Product Description
The convergence of SEO and Web usability implies a dramatic change in the current paradigm of Web design, search engine optimization, and Web usability. This book explores how accelerating technological change will alter the way we gather and find information on the Internet as well as how to implement modern wisdoms of SEO and Web usability to help create the data sharing infrastructure of future generations.Whether you are a Web designer, programmer, or search engine optimization specialist, this book will explore many facets of Web usability and SEO often overlooked.If you wish to contribute to the Internet in any form you will benefit from reading this book.Our understanding of the convergence of these two fields of study, and also the accelerating changes occurring on the Internet today, will help create and prepare us for the information super network of tomorrow. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Buying The Convergence of SEO and Usability was the best $7 I have ever spent..
I have been marketing my business through the Internet for about three years now.Since the beginning I have constantly sought ways to increase the number of responses I received through my social networking, business networking, online advertising, and most importantly, traffic from my website.

I have read several long books filled with Internet jargon but practically no useful information on how to improve a small business' Internet marketing campaign.All of these books left me feeling like success in Internet marketing was nearly impossible for a small business because all of the known methods of improving the results of Internet marketing were already being used by millions of companies, with the richest corporations who can spend the most on online advertising ultimately claiming most of the customers.

Despite its somewhat cryptic title, The Convergence of SEO and Usability is hands down the best book on Internet marketing I have read.This book conveys more knowledge and insight into what helps and hurts in designing a website, and how to conduct an effect Internet marketing campaign, than all the other books I read on the topic combined.

In simple language that any technophobe can understand, the author explains how the Internet and search engines really work; the most effective methods of Internet marketing; why some marketing tactics work while others are doomed to fail; the author's highly reasoned predictions for the future of the Internet and Internet marketing; and numerous related topics.

Despite its "user friendliness" The Convergence of SEO and Usability should be equally useful to experienced Internet marketing professionals, as its contents are treasure trove of original ideas and Internet marketing methods, most of which I have never seen described elsewhere.

Almost immediately after reading the book, I performed numerous design changes to my website to make it as "usable" as possible.I also expanded and refined the other Internet marketing methods I had been using according to suggestions from the book.It took a little while to implement all of the ideas and methods the book had given me, but the result was well worth the time and effort.Ever since I began implementing the improvements the book suggested, I have had a steady increase in serious customer inquiries, most of which have originated from the Internet.Now the business is growing quite rapidly and continues to expand at a steady rate.I no longer have to worry as much about getting customers.Instead, I can spend my time actually running my small (for now) business.

Buying The Convergence of SEO and Usability was the best $7 I have ever spent.I consider it indispensable to anyone seriously interested in improving their Internet marketing results or helping their clients do the same.
... Read more

Product Description
Understand the delicate balance between design and functionality--from the perspective of today's leading Flash gurus--using this unique resource. Featuring a bold, four-color design, and covering information architecture, typography, animation, and graphics, this valuable guide belongs in the hands of every Web designer.Amazon.com Review
In an October 2000 article, "Flash 99% Bad," usability guru Jakob Nielsen wrote, "About 99% of the time, the presence of Flash on a website constitutes a usability disease." Flash 99% Good: A Guide to Macromedia Flash Usability is a new look at the good and the bad of Flash today. Authors Kevin Airgid and Stephanie Reindel, a developer/designer and information architect, respectively, counter that, with a knowledgeable implementation of Flash, "form and function can coexist." Let’s face it, there’s a lot of indulgent Flash out there, and whether you’re the client, the project manager, or a member of the creative team, you may want to read this before you start your next project.

The book is not really a how-to; it’s more like a critique (or harangue) accompanied by screenshots (in color), personal asides, and interviews (for example, Adries Odendaal of the entrancing Wireframe Studio and even Kevin Lynch, Chief Software Architect at Macromedia). Topics include knowing your audience, creating clear navigation (including a usable "back" button), providing workable content (for example, enabling a print feature, bookmarking, Flash forms), accessibility issues, and the future of Flash. And there’s a chapter-long case study of one of Airgid’s designs (iconideas.com), which makes interesting reading. Makeovers are always fun.

