Designing patterns.

Over the past few years 'patterns' have swept across the programming landscape. Whether it is patterns in Java or patterns in Ruby, programmers can now find coding assistance in a plethora of books. When it comes to the visual elements of software-the interface-then the field is much lighter. Jenifer Tidwell provides a substantial body of patterns in interface design in her new book 'Designing Interfaces' (O'Reilly). With practical design advice and full color illustrations throughout, Tidwell presents a valuable resource for software developers, interaction designers, graphic designers, and anyone who creates user facing software.

'Designing Interfaces" is for a wider audience than just software developers, however. 'People doing UII and interaction design at all levels could use these patterns. Experienced designers can even skip all the introductory material and go straight to the examples.

The patterns in the book are designed to work for both desktop and web-based applications. Many patterns also apply to handheld digital devices such as cell phones and PDAS. The first set of chapters is applicable to almost any interface one might design:

--Chapter 1, 'What Users Do' talks about common behavior and usage patterns.

--Chapter 2, 'Organizing the Content discusses information architecture as it applies to highly interactive interfaces.

--Chapter 3, 'Getting Around' discusses navigation.

--Chapter 4, 'Organizing the Page' describes patterns for the layout and placement of page elements.

--Chapter 5, 'Doing Things' talks about how to present actions and commands. Next comes a set of chapters that deals with specific idioms:

--Chapter 6, 'Showing Complex Data," contains patterns for trees, tables, charts and informational graphics in general.--

Chapter 7, 'Getting Input From Users,' deals with forms and controls. It includes a table that maps desired data types to controls that can represent them.

--Chapter 8, 'Builders and Editors,' discusses techniques and patterns often used in graphic and text editors. Finally, the last chapter comes at the end of the design process:

Chapter 9, 'Making It Look Good,' deals with aesthetics and fit-and-finish.

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