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100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People
This is the eBook version of the printed book.If you want to design intuitive and engaging web sites, apps, print materials or products, then you need to know the psychology that underlies people's behavior. 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People explores both the foundational and the latest research in the psychology of the conscious mind and applies it to design. What grabs and holds attention on a page or screen? What is more important, peripheral vision or central vision? How much information is too much at one time? How do you motivate people to continue on to the next step? What line length should you use if you want people to read text on or offline? What about color? Imagery? Does font type really matter? These are just a few of the questions that the book answers. This book is not just a set of guidelines, but a deep dive into what makes people tick. Dr. Weinschenk shares the psychology research and shows lots of examples so that you can design intuitive and engaging print, web, applications and products that match the way people think, work, and play.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 24, 2011
1231 people are currently reading
17916 people want to read
About the author
Susan M. Weinschenk
33 books171 followersSusan Weinschenk has a Ph.D. in Psychology and over 30 years of experience as a behavioral psychologist. She applies neuroscience to predict, understand, and explain what motivates people and how to get people to take action.
Dr. Weinschenk is the author of several books, including How To Get People To Do Stuff, 100 Things Every Presenter Needs To Know About People, 100 Things Every Designer Needs To Know About People, and Neuro Web Design: What makes them click? She is the founder of the Weinschenk Institute. She teaches, speaks, mentors, and consults with Fortune 1000 companies, start-ups, non-profit agencies, and educational institutions, and writes a popular blog: www.theteamw.com/blog, and the “Brain Wise: Work better, work smarter” blog for Psychology Today.
Dr. Weinschenk is the author of several books, including How To Get People To Do Stuff, 100 Things Every Presenter Needs To Know About People, 100 Things Every Designer Needs To Know About People, and Neuro Web Design: What makes them click? She is the founder of the Weinschenk Institute. She teaches, speaks, mentors, and consults with Fortune 1000 companies, start-ups, non-profit agencies, and educational institutions, and writes a popular blog: www.theteamw.com/blog, and the “Brain Wise: Work better, work smarter” blog for Psychology Today.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 341 reviews
January 14, 2025
Sorry Susan, I really wanted this to work out!
I love the premise of the book: summarized scientific studies with practical tips on how to apply them in designs. But a little past the first third of this book I already knew it wasn't for me, so I started this list of 10 Things I Disliked About 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know about People:
1. Most stuff is actually pretty obvious. You could just read the chapter titles and you'd have a good grasp of what the content is about.
2. The author keeps promoting her own other book "Neuro Web Design - What Makes Them Click", not 2 times, not 3 times, but dozens of times - the very proof of it is that I memorized that title.
3. The tone of voice is weird and inconsistent. It feels like the book is a mix-and-match of random notes the author took over years without proper care of how they'd fit together.
4. Most chapters are merely superficial summaries of a single study, without proper comparison with others that might have proved the contrary under a different light - you know, like scientists would do.
5. On a particular chapter, the author promotes a Psychology theory that she herself admits is polemic and not taught anymore on Psychology classes. I wonder how many other times it happens throughout the book without the proper disclaimer...
6. The author takes every study at face value and assumes its results are universal, so you MUST account for that in design. On top of that, the "Takeaways" section, instead of being a summary of the chapter, is actually where the author tells you how to apply that knowledge, without much further explanations.
7. On every chance possible the author tries to extrapolate the article results often committing logical fallacies. On a particular chapter about the bidirectional influence between emotions and facial expressions, she implies that if you have small text on your design this will make people frown when reading, and this will make them feel unhappy with any content they come up with next. Really?
8. Some chapters are just Neuroscience jargon filled brain parts names. There's even one full page of illustrations of them - like if it was of any use!
9. The visual design of the book is pretty awful. Like the little misaligned stars used as bullets, or some pages that have 1 paragraph of text and the rest is white space.
10. And, finally: it bothers me how this book very popular, often found in "must-read design books" lists, and even so highly rated here in this fine community of thoughtful readers. I don't get it.
Bonus: there are lots of references to U.S. culture without further contextualization, assuming the reader was from there too.
