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Add to SafariWhen comparing Digital Design Essentials vs The Design of Everyday Things, the Slant community recommends The Design of Everyday Things for most people. In the question“What are the best books to read on user experience and design?” The Design of Everyday Things is ranked 3rd while Digital Design Essentials is ranked 8th. The most important reason people chose The Design of Everyday Things is:
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.
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Great as a reference
This book works as a great reference for explaining design decisions to clients or coworkers, as both explanations and examples are provided.
Pro Each topic includes a case study
Multiple case studies (over 100) are provided throughout the book to demonstrate the theory discussed.
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 Basic overview of web design
This book is most beneficial for beginners just starting out with web design and UX as it's not a resource with much depth. Someone with an understanding of design essentials may find this book fairly repetitive and common sense.
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.
