Site-Seeing: A Visual Approach to Web Usability
Luke Wroblewski

Here is a usability book that speaks to the individuals who actually design web sites. Imagine that. This book is extremely refreshing because usability is a topic designers need to know more about too. It's exciting when a book is clearly written for the appropriate target audience. Uncommon to the popular usability web sites and books, Site-Seeing looks like a designer touched every page. It presents lots of pictures with clear, organized thoughts written in an easy to follow and understand language, with design, style and grace. Luke Wroblewski walks you through why usability is important and uses clear examples to make illustrate his thoughts. There's a great deal of good information here and it's easy to understand.

Recommended by Brian Charlonis
Summer issue 2006

Essential ActionScript 2.0
Colin Moock

This is the kind of book you keep at your desk where the spine is falling apart from being used so much, the corners of pages are folded over, and bookmarks stick out from a hundred places. There's no much good stuff inside you have to wonder how anyone could know it all. What can I say? Colin has done it (again). I'm not sure there is a more comprehensive collection of ‘anything and everything you could ever want to know’ about ActionScript 2.0. The scripting language of Shockwave Flash consistently leaps forward with each new version of the Shockwave Flash application. Colin is right there with a guide to help you understand the new syntax and changes.

Recommended by Brian Charlonis and Eric Juliano
Summer issue 2006

Don't Make Me Think
Steve Krug

I love this book! It's one of my favorites for usability. Anyone developing content or the design of a web site would benefit from this book. Often usability books are written with a stale, almost clinical tone that seem to just complain about poor usability examples. Not this book! It's fun and easy to read with lots of big pictures! It's like a picture book for adults, and just like the topic, the book is extremely 'usable.' You can read the whole book in short sitting. Steve writes in a way to show what's smart to do with designing navigation and writing copy. He also shows you examples of what not to do, and explains why without discrediting any real-world examples. Thumbs up, way up!

Recommended by Brian Charlonis
Spring issue 2006

Bringing Design to Software
Terry Winograd

Terry Winograd is a professor at Stamford University and is credited for identifying need for a 'software designer.' According to Winograd, a software designer is someone who protects the user experience the entire project lifecycle - from project concept to project completion. His book, Bringing Design to Software, shares different perspectives from many significant individuals and walks you through the evolution of interface design. The origins of milestones such as the mouse input device and graphic user interfaces (GUI) are revealed and their significance and impact on today's user interface designs are explained.

Recommended by Brian Charlonis
Fall issue 2005