I'd rate it just 1 start, but it deserved an extra one because some chapters are actually OK (I particularly liked the chapter 66)
Update: rewrote some sentences to improve grammar - sorry, English is not my first language :)
I love the premise of the book: summarized scientific studies with practical tips on how to apply them in designs. But a little past the first third of this book I already knew it wasn't for me, so I started this list of 10 Things I Disliked About 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know about People:
1. Most stuff is actually pretty obvious. You could just read the chapter titles and you'd have a good grasp of what the content is about.
2. The author keeps promoting her own other book "Neuro Web Design - What Makes Them Click", not 2 times, not 3 times, but dozens of times - the very proof of it is that I memorized that title.
3. The tone of voice is weird and inconsistent. It feels like the book is a mix-and-match of random notes the author took over years without proper care of how they'd fit together.
4. Most chapters are merely superficial summaries of a single study, without proper comparison with others that might have proved the contrary under a different light - you know, like scientists would do.
5. On a particular chapter, the author promotes a Psychology theory that she herself admits is polemic and not taught anymore on Psychology classes. I wonder how many other times it happens throughout the book without the proper disclaimer...
6. The author takes every study at face value and assumes its results are universal, so you MUST account for that in design. On top of that, the "Takeaways" section, instead of being a summary of the chapter, is actually where the author tells you how to apply that knowledge, without much further explanations.
7. On every chance possible the author tries to extrapolate the article results often committing logical fallacies. On a particular chapter about the bidirectional influence between emotions and facial expressions, she implies that if you have small text on your design this will make people frown when reading, and this will make them feel unhappy with any content they come up with next. Really?
8. Some chapters are just Neuroscience jargon filled brain parts names. There's even one full page of illustrations of them - like if it was of any use!
9. The visual design of the book is pretty awful. Like the little misaligned stars used as bullets, or some pages that have 1 paragraph of text and the rest is white space.
10. And, finally: it bothers me how this book very popular, often found in "must-read design books" lists, and even so highly rated here in this fine community of thoughtful readers. I don't get it.
Bonus: there are lots of references to U.S. culture without further contextualization, assuming the reader was from there too.
I'd rate it just 1 start, but it deserved an extra one because some chapters are actually OK (I particularly liked the chapter 66)
Update: rewrote some sentences to improve grammar - sorry, English is not my first language :)
December 28, 2019
Very similar to this one:
July 17, 2018
A well-researched and well-documented compendium of design facts to get insights into customers' pyschology that drives their behaviour and interactions.
Recommended to anyone who is a new design student or is simply developing (/designing) or wants to develop any intuitive application or just anyone curious who intends to understand this data-driven and systematic process to analyze their own behaviour. If you already have some hands on experience, then probably you may not find it very engaging,.
Some of the ideas in this book are same as Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products. However, "Hooked" explains them in a more lucid way with detailed examples. "100 Things" does provide biological contexts to most of the processes but I'd advise to take them with a grain of salt because neuroscientists and pyschologists advise so. For reference, read Idiot Brain which is a great, witty and highly informative book.
Recommended to anyone who is a new design student or is simply developing (/designing) or wants to develop any intuitive application or just anyone curious who intends to understand this data-driven and systematic process to analyze their own behaviour. If you already have some hands on experience, then probably you may not find it very engaging,.
Some of the ideas in this book are same as Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products. However, "Hooked" explains them in a more lucid way with detailed examples. "100 Things" does provide biological contexts to most of the processes but I'd advise to take them with a grain of salt because neuroscientists and pyschologists advise so. For reference, read Idiot Brain which is a great, witty and highly informative book.
December 15, 2012
You can tell that this book was created by a designer. It's visually appealing: the content is broken into colored call-out boxes with headers, effectively breaking up the flow of the page enough to keep you engaged but not enough to distract you. The headers are also useful mnemonically because you can go back and look over them each day when you finish reading to help remember what you've read.
At the end of each of the 100 sections, there's a box of Takeaways, which gives practical advice on how the principles from the section can be applied to design. Sometimes, the takeaways will introduce a concept not covered elsewhere in the section, and only tangentially-related, but which is nevertheless sound advice.
