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Add to SafariWhen comparing Don't Make Me Think vs The Design of Everyday Things, the Slant community recommends Don't Make Me Think for most people. In the question“What are the best books to read on user experience and design?” Don't Make Me Think is ranked 1st while The Design of Everyday Things is ranked 3rd. The most important reason people chose Don't Make Me Think is:
The book understands it's goals and has a clear purpose. How to get people to understand, and accomplish their goals on the site. As suggested by the name, the book is to the point and doesn't waste time.
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Short and focused
The book understands it's goals and has a clear purpose. How to get people to understand, and accomplish their goals on the site. As suggested by the name, the book is to the point and doesn't waste time.
Pro Clear examples
Many visuals and real world examples of good design are provided, making it an easy to understand and read book.
Pro Transcendental principles
This book isn't focused on recent trends or properties specific to a certain field, and thus applies to all design. It provides a broad view and allows focusing on the fundamental goals of the user experience, rather than being limited in scope.
Pro Focused on the user
Whatever that's being designed, for whatever purpose, it always has the same goal of being used by someone. This book is focused on that interaction and on why users make mistakes. These principles still apply directly to web design, when design leads users to make mistakes, it will ultimately drive users away.
Cons
Con Poor binding quality
There have been complaints with the quality of binding with the 2nd edition book.
Con Quite dated
Examples are quite old, as are the illustrations.
Con A lot to read
It's quite a long read, there is a lot of material to be covered, if you compare it to similar but more concise books, like The Non-Designer's Design Book.
Con Not specifically for web design
This book challenges the reader to think about the design of all objects, and their user-friendliness/usability. It is not specifically targeted towards web designers, but will help web designers think in a way that benefits users.
