This book covers a widely concept of the usability from multimedia like website to hardware like camcorder.

It encourage simplicity for mass market or early and late majority in diffusion of innovations theory. Basically, it inspires to design a product with very simple in mind that everyone can use it instantly and easily.

This book chanllenge the idea that more features mean more capability and in turn mean more value. It argues that more half of features of every day things are never or rarely used. Those useless feature only wasted user time and complex things.

To design a simple and usable you need to know what really is matter, what are the problems you are trying to solves and what is not. In order to solve the problem, you might need to do some researches with your users for example, observe their real environment when they will use your product and perhaps describe it in a story so everyone understand and don’t forget it. Then you should be able to describe it to anyone with a short message.

The book propose four strategies to simplify design:

1. Remove unneccessary features

2. Organize into groups that make more senses

3.  Hide all unecessary buttons

4. Displace – Creating a very simple with only basic features.

At the end of the book, there is a words that worth spreading.

User experience is about moving complexity to the right place. So the question is not “How can I make it simpler?” instead “Where should I move the complexity?”

The good user experience not just make it simple but it has to give user a space to use their imagination to enjoy using it.

Another easy reading about web design usability and user experience.

Even there are chance where I found many doubts and outdated tips, I still find many useful information.

It said designing is communicating.

A quick note about web usability:

1. Optimizing the Gutenberg Diagram and guiding the eye.

2. For the web application, user like to feel that they are in charge of the software not following by them. Use the Verb-Noun pairs to tell users what they can do for links and menus such as create page, design menu. Then use the word for users to command the software as do what they say such as sign in,

3. Not all links are equal, use size, color and position them to reflect their important or priority.

4. Welcome text rarely get read by users, they usually waste the website space. The best way is cut the crap and shorten it to just one or two concise sentences.

5. Don’t assume that user would know what the error is about. Don’t just say username is incorrect, instead says what is allowed or examples.

6. Use video to community ideas or instructions but make it simple and don’t waste users by crappy advertising, better straight  to the point and show users what they are looking for.

7. Use the auto complete to help user search or fill in the form but beware to show irrelevant options which could confuse users.

8. Learn from the best. Google search pagination is convention and widely familiar by most internet users. Gmail has “back to the search result” link so users don’t get lost after they click to enter to other page.

9. About the form, it is suggested that form should be one column to avoid confusion of two columns. A clear and concise label to let users know what to do with it. Make a primary and secondary action for example submit as a button and cancel as a link. Validation should help users to fulfil the form and this is best when it is real time for example word limit count down, availability of username or email. The form should also tell the users if there inputs are OK not just when they have a problems.

10. Remembering username for frequent user will help them on login process.

11. There are two ways to organize the content. The first one is Taxonomies which construct by the website system and everyone using the same structure. Another one is Folksonomies which around users or community to create their own structure, this is known of the tagging system.