I get the sense that Weinschenk is used to writing for the abbreviated format of the web. For the most part, this I appreciated this short, clipped style because it was sufficient to give the salient details of a topic and it ensured that every paragraph was a self-contained unit of information. At some times, I wished for greater detail on a topic than was provided, although I expect that Weinschenk's brief, informal references to outside sources (as well as the extensive list of references in the back of the book) should be sufficient to help me find more information on particular topics.
The writing style is concrete. Weinschenk opens many sections with a brief story that demonstrates what the section is about. She cites data from many studies.
I picked up the book with the assumption that many of the tips in the book (as seems to be the case with all psychology books) would be statements of common sense principles proven by studies. I expected that despite being common sense, it would nevertheless be useful to have the opportunity to reflect upon the principles in relation some current projects in ways that hadn't occurred to me. Although for some of the book's sections, this assumption held true, I was delighted to find how many bits of information presented in the book were new to me.
Some points that grabbed my attention were:
At the end of each of the 100 sections, there's a box of Takeaways, which gives practical advice on how the principles from the section can be applied to design. Sometimes, the takeaways will introduce a concept not covered elsewhere in the section, and only tangentially-related, but which is nevertheless sound advice.
I get the sense that Weinschenk is used to writing for the abbreviated format of the web. For the most part, this I appreciated this short, clipped style because it was sufficient to give the salient details of a topic and it ensured that every paragraph was a self-contained unit of information. At some times, I wished for greater detail on a topic than was provided, although I expect that Weinschenk's brief, informal references to outside sources (as well as the extensive list of references in the back of the book) should be sufficient to help me find more information on particular topics.
The writing style is concrete. Weinschenk opens many sections with a brief story that demonstrates what the section is about. She cites data from many studies.
I picked up the book with the assumption that many of the tips in the book (as seems to be the case with all psychology books) would be statements of common sense principles proven by studies. I expected that despite being common sense, it would nevertheless be useful to have the opportunity to reflect upon the principles in relation some current projects in ways that hadn't occurred to me. Although for some of the book's sections, this assumption held true, I was delighted to find how many bits of information presented in the book were new to me.
Some points that grabbed my attention were:
July 25, 2014
Like so many books these days, 100 Things badly needs a copy editor. For example, Weinschenk talks about buying a present, "for [her] online daughter" (What? You mean your daughter exists only in Second Life?). Another section seems to have had had some paragraphs inadvertently deleted, rendering the section incoherent.
That said, 100 Things book contained lots of great information told in a relatively interesting, entertaining style. With so many great books on design and UX, I wouldn't recommend this book to any serious designer. But it was good for an interesting read during my commute.
That said, 100 Things book contained lots of great information told in a relatively interesting, entertaining style. With so many great books on design and UX, I wouldn't recommend this book to any serious designer. But it was good for an interesting read during my commute.
August 22, 2019
Excellent work in compiling studies and theories of psychology that are fundamental to design, particularly for graphic and interaction.
Written in a very light, concrete, and easy to understand mode, very quick to pick and apply.
If you're used to read on IxD or UX you'll probably not found anything new here, however it serves as an excellent reminder.
Written in a very light, concrete, and easy to understand mode, very quick to pick and apply.
If you're used to read on IxD or UX you'll probably not found anything new here, however it serves as an excellent reminder.
June 8, 2022
طراح نیستم ولی برام جالب بود
May 7, 2024
مكتوب ف غلاف الكتاب ان ده لمصممين الجرافيك ولكن مع الوقت بتكتشف أنه لمصممين المواقع!
طب م توضحوا من الأول!
الكتاب ف اجزاء كتيييير أكاديمية ونظريات كأنه كتاب بيتدرس ف كلية وده يقفل أي حد ف مجال الجرافيك متوقع صور اكتر و visuals حلوة مع كلام أقل
وده عكس اللي حاصل ف الكتاب
قريب اوي هعمل ريفيو مصور للكتاب وهعمل update هنا باللينك لو حد حابب يبص عليه
طب م توضحوا من الأول!
