Why are there no "standard texts" on designing software interfaces? (or tell me I'm wrong?)
If you want to learn to *build* software, there are excellent and complete texts on the subject. It's not just a tech-vs-art thing: there are standard texts on type, drawing, color, etc.
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Of course, there are lots of great books peripheral to (and useful for learning) the topic of software interface design: Inmates…, Design of Everyday Things, Tufte, etc. But these don't aspire to be complete introductory guides to the subject, like How to Design Programs.
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Some close contenders:
* About Face: great coverage of broader design product process, but concrete details on interface design quite limited
* Don't Make Me Think: focused on web sites and info arch, not much discussion of interactive interfaces
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Form Design Patterns is pretty good (covers principles behind things, color, accessibility, etc and implementation). Granted, it’s focused on designing a single thing (forms) in a single medium (the web) — maybe it’s better that way?? A lot of the principles carry over, though.
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