While I haven’t exactly been a mentor before, I have helped people learn more about the field of User Experience. In a few recent jobs, I’ve had someone ask how they can learn more about UX.<\/p>\n
I provided my own responses, but since then I’ve come across a few different examples of comprehensive UX introductions that have a lot of good information to offer. I thought reviewing each would make a good blog post.\u00a0First, I’ll include my tips, then the static examples. Finally, I’ll review a few video courses in the next post.<\/p>\n
As I mentioned above, I’ve had people ask me about how they can learn more about UX. The thing to keep in mind is that these are people who are totally new to UX – as opposed to people who work in software development, visual design, or some other related field. Or people who’ve gone through some classes and are looking for more information.<\/p>\n
One person in particular asked me about more information and I provided a comprehensive\u00a0list of UX resources. My main focus was to provide a starting place to learn more about the field of UX, and less so about the process of UX. I’ve found that process can change, slightly or drastically, depending on where you work. I did not provide any resources on Lynda, though they’ve updated their site since then, because the resources felt like a starting point for someone who’s already gotten started in UX.<\/p>\n
Everything below this point\u00a0was originally sent in an email, called Lots of UX, though not necessarily in this order.\r\n\r\nAlso note that my links to Amazon go to smile.amazon.com, in support of the ASPCA.<\/pre>\nOne quick note!<\/strong><\/p>\n
The one thing to know about UX (which is really human-computer interaction), is that the core of it is psychology – think of it as the application of cognitive psychology. So, it can be applied in many different\u00a0contexts, not just on traditional websites.<\/p>\n
Also, not everyone who works in UX is a designer; some people only do\u00a0research.<\/p>\n
Quick Start!<\/strong><\/p>\n
Some things to think about right now, as you go about your way in the\u00a0world…<\/p>\n
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- Ben Schneiderman’s Eight Golden Rules of Interface Design – https:\/\/www.cs.umd.edu\/users\/ben\/goldenrules.html<\/a><\/li>\n
- Jakob Nielsen’s 10 general principles for interaction design. http:\/\/www.nngroup.com\/articles\/ten-usability-heuristics\/<\/a><\/li>\n
- Don’t Make Me Think<\/a> is also a great quick start book!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Books\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
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- The Design of Everyday Things – this will change the way you view the\u00a0world. About<\/a>\u00a0Book<\/a><\/li>\n
- The Inmates are Running the Asylum – this discusses the importance of\u00a0designing for the actual users, not the stakeholders. Book<\/a><\/li>\n
- Don’t Make Me Think – simple primer on what usability is all about. Can\u00a0read in a day. Book<\/a><\/li>\n
- Universal Principles of Design – think of these as though they are from a\u00a0cognitive psychology perspective vs a design perspective. Book<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
There are many other handbooks about actually designing and testing, but\u00a0these are good to first get yourself in the right frame of mind!<\/p>\n
Sites\/Newsletters<\/strong><\/p>\n
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- A List Apart – http:\/\/alistapart.com\/<\/a>\u00a0(a little to web design-y for my taste,\u00a0actually)<\/li>\n
- Boxes and Arrows – http:\/\/boxesandarrows.com\/<\/a><\/li>\n
- Alertbox – http:\/\/www.nngroup.com\/articles\/<\/a><\/li>\n
- Usability Body of Knowledge – http:\/\/www.usabilitybok.org\/<\/a> (not sure if this is really maintained)<\/li>\n
- Usability Professionals Association –\u00a0https:\/\/uxpa.org\/<\/a><\/li>\n
- The Information Architecture Institute –\u00a0http:\/\/www.iainstitute.org\/<\/a><\/li>\n
- Interaction Design Association –\u00a0http:\/\/ixda.org\/<\/a><\/li>\n
- UX Mag – https:\/\/uxmag.com\/<\/a><\/li>\n
- Usability First – http:\/\/www.usabilityfirst.com\/<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
A Few People<\/strong><\/p>\n
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- Don Norman, Jakob Nielsen, Bruce Tognazzini (I would look them up\u00a0individually…)<\/li>\n
- Alan Cooper (designer) – …also look him up…<\/li>\n
- Alan Tufte – …and him, too.<\/li>\n
- Ben Schneiderman – see also his personal project with many names of other people you can learn about! (https:\/\/hcipioneers.wordpress.com\/<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n