Web Anatomy
Interaction Design Frameworks that Work
Web Anatomy: Interaction Design Frameworks that Work
Robert Hoekman, Jr. and Jared Spool
New Riders
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New Riders is an imprint of Peachpit, a division of Pearson Education
Copyright © 2010 by Robert Hoekman, Jr. and Jared Spool
Some material included in this work was previously published on the Web and
is © 2000–2009, User Interface Engineering
Acquisitions and Development Editor: Wendy Sharp
Copyeditor: Jacqueline Aaron
Production Editor: Hilal Sala
Composition: Kim Scott, Bumpy Design
Indexer: Emily Glossbrenner, FireCrystal Communications
Interior Design: Kathleen Cunningham
Cover Design: Robert Hoekman, Jr. with Mimi Heft
Cover Production: Andreas DeDanaan
Notice of Rights
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For information on getting permission for reprints and excerpts, contact [email protected].
Notice of Liability
The information in this book is distributed on an “As Is” basis, without warranty. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of the book, neither the authors nor Peachpit shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book or by the computer software and hardware products described in it.
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ISBN-13: 978-0-321-63502-0
ISBN–10: 0-321-63502-7
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Printed and bound in the United States of America
Acknowledgements
Robert Hoekman Jr. would like to thank the following people:
Wendy Sharp, once again, for being a great editor and friend; Jacqueline Aaron, for another superb copyediting job; Kathleen Cunningham, for a great book design; Nancy Reunzel, our esteemed publisher, for, well, being our esteemed publisher; and a whole list of other people, including but not limited to Glenn Bisignani, Nancy Davis, Gary Paul Prince, and all the other cool cats at New Riders without whom—and you knew this phrase was coming, I’m sure—this would not be possible.
I’d also, of course, like to thank my wife, Christine, who simply nodded her head and smiled as I said, for the fourth time, “God, I can’t wait till I’m done with this damn book.” (Writing, as it turns out, is not all glamour and roses.)
* * * * *
Jared Spool would like to thank the following people:
The amazing team at User Interface Engineering, past and present. Of particular note are the people who made all the research behind this book happen. The motto at UIE is “Advancing Our Knowledge Through Mind-Numbing Manual Labor.” Collecting data on how people use technology takes a lot of work. Will Schroeder, Lori Landesman, Carolyn Snyder, Tara Scanlon, Nina Gilmore, Matthew Klee, Joshua Porter, and Christine Perfetti are just some of the folks who made the research come to life. Everything we reported here started with their dedication and efforts.
I’d also like to thank Wendy Sharp and the team at New Riders for putting up with my crap and their dedication to making this book into what you see. I’d also like to give a hearty thanks to my partner on this project. Robert did all the heavy lifting and deserves great credit. He’s a blast to work with and (except when I was pissing him off) we had great fun!
And a special thanks go to my kids, Ari and Reed, who have been great support and inspiration, as I try to make a better world for them. Finally, Dana Chisnell should get a statue built in her honor for her support and dedication throughout this process.
* * * * *
We would together like to thank all those who came before us, doing the diligent and noble work of advocating for standards and best practices with regard to design patterns and components, including Christian Crumlish, Luke Wroblewski, Teresa Neil, Bill Scott, Martijn van Welie, Dan Brown, and Nathan Curtis of Eight Shapes, Jenifer Tidwell, and others. Without your work, the web would be a giant, disorganized mess. Well, a worse giant, disorganized mess.
Contents
Patterns: a catalog of desired behaviors
Components: taking advantage of reusable code
Frameworks: the final puzzle piece
Questions, answers, and inspiration
Elements of an interaction design framework
Offer multiple paths to content
Associate content to user terminology
Make the content easy to identify
Blank slate (a.k.a Immediate Engagement)
Communicate a clear value proposition
Demonstrate that it works well
Encourage action and enable progress
Associate the user to the user’s actions
Establish and build a reputation
Enable word-of-mouth marketing