https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Me-Think-Usability/dp/03213...
It's geared towards web UX, but might be useful in your research
and this: https://www.amazon.com/Big-Red-Fez-Make-Better/dp/0743227905
that's really all you need.
Well, if you're expecting anything else from a recruiter being send your resume you'll be in for a hard surprise.
The inverse is "I couldn't put in the time to make my CV tidy and intuitive, but you'll have to soldier thru it, because I have the mistaken opinion that I'm a unique snowflake and you don't get hundreds of them".
In fact, "don't make me think" is a GREAT advice for anything you want others to read/try/adopt/buy.
http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Me-Think-Usability/dp/032134...
>Since my impression is that a good developer can deal with any situation necessary, I never understood the laundry list of technologies way of fitting a candidate to a "good hire."
Even if a good C++ game developer could switch to Javascript front-end development if needed (to give an extreme example), the time it takes to have them familiar with the relevant stack is better spent hiring someone already familiar. And, it's kind of obvious -- both can be just as good. It's just the second is also ready to hit the ground running on the stack a company uses.
And, of course, just because someone "can deal with any situation necessary" doesn't mean they'd like to. Some programmers like to program in X or Y languages (or language families), others like building Z or K kind of programs.
Just because someone could switch from Haskell to Ruby or from scientific programming to CRUDs doesn't mean they'd also like to. In this case the "laundry list" serves as a way to match hires that are interested in the specific things the company works with.
This is going to sound cliched, but the best way is to start your own company or project from scratch and apply the concepts you learn from these resources.
Here are some "bestsellers", apart from http://startupclass.samaltman.com and PG's essays are
Building Product/Design
-----------------
* Design Sprints by Google Ventures: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=design+sprints
* Startup School Office Hours: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=startup+school+...
* Interface Design for Startups https://courses.platzi.com/classes/interface-design-startups...
* The Design of Everyday Things: http://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Donald-Norman/d...
* Don't make me Think: http://www.amazon.in/Dont-Make-Me-Think-Usability/dp/0321344...
* Objectified: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1241325/
* Either Rework or Getting Real by 37 Signals
Execution/Business Models:
---------------------------
1. The Lean Startup: http://theleanstartup.com/book
2. Lean Analytics: http://leananalyticsbook.com/
3. Business Model Generation: http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com/
People:
-----------
* How to Win Friends and Influence People
* The Hard Thing about Hard Things: http://www.amazon.com/The-Hard-Thing-About-Things/dp/0062273...
* The Startup of You: http://www.thestartupofyou.com/
Marketing:
----------
* Build an audience before you launch the product - like 37Signals, Jeff Atwood and Joel Spolsky, Hubspot
* Traction Book: http://tractionbook.com/
* Be Creative - Each startup is different. There's no silver bullet
Sales:
------
The sales course by Steli Efti: http://close.io/free-sales-course/
Pitching:
-------
Dave McClure: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dave+mcclure+st...
Founder Interviews, stories:
----------
* PandoMonthly: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pandomonthly
* Stanford ECorner: ecorner.stanford.edu
* Be obvious
* Avoid extraneous "ornaments" in the interaction
* Understand what your user needs
Of course those three bullet points do not make the book (either of them, I assume) justice, but you might want to read Donald A. Norman's book first. Another book you might be interested in is Don't Make me Think[2], which is specifically related to software UI design.
I agree with the point that using smartphones for everything is a step back. Having touchscreens in cars is also a step back. We went from having controls that could manipulated without taking the eyes on the road to fancy futuristic UIs that require either for you to be parked, to have a companion or do something potentially dangerous.</rant>
[1]: http://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Donald-Norman/d...
[2]: http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Me-Think-Usability/dp/032134...
http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Me-Think-Usability/dp/032134...
https://www.coursera.org/course/design
http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Me-Think-Usability/dp/032134...
And, finally, if you want to do some usability experiments and testing:
http://www.amazon.com/Handbook-Usability-Testing-Conduct-Eff...
http://www.amazon.com/Naked-Statistics-Stripping-Dread-Data/...
People like me have avoided the Apple product for many reasons with the mouse problem high up the list. What I don't understand is why they have offered weirder and weirder mice over the years, all with reliability problems and ergonomic woes, with no option to just get a regular mouse. They could have hooked up with Logitech and made an Apple mouse for PC users, with the buttons in the right place and a novelty fruit logo to make it look desktop-worthy. They could have charged £25 for it and, people that have avoided the Apple cult due to the weird mouse could have been brought on-board.
