Recently, I’ve started studying UX design. On April 15th, I plan to receive some help with my studies from Springboard, a UX design bootcamp that will help with the learning process. Until then, I intend to read books and complete a few tutorials online, so I can establish a strong foundation of knowledge. Just this week, I picked up a book called “Don’t Make Me Think” by Steve Krug. The book has a straightforward approach to learning how to think like a UX designer.

Before I review it, I should probably explain what UX design is. UX stands for User Experience. I like to think of it as the “feel” you receive from interacting with a website. A lot of people try to explain what these designers do, but the explanation is simple. The next time you go to any website, start thinking aloud. Answer these questions:

What’s the purpose of the website?
What am I looking for?
How do I find that?
What will I click?
Why?
Did I click the right link?
Why or why not?
What’s great about this website? How can it be improved?

The frustration or ease you experience when answering these questions defines the user experience. Now that you understand the concept of what I’m learning, let’s talk about the book.

Purpose
[image error]Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability (3rd Edition) (Voices That Matter)[image error]

Don’t Make Me Think is a brilliantly simple concept. If you want to know how to create the ultimate user experience, you don’t need to read the book. Just read the title.

The purpose of the book (in an overly simplified explanation) is to inform designers that they must reduce a user’s frustrations by making sure users are not thinking when interacting with a website. In short, all users should have multiple routes to find what they’re looking for. Each route should be clear and simple to navigate.

Use Common Sense

A friend of mine once said, “Common sense is a superpower nowadays.” This is a pessimistic view on life, but it is applicable to design. With user design, you really have to use common sense, and Krug helps readers understand how to best accomplish this goal.

Everything should have a purpose
Know your constraints
Work with your team, but don’t clutter your ideas
Simplify when you can
Test your product with real users (any user)
Test frequently and make adjustments

Don’t Make Me Think

I really enjoyed this book and I intend to use these concepts regularly.