Since superior usability can only come from superior design, I was happy to find this list of interaction design books that Luke Wroblewski compiled.
Now I need to finish reading a bunch of books so I can justify updating my bookshelf.
One of my daughter’s favorite library books the last few weeks is The Gardener by Sarah Stewart. It’s a touching story about a little girl who goes to live with her uncle during the depression.
I found this book on chapters.indigo.ca and was taken aback by one of the recommended books.
“If you liked The Gardener, then you’ll love Still as Death!”
I can see how the site got confused. I mean any book by Sarah Stewart someone has got to be good, right?
This Is Broken is a site that captures people’s frustrations with products and services. You can submit a picture a relate a short story of an experience that was “broken” from your point of view.
It sounds good in principle and I’ve subscribed to its RSS feed for a number of months now. But, I’ve come to the conclusion that This Is Broken is broken for me. I had hoped it would provide an entertaining stream of stupid product designs and customer service experiences better read about than experienced. Instead, it’s a constant list of boring blather.
Yes, there is the occasional post that either teaches a lesson about bad design or is funny. But, then we hear from somebody who sees a company’s logo with an acronym they can’t decifer. Who cares? Why did that person even think this is a broken experience? As far as I could tell, they weren’t even a potential customer!
Now, admittedly, I am not the target audience of the site. As the site’s header states, it is a “project to make businesses more aware of their customer experience”. But, as Seth Godin says, if it’s broken for you, it’s broken. (Or words to that effect.)