I.D.E.A Table of Contents.

Chapter 1 - Primer of Human-Computer Interaction
Affordances   3
Real vs. Perceived Affordances   3
Cues   4
Constraints   5
Example 1: login at petco.com   7
Example 2: the "wheelbarrow" link at garden.com   8
Natural Mappings   9
Metaphors   10
Norman's principles of good design   10
Slips   12
Mistakes   13
Instructions won't prevent errors   13
Ways to prevent errors   15
Handling Errors   17

Chapter 2 - Form Design
Overview of the major input elements   19
Input type usage   22
  Text vs. specialized input types: select, checkbox, & radio
  Select vs. radio
  Select vs. radio vs. checkbox for true/false questions
  Checkbox vs. multiple select list box
  Text vs. select pulldown
  Password vs., well, password…
Form visual design   28
  Sizing text fields
  Making form elements noticeable
  Labeling input elements
  Labeling required fields
Button design   34
  Using contrast
  Button placement
  Button labels
  Disabling buttons
  The "Reset" button
  The "Submit" button
  Grouping & differentiating tasks through button design
Adding interactivity   41
Input validation   41
  Error message tips

Chapter 3 - Content Design
Tips for creating bite-sized, scannable written content   47
Content presentation tips   49
Example: writing for scannability   51
Common types of useless written content   52
Designing Lists   53
Designing Tables   54
Designing Charts   56
Chart Example   58
The liabilities of automatically changing content   58
"I" versus "You"   59

Chapter 4 - Organizational Models
Classification   63
Association   63
Homogeneity and granularity   64
Classification schemes   64
Ambiguity   65
Cross-referencing   66
Item vs. category cross-referencing   67
Minicase: Category cross-referencing at Staples.com   68
Designing more robust hierarchies to reduce ambiguity   70
Minicase: Nordstrom.com's boot shop   71
Mixing classification schemes   72

Chapter 5 - Navigation Design
High-level navigation   76
A counterpoint: Mark Hurst and the page paradigm.   78
Low-level navigation   81
Utilities   83
Button or link: "Your Account" utility link on Amazon.com?   84
Breadcrumbs   84
Site map   87
Associative links   88
The browser   91
Dynamic menus   93
Link hovereffects   97

Chapter 6 - Winnowing Tools
The navigation spectrum   101
Faceted browsing   102
Example 1: epicurious.com   102
Example 2: beachhouse.com   104
The features of good faceted browsing systems   107
Minicase: Nordstrom.com women's boot shop (cont'd)   107
Treemaps: using faceted metadata to visualize hierarchies & data   109
Guided search   110
Minicase: "Search by Feature" at Sears   112
The features of good guided search tools   115
Conclusion   117