Two ways to see this book...
Either you see it from a dry-to-the-bone practical angle, and the book comes up short. If you use it to get more insight in standard user interface and navigation structures, you will not find it. This book is not about defining the 'ideal' navigation or garanteed successful interface. Quite the opposite.
See, here is another approach to this thing called the web: what if you do not assume your user/visitor to be an idiot? What if the actual concept of using a website is part of the content and experience the designer wants you to have? It will result in some of the work shown in this publication. Where the user is not taken by the hand and force-fed how to use an interface.
You can argue if this is needed, or if this approach even has a contribution to the world of internet. I for one think it has. The web is a means to exchange ideas and thoughts, just as it is a communication tool for business and information. There is simply not one truth or one rule to be followed. And if you do not see the relevance of experiment in how to communicate, use the book to see just where the usability goes overboard, and learn from that :-) But it never hurts to open your mind/eyes to the new and unexpected, even if it does not make immediate sense or logic. This book serves to do just that.
This book is horrible
I can find only one use for this book. It is an excellent example of what NOT to do when designing user interfaces. These are some of the most unusable interfaces I have seen to date.Also, the only skill of the designers display is their ability to over use popular, gimmicky, current design trends. There is no originality displayed in the designs and there is no forethought in UI design and layout.
Pixel Perfect
The best survey of "interesting and inspiring" websites period. I'm going to be giving it to friends who are desigers for their birthdays this year. It shows sites which are pushing technology, not being pushed by it. However, this book may make working at a large .com more difficult for a designer.Be warned.
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