The book is stridently opinionated. For example, they write, "Designers naturally rank color, shapes, and typography above information flow, usability, and download time." (If you’re a designer you may "naturally" bristle at that remark!) Oddly, these reductive comments make the book more interesting, like a line drawn in the sand--you want to see how they prove themselves worthy of painting such blatant stereotypes.

And they manage that with lots of advice, some of which you’ll adopt in your own work, some of which you’ll scoff at, and some of which is already moot with Flash MX (for example, aspects of accessibility design). Flash 99% Good offers experience-backed insights, plenty of personal pet peeves, and expert interviews. You may not always agree with what they prescribe, but they’ll make you think twice before you whip up your next Flash brainchild. --Angelynn Grant ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

A book I really enjoyed
I've been waiting for a book that dealt with usability as it relates specifically to Flash for a long time now. I manage a web development team and am constantly having to address the issue of "should we or shouldn't we use Flash for this project...". While a good majority of this book simply confirms what I think I already knew, there are many parts of the book that bring up some really good usability-related points that I just hadn't thought of. I'll be using this book as a reference to refer back to when future issues arise on when and how to use Flash in our projects. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book.

Very nice, easy to read and understand
This book was an easy read, and very straight foreword. The examples helped me understand many of the mistakes I have been making in my own work. I was disappointed the book didn't come with a CD-ROM, but the book web site more than made up for it.

not worth reading
this book really isn't worth buying. I am student in web design and have used flash on occasion. If you have never used flash before I recommend this book but for everyone else it doesn't tell you anything you don't already know. It's a small book for a heafty price, it could actually be cut in half because they repeat everything 3 or 4 times.

Bravo!
Flash 99% Good: A Guide to Macromedia Flash Usability is very helpful with navigation and design.The authors have made the book extremely readable...professional, but not so "techy" that a reader's interest is lost.Personal interviews target situations and thoughts that many have experienced.Summaries and fast facts at the end of the chapters provide valuable information in a clear, concise manner.

Easy to read and packed full of great info!
Awesome book! This book is very easy to read - even for a non-Flash developer like myself. The authors provide a number of personal examples from their own professional experiences which I found to be really helpful. If you're involved in any aspect of Flash development - from project management to sales to Flash design - this is a book you should read. ... Read more

Product Description
An effective health portal should be easy touse and understandable. A number of research studieshave been taken in order to evaluate different healthportals but there is no such study for ltblekeingehealth portal.A multi-phased research approach is adoptedto evaluate the usability of ltblekeinge healthportal. Authors conducted a usability test of thesystem where citizens from the county of Blekinge aretaken as subjects. They evaluated the health portalon the basis of usability test and questionnaire isprepared to know the different perspectives ofcitizens. The authors validated the result with thehelp of interviews with a number of individual.The authors find it is very important that ahealth web portal should contain sufficient amount ofrelevant and useful health related contents.Moreover, there is need to improve ltblekeinge portalin terms of interface, contents and set of tools foraccessing the eHealth services and health relatedinformation. ... Read more

Product Description
The use of geographical data is increasing in realworld applications and due to this, Geographicalinformation systems (GIS)are a growing interest areafor research nowadays.Today, GIS is combined withthe world wide web to provide information to alot ofpeople. Web-based GIS applications have gainedpopularity because of their easy use and simplicity.Usability evaluation is becoming important part ofinteraction design to find out various usabilityisses in applications. In this study, two web-basedGIS applications i.e. Google maps and MapsQuest areevaluated to find out usability issues.To accomplishthe main goal of this study, differnt techniqueshave been used.Special creiteria are adopted forusability evaluation. Usability tests are performedon six graduate users, questionnaires are filled bythese users and interviews were conducted tovalidate the results. The authors have provided anumber of suggestions based on the problems thatwere identified in this study for google maps andMapsQuest to improve the usability of theseapplications. ... Read more

