22
Sep
2011

Web Design with the Brain in Mind

attention symbolDo you have to design a web site, but you have no graphic design training? Are you a designer, but need evidence-based research to justify your design decisions?  If either of these apply to you, I've got a poster and paper that will help.

Updated: new book recommendation!

I spent a year reading up on cognitive and information science and, let me tell you, there are TONS of helpful insights for people doing web design!

conceptual sketches of 3 survival instincts all humans share

Sketchy Poster

To get a taste, I recommend looking at my poster, which has lots of sketches that are both funny and educational.  It received rave reviews and much positive attention at the 2010 LITA National Forum, IA Summit and THATCamp SE.

Paper & Awesome Reading Recommendations

Follow this up by reading my paper for just a tiny bit more detail and even more humor. It is very short (only 3 pages), but it has an incredibly-readable set of resources listed in the Bibliography, should your interest be piqued by the big picture presented therein.  In fact, let me tempt you with a list of my 3 favorite reads:

  1. Johnson, Jeff. (2010). Designing with the Mind in Mind: a simple guide to understanding user interface design rules. New York: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.
  2. Weinschenk, Susan M. (2011). 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People. New Riders Press.
  3. Weinschenk, Susan M. (2009). Neuro web design: what makes them click? Berkeley: New Riders.
  4. Lidwell, William, et. al. (2010). Universal principles of design: 125 ways to enhance usability, influence perception, increase appeal, make better design decisions, and teach through design. Beverly, Mass.: Rockport Publishers.

Additional Reading Recommendations mentioned at THATCamp

Comments

Adelle Frank

Mar 5, 2011

Tweets from THATCamp about my SEXY presentation