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Don't Make Me Think:
A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability

BY STEVE KRUG

Hands down, the best book on web usability in the market. Unlike other texts on the subject, Krug's book is joy to read. It's funny, self-deprecating and sometimes the humor hits a little to close to home (see section "The Farmer and the Cowman Should be Friends"). It's insightful and the advice comes from someone who clearly has a breadth of experience in the field.
Related: Advanced Common Sense


Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity
by Jakob Nielsen

You have to give Jakob his props. The man knows what he's talking about, and he has the research to back it up. Although some of the text (and screenshots) in this book are dated, much of his sound advice still stands as undisputable axioms of truth. Unfortunately, that won't always get you out of a design jam. Check out his site, useit.com, for his latest insights.

Web Style Guide:
Basic Design Principles for Creating Web Sites

BY PATRICK J. LYNCH, SARAH HORTON

There must be a billion books out there on how to build a web site, but this 160-pg. text from 1999 still stands out to us as the hands-down best. In the class of Tufte and Strunk. Cogent, clear, without trend or fluff. Should hardly need a revision.
Related: Author's site

Information Architecture for the World Wide Web
BY LOUIS ROSENFELD, PETER MORVILLE

This is the definitive text on IA. In fact, just about anything worthwile on IA every written originated from these two. If you want to build a foundation of usability for your web site, this book will show you how to do it. Get in touch with your inner-librarian and get this text today. Jakob wrote the forward.
Related: Argus Center for IA

Interactivity By Design
BY RAY KRISTOF, AMY SATRAN

It's a bit puzzling and disheartening that this book is Out of Print. A wonderful overview of the design process for interactive digital projects. Short, easy-to-read. And although it was written in the early days of web design (1995), it's still one of the few texts that accurately understands the process of web design.
Link: Author's Site


The Design of Everyday Things
BY DONALD A. NORMAN

Norman makes a compelling argument about how we are surrounded by objects that don't work well. They were poorly conceived and designed, but were polluted by good looks. He applies cognitive psychology as the solution for bad design. Obviously, this a must-read for web and interface designers, but it has plenty of meat for print designers. Ironic that this book is so poorly designed.


The Humane Interface:
New Directions for Designing Interactive Systems

BY JEF RASKIN

Cut from the same cloth as Donald Norman, this book focuses on cognitive psychology and it's relationship to interface design. A must for software developers, but there plenty of application to web design.
Link: Author's Site


The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How To Restore The Sanity
BY ALAN COOPER

A treatise on goal-directed design for software programmers and engineers. But accessible for designers. We recommend this book based solely on Chapter 9, an in-depth look at creating user profiles and their application in the design process.
Link: Author's Site

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