I was recommended this book as, at the time, the company I worked for were embarking on a complete website redesign and redevelopment project. Although the design element was subcontracted out to a website designer, it felt appropriate to brush up on my knowledge so that I could understand the user research better and then appreciate more the design decisions they were recommending.

Although it’s worth buying the book as a hard copy, a quick google search or look-around GitHub should reveal a soft copy.

It’s a resource that’s quickly reviewed over a few days to a couple of weeks, it can be digested on the commute, and you can always refer back to sections where you need to when it comes to projects that are directly related to that topic.

One should remember, and the author makes the point, that web design and user design are very much a moving landscape. What the author promotes as best practice or experience is subject to change as the industry evolves. So, investing your time in web design is a constant feat, and you should be prepared to change opinions and adopt new practices as your users adapt to how the web is used.

The book is a great intro, not too technical of a read, into what you could do to implement intuitive web models but also some of the faux-pas around poor or inconsiderate design. The author also cites many other third-party resources that have moulded his opinions and bolstered his own work experience. He touches on common design patterns, such as how to develop effective navigation and why we even need a form of orientation for users. There is a commentary on content layout, serving appropriate media and device-driven design decisions in his flippant and amusing writing style. For myself, the section on carrying out usability testing and drawing conclusions from the research was paramount as I did not know how it was conducted conventionally. Now, I would feel confident to set up usability testing for my sites with volunteers, and I would know how to tailor questions to get the results I need to inform design decisions without biasing the user.

All in all, well worth reading, and it’s a short read so it’s not too much of an investment of time.