them. It is clear and well structured, with practical examples in every chapter." - Mitch Wheat

     There was a time when food was our medicine, and the farmer our physician. But now industrialization has converted farms into factories, replaced produce for processed foods, and meat comes with just as many warnings as the drugs we are prescribed.  If we continue to embrace the Standard American Diet (SAD diet) and current health care system, this may be the first generation of parents to outlive their children.   The science and medical community are split 50/50 as to why we are so sick. One side is dogmatically attached to the theory that germs cause disease, so sickness is inevitable and can only be treated not cured. The other perspective is that we have a genetic predisposition to disease and that science & technology provide the solution. However, neither of these philosophies actually address the real cause of disease. Vegucation Over Medication bridges the gap by helping us understand the impact of nutrition on our health. Dr. Bobby Price provides actionable advice on how to prevent and even reverse many chronic diseases. The book dispels in shocking detail many of the myths and lies we’ve adopted as truths, such as the use of medications as our primary form of prevention. Dr. Price’s holistic approach to understanding the healing nature of our foods and bodies will empower you to cleanse, nourish, and RECLAIM YOUR HEALTH.   In this book you will learn: • Hidden dangers in foods and medicines • How to minimize or eliminate medications • The connection between disease and nutrition • The secrets of long-term natural weight loss • The real scoop on protein • Powerful natural alternatives to help restore the body • Guide to incorporating a plant-based lifestyle • Tasty plant-based alternatives to your favorite foods • How a plant-based diet improves energy, digestion, and sleep • How to reverse Type 2 Diabetes • Keys to normalizing blood pressure and cholesterol levels

    In Web Form Design, Luke Wroblewski draws on original research, his considerable experience at Yahoo! and eBay, and the perspectives of many of the field's leading designers to show you everything you need to know about designing effective and engaging Web forms.

    The book also demonstrates how white space can lend “sound” to typography or shift the “weight” of a page. Clear, insightful comments are presented in a dynamic page design, and interactive design elements, thought-provoking captions, and scores of illustrations challenge designers to “think out of the box.”.

    Service Design is a bit of a buzzword these days and has gained a lot of interest from various fields. This book, assembled to describe and illustrate the emerging field of service design, was brought together using exactly the same co-creative and user-centred approaches you can read and learn about inside. The boundaries between products and services are blurring and it is time for a different way of thinking: this is service design thinking.A set of 23 international authors and even more online contributors from the global service design community invested their knwoledge, experience and passion together to create this book. It introduces service design thinking in a manner accessible to beginners and students, it broadens the knowledge and can act as a resource for experienced design professionals.

    But imagine for one moment that there are no employers, no firms to send your resumé to, no interviews to be had—what would you do? How would you forge your own path after graduation?The current economic climate has seen many graduates chasing a finite number of positions. The most ingenious and driven designers have found weird and wonderful ways of making opportunities for themselves, often by applying their skills across the creative disciplines of art, design, architecture, and interiors. Knowing what you want from your design career and being able to adapt your strategy to suit is basic and vital—just like in the wild, designers need to evolve.The book celebrates the various strategies that students and graduates are taking to gain exposure, while also including interviews and inspirational advice from those who are now enjoying success as a result of their creative approach to employment.

    In it, Franchi also envisions the future of news reporting by publishing companies and on the internet. Francesco Franchi is one of the most exceptional talents working in information graphics today. Although relatively young and new to the field, Franchi has already received worldwide acclaim for his distinctive graphic and editorial design of IL--Intelligence in Lifestyle, an Italian magazine now widely considered to be a modern classic. With Designing News, Franchi conveys his vision for the future of news and the media industry. Based on personal insight and experience, he offers valuable analysis and perspectives on the fundamental changes that are taking place in the way media is being used. Franchi explores consumer behaviors and expectations that represent the biggest challenges facing traditional publishing houses and broadcasting companies as well as journalists and designers. For Franchi, reporting is not merely filing a story once, but rather telling a continuous narrative in a way that is most relevant for a broad range of traditional and digital media--from breaking news to analysis, from interviews to commentaries, and from photo essays and illustrations to information graphics and interactive visualizations of data. In this book, Franchi explains the ramifications of this development and how newspapers can become credible, comprehensive news brands. In Designing News, Franchi also outlines a new, integrated approach for editorial designers. If they show enough dedication, creativity, and talent for interdisciplinary teamwork, Franchi sees editorial designers as playing a key role in advancing the evolution of media.

    This book aims to minimize the complexity of user-centered design for the Web with explanations and illustrations that focus on ideas rather than tools or techniques.