100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People (Voices That Matter)

This is a really interesting book and it opened my eyes to a lot of new ideas that I hadn't really considered before.
It's of those sort of books you pick up now and again when you have 10 mins here and there or great on a long plane ride when you actually want to learn something rather than just get lost in fiction. Good read.

Basically this is a condensed UX best practices book boiled down from a lot of psychology and user research. If you have a background in the subject you're not really going to get much out of it besides a refresher, as the topics are not detailed enough to serve as an adequate reference guide.

However, for a novice in user research / psychology, go for it the tips are useful and rather easy to implement.

Got a defective paperback from the store. The book is distorted in shape, making printed text go outside the page. Most pages are glued stuck. See photos.

I have read a few paperback books and 3 things are must have :
Rectangle in shape, text print aligned with the rectangle page, ability to flip pages.

The copy the store shipped did not have these 3.

The book arrived safely and on time. The information within is not geared to "designers" per se, but mostly for graphic design. It is full of the sorts of things that you have to work at, to find revelance to any particular situation you might encounter.. I'm not sure that this would help in the real world of design, it is more like the stuff I read when in 5th grade and interested in pop psychology.

first - for a black and white kindle format, this kind of material just does not work. the layout does not allow for information and relevant graphics to fit in the same view, color is a necessity in design, and the type/layout of the book should not be customized to my preference when we are talking about design from a design source.

second - the content was rudimentary. if you are a designer, you already know this stuff. i was hoping the content would be a bit more about advanced thinking or considerations that are not widely used or adapted. new ideas about design that should be or will become basic design thinking. i am already aware of color blindness and peripheral vision, text size, etc.

if you want a basic review because you need to talk about it or if you want to remind yourself like a self-help book, then read it. but get it in paper format and not digital -- does not work well.

Don't go into this book expecting pictures of design patters that work and how different designs work in each situation. That's NOT what this book is all about.

Instead what you'll find here is focused information on how our brains work and how we can take advantage of these inner workings as we design. This is an easy to read book, it's not full of science and jargon. I've enjoyed every piece of learning and can see how it applies in my work and also in other aspects of my life - writing, drawing and presenting.

I recommend this book to anyone who needs insight into creating better designs and presentations.

The book, 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People by Susan Weinschenk, is an interesting collection of facts and thoughts about how people perceive communications and the world around them. While applicable to graphic designers, much of the information in the book would be useful to anyone involved in communicating with people in any medium.

This book is easy to pick up and put down as each of the 100 things take up only two or three pages with easy to scan charts, illustrations and pull boxes.

Some of the facts are things many people already know, but some of them provide additional information to accompany common held rules. One example of this is thing number four which discusses how and why the brain recognizes faces. Using this information, graphic designers can make educated decisions on when and how to include human photography in design work in place of object or nature photography based on the reaction they hope to create.

User Interface designers should pay close attention to the following sections: How People See, How People Read and How People Focus Their Attention and How People Decide. The author looks at how people relate to information based on where it is placed on the page, the errors in relying on eye tracking studies, how font choices impact how people read, what draws people's attention, how long people really focus on different types of information, and what you can do to influence the decisions your viewers take.

Marketers of all types should pay close attention to things 33 and 34 which talk about how people process information when presented in a story format and how people learn from examples. These examples can be applied to a number of different formats such as crafting compelling stories to convince a customer they will benefit from your product or providing step by step relevant examples when designing training documents.

The section, What Motivates People, should be required reading for those designing materials with the goal of having people take action. This section compares how people make choices and why people search for information.

This is a great book to read while near your computer, as many sections refer to websites and YouTube videos containing additional information.

Overall this book didn't include any earth shattering information, but rather gives scientific facts and information to back up some of the commonly taught design principles and practices. This book could be helpful to anyone at any stage in their design or communications career. New students will benefit for having some of the data to back up some of what professors teach and experienced designers will re-learn some of the basics and keep them fresh in their mind while working on projects.

This appealing short book brings together little nuggets of psychology, which the author makes immediately relevant to design decisions.

It's simply and clearly written. You can choose whether to read it straight through, focus on just one of the 10 sections, or simply pick out a single item of the 100. Each one is:
- self-contained,
- described with an example,
- supported by appropriate research, and
- finishes with one or more 'Takeaways' that you can use immediately.

The great strength of this book is how the various suggestions are laid out so clearly, in self contained sections, which can serve as a basis for further research, if necessary.

