Synopses & Reviews
Is creativity the enemy of usability? How do you judge the success of a person's experience interacting with a web enterprise? Is the effectiveness of an online resource defined only by how "usable" it is? In
Train of Thoughts, web strategy and design consultant John C. Lenker Jr. provides insight into how web enterprises must interact with people to be successful in the twenty-first century.
Train of Thoughts is non-technical and written not only for web designers and developers, but also for any stakeholder in a web enterprise that has a vested interest in ensuring that their online resources become more meaningful and valuable. In this book, you'll learn to understand what motivates people's online behavior and then convert that motivation into online results; communicate with people effectively online so that they really understand what the value proposition of an online resource is; combine forward-thinking information design techniques with systems that pave experiential pathways for people to journey along in pursuit of their interests and goals; properly employ personalization to build relationships; understand the true role of creativity online; uncover screen-space designs that aid and inspire the mind; reconcile business objectives with stakeholder needs; approach process in a way that keeps projects on time, on budget, and on target; create online resources that actually work when they're completed; and actualize creative vision appropriately for the web.
Synopsis
If you are a web professional, Train of Thoughts will inspire you to formulate web experiences in ways that they have never been challenged to before. You will learn how to bring important principles of human psychology, creativity and understandability.
About the Author
John C. Lenker Jr-an author, educator, and interactive multimedia design specialist-is the co-founder and president of invioni, a Web-strategy and design consulting firm based in Minneapolis. He's won awards for both his on- and offline interactive projects as well as for his commercial illustration. He's also been a contributing author to New Riders Publishing's Flash Magic series of books. Over the course of his career (which included leadership roles at both Allen Interactions and Martin/Williams), John has worked on numerous projects for notable organizations including: AT&T, Comcast, DaimlerChrysler, Digital Equipment Corporation, Eli Lilly and Company, Fallon Worldwide, Farmers Insurance, Frigidaire, IBM, Imation, Lucent Technologies, Lincoln Financial, Marvin Windows & Doors, Nestlé USA, Nexus Lexus, Northern States Power, Novartis, Pillsbury, Powertel, RCA, Syngenta, Texas Instruments Inc., United Airlines, and U.S. West. Although he began his education studying film music composition and music synthesis at Berklee College of Music in Boston (he still writes and performs music as a hobby), John earned a BS degree in Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University. John's family includes his wife, Jennifer, and their three soon-to-be-famous children, Adrianne, 1991; Zoé, 1993; and Noah, 1995.