By Irene Pereyra
224 pages, hardcover, $40
Published by Rockport Publishers
quartoknows.com/rockport-publishers

Principles to live by. Rules to design by. Universal Principles of UX gathers general guidelines that together form a set of “best practices” for user experience design. The book is not a grammar of UX or a set of how-to instructions; instead, in an almost anthropological approach, author Irene Pereyra presents 100 high-level topics, based on years of in-the-trenches experience. Timeless in its approach, endlessly debatable, this is an eminently useful book.

Arranged in loose categories—including Consider, Empathize, Define, Research and Validate—each principle gets a page of explanatory text, along with accompanying graphics. Some of these illustrations are quite useful, while others barely rise above the level of eye candy. Each principle is backed by evidence, and many are cross-referenced to others in the book. In the process, UX principles are explained, problems solved, practical advice given and directions supplied.

Some principles explain hard and fast rules. Examples include: “If users can’t understand the value of meaning of a website, they click off in ten seconds.” Others include practical guidelines: “Use card sort to uncover consensus.” Still, others are more open-ended—and open to debate. “Match the real world.” Really? Tell that to any online banking website design team.

Along the way, fascinating secrets are unlocked, debates are put to rest (or ignited), and hunches and intuition are explained by facts. Is less really more? Are better-looking products easier to use? Let the debates begin. —Sam McMillan