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> Kimberly McClintock asked:
> I'm looking for a solid resource or two to develop my sense of where
> aesthetics and usability meet in information design...any
> recommendations?
Not sure what you're looking for, but I always work from the abstract to the technical to understand a new subject. Hence the following recommendations in order of greatest abstraction to least abstraction. Your mileage may vary:
Emotional Design: Why we love (or hate) everyday things. Donald, Norman. ISBN: 0465051359.
The Non-Designer's Design Book, Second Edition. Robin Williams ISBN: 0321193857
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 2nd edition. Edward R. Tufte. ISBN: 0961392142
Universal Principles of Design. Lidwell, Holden, and Butler. ISBN: 1592530079
The last one is probably exactly what you're looking for. It presents 100 design principles--such as entry point, progressive disclosure, and layering--by providing a one page description and one page of examples. The book has a regular TOC and one that organizes the principles by specific categories, such as "How Can I Help People Learn from Design." Anyway, it doesn't tell you what to do, it just tells you what the principle is and shows examples of the principle at work. I _HIGHLY_ recommend this book for anyone doing any kind of design work. :-)
Cheers.
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Sean Hower - communications specialist http://www.sean-hower.com
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