I know I am not alone in disliking the Apple interface, I am actually the one person that likes Ubuntu Unity, however there are lots of PC users out there that just do a job and haven't the patience/need to learn the Apple mouse oddities. At a presentation or tutorial if the machine is an Apple then the non-Apple people get stuck on basic things like using a web browser or saving a file.
I am a big fan of Steve Krug's 'Don't Make Me Think!' book:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Make-Me-Think-Usability/dp/0321...
The problem with the Apple interface choices is that it does make me think, but not in the right way. I just want to do the task in hand and not wonder why it is that you have to hold down some cryptic key on the keyboard to do a right click.
I also noted in this article how many of the failures of the various Apple mice could be ignored so easily by someone in the Apple cult. Underlying this is a problem with understanding what truly great design actually is.
That really boring Logitech or Microsoft mouse is actually great design. The ergonomics are a treat as is the reliability. They have been bold enough to make something that actually works rather than something that looks pretty.
The subjects were told told to memorize a number, and on their way to a different room where they expected to be tested, someone stopped them mid-way and asked them to choose between two snacks -- a fruit salad and a cake. The people who had been told to memorize many digits didn't choose the healthy snack as frequent as the people who had been told to memorize few digits (and, presumably, could focus on which choice they really preferred).
It tries to convey "common sense" concepts, using conjecture and complicated constructs. It hurts my brain when I try to understand what is meant by "to use up cognitive resources". The more convoluted an explanation is, the less I feel it has been understood by the person explaining it. I have a strong distaste for psychology terms that add depth, but not clarity, as if trying to validate and give authority to the field or explanation.
A bit ironic for an article trying to explain the concept of "minimizing drainage of the cognitive tank" (to paraphrase).
So, what is this article really about? This -- http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Me-Think-Usability/dp/032134....
http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Me-Think-Usability/dp/032134...
http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/courses
Also make wireframes before you code, when something is complicated -- or when you're starting out, for virtually any UI. Use Omnigraffle Pro, and you can also use Graffletopia's website to find stencils, e.g. Bootstrap Stencils. Or use Easel.io.
You try so hard to come across as if you had a remote clue about the UX field, yet you want to debate one of the most basic premises?
May I suggest to review the standard works (you have them on your shelf, I know you do);
http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Me-Think-%20Usability/dp/032...
http://www.amazon.com/dp/156205810X/
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0385267746/
Somehow you must have forgotten, well, everything, since you last read them.
That's okay, happens to the best of us. However, you might come across a little less unarmed if you could at least memorize the title of Krug's book.
Thanks for playing anyways.
- Where should I click to go to the comments page? If I have to click on the little bubble on the right of each article, it actually makes my user experience less pleasant than with the current design. (Did OP read "Don't Make Me Think"?)
- No flagging button. Did OP voluntarily omit it? If so, why? If not, where would he put it?
- The scores of the articles look likes buttons, what should I expect when I click on them?
- Knowing the number of comments of an article and its score are both important to create a certain "I need to see this" factor for readers. Putting those numbers respectively on the far left and on the far right does not help this at all.
I really agree with SeoxyS here. This redesign does not improve the current HN experience, and it actually makes it more complex by displaying the information in a way that does not look bad but does not actually help browsing the site.
I would suggest OP to think (or learn) more about UX. That's a very good thing to do on a Friday night, and even though a lot of this knowledge can come through working with a different focus (think about your user) and common sense, there are good books to get you started.[1][2]
[1]:http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Me-Think-Usability/dp/032134... - I recommend this
[2]:http://www.amazon.com/Designing-Mind-Simple-Understanding-In... - Not as good, but only 200 pages, and interesting.
- Don't Make Me Think by Krug: http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Me-Think-Usability/dp/032134...
- Apartment Therapy by Gillingham-Ryan http://www.amazon.com/Apartment-Therapy-Eight-Step-Home-Cure...
- Presentation Zen by Gar http://www.amazon.com/Presentation-Zen-Simple-Design-Deliver...
- Belisarius Saga by Flint and Drake http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/13-TheBalticWarCD/TheBalt...
- Wise Man's Fear by Rothfuss http://www.amazon.com/Wise-Mans-Fear-Kingkiller-Chronicles/d...
