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This section contains a list of recommended books and resources related to user interface design. (These books and resources may not be available in some languages and countries.)

Reading List

Windows Interface Guidelines for Software Design

(Microsoft Press, 1995; ISBN 1-55615-679-0)

This book explains all of the key UI rules to follow, with lots of examples for how to lay out dialog boxes, wizards, toolbars, and context menus.

Usability Engineering by Jakob Nielsen

(AP Professional, 1994; ISBN 0125184069)

This book is focused on the techniques for effectively measuring the usability of an interface. It explains many different testing techniques for comparing different design ideas, including suggestions for keeping the costs of usability testing down. This book covers analysis techniques that can be applied to Web sites, Web pages, or any kind of software. It?s great for the initial phases of learning about users, and the middle phases of iteration and usability testing.

Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman

(Currency/Doubleday, 1988; ISBN: 0385267746)

This book discusses the psychological principles at work that make interfaces so hard to use. Recommended for anyone interested in user interfaces and who wants a broad understanding of the issues involved. Examples include kitchen appliances, office doors, and vending machines.

About Face by Alan Cooper

(IDG Books Worldwide, 1995; ISBN 1568843224)

When thinking about user interface solutions, a quick flip through this book should help get ideas flowing.

The Elements of Friendly Software Design by Paul Heckel

(SYBEX, 1991; ISBN 0-89588-768-1)

This book remains a landmark summation of various approaches to interface design.

Microsoft Windows User Experience

(Microsoft Press, 1999; ISBN 0735605661)

The official Microsoft guidelines for creating well-designed, visually and functionally consistent user interfaces for applications.

The Case Against User Interface Consistency by Jonathan Grudin

(Communications of the ACM, October 1989)

Contextual Design: Defining Customer-Centered Systems by Hugh Beyer and Karen Holtzblatt

(San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann, 1997; ISBN 1558604111)

A Practical Guide to Usability Testing by Joseph S. Dumas and Janice C. Redish

(London: Intellect Books, 1999; ISBN 1841500208)

Making Usable, Useful, Productivity: Enhancing Computer Applications by John D. Gould, Stephen J. Boies, and Clayton Lewis

Communications of the ACM (January 1991): 72-86

User and Task Analysis for Interface Design by JoAnn T. Hackos and Janice C. Redish

(New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1998; ISBN 0471178314)

Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction by Ben Shneiderman

( Reading, MA: Addison Wesley, 1998; ISBN 0201694972)

Organizations

ACM Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (SIGCHI)

The largest organization of UI practitioners.

Human Factors and Ergonomics Society

Promotes the discovery and exchange of knowledge concerning the characteristics of human beings that are applicable to the design of systems and devices of all kinds.

Usability Professionals Association

The UPA supports people who research, design, and evaluate the user experience of products and services.

Online Resources

useit.com: Jakob Nielsen's Website

Jakob's column on Web usability.

HCI Bibliography : Human-Computer Interaction Resources

Search over 58,000 publications about Human-Computer Interaction.