الكتاب ف اجزاء كتيييير أكاديمية ونظريات كأنه كتاب بيتدرس ف كلية وده يقفل أي حد ف مجال الجرافيك متوقع صور اكتر و visuals حلوة مع كلام أقل
وده عكس اللي حاصل ف الكتاب
قريب اوي هعمل ريفيو مصور للكتاب وهعمل update هنا باللينك لو حد حابب يبص عليه
March 22, 2013
I used this book for a Master's course I teach on design principles and desktop publishing. Students seemed to enjoy it and I found it to be a useful resource for them as they sought ways to persuade me (and their clients for whom they did projects) of their design choices. The practicality of this book and its easy reading make it a worthwhile book to keep on your shelf. Weinschenk cites interesting studies that clearly illuminate the design principle, making abstract research seem very practical to young and burgeoning researchers.
The one drawback in this book is that it sells itself as a book for all kinds of designers. Should you choose to purchase this book, be aware that Weinschenk's background is in web design and usability. Nearly half of her 100 "things" apply primarily to web design and the examples she gives are based in user experience design for the web. For students working in other fields (like desktop publishing, architecture, or information design), the repeated suggestions about links, hypertext, navigation, and so forth can be a little annoying.
The one drawback in this book is that it sells itself as a book for all kinds of designers. Should you choose to purchase this book, be aware that Weinschenk's background is in web design and usability. Nearly half of her 100 "things" apply primarily to web design and the examples she gives are based in user experience design for the web. For students working in other fields (like desktop publishing, architecture, or information design), the repeated suggestions about links, hypertext, navigation, and so forth can be a little annoying.
March 30, 2013
I was surprised how much I learned. There is a lot in here and it is very readable. Many topics I knew about 70% of, and that extra 30% covered in this book was truly interesting.
January 24, 2020
Read it if you designer or web designer.
One of best book for understanding psychological benefits and behind in designing, not in depth topics but full of great researches that make you think more carefully and work closely at solutions. 4.5 stars just because not in depth an practical .....
One of best book for understanding psychological benefits and behind in designing, not in depth topics but full of great researches that make you think more carefully and work closely at solutions. 4.5 stars just because not in depth an practical .....
January 28, 2021
The premise of the book was really interesting, but I was, eventually, disappointed.
Even though it was written in a simple manner and it was easy to understand, I did not learn anything new. All the content, the facts and the studies presented were mostly correct, but they were plain and obvious. I had already read them before somewhere or I had realized them somehow as I was not brought up by aliens. Actually all humans have the ability to figure most of the content of the book by themselves as they experience life and socialize.
Also, the aesthetics of the book were a total disaster. Wrong color-coding, hideous sectioning, no cohesion between inserted figures. This was a very poor and tacky job...
So is this author really supposed to be an experienced web designer?
Even though it was written in a simple manner and it was easy to understand, I did not learn anything new. All the content, the facts and the studies presented were mostly correct, but they were plain and obvious. I had already read them before somewhere or I had realized them somehow as I was not brought up by aliens. Actually all humans have the ability to figure most of the content of the book by themselves as they experience life and socialize.
Also, the aesthetics of the book were a total disaster. Wrong color-coding, hideous sectioning, no cohesion between inserted figures. This was a very poor and tacky job...
So is this author really supposed to be an experienced web designer?
October 23, 2018
A book full of little reminders of things you have learned along the way. The references to studies proving that those things work is a great addition. However, there is next to no unique content that you only get when you read this book and there is no room to cover those 100 things in the depth they deserve.
September 18, 2021
a few useful tidbits but mostly just common sense - maybe new and exciting for people with no design knowledge. Also - this book was horribly designed, lol. The color choices and text boxes were… rough
April 30, 2022
Şu ana kadar okuduğum en başarılı ve yararlı tasarım kitaplarından biri olan "100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know about People", her tasarımcının kütüphanesinde bulunması gereken rehberlerden biri. Psikoloji derecesi olan Susan Weinschenk’in kullanıcı psikolojilerinden örnek vererek anlattığı kullanıcı deneyimi ipuçları sadece iş için yararlı bir kaynak olmamakla beraber okuyucunun da ufkunu açan kişisel gelişim kitabı. Tam notum: 4.5/5.
