TutsArena

Fall reading list: biology, psychology and design

by TutsArena - Resources

When we design things, we want them to be attractive, aesthetically pleasing and, often, functional. Since our designs are perceived by human beings, what can we learn from biology and psychology to make our works better?

Some of the resources cited in this post aren’t new — one of the books we mention below is a classic that is 50 years old. Some of the sources provide a summary of things that intuitively are known to a lot of designers — yet, they may be eye openers to someone who is just starting.

This list is by no means comprehensive. Still, we believe these to be helpful for any designer, from a total newbie to an experienced professional.

If you know of a good resource related to the subject, please either mention it in the comments or let us know through the contact form and we will update this post.

Eyetracking research

When a person visits your web site, where do they look? Do the advertising banners on the site get any attention of the site’s visitors? How can a web site be improved to make sure a user finds the information they are looking for easier? Nielsen Norman Group provides a wealth of information on Eyetracking research and usability studies.

Vision, art and the biology of seeing

What makes the water on Monet’s paintings flow? Why can’t we see colors in the dark? What is so irresistible about Mona Lisa’s smile? Margaret S. Livingstone, a neurobiologist by trade, provides a truly fascinating insight into the workings of our eyes and brain and how that relates to visual art. Read all about it in her book: Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing by Margaret S. Livingstone.

Website design psychology

Andy Rutledge wrote a nice article on the subject of psychology of design as it pertains to creating web sites. He summarizes basic principles and concepts behind communicating with a site visitor through the use of “layout, form, color and theme” and persuading . Read the full article at his web site: Design psychology.

Art and visual perception

Art and visual perception is a classic by Rudolf Arnheim that describes the theory of form perception, which may or may not be correct, which is based on Gestalt psychology. This approach to the explaining the mind stipulates that perception is produced by all our senses holistically, in parallel — especially as it applies to visual perception.

Using color in logo design

You already know about the color theory, most likely. Alex Charchar provides a very nice illustration how the color theoretical concepts are used to design logos — with real life examples — in his blog post How to use color in logo design.

Don’t make me think

This book explains in a very straightforward and clear way how to design web sites that can be easily used by modern consumers. People don’t read web pages, they scan them, for instance, and your design better take that into consideration or you risk to leave the information on your site unnoticed. Don’t make me think is a very easy, but also very informative read for any web designer.

Designing for the social web

“Social interaction occurs no matter what kind of web site or application one builds: it happens when a group of people use it and interact not only with each other but with their friends. Here are examples from real-world interfaces along with tips on how to overcome common people-oriented problems, from reluctance to learn or use new systems to what to do when a web application is launched and nobody wants to try it.” – Midwest Book Review on Designing for the social web by Joshua Porter.

If you know of a good resource related to the subject, please either mention it in the comments or let us know through the contact form and we will update this post.