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Subject:Re: Building GUIs -- some books From:Stuart Burnfield <slb -at- FS -dot- COM -dot- AU> Date:Wed, 25 Oct 1995 09:31:07 +0800
Greg Cento <greg -at- FOCUS-SYSTEMS -dot- ON -dot- CA> wrote:
> I just started with a new company, and part of my new JD includes creating
> GUIs (Graphic User Interfaces). I'd like to do some reading ...
Hi Greg -
two books I have on my desk right now:
The GUI Style Guide
Susan Fowler & Victor Stanwick
John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0-12-263590-6
User-Interface Screen Design
Wilbert Galitz
John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0-471-56156-8
I'm about a third of the way through the Fowler book. It's not that detailed
but is good as an introduction, as it tends to summarise what's in various
vendors' style guides - Windows, OS/2, Motif, Open Look, Apple, NeXT. It
has extensive bibliographies and pointers to Web sites and mailing lists
where you can find out more about particular topics.
I haven't read much of the Galitz book but it looks very good. He's
supposed to be one of the gurus of interface design. About half of the
book is about general principles of interfaces, and half is specifically
about GUIs, icons, colour, etc.
I think these two books would give you a very good start.
Other books that were recommended, but which I haven't seen yet:
"Secrets of Effective GUI Design" by Mark Minasi, published by SYBEX,
ISBN 0-7821-1495-4"
INTERFACE DESIGN
The Art of Human-Computer Interface Design, edited by Brenda Laurel.(NY:
Addison-Wesley, 1994). 523 pages, $39.95 (Can.) softcover.
"Another book you might want to look at is Wilbert O. Galitz's Handbook of
Screen Format Design, 1989, QED Information Services, Wellesley, MA
I'm told that the Sept issue of UNIX Review had several articles on
GUI design.
Good luck.
---
Stuart Burnfield (slb -at- fs -dot- com -dot- au) Voice: +61 9 328 8288
Functional Software Fax: +61 9 328 8616
PO Box 192
Leederville, Western Australia, 6903
