Bill Buxton and I share a common belief that design leadership together with technical leadership drives innovation. Sketching, prototyping, and design are essential parts of the process we use to create new products. Bill Buxton brings design leadership and creativity to Microsoft. Through his thought-provoking personal examples he is inspiring others to better understand the role of design in their own companies--Bill Gates, Chairman, Microsoft "Informed design is essential." While it might seem that Bill Buxton is exaggerating or kidding with this bold assertion, neither is the case. In an impeccably argued and sumptuously illustrated book, design star Buxton convinces us that design simply must be integrated into the heart of business--Roger Martin, Dean, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto Design is explained, with the means and manner for successes and failures illuminated by engaging stories, true examples and personal anecdotes. In Sketching User Experiences, Bill Buxton clarifies the processes and skills of design from sketching to experience modeling, in a lively and informative style that is rich with stories and full of his own heart and enthusiasm. At the start we are lost in mountain snows and northern seas, but by the end we are equipped with a deep understanding of the tools of creative design.--Bill Moggridge, Cofounder of IDEO and author of Designing Interactions "Like any secret society, the design community has its strange rituals and initiation procedures. Bill opens up the mysteries of the magical process of design, taking us through a land in which story-telling, orange squeezers, the Wizard of Oz, I-pods, avalanche avoidance, bicycle suspension sketching, and faking it are all points on the design pilgrim's journey. There are lots of ideas and techniques in this book to feed good design and transform the way we think about creating useful st

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 20 Ratings

Where's the Beef? - 2009-06-18
Reviewer Rating:
I'm a user experience and interaction design professional, so here's my take from a slightly more informed perspective. As of 2009, this book is frequently recommended for UX practitioners through the UX Book Club movement.
What's good about the book is that it's shiny. It's stirring and inspiring, and offers a lot of wisdom along the way about the nature of the best design processes and the importance of lightweight sketching and trying, trying, trying. It will make you feel very good about design, whether you do it or know people who do, and I think that's why it's caught on so much with the UX Book Club.
On the other hand, many UX people want their books to provide useful frameworks or other practitioner-focused guidelines. This one doesn't, really. This is not a problem if you're looking for a more theoretical treatment of design. Of course, most practitioners aren't--many of them, underscoring one of Buxton's main points, sneer at "theory" in an excellent demonstration of what's wrong with designers. The problem is when a book suggests it's one thing but is actually another. Of course, a "theory" book would sell about as well as cold dog poop, so...

It's got a stunning design-related bibliography for the serious practitioner or researcher, and good tips for people starting out. It may well remind you of the right answer as you read. It's not going to make you a designer; arguably, it may not even make you a better designer in most situations. I can think of about a dozen UX books you should buy before you get this one. It's worth reading, but I don't know about a purchase. To paraphrase the author...it's designed right, but I don't know if it's the right design, or if it presents itself accurately as what it really is.

The best book on IxD I've read so far - 2009-11-08
Reviewer Rating:
I used to teach media technology at the university, these days I'm a script writer for interactive learning experiences. I've been through a *lot* of similar books, but this one comes out on top so far. I especially appreciate that Buxton has such a wide range of examples to draw from; ranging from industrial design to proper cutting edge IxD-projects.

This book will push you to be a better and more creative designer - 2009-09-19
Reviewer Rating:
I am an interaction designer for almost 10 years, and I am often disappointed with books on this subject. They are all too basic and tell you the obvious. They don't add much, except validating what you already know and make you feel good about what you do. This book was different. It gave me a different perspective. It pushed me in exploring alternatives, trying different techniques, and don't be intimidated by starting from the old paper-and-pencil sketches. I feel that this was one of the few books that I read which effectively help improving my work.

Solid work - beware the "for designers" chapter - 2009-06-09
Reviewer Rating:
Buxton's book does a great job of making the case for design. Further, his approach works well in helping users understand various approaches to sketching. Taken from my perspective as a Software Developer working with Agile methods, this book highlights how to sketch (low effort, high value feedback) to quickly focus on creating great products.

My caveats against the book are the use of an "EABCD" music analogy which is not used consistently and the "for designers" chapter. The music analogy felt contrived when I read it and sure enough, the author abandoned it in short order. This is in contrast to his use of the "Wizard of Oz" metaphor, one that he took a full chapter to introduce and then reused to great affect in later chapters.

The "for designers" chapter simply felt misplaced. The overall tone of the book is quite welcoming, helping people to recognize the strengths and value of a design professional. Except this one chapter. I'm warning you about it because it really is that hard to get through. All the good stuff is on the other side of it. I'd have preferred if Buxton had used Pixar's "Ratatouille" approach: Anyone can cook (few will be great). The chapter was so hard edged that I'd be loath to offer it to a high-school student with an interest in design. Did I mention I do like the book? And that the good stuff is on the other side of this chapter?

Thanks to Bill Buxton for taking the time to put this book together and offer it up to the world.

Insightful and inspirational book about design - 2009-05-14
Reviewer Rating:
I am not a designer, nor do I have a very strong design sense. None the less, I found this book to be amazing. It shares tremendous insight into how to design products in creative and useful ways. It also givers great inspiration to not only the value of design, but how design fits within a larger organizational context.

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