The essential interaction design guide, fully revised and updated for the mobile ageAbout Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design, Fourth Edition is the latest update to the book that shaped and evolved the landscape of interaction design. This comprehensive guide takes the worldwide shift to smartphones and tablets into account. New information includes discussions on mobile apps, touch interfaces, screen size considerations, and more. The new full-color interior and unique layout better illustrate modern design concepts.The interaction design profession is blooming with the success of design-intensive companies, priming customers to expect "design" as a critical ingredient of marketplace success. Consumers have little tolerance for websites, apps, and devices that don't live up to their expectations, and the responding shift in business philosophy has become widespread. About Face is the book that brought interaction design out of the research labs and into the everyday lexicon, and the updated Fourth Edition continues to lead the way with ideas and methods relevant to today's design practitioners and developers.Updated information includes:* Contemporary interface, interaction, and product design methods* Design for mobile platforms and consumer electronics* State-of-the-art interface recommendations and up-to-date examples* Updated Goal-Directed Design methodologyDesigners and developers looking to remain relevant through the current shift in consumer technology habits will find About Face to be a comprehensive, essential resource.

Foreword xvIntroduction xixPART I: Goal-Directed Design 1CH 1: A Design Process for Digital Products 3The Consequences of Poor Product Behavior 4Why Digital Products Fail 6Planning and Designing Product Behavior 10Recognizing User Goals 13Implementation Models and Mental Models 16An Overview of Goal-Directed Design 21CH 2: Understanding the Problem: Design Research 31Qualitative versus Quantitative Data in Design Research 32Goal-Directed Design Research 36Interviewing and Observing Users 44Other Types of Qualitative Research 56Research Is Critical to Good Design 59CH 3: Modeling Users: Personas and Goals 61Why Model? 61The Power of Personas 62Why Personas Are Effective 66Understanding Goals 72Constructing Personas 81Personas in Practice 93Other Design Models 98CH 4: Setting the Vision: Scenarios and Design Requirements 101Bridging the Research-Design Gap 101Scenarios: Narrative as a Design Tool 102Design Requirements: The "What" of Interaction 106The Requirements Definition Process 109CH 5: Designing the Product: Framework and Refinement 119Creating the Design Framework 119Refining the Form and Behavior 137Validating and Testing the Design 139CH 6: Creative Teamwork 145Small, Focused Teams 146Thinking Better, Together 146Working across Design Disciplines 153The Extended Team 155Establishing a Creative Culture 161Identifying Skill Levels in Designers 162Collaboration Is the Key 163Part II: Making Well-Behaved Products 165CH 7: A Basis for Good Product Behavior 167Design Values 167Interaction Design Principles 173Interaction Design Patterns 174CH 8: Digital Etiquette 179Designing Considerate Products 180Designing Smart Products 190Designing Social Products 199CH 9: Platform and Posture 205Product Platforms 205Product Postures 206Postures for the Desktop 207Postures for the Web 218Postures for Mobile Devices 225Postures for Other Platforms 230Give Your Apps Good Posture 235CH 10: Optimizing for Intermediates 237Perpetual Intermediates 238Inflecting the Interface 240Designing for Three Levels of Experience 243CH 11: Orchestration and Flow 249Flow and Transparency 249Orchestration 250Harmonious Interactions 251Motion, Timing, and Transitions 266The Ideal of Effortlessness 269CH 12: Reducing Work and Eliminating Excise 271Goal-Directed Tasks versus Excise Tasks 272Types of Excise 273Excise Is Contextual 285Eliminating Excise 285Other Common Excise Traps 297CH 13: Metaphors, Idioms, and Affordances 299Interface Paradigms 300Building Idioms 310Manual Affordances 312Direct Manipulation and Pliancy 315Escape the Grip of Metaphor 322CH 14: Rethinking Data Entry, Storage, and Retrieval 325Rethinking Data Entry 326Rethinking Data Storage 332Rethinking Data Retrieval 345CH 15: Preventing Errors and Informing Decisions 357Using Rich Modeless Feedback 358Undo, Redo, and Reversible Histories 363What If: Compare and Preview 376CH 16: Designing for Different Needs 379Learnability and Help 379Customizability 395Localization and Globalization 398Accessibility 399CH 17: Integrating Visual Design 405Visual Art and Visual Design 405The Elements of Visual Interface Design 406Visual Interface Design Principles 411Visual Information Design Principles 425Consistency and Standards 428Part III: Interaction Details 433CH 18: Designing for the Desktop 435Anatomy of a Desktop App 436Windows on the Desktop 439Menus 448Toolbars, Palettes, and Sidebars 455Pointing, Selection, and Direct Manipulation 465CH 19: Designing for Mobile and Other Devices 507Anatomy of a Mobile App 508Mobile Navigation, Content, and Control Idioms 518Multi-Touch Gestures 550Inter-App Integration 553Other Devices 555CH 20: Designing for the Web 569Page-Based interactions 571The Mobile Web 585The Future 587CH 21: Design Details: Controls and Dialogs 589Controls 589Dialogs 625Eliminating Errors, Alerts, and Confirmations 641The Devil Is in the Details 653APPEN DIX A: Design Principles 655APPEN DIX B: Bibliography 661Index 667