Product Description
Summary: Targeted at library and information Science (LIS) professionals, this book concentrates on usability evaluation methods used to design usable and user-centred library websites. Aimed at the practitioner, it is a practical guide to methods that are used to gather information from potential users that shape the design of the website based on an iterative design process. From planning the study to writing the report, this book guides the reader through the process of usability evaluation using examples from the author's experience with usability evaluation of library interfaces. It describes usability techniques, procedures, report writing, and design changes that lead to a user-centred interface. Key Features: It is a concise, practical guide to completing usability evaluation methods with an emphasis on creating user-centred library websites. It includes examples that draw on the author's practical experience with usability evaluation. It includes useful guidelines to creating participant recruitment letters, scripts, thank you notes, and forms illustrated with practical examples.The Author: Dr George is a Human Factors Researcher with the Carnegie Mellon University Libraries.With an emphasis on improving users' access to information, Ms. George's work focuses on usability studies of library websites and evaluation studies of library services. Her research interests and efforts have been directed towards user-entered interface design and information behaviour studies. Readership: This book is aimed at the professional staff within Library and Information Services, their IT managers, and students in LIS programs. Contents: What is user-centred design? - user-centred design; why design a user-centred website Getting started - preliminary steps; recruiting participants User needs analysis - task analysis; surveys; questionnaires; interviews Designing a website: participatory design - participatory design; affinity programming; card sorting; prototyping Usability inspection methods - heuristic evaluations; cognitive walkthrough Usability testing the website - planning and preparation; think aloud protocols Communicating the findings - written reports; presentations Appendix - examples Glossary Bibliography Index ... Read more

Product Description

With a swift and convincing stroke, the authors of Information Architecture for the World Wide Web tear down many entrenched ideas about Web design. Flashy animations are cool, they agree, as long as they don't aggravate the viewer. Nifty clickable icons are nice, but are their meanings universal? Is the search engine providing results that are useful and relevant? This book acts as a mirror and with careful questioning causes the reader to think through all the elements and decisions required for well-crafted Web design. --Jennifer Buckendorff ... Read more

Customer Reviews (113)

Good reference material, but not really a page-turner
Lots of good information in this book - it covers a huge amount of information related to Information Architecture (as you might expect).Very in-depth, and a great resource.I only give it three stars though because it isn't really a great read.I know, it's a book on IA, what do you expect, right?The book is college textbook size and written in that dry O'Reilly-book style that makes it something you just have to slog through.So maybe I have too high of expectations or too short of an attention span, but it was a big challenge for me to make it through this whole thing.Again, I'm glad I have it on my shelf for reference though.

The third edition keeps the book pretty up-to-date.Other than some random old school Netscape screenshots, all the content is totally applicable in today's world.

IA for the WEB
IA for the Web is a clear concise application of topology, Taxonomy vand UI design without being too stuck on academic terms.It provides a practical set of knowledhe and skills someone can us immediately

Good for explaining concepts
Provides in depth coverage of how to organize and provide access to information for the Web. I like it because it gives you a comprehensive tour of all the major concepts, systems, and strategies used to organize information for your web site.

Because it covers a lot of ground, its not necessarily a how-to guide book, but rather is more of a deep introspective of what information architecture (IA) is, as an academic discipline. In that regard, it is quite insightful and offers many good resources of how the field evolved, and where its at today, and what role it plays in the ever changing business community.

If anything, as a result of reading this book, I found that I now have a deeper appreciation for what it takes to create a systems-wide approach towards the organization of information. In particular, an appreciation for what it takes to design information for users to help them find the information that they need.

Excellent Resource
This is one of the most complete and thorough resources on the topic of Information Architecture. As relevant today as when it was written. A must read for Web Developers and other folks whose work it is to design, produce and publish web sites.

Useless for techies
I'm a developer building a company-internal website and I'm struggling to organize all the information it will contain. I bought this book hoping to ease that struggle. What I found is for a technical person like me, this book was so useless that it has compelled me to write my first Amazon review in years.

I planned to read it cover to cover. After 50 pages I realized that I haven't really read anything at all yet. So far it's been ridiculously verbose, rambling, and content-free. So I gave up and started skimming.

I couldn't find much better in the remaining pages. Page after page of touchy-feely gobbledygook that has not helped me organize information at all.

There are more useless diagrams in this book than I've ever seen before. For example, the term "synonym ring" is defined as a group of words with the same meaning. Does it really take a diagram with a bunch of arrows in a circle to explain that? (Figure 9-2)

To explain the concept of equivalence we have another diagram: "A=B" inside a circle. (Figure 9-21) Does such a diagram really enhance anybody's understanding of the concept of equivalence? Why does this diagram even exist in the first place?