Other people's favorite will not be the same as mine, but for what they are worth to others, here are my top five:

- People learn best in 20-minute chunks. The TED talks fit this mode; they have worked hard to find the "best" presentation modes. And, even shorter can be better. But consider adding a summary, especially a call to action, to get to 20 minutes if you are running short. If you are running long, shut up and sit down.

- Multiple sensory channels compete. During a talk, visual elements drown out auditory elements. Be sure your visuals don't distract from the talk.

- What you say is only one part of your presentation. The audience reads your voice, your intonations, your body language. A video of your practice presentations can do wonders -- see yourself as others see you.

- Call your audience to action. Be specific at the beginning about what you want them to do, explain in the middle why you want them to do it, and repeat the call for action at the end.

- Be passionate. People respond to your emotions. If you don't care, why should they?

Remember this truth, or at least George Jessel's truth: "The human brain starts working the moment you are born and never stops until you stand up to speak in public."

Altogether, a very useful guide to communicating effectively.

Robert C. Ross
June 2012

Remarkably, when this book appeared I didn't know whether to take it seriously or not. But as I dug through all the lessons -- I'm finding myself agreeing and even feeling a bit flattered.

Having been in the graphic design, visual communications industry for 40 years, I can vouch for all of Dr. Weinschenk's observations about human behavior, and how that behavior affects the designer-client relationship. She an I may disagree on some points, but they're only minor.

All through the later 1980s and early 1990s I presented design seminars in 22 cities a year. As I read Weinschenk's book, I'm reminded of many of the lessons I included in those seminars. It's flattering to have a PHd come along nearly 25 years later and preach the same sermon.

In today's over-saturated media world, it's outstanding that someone still teaches these principles. Young designers are getting their education from YouTube, tutorial pushers and unqualified bloggers.

Anyone in the visual communications field needs this book. Read it and keep it handy. Your personal enrichment will benefit greatly -- but you'll also pick up lots of "quotes" to share with your clients to add validity to your points. These are important lessons. Learn them.

Fred Showker
Editor / Publisher : DTG Magazine
The Design & Publishing Center
The Designers' Bookshelf

This book may cover a breadth of topics, but offers as little as two paragraphs in some. It's way to brief to get any real understanding, and its takeaways are often oversimplified and without justification.

Case in point: "People lie to differing degrees depending on the media"
It provides an important message, medium does matter when looking for honesty, however its six paragraphs are not convincing, and the "takeaways" ignore the complexities and context surrounding situations that reach the results, leading to poor application by the readers.
1. People lie most on the phone, and least when pen and paper.
2. People are more negative toward others via e-mail than with pen and paper.
5. Getting customer or audience feedback is most accurate when done in person, one-on-one.

All of these need context and are not universal truths.

The majority of the takeaways at the end of each section are obscure and provide no value to a designer. There are a few valuable nuggets, but some chapters are maddeningly useless.

There are very few real-life examples in the book about how principles are (mis)applied.

Junior designers would benefit from a book with more application. Experienced designers will likely gain nothing more than a few curious facts, and little practical benefit.

I ordered this book through work and have finally gotten the time to sit down and start reading it. Though I'm only a couple chapters in so far, this book is proving to be a godsend. Not only is the book structured in a way that is easy to quickly consume, making great use of sectioning content, typography and a summary of the "chapter"'s topics, but the core content is both engaging and personally interesting to my web development profession.

Susan breaks down the interactions we have between our thought processes and the design to show us why we think the way we do. It's amazing how seemingly subliminal facets of a design can lead you to perceive it in a myriad of different ways (or even a limited set as well). There's a plethora of information in this book that I am dedicating to committing to memory, as each and every topic to point has been striking both true and home as she breaks the current "thing" down into the psychological components, explaining them in ample detail and laymen's terms.

I would highly recommend this book. It's small-modest in size, which is PERFECTION for me, since I don't care to read dissertations on each topic, and instead, Susan writes clear and concise whats, hows and whys to each and every behavioral pattern. Great read!

Too often usability design is focused on customer interactions, and most of the UX zeitgeist these days caters to this.

I work in web-based and instructor led training, and I find the generalized "Don't Make me Think!" overly simplistic when it comes to developing course-work.

Of course you want your trainees to think, to enter a flow state, to readily grasp new concepts and incorporate them into existing schemata so they will be easily remembered. These are some of the concepts discussed in Weinshenk's book.

