Other Recommended Titles
LabVIEW GUI| Other LabVIEW Books

___Recommended GUI Design Books

There are many great GUI design books on the market - below you will find a list of some of our favorites. The books listed here expand on the fundamental GUI design principles and guidelines presented in "LabVIEW GUI - Essential Techniques", and offer additional perspectives and insights into the GUI design process. Any and all of these titles are recommended reading for anyone serious about building effective software user interfaces.

The Design of Everyday Things
by Donald A Norman
This entertaining and enlightening text explores the design shortcomings of common objects - from microwave ovens and digital watches to doors and water faucets. While not specifically a GUI book, many of the concepts presented are pertinent to effective software design. This easy to read title is guaranteed to make you laugh out loud at least once, and will give you a completely different perspective of common, everyday objects.
Buy it online from Amazon.
About Face: The Essentials of User Interface Design
by Alan Cooper
According to Alan Cooper, we must stop blaming end-users for software usability problems. Rather than building software for computer-literate users, our goal should be to build "people-literate" GUIs. In addition to philosophical perspectives on GUI design, "About Face" also provides several chapters of practical design discussions and guidelines.
Buy it online from Amazon.
The Inmates are Running the Asylum
by Alan Cooper

Should programmers be permitted to design GUIs? Alan Cooper asks some hard and potentially embarrassing questions about the disparity of perspectives between programmers and users. Building on many of the themes found in "About Face", this book offers more pearls of wisdom from one of the most influential - and often controversial - GUI design experts.
Buy it online from Amazon.

Designing for the User with OVID
by Dave Roberts, et al

A practical guide for anyone interested in applying object-oriented methods to GUI design. Stressing an iterative approach, this book also provides a useful overview of the entire GUI design process - from requirements-gathering to final design evaluation. A step-by-step design example is presented so readers can see how the OOD techniques presented can be applied to real-world applications.
Buy it online from Amazon.

The Elements of User Interface Design
by Theo Mandel

A thought-provoking and thoroughly readable introduction to fundamental GUI design concepts. If you are new to GUI design theory, this book is the perfect introduction.
Buy it online from Amazon.

Tog on Interface
by Bruce Tognazzini

A key designer from the original Apple Macintosh GUI design team, Bruce Tognazzini, presents an enlightening glimpse into his unique design perspective. It should be noted that numerous articles were originally written for Apple software developer journals. Therefore, some parts tend to be a bit Mac-centric in their focus. Still, the underlying principles are rock solid, and can be applied to any GUI application and platform.
Buy it online from Amazon.

The Essential Guide to User Interface Design
by Wilbert O. Galitz

A comprehensive GUI design guide with numerous practical examples. Of particular value are the "before-and-after" screen captures demonstrating the key principles in action. If you are looking for solid, practical guidelines you can use as the basis for your own styleguide or GUI standards document, this book is an ideal choice.
Buy it online from Amazon.

Designing the User Interface
by Ben Shneiderman

One of the most revered and often quoted books on fundamental GUI design principles. Written in a textbook style, this book references countless papers and research studies. While some may feel the style is too academic, and would prefer more "how-to", hands-on material, this book remains one of the authoritative texts on the subject of GUI theory.
Buy it online from Amazon.

GUI Design Essentials
by Susan Weinschenk, et al

A practical book outlining a step-by-step GUI design process. Several useful resources are included: guidelines, checklists, and templates - including a useful User Interface Design Document template. Other topics include usability testing, standards and GUI guidelines, web design considerations, and more.
Buy it online from Amazon.

Usability Engineering
by Jakob Nielsen

From one of the preeminent leaders of interaction design, this book provides useful, practical advice on several topics. Useful sections can be found on inexpensive and effective usability methods that can be adopted by small companies, as well as a section on preparing usability tests. A solid, all-round introduction to usability engineering.
Buy it online from Amazon.

User and Task Analysis for Interface Design
by J. Hackos and J. Redish

In order to build an effective user interface, we must clearly understand users, their goals, and task requirements. This book is devoted to task analysis - the process of fully understanding the objectives of the system we are designing. Loaded with practical examples and case studies, this book is an invaluable resource for any GU designer.
Buy it online from Amazon.



Search:
Keywords:
In Association with Amazon.com
Back to the top of this page

BetterVIEW Homepage