24.04.2022
Londra, Birleşik Krallık
Alp Turgut
24.04.2022
Londra, Birleşik Krallık
Alp Turgut
May 9, 2025
This one oversimplified things so much it was borderline frustrating… Maybe it could work as an intro book for a freshmens’ course, but for anyone who’s actually studied design or cognitive sciences it doesn’t really introduce anything new.
Also, the author just kept going on about her other book. And, ironically, the design of the book was awful – layout, colours, fonts and all, not to mention long web links on printed paper. Susan’s apparently never heard of QR codes.
Also, the author just kept going on about her other book. And, ironically, the design of the book was awful – layout, colours, fonts and all, not to mention long web links on printed paper. Susan’s apparently never heard of QR codes.
February 10, 2022
Largely an advert for the author's previous book, this 2008 publication is full of broken links and of references to inconclusive dry research that was over-simplified and interpreted into the bleeding obvious. Neither useful nor memorable.
February 9, 2017
This is one amazing book that everyone must read.
March 13, 2018
So many things that made me say "ohhhhh" or "hmmm." Definitely worth a read if you like design and/or brains and all the odd things they do.
April 4, 2021
A great book not only for designers.
It is a great summary of a lot of research in modern psychology. Each of the 100 "pills" of knowledge is summarized in two to three pages with many illustrations to help the reader absorb the concept easily. Many of them relate to web / mobile UIs, however a few are also useful for physical product designs and presentation / powerpoint design.
While reading it, you will realize many of them are used in the main apps you use every day (and are not in some of the bad apps you use every day).
Overall it has great readability and you'll breeze through it. After reading it you will most probably only remember a few of the 100 things, but those will be the ones that really matter to you.
I find myself constantly going back to it to pick re-read some of the concepts that I remember about.
A book to read and keep around
It is a great summary of a lot of research in modern psychology. Each of the 100 "pills" of knowledge is summarized in two to three pages with many illustrations to help the reader absorb the concept easily. Many of them relate to web / mobile UIs, however a few are also useful for physical product designs and presentation / powerpoint design.
While reading it, you will realize many of them are used in the main apps you use every day (and are not in some of the bad apps you use every day).
Overall it has great readability and you'll breeze through it. After reading it you will most probably only remember a few of the 100 things, but those will be the ones that really matter to you.
I find myself constantly going back to it to pick re-read some of the concepts that I remember about.
A book to read and keep around
August 15, 2021
"100 Things" is a practical book which helps designer to design more engaging apps and websites.
In my opinion it's one of the best books for understanding the psychological benefits behind the designing. It's full of researches that helps designer to think and design more carefully.
I've learned some new things that help me and I use in my design process. Such as:
- The first glance of the page influences the impression about whether it will be easy to use. Large fonts and enough white space at first glance makes a website seem easier to use.
- People learn best by the example. Don’t just tell people what to do. Show them.
- Design with forgetting in mind. When information is really important, don’t rely on people to remember it. Provide it for them in your design or have a way for them to easily look it up. For example, use dropdown list boxes to show choices rather than assuming users will remember what to fill in.
...
Before I reading this book I didn't know too much about designing and I thought it's easy to design a mobile app or a website, but after reading this book I've learned that it's still easy to design but I need to know some rules and facts.
Finally I would say that it's easy to read and I recommend this book to those who wants to know about the basics of design.
In my opinion it's one of the best books for understanding the psychological benefits behind the designing. It's full of researches that helps designer to think and design more carefully.
I've learned some new things that help me and I use in my design process. Such as:
- The first glance of the page influences the impression about whether it will be easy to use. Large fonts and enough white space at first glance makes a website seem easier to use.
- People learn best by the example. Don’t just tell people what to do. Show them.
- Design with forgetting in mind. When information is really important, don’t rely on people to remember it. Provide it for them in your design or have a way for them to easily look it up. For example, use dropdown list boxes to show choices rather than assuming users will remember what to fill in.
...
Before I reading this book I didn't know too much about designing and I thought it's easy to design a mobile app or a website, but after reading this book I've learned that it's still easy to design but I need to know some rules and facts.
Finally I would say that it's easy to read and I recommend this book to those who wants to know about the basics of design.