Maybe some business or consultant type might get something out of this book. For a developer, run away. Fast. ... Read more

Product Description

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Semantics and Digital Media Technologies, SAMT 2009, held in Graz, Austria, in December 2009.

The 13 revised full papers and 8 short papers presented together with the abstracts of 2 invited keynote lectures were carefully reviewd and selected from 41 submissions.

The volume discusses topics such as semantic analysis and multimedia, semantic retrieval and multimedia, semantic metadata management of multimedia, semantic user interfaces for multimedia, semantics in visualization and computer graphics, as well as applications of semantic multimedia.

Product Description

For many years Leonard Bolc has played an important role in the Polish computer science community. He is especially known for his clear vision in the development of artificial intelligence, inspiring research, organizational and editorial achievements in areas such as e.g.: logic, automatic reasoning, natural language processing, and computer applications of natural language or human-like reasoning.

This Festschrift volume, published to honor Leonard Bolc on his 75th birthday includes 17 refereed papers by leading researchers, his friends, former students and colleagues to celebrate his scientific career. The essays present research in the areas which Leonard Bolc and his colleagues investigated during his long scientific career.

The volume is organized in three parts; the first is devoted to logic - the domain which was one of the most explored by Leonard Bolc himself. The second part contains papers focusing on different aspects of computational linguistics; the third part comprises papers describing different applications in which natural language processing or automatic reasoning plays an important role.

Product Description

Customer Reviews (20)

A great resource for newcomers and those who want to go into this field
I'm a coder by profession. Sometimes I adventure myself into the webdesign area. Although I know HTML, CSS and Photoshop pretty well, laying out information and making a good design for a website isn't something I consider myself a professional.

This book has helped me a lot with regards to planning a nice website and how to architect its information.

I certainly recommend this book to beginners and to those who are eager to get better at webdesigning. But not to advanced webdesigner, since I think this book doesn't go way deep in each skill.

I just wish the book had more content. Perhaps in a new edition.

Very good indeed!

Well written
This book offers nice insight into web design, and while not being all inclusive, does a nice job of pointing the student to more in depth resources that expand upon the ideas presented in "Sexy Web Design." Well written and never boring, this one is worth the read.

Top Notch Creative Design Book
I was overall impressed with this book. It has an amazing assortment of creative ideas and makes a great reference book when I'm trying to find something that just "clicks". I love not only the design aspect of the book, but the ideas, the thoughts, and the "how-to's" that went into creating it. The book itself is a piece of art to be cherished.

A Must
This book is a must for web-designers and even for web-developers to figure out how design process happens.
One of the best books i've ever read.Strongly recommended.

Misleading Title
This book promises a lot, but offers very little. The title and description made me assume I would be learning about design theory and when and why to use certain design elements for one project and not another.But instead, the book gives a generalized overview of every step in the design process from initially talking to the client to research and so on. Each section gives you a brief outline of what you should do during that phase of the design process. For more details about a certain topic the author points to another book or blog posting you could read to sharpen your skills. I found this to be very irritating because as soon as the author started to interest me in some depth of insight he would stop and tell me to read something else.

This book is good for what it is, an overview of the web design process. But as far as sexy web design is concerned, this book is nothing but.This book would be great for someone just starting out in the web design field and doesn't know how to go from meeting with the client to completing the site the client had in mind. If you're looking for a book about sexy web design then I'd suggest looking somewhere else. ... Read more

Product Description

Are you a Flash user constantly fighting the usability war?

Customer Reviews (6)

Have your cake and eat it too.
As the WWW becomes more of a multimedia environment, it's easly to lose sight of the simplicity that made it so useful in the first place. Form often eclipses function, with graphic whiz-bang trampling basic usability.

Web Designers are divided when it comes to Flash...some see it as a proprietary tool that diminishes website accesibility and encourages splash over substance. Others see it as a welcome extension to a medium built for information that is woefully lacking in graphic capabilities.

