I am writing right now the book “Design for Efficiency” and I treat the book like a design book. It is planned to involve the future readers during the creation process and incorporate their feedback. Can this work?
By Helmut Degen – March 21, 2020 – 4 min read
This happened to be like with many of us (designers), I believe. There is an initial idea, small and vulnerable. The idea found its way into my head, and I started playing with it, like throwing a tennis ball against a wall – back and forth. Over time, the idea becomes more steady, and at some point in time, I couldn’t ignore it anymore.
In my case, it is a book about “Design for Efficiency”, a topic which I nurture for some time. I started to look into the topic. I was searching for material, online and offline, and was initially surprised that I couldn’t find anything of useful. So I started to develop my own toolbox and applied the tools in my design projects … and then I though: where a gap is, there is an opportunity.
Who inspired me?
After I decided to write the book (which I thought was already a courageous idea), I went even further. Over the last holiday break, I was contemplating about the distribution. My son told me about a professor, actually a couple, from Wisconsin. Their names are Remzi H. Arpaci-Dusseau and Adrea C. Arpaci-Dusseau. Due to the lack of appropriate text books for Operating Systems, they started writing their own text book. After they finalized it, the distribute it on their website Operationg Systems: Three Easy Pieces. Each chapter is available for free as a PDF; the entire book as a PDF costs $10 and there are soft copies and hard copies available on Amazon and Lulu (as a hard copy and as a soft copy). I was very much impressed by their reach – more than half a million downloads. I know, a professional is not a professor, however …
What about feedback?
I make my living with design for industrial applications, and involvement of users (or their proxies) is part of my working style. If you publish something, feedback is unavoidable. The question is: which feedback is more helpful. Receiving feedback after the launch is good, and you can learn something for the next project … maybe. Feedback prior to the launch is better, so that the book can be improved before it gets published.
What about publishers?
If the text is pre-published, publishers won’t accept it anymore. However, the real question is not “what about publishers?”. Publishing houses are just a means for something. The real question is: How to measure success of the book? I took money out of the equation. Eventually, I came to the following success criterion: adoption. I believe the design discipline is currently on a beautification path, and “design for efficiency” may have some corrective influence. So, adoption it is. The target audience are professionals (they have disposable money) and students (they don’t). Therefore, I decided to give it away for free. The only problem with adoption is – the content isn’t relevant or good enough. I like that challenge, it keeps my fingers on the toes or keyboards.
What about the topic “design for efficiency”?
That’s a good question. Efficiency is almost an ancient part of usability, going back to the 90s. After I did some research, I get the impression that efficiency is not really a design focus. We still swing between effectiveness and delight. I personally respect time a lot. It is the most precious resource we have, as human beings. Design for efficiency shows respect for the time of our users. Here is a diagram which I use in the book. It shows the benefits of making time disposable.
What about involving the UX community to provide feedback?
Is someone willing to read a book concept, not the final book, and to provide feedback in their spare time and for free? Will this work? I don’t know. I hope I can find a few colleagues, students and teachers (yes, you all belong to the audience) who are willing to provide feedback. What is the return? A better book.
Do the test readers get a discount later on?
The simple answer is: No! The better answer is: everyone gets a discount. The book will be available for free. I hope this is motivation to find a few colleagues which might be willing to spend a bit of time.
Can it work? I am mildly optimistic, and time will tell. I am going to share the progress here.