In my spare time, I teach a course at Ohio University called Interactive Multimedia I, UX/IA. It has been a radical learning experience putting this class together – especially trying to remember what I used to not know. Yeah, re-read that line, you’ll get it! : )
One of the most challenging things about the course is getting the right mix of book for an introductory course that will prepare students for their next steps. One great thing about teaching in this field is that the university has an account with Safari Books online – which is breathtaking! All of the books (and many, many more) I use in the course are available for free to them. I wish that was true when I was a student!
Anyway, here are the Spring 2016 books:
Krug, Steve: Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited.
Why:
This has been a tough one! Which of the many, many books to use to introduce UX Design to students. I’ve been using a great book called A Project Guide to UX Design and there are many excellent arguments for keeping it. But for me, it came down to this: I don’t have the expectation that these students will go on to become UX designers. If they do, they will need more than one class. My goal is to get them enthused about exploring UX and give them enough information to begin making great websites. I also recognize this isn’t the only course they are taking, and this is a very easy read. Having said that, I’m assigning the entire book!
Jorge Arango; Peter Morville; Louis Rosenfeld: Information Architecture, 4th Edition.
Why:
This is the latest edition of one of the classic books on IA. This is the hard stuff and this book does a great job making a very difficult process approachable. Plus it covers the reasons behind many of the deliverables they will be creating in the course.
Smashing Book: Real-Life Responsive Web Design.
Why:
Because it’s freaking excellent! It is very thick, but the course is based on getting them ready to work in web design and that means they must understand responsive design. What I like about Smashing Books is that they come from a variety of very successful practitioners and they will get a good foundation to build their own best practices and opinions.
8.5 x 11″ sketch pad, sketch pencils. Dot grid recommended.
Why:
IMHO, this is the single most important tool to learn and use as a designer. There is something magical that happens when you step away from the computer and make bad art. The worse you are at sketching (not drawing!) the more effective this is.