This book gently introduces the two camps, demonstrating how the graphic and interactive firepower of Flash can be weilded with an eye toward usability...it offers techniques and demonstrations, simultaniously instructing the user how to use Flash as a tool while introducing basic fundamentals of user-centered design. It's a great book for new Flash designers looking for some intermediate how-to, as well as a contextual reference for experienced Flash designers who want to make better design decisions.

Am I too stupid or it is the book too abstract to read?
I bought this book because its fine printing and attractive title. As I brought it home and read the details of this book, I found out I was wrong. The whole book seems to designed for those who have excellent logical thinkings. The author try make his own graphic charts to explain the deep side of the Flash usability. The problem is, it makes the flash even complicate after reading it. If you are a person with strong Logical thinking you may enjoy this book, and if you think you are not, just don't waste your money.

A must read!
Skip Intro is a must read for the serious web designer, whether a seasoned and experienced veteran, or an excited, inexperienced novice. Interface design is the most important element in creating a website that is easy to navigate, enjoyable, entertaining,, and keeps users coming back making it "Sticky".Poor interface design can bounce the user straight off your site and into your competition's.

Correctly used, Macromedia Flash is the most powerful authoring tool for efficient and effective web design.Skip Into comprehensively covers the philosophy of effective design (the why) and the specific graphic and scripting required to implement (the how).

Expect a well-worn copy of Skip Intro at the desk of leading web designers, and take note fellow educators--this is a must read and know for our graphic design majors.

A great plus - developers will create reusable tools that will simplify your life and improve your users' navigation experience.

A good flash application book for the "real-world"!
Instead of just showing how to do super cool tricks, the authors teach functional techniques that lead to ease of use for the end-user.

Sense and sensibility
What a relief to finally find a book on technology that is well-laid out, simple, clear and easy to understand and, dare I say it, even fun. Isn't this what interactive design should be about; focussing on the users' experience rather than demonstrating how clever the flash designer is. I think this book does a great job in terms of its content and its actual design and layout. It represents the maturing and professionalism of the industry.
As someone who employs interactive designers I found this book very useful in helping me select and work with designers and agencies who will produce workable and functioning sites that look great and provide the right experience for the user without alienating them. ... Read more

Product Description
People spend increasing amounts of time and effort interacting with complex hardware and software products. Some of the products we interact with are easy to learn and easy to remember. Some are even a pleasure to use. Others are hard to learn, hard to use, and frustrate us at every turn. But it is not just the user that pays the cost in such cases. Poor usability also imposes significant costs on the producer of the product. Companies that make hard-to-use products incur higher support costs, spend more on rework, and have less satisfied customers. These outcomes can be avoided by applying the techniques of usability engineering during product development. This book shows how usability engineers can do this by studying users' needs and abilities, designing the product accordingly, and verifying the design through additional testing with users. Despite the positive return on investment for usability engineering activities, many organizations view usability engineering as a non-critical part of the product development process. This book seeks to change this by relating a number of cases where usability engineering contributed significantly to the solution of a business problem.Evidence is drawn from experiences within a range of private and public sector organizations showing how usability work can best be organized and executed within a business environment. The organizational factors that facilitate or impede the application of usability engineering are also discussed. The book clearly explains the barriers to be overcome as well as highlighting the factors promoting success. A wide range of applications are covered, including web-based e-commerce, mobile devices, medical devices and software, process control management systems, financial services applications, and consumer desktop applications. "Usability Success Stories" provides a valuable guide for business managers and technical staff as well as to practitioners within the field itself. ... Read more

Product Description
37signals is a privately held web application company based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The firm was co-founded in 1999 by CEO Jason Fried, Carlos Segura, and Ernest Kim as a web design company with a self-described focus on usability, simplicity, and clarity in design and writing. 37signals also produces a blog, Signal vs. Noise. Segura left in 2000 and Kim left in 2003, leaving Fried as the only remaining founder. Since mid 2004, 37signals has been primarily a developer and provider of business and personal productivity web applications. Its first application was Basecamp. This was followed by Ta-Da List, Backpack, Writeboard, Campfire and Highrise. 37signals was responsible for launching the open source web application framework software Ruby on Rails, which it uses in its own applications. The products have gained popularity using what has come to be known as a freemium business model. The company is named for the 37 radio telescope signals identified by astronomer Paul Horowitz as potential messages from extraterrestrial intelligence. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (6)

Getting Started with Gestural Interfaces
With all the work that is happening in the world of mobile and gaming consoles around the area of gesture and touch I was looking for a book that was interesting and engaging and helped define the rules of engagement for the technologies used.

