The Humane Interface: New Directions for Designing Interactive Systems vs About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design
When comparing The Humane Interface: New Directions for Designing Interactive Systems vs About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design, the Slant community recommends About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design for most people. In the question“What are the best books to read on user experience and design?” About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design is ranked 6th while The Humane Interface: New Directions for Designing Interactive Systems is ranked 7th. The most important reason people chose About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design is:
The first edition of About Face was published in 1995, and has been referenced in a variety of work since then. It's in-depth coverage of of interaction design make it a well known reference book in the industry. The author, [Alan Cooper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Cooper), is a pioneer of interaction design.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Looks at the psychology behind interaction design
The author takes an in depth look at "cognitive engineering" and applying it to software design (ex. How users form habits when interacting with software).
Pro Well known book and author
The first edition of About Face was published in 1995, and has been referenced in a variety of work since then. It's in-depth coverage of of interaction design make it a well known reference book in the industry.
The author, Alan Cooper, is a pioneer of interaction design.
Pro Comprehensive guide
About Face takes an in-depth look at a breadth of topics relevant to interaction design. It covers everything from personal development and psychology to methods and further resources.
It's a large book at 720 pages for the fourth edition, and packed with information.
Cons
Con The point is not often clear
The Human Interface can be a confusing read for a variety of reasons.
The author is frequently referencing one of his projects, Canon Cat, even when there is no beneficial/relevant reason to do so.
There are some contradictions throughout the book, and plenty of negativity towards the studies he mentions (however, he does not often use studies to back up his own claims).
The book does not have illustrations or screenshots, making it difficult to follow at times.
Con Terrible binding
The fourth edition has had an issue with binding quality. There has been many reports of the book falling apart when opened or after a very short period of time.