Design for Software

A unique resource to help software developers create a desirable
user experience

Today, top-flight software must feature a desirable user
experience. This one-of-a-kind book creates a design process
specifically for software, making it easy for developers who lack
design background to create that compelling user experience.
Appealing to both tech-savvy designers and creative-minded
technologists, it establishes a hybrid discipline that will produce
first-rate software. Illustrated in full color, it shows how to
plan and visualize the design to create software that works on
every level.

• Today's software demands attention to the quality of the user
  experience; this book guides you through a practical design process
  to achieve that goal

• Approaches the mechanics of design with a process inspired by
  art and science

• Avoids the abstract and moves step by step through techniques
  you can put to use immediately

• Covers planning your design, tested methods, how to visualize
  like a designer, psychology of design, and how to create software
  that developers will appreciate

• Explores such elements as choosing the right typeface and
  managing interactivity

Design for Software: A Playbook for Developers brings the
art of good design together with the science of software
development to create programs with pizazz.

Autorentext

Erik Klimczak is a Creative Director in Chicago dedicated
to making technology meaningful for his clients. He has assisted in
the design and production of software for industries as diverse as
healthcare, automobiles, finance, retail, law, entertainment,
insurance, marketing, education, consumer products, gaming, sports,
food and beverage, communications, media, security and more. As a
hybrid technologist/artist, Klimczak is uniquely positioned to
present design theory concepts to tech-minded professionals who
don't have a background in traditional design.

Zusammenfassung
A unique resource to help software developers create a desirable user experience

Today, top-flight software must feature a desirable user experience. This one-of-a-kind book creates a design process specifically for software, making it easy for developers who lack design background to create that compelling user experience. Appealing to both tech-savvy designers and creative-minded technologists, it establishes a hybrid discipline that will produce first-rate software. Illustrated in full color, it shows how to plan and visualize the design to create software that works on every level.

• Today's software demands attention to the quality of the user experience; this book guides you through a practical design process to achieve that goal

• Approaches the mechanics of design with a process inspired by art and science

• Avoids the abstract and moves step by step through techniques you can put to use immediately

• Covers planning your design, tested methods, how to visualize like a designer, psychology of design, and how to create software that developers will appreciate

• Explores such elements as choosing the right typeface and managing interactivity
  Design for Software: A Playbook for Developers brings the art of good design together with the science of software development to create programs with pizazz.

Inhalt
Acknowledgements viii Introduction 1

Part I: Research 5

CHAPTER 1 Planning 7

An Introduction to User Research 8

User Research Is Not Usability 9

Design Lingo: Ethnography 9

Start with User Insights 9

Case Study: Lightning Fast Checkout 14

Making Sense of Your Findings 18

Summary 20

CHAPTER 2 Inspiration 21

Steal Like an Artist 22

If All Else Fails 34

Summary 36

Part II: Design Thinking 37

CHAPTER 3 Sketching 39

Design ThinkingA Developer's Kind of Design 40

SketchingWhere It All Begins 40

The Benefi ts of Sketching 41

When to Sketch 42

Tools for Sketching 42

The Basics of Application Flows 47

Creating an Application Flow 49

What Storyboards Can Do for You 58

When to Use Storyboards 59

Creating a Storyboard 59

Not Sure Where to Begin? Start with a Template 60

Summary 62

CHAPTER 4 Information Architecture 63

What Is information Architecture, Exactly? 65

The Cost of Usability 65

Information Architecture Deliverables 66

Personas, User Scenarios, and Storyboards 67

Content Models 67

Application Flow 67

Wireframes 69

Gesture Dictionary 69

Information Architecture Is All About the Content 70

Make It Meaningful 70

Information Architecture: Like a Boss in Five Steps 72

Step 1: Define Themes, Goals and Requirements 73

Step 2: Choose a Layout 74

Step 3: Group Similar Items 85

Step 4: Be Consistent 86

Step 5: Reduce 87

Summary 88

CHAPTER 5 Wireframes 91

Debunking Wireframes 92

Wireframes 101 93

When Should You Create the Wireframes? 93

Anatomy of a Wireframe 94

Are You Speaking Wireframe? 95

Do's & Don'ts 98

Tools for Awesome Wireframes 102

Tools for Awesome-er Wireframes 105

Wireframe Techniques 107

Wireframe Technique #1: Creating the Basic Wireframe 107

Wireframe Technique #2: Using Shades of Gray and One Color 108

Wireframe Technique #4: Using the Frame-by-Frame Approach 111

Wireframe Technique #5: Using Bubbles 112

Wireframe Technique #6: Magnifying Details 112

Summary 114

CHAPTER 6 Prototyping 115

When Should I Prototype? 116

1. Communicating a New Idea 117

2. Creating a Proof of Concept 117

3. Conducting Basic Usability Testing 117

4. Determining Whether an Idea Is Worth a Bigger Investment 117

What Makes an Eff ective Prototype? 118

Fake ItBe Clever, Not Complicated 120

Making Little Bets 121

Awesome Tools for Prototyping 122

Microsoft SketchFlow 122

Adobe Edge Tools 123

Adobe After Effects 124

Keynote / PowerPoint 125

HTML / JavaScript / CSS3 126

Axure RP 127

Arduino, Openframeworks, Processing 128

Prototyping Techniques 129

Prototyping Technique #1: Paper Prototypes 130

Prototyping Technique #2: Interactive Wireframes 131

Prototyping Technique #3: Video Prototyping 136

Summary 140

Part III: Visual Design 141

CHAPTER 7 Color 143

Color Basics 144

Color Vocabulary 144

Color Models 146

Cool and Warm Colors 149

The Psychology of Color 151

Contrast 154

Applied Color: A Few Rules of Thumb 156

Stick With Two to Three Colors 156

Start with Solids, Then Move to Gradients 157

Use Shades of a Hue 157 Green Means Go 157</p...