Skip Intro - Macromedia Flash Usability and Interface Design

Interface design has a great influence on application usability, and that is why both Apple and Microsoft publish length tomes filled with advice on how applications should be designed to make them useable. Developers who follow such advice and use standard user interface components have an easier life than Flash developers, who have to design every piece of the user interface themselves, create their own look and feel, and make the whole thing intuitive and useable.

Title: Skip Intro: Macromedia Flash Usability and Interface Design
Authors: Michelangelo Capraro & Duncan McAlester
Publisher: New Riders Publishing
ISBN: 0-7357-1178-X
Pages: 256
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Until recently, anyone who cares about usability and user interface design in Flash had to either read philosophical musings of academics or try to adapt interface design tips from books on that subject published by Apple or Microsoft. None of this helped much, because user interface design in Flash is both similar and different from user interface design in Mac OS, or Microsoft Windows.

Flash can be used to create the look and feel that's similar to desktop applications, but that would be a little like putting a 20km/h limit of a Ferrari F50. Why forsake all those cool features just to recreate the same boring look and feel? At the same time we ask "How could we make our applications more useable, user friendly and intuitive?"

Fortunately, we no longer have to wander in the dark. Michelangelo Capraro and Duncan McAlester wrote a handy book of tips and practical solutions for all those who care about good interface design, and that elusive quality of "feel."

It is not a book on the theory of usability, but a practical reference that answers many of the basic and not so basic "how?" questions. Using three sample projects, its authors teach the readers a lot about good usability and interface design.

Each project is described in a separate section of the book divided in to 3 to 5 chapters. At the beginning of each section, the authors introduce the readers to the general objectives of each project, the clients and their needs. This reminds us that behind everything we do are real people, and we need to keep in mind their needs and habits.

The book starts with a long introduction, that's been divided into 3 parts (Introduction, and the first two chapters). It's a little strange at first, but I guess it had to be done in order to keep the size of the Introduction within reasonable limits (and not to scare the reader away with a long Introduction, I guess). But that's a minor thing, more confusing, than annoying.

Chapters 3 through 7 present the first project, an art museum site. The authors start off by openly saying what many of us know, but are sometimes afraid to admit, that a 2MB intro is one of the best ways to make the user go someplace else. Not only we are told why, but also presented with a set of numbers to support their criticism. With such solid arguments, and a bag of tips how to still make a good first impression without clogging the lines, there is now no excuse to continue our bad habits.

Next, in Chapter 5, the authors show how to design and implement an intuitive scrolling system. Plenty of code (don't worry, you don't need to type it all in, the book comes with a CD-ROM) and lots of explanations make this technical topic very interesting. Then, in Chapter 6, we are taught a lot about avoiding clutter on-screen and making our site more useable.

Section I ends with Chapter 7, devoted in its entirety to the subject of cursor design and behavior. If you've never bothered to think of how cursor works, this chapter will be a real eye-opener. You'll find here lots of tips on working with events and cursor control.

Chapter 8 introduces the second project, a grocery store site. It is a more complex site than the art museum, which was an exhibition of preset number of works of art. The grocery store site, while less "artistic" is much more dynamic, and needs to pack more information into the same screen real estate.

One of the most effective (if used properly) solutions to the problem of screen clutter are tabbed windows. And Chapter 9 shows us how to implement them in Flash. Another important feature of all but the simplest web shops is searching, described in Chapter 10, which ends Section II. Unfortunately, there is no discussion of form and report design, two essential features of a site like a shop. This is the weakest part of the book.

The last section presents a technical site which stores a lot of technical information. I liked the discussion of hierarchical menu design and tool tips.

Chapter 14 should really be called Afterword, because it is just a single page, with a list of key points (every chapter in this book ends with a list of key points to remember). My feeling is that it could be incorporated into Appendix A, What Every Interface Designer Should Know, which follows it. Appendices B and C list a nice selection of books, web sites, and other usability resources. Again, it looks like they could be rolled into one.

What I like best about this book is the way to shows how the theory of usability and interface design is applied in practice. I only wish the book was longer and presented more examples. It badly needs examples of good form and report design. Perhaps in the next edition?

My only complain is the design of the book. It looks like whoever designed it, wanted to divide it into as many small units as possible, which resulted into poor choices of places where the material should be split. A 250+ page book doesn't necessarily need to have 14 chapters and three appendixes.

In the next edition, chapters 1 and 2 should be rolled into the Introduction, and Chapter 14 ought to be joined with Appendix A and called Afterword. Also Appendix B and C can be safely joined into one. It will greatly improve the book's user interface design.

On the other hand, there is a lot to like about it right now, so you might want to check it out. It's not the contents that's failing this book, but the division of the material.

My rating is 4 out of 5 possible stars.