August 3, 2020
Good book if you want to quickly grasp the basics of UI/UX design principles which are commonly used across the globe as best practices. The book also provides insights into why these best practices actually work. If you are an avid digital products user you will be able to feel whatever is written in the book as you would have come across the things mentioned at some point in time or another.
A good starting point for people venturing out into design of anything.
Thanks for writing this Susan :D
A good starting point for people venturing out into design of anything.
Thanks for writing this Susan :D
December 3, 2020
It was...good...I think for me fell a little into the 'just in case' category of information (instead of just-in-time)...so that left me bookmarking a lot in my brain for 'remember this when you're working on that project that requires you to assign people into teams of varying sizes' or things along those lines.
Less 'design' focused and more life focused. In terms of 'design' it seemed like design was being used in the much broader sense; experience design (I went into this assuming it would be about graphic / user interface design), so having more of an open mind to what design actually is will help yield more fruit from the book.
So...I think i'll return to it as a reference! Nicely researched and well supported with wonderful scientific research! Design aside I never get bored reading all the cool ways scientists test things (reminded me a little of thinking fast and slow / freakonomics)
Less 'design' focused and more life focused. In terms of 'design' it seemed like design was being used in the much broader sense; experience design (I went into this assuming it would be about graphic / user interface design), so having more of an open mind to what design actually is will help yield more fruit from the book.
So...I think i'll return to it as a reference! Nicely researched and well supported with wonderful scientific research! Design aside I never get bored reading all the cool ways scientists test things (reminded me a little of thinking fast and slow / freakonomics)
January 18, 2025
Such a great read! I loved all the insights and how brilliantly consumable it was. It was also so delightful to take a look at the scientific studies and research methods that shaped the insights, especially in such simple terms. The book had just the perfect amount of detail, great summaries and was thoroughly engaging. It’s definitely a must-read starter book for designers, or even just for interesting pointers on human psychology for enthusiasts.
September 17, 2021
A well written book, easy to read and understand, full of interesting insights.
One major flaw in my opinion is the word "people" in the title and throughout the book, when you read most of the destilled research you get a feeling that it applies to everyone. This is clearly not the case and I am not a fan of generalizing individuals.
One major flaw in my opinion is the word "people" in the title and throughout the book, when you read most of the destilled research you get a feeling that it applies to everyone. This is clearly not the case and I am not a fan of generalizing individuals.
April 16, 2024
Lo leería de nuevo 💚
Creo que es una buena guía sobre el uso de la psicología y los sesgos cognitivos aplicados al diseño. Es súper útil dejar marcados las secciones y capítulos más interesantes a modo de consulta al momento de proponer racionales de diseño.
Creo que es una buena guía sobre el uso de la psicología y los sesgos cognitivos aplicados al diseño. Es súper útil dejar marcados las secciones y capítulos más interesantes a modo de consulta al momento de proponer racionales de diseño.
October 16, 2020
Despite the Buzzfeed title, Susan's book is a nice and insightful read on human behavior. A good book to revisit from time to time.
October 30, 2025
A fun and interesting read! It’s broken into quick and easy to understand principles. The target audience for this book is designers, but anyone interested in sociology would enjoy this.
December 30, 2020
Excellent, well written and a must for everyone interested in Psychology, Design and research.
September 10, 2021
Byla jsem velmi skeptická a po prvních několika kapitolách i poměrně zklamaná. Nakonec ale dávám 4*.
100 Things nemá ambice být vyčerpávající příručkou o psychologii v designu. Je to spíš takový přehled, ochutnávka mnoha různých témat, a v téhle kategorii funguje dobře.
Jen ke třeba mít na paměti, že když chcete tématům v knize uvedeným fakt porozumět, bylo by dobrý si o nich přečíst víc a ověřit si, nakolik jsou prezentované informace validní a aktuální. Fakt to není samospásné.
100 Things nemá ambice být vyčerpávající příručkou o psychologii v designu. Je to spíš takový přehled, ochutnávka mnoha různých témat, a v téhle kategorii funguje dobře.
Jen ke třeba mít na paměti, že když chcete tématům v knize uvedeným fakt porozumět, bylo by dobrý si o nich přečíst víc a ověřit si, nakolik jsou prezentované informace validní a aktuální. Fakt to není samospásné.
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