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Subject:Re: User Interface Design From:Michael Loader <support -at- SOFTLOGIK -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 16 Aug 1996 01:40:03 -0500
Karen_Mayer wrote:
> I wonder how many of you software documenters are consulted in the user
> interface design process. Do you have a lot of input? Do you have any
> guidelines for what constitutes a good UI design? I've got some ideas for a
> better UI, but I haven't much training or education (self-inflicted or formal)
> in UI design. Can you recommend any books?
We're a small company and I'm the sole technical writer, but ever
since I've been here, I've designed our user interfaces. My argument
was simple. If a programmer thinks "Centered on d-clip" is more
logical than "Center dialog boxes on visible screen", they shouldn't
be designing the interface.
Books:
- Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines, from Apple. If you develop for
Macintosh, your programmers may already have this in electronic
format. Steal their monthly CDs for a day.
- The Windows Interface Guidelines for Software Design, from Microsoft
Press. Available at Barnes & Nobles or Borders. I can't remember if
this is included with the Windows developer CDs or not. I know the 3.1
version was.
Although these are both OS-specific books, they contain useful
information of general nature too.
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