I needed a book that specifically saw 'over-simplification' as merely one possible tool in the toolbox and not the 'go-to' tool it seems to be prescribed as. This book was the cure! Full of great yet easily digestible nuggets of the latest findings on human behavior, this book is designed for actual use. It is extremely well laid out, and each of the 100 concepts only occupy one or two pages typically. Weinschenk doesn't rehash the theories and data-points found in other books and papers, but she clearly points them out where relevant. The result is a concise, easy to actually use book that provides references to all the technical documents *if* you need them.

The takeaways (as well as the actual content) form the most energizing part of the book, as you can immediately post-it/highlight/bookmark the most relevant or complementary to your work and start putting them to work right away. Unlike a lot of other UX books, you don't have to buy into a design philosophy whole-cloth in order to benefit from any of the concepts in this book. Instead of sometimes difficult to apply guidelines such as "cut your text in half, and then in half again" you have immediately applicable suggestions like "Use a font with a large x-height for online viewing so that the type will appear to be larger".

I am sure there is too much literature on Neuroscience. But the job of tying that theory to web design is a skill that I admire in the author. The books takes the complex concepts of neuroscience and beautifully laid down the principles into simple chapters that is engaging and easy to read. It has some good examples that makes it easy to interpret the concept. A lovely read and goes well with her other books

Thank you Author !

A superb comprehensive compilation of relevant research in human factors: How people see, read, remember, think, feel, decide, get motivated, etc. nicely laid out for easy reading and quick reference. Luckily, and contrary to the norm in this industry, almost all findings are referenced to their sources and there is a generous Reference section at the end of the book.

This is a fantastic book. It covers the fundamentals of how people work and it does it in a clear and concise manner. It is a good read through and a terrific reference book.

If you work on any sort of design that entails interaction between the user and your design this is an absolute must read!

I love it, you will too!

Clear, simple and insightful design elements; how and why they work. The section on "What motivates people is especially useful.

Generating quality traffic to a website can be pretty difficult. If you are lucky enough to have it, you can get ideas from this book to help you direct and convert that traffic and eliminate some issues.

What I really love about this book is she references the materials she gets her information from. After reading this book I decided to redesign my portfolio website and it turned out much cleaner, and was easier to use and read. I also attended a seminar of the author which was very informative and engaging as well. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of her work and regularly checking her blog.

Immensly valuable, concise book. Not just for designers but for everyone. No need to read front to back. I am a multi-disciplinary scientist in biology, economics, engineering, epidemiology, risk analysis..teach all over the world and I think this book is fantastic. It is by no means only for designers. I am now teaching a course based on this book to college undergraduates in C. America and they are finding very interesting, very usefull, and many have said this is the most fascinating and useful material they have ever had in any class.

This is an awesome book, and I seriously believe every designer should own it. It gives reasons for design decisions based on brain research, not just "I hope this works." Removing guesswork allows creatives to be more successful right away without hindering their creative expressions. It also gives creatives solid reasoning to back up their designs when working with reluctant clients.100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People (Voices That Matter)

This book was fascinating and an easy read. It gives information that is applicable to design, but also to marketing, psychology, and general human behavior. I recommend it for anyone, not just designers.

This book is so boring. It is all about scientific studies, most of which are not useful to designers. Some of the lessons that are useful, are also just common sense, such as: It is easiest to read black letters on white background, or how about choose a font that is easy to read on a screen. I am not a negative review type of person, I've actually never even written a review, but I was so excited to read this book & now I just feel totally ripped off. For anyone with common sense, it's a big yawn. Save your money to buy a different book.

This item arrived on Time and was like expected: good,paper cover and in perfect condition. There is nothing to say about except that you must like computer design books in order to be able to perfectly understand the value of this book.

One of the temptations psychologists face is overgeneralizing from one or two studies. In the section on recall, the author basically dismisses retrospective reports outright. The scientific literature on recall does not support the author's statements. The more salient an event, the more reliable its recall will be. We are much less likely to recall events we don't notice as much when they occur. Reliability and validity are far from high or perfect on retrospective recall of many life events, but they are high enough that dismissing retrospective information is unwarranted. For much research, all we *have* is retrospective data, so the important thing is not to dismiss it, but to learn how best to interpret it and use it.

This succinct booklet quickly introduces the reader to a new way of looking at things. If followed it can assist not only in the design process but in life as it helps one understand some of the complexities of communication in general and communication with a mind to sell something in detail.