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Book Review: Don’t Make Me Think

I am less than a year into my formal foray into the world of Design and Computing, and yet, I cannot help but call out the obvious hypocrisy of all these design-bros: They speak constantly of conciseness, of clarity– and yet, their novels are chock-full of repeated advice under different Chapter Titles. Their novels could be reduced to 25% of their current size, or as Steve Krug put it himself – cut everything in half, and then cut that in half again. 

As a result, I was pleasantly surprised with Don’t Make Me Think – it is, as many of these novels are, quite helpful – but without the excessive lollygagging that many similar books tend to contain, and, as a result – end up being quite the bore. The plethora of images were probably my favorite part – I have always been a visual learner (despite my inability to draw), and frequently find myself turning to these visual references when trying to improve my own work. 

Similar to many other novels of this genre, Steve Krug introduces his own 13 different Guiding Principles spanning Usability to Navigation, each chapter somewhat building upon the last to help the reader improve their own designs without feeling overwhelmed. He starts by emphasizing simplicity and clarity (just like everyone else)… but then, actually manages to follow his own advice! Each topic is supplemented with ample images, giving the reader a place to apply their newfound knowledge, and each connects back to the main idea, which is creating designs that are as straightforward and intuitive as possible. This can be achieved in a variety of ways, such as using a visual hierarchy, omitting needless words, and creating a means of easy backtracking. Though not every tip can be applied to every design, the overall message is pushed repeatedly, and solidifies the message written conveniently on the front cover.

From a personal perspective, I greatly appreciated his narration in Chapter 5: Omit Needless Words. In a vein similar to which the title conveys, the chapter is short and the message is simple: filler words impress nobody but your tenth-grade English teacher. His note that no one will ever read through instructions unless they have given their chosen task a stab (and failed enough to be unsatisfied) felt like a bit of a personal attack, given that I once placed my cappuccino frother in the microwave like an idiot and nearly burnt the house down – all because I didn’t read the instructions first and just assumed. It seems every action these days requires a thousand steps in-between and being able to convey that without excessive text (or even without text at all!) is a difficult, yet rewarding prospect – one that I want to explore and test further. 

Another Chapter I found very interesting was Chapter 12: Accessibility, as I’ve done some research on making designs accessible in the past. As he mentions at the start, designing for Accessibility feels like a lot of extra work – but he simplifies it down to a checklist and adds resources for further growth. I rather appreciated this approach of the topic; rather than making the designer (or developer) go haphazardly about it on their own, he provides a guide which clearly defines what is needed and– as most of those who make use of accessibility features appreciate– is straightforward! It’s a clever loop back to the main theme of Don’t Make Me Think  – as Krug says, if someone who can read can’t understand where to go, a blind person definitely isn’t going to understand where to go. As a result, designing with at least some idea of accessibility in mind improves the design for everyone, not just those with disabilities, and I really like that approach as opposed to just thinking of it as some extra features to throw in. 

As I continue my design and computing journey and incorporate the advice I have been given into my own works, I will absolutely continue to reference Don’t Make Me Think. The short yet thorough descriptions and excellent use of diagrams and images greatly help to convey Krug’s Guiding Principles in a digestible yet enjoyable fashion. It is certainly one of those self-help style novels that reeks less of pretentious assholery (such as Atomic Habits) and more of genuine advice, all coming from someone who, like the others, clearly knows what he is doing – but also knows how to convey his message in a helpful way. 

Book Review: Analog In, Digital Out

Personally, I really liked Chapter 4 (Creativity and Data) – namely, the parts where Dawes talked about how data visualization has become an artistic medium. During a summer internship at the Institute for Computing in Research last year, I spent a lot of time working with Microsoft’s Power BI, representing hordes of data in the most efficient way possible, as I was creating a visualization for a psychologist at Phoenix Children’s Hospital who (obviously) wouldn’t take well to a purely numerical format. Aesthetics are often overused in places that don’t need them but aren’t used enough in more “math-y” sectors like Computer Science, so I thought Dawes’ introspection on said topic was quite useful. 

A big part of the reason I chose Information Systems as a major was because I wanted to study both Computer Science and Design, but not one or the other, and Information Systems was the perfect mix of that. I’ve never spent that much time working with the analog aspects of Design (in the sense that I’m more of a techy person) but ironically find visuals extremely helpful when it comes to everyday life; hence I’ve long since wanted to improve my ability to create physical items and I really enjoyed how Dawes talked about the importance of said technology, especially with the rapid advance of AI in the modern day and how everything is quickly becoming digital bloats of rapid-fire updates (if that makes sense?) Being able to take a step back from rapid innovation is extremely important, and that’s something I need to remember as I continue on in the Information Systems program. 

Speaking of which, as I continue through the program, I would like to continue improving my non-digital skills such as drawing (on paper) and even just learning about mixed mediums. The increased limitations of physical media can often serve as a means of increased innovation, and I usually tend to “connect” with my physical works better than my digital ones (if that makes sense); hence, it’s gratifying that Dawes emphasizes the importance of analog tools and gives me hope that they won’t be phased out immediately (as long as people, too, can realize their value).