- Wizard of Oz by Baum http://www.amazon.com/Wizard-Oz-Puffin-Classics/dp/014132102...
http://www.alistapart.com/ Does talk about psychology and logic behind design.
And Don't make me think. An awesome book on usability: http://amzn.to/uZ4uH5
I haven't found any great resource on Information Architecture yet.
<selfpromiton> I wrote a very brief intro to them all: http://www.64notes.com/design/design-and-subsets-essay/ </selfpromiton>
Don't make me Think by Steve Krug http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Me-Think-Usability/dp/032134...
Non-Designer's Design Book http://www.amazon.com/Non-Designers-Design-Book-Typographic-...
Universal Principles of Design http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Principles-Design-Revised-Up...
Also make sure you go through design's everyday on Behance.net, they have some really amazing designers and design.
http://www.amazon.com/Influence-Psychology-Persuasion-Busine...
The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing - Violate Them at Your Own Risk!
http://www.amazon.com/22-Immutable-Laws-Marketing-Violate/dp...
Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to We Usability, by Steve Krug:
http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Me-Think-Usability/dp/032134...
Information Architecture for the World Wide Web: Designing Large Scale Web Sites, by Paul Rosenfeld and Peter Morville:
http://www.amazon.com/Information-Architecture-World-Wide-We...
Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping, by Paco Underhill
http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Buy-Shopping-Updated-Internet/d...
And at least one Jakob Nielsen Usability book.
My advice to dejan: Most important thing, buy a copy of a book called "Don't make me think" by Steve Krug (http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Me-Think-Usability/dp/032134...). Have it shipped next day. I can't go in to all the reasons you need the book without essentially rewriting the book here but you really, really need it.
On the startup idea itself, I don't see anything inherently wrong with it. I'm not sure how successful the "suggest ideas" side will be only because, in my experience, people tend to be secretive about w hat they feel are their "great ideas". Most people that I've met have a dream of eventually executing on the ideas themselves one day and they don't want to give away a million dollar idea (which is generally their perceived value of it).
The company feedback idea on the other hand is a good one if you can build a community to support it.
http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Me-Think-Usability/dp/032134...
Yup...I liked "Don't Make Me Think".
Norman is ace. Although his books turned me into a usability weirdo unable to switch off my usability sensors... be careful! :-)
As is Raskin - whose interface "notation" (click-drag-click etc) I think isn't talked about enough.
Can I also throw in these...
Don't Make Me Think: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Make-Me-Think-Usability/dp/032... - I found this a REALLY useful book, and great to share with people too.
A Pattern Language https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pattern-Language-Buildings-Construc... - OK, this is a bit esoteric, but it's so valuable and lots of geeks/UX-ers kind of aim to create their own pattern language as opposed to a UX-dogma.
Information Architecture https://www.amazon.co.uk/Information-Architecture-Beyond-Lou...
Visual Language https://www.amazon.co.uk/Visual-Language-Global-Communicatio... - a kind of fundamental - hard to find.
--
There are dozens of methodologies to learn, and put into practice. I would put it that you don't really learn UX, you do it, and revise - in order to solve problems and make things better. Once you've digested some of the ideas you need to start trying the methodologies out. This is harder than it sounds. Even companies that claim to support UX, sort of bugger things up.... in that UX can't "fix" crap... it needs to be in at the beginning.
My favourite activities / methodologies, that produced REAL results were
* Ethnography - kinda just hanging out and observing what actually goes on. One client used to print off every page to proof read their changes cos the font sizes were designed by 21 year olds and they were 60+. The applause I got for raising the font size would never have been found any other way than sitting in the corner. * Card sorting - often collaboratively with armfuls of post its to decide on categories/navigation * Wireframing - I had less success with paper prototyping, but still ... * Personas + Use Cases
...and Eye Tracking - which tbh was SO VALUABLE, not because of the insights it provided, but for the EVIDENCE (video and heatmaps) that you could use to persuade the big wigs.
So find a way to start getting yourself into trying out various methodologies, to fix problems. Doing UX when things are "kind of OK" can be quite hard imo, especially at the beginning.
Your background will be so useful, again imo and experience, you will be able to use UX to provide guidance and ideas and then MAKE THE BLOODY THING which lots of UX-ers can't do. I liked the cross-over - I code a bit and sometimes found it easier to make what I wanted, rather than specifying it or creating "designs".
Good luck!
Tom