The book is well written and gives a good overview of touch and gesture design and techniques but does fall a short on the detail I was looking for. The book works well in defining the different types of gestures and their possible uses. Photographs and illustrations back this up and it is a good starting point for those wishing to be informed and learn about these technologies. It would also be a helpful book for starting out designing a touch or gesture application, but I would have liked seen more time spent on exploring how to implement solutions using these techniques.

Overall a good book but would be really suitable for someone at beginner level, it serves well as an introduction but does not go into enough detail for an experienced developer or designer.

Good reference book
Quite good reference book, but not necessary for experienced (with touch and gestures) designers.
Interesting recommended readings and web sites in several sections of the book

My Full review:
[...]

Simple minded and shallow look at off the desktop interfaces
If you have ever seen an iphone, played the wii, or gone to the bathroom and used an automatic flushing toilet then you probably have pretty much the same amount of insight into "gestural interactions" the author has.

If you are looking for any new insights into gesture recognition or touch interfaces, you will not be pleased with this book. If you are looking for any guidance on how to implement any of these systems you will be disappointed.

Basically the one interesting point that he brings up, all though not new, is the fact that you need to have some way to tell people about these invisible interfaces. However even here the author fails to really come up with any good solutions or patterns for doing this. But still its nice to have people thinking about it.

However if you need an overview of what is out there today, and some buzzwords, or want to break into this area maybe it might be helpful.

In the end I think this book is 4 or 5 years too late to be interesting without explaining how to do any of it other than simple paper/video prototyping suggestions.

Good for beginners and newcomers only
If you have been a designer for the past five years and have some experience with touchscreen or interactive surfaces of one kind or another, then Designing Gestural Interfaces is not for you. This book is best for the beginner as its content is very basic and superficial. There is no deep thinking or insights here. Unfortunately, the occassional good topic is glossed over and your left with only the beginning of an idea.

It's true that designing for gestural interfaces is a relatively new area, but the author presents the reader with general and basic design information that has been known and practiced for many years and not nearly enough useful information about gesture design. For example, in the chapter on Prototyping Interactive Gestures, the author talks about the purpose and value of low-fidelity prototyping, but offers nothing related to gestural UI design; no hints, tips, tricks, pitfalls, solutions, etc. In this regard, I found myself getting frustrated many times throughout the whole book.

In general, the book reads like an introductory design book, a primer of sorts, updated to include gestures. I suspect that within the next year or so, updated versions of this book or even other books / articles will come out that offer much deeper insights. If you're a veteran designer, save your money and spend your time wisely reading other more insightful books.

Outstanding Guide To Physical Interaction Design
This new guide by Dan Saffer of Kicker Studio is the first book of its kind that addresses the issues of designing interfaces which involve physical interaction, and it borders on Industrial Design, Physical Computing and Software Interaction Design. It contains several useful methods and heuristics for designing interfaces for these systems.The title, which might imply that this approach is limited to interaction involving physical gestures, or systems with touch screens, is too limiting for this excellent design guide.Many new kinds of Physical Computing Platforms, Consumer Electronic Devices, Games, Cars and Instruments are offering new paradigms for how the user communicates with an Intelligent Device.None of the existing design guides goes through the methods of designing for a physical system which interacts with the user in a new way, whether that method involves touch, facial action, dancing or drawing in the air.While all of these interaction techniques are now available on the palette of the Interaction Designer, Product Developer, and Electronic Systems/Physical Computing Engineer, until now no book addressed how to approach these intriguing but complicated design opportunities. No single volume can answer all the questions in this emerging field, but this is the first and best book to date which has addressed the physical, software, electronic design, and interaction paradigm issues which must be confronted in designing these new systems.I recommend this book for anyone who needs to know how to approach designing intelligent tangible systems, from the Wii, to ATM's to Arduino Physical Computing projects, to facial expression recognition systems.

--Ira Laefsky ... Read more