Yesterday I took the train to Baltimore to moderate a panel with three of that city’s leading digital design practitioners, as part of the local AIGA chapter’s ambitious Design Week. On stage with me were Andy Mangold of Friends of the Web, April Osmanof of Fastspot, and James Pannafino of Millersville University. It was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed meeting the Baltimore chapter immensely.

It was also my first introduction to James, and his book “Interdisciplinary Interaction Design: A Visual Guide.”

The book’s title is more than a mouthful of syllables, but its contents are expertly succinct and useful. It is truly a “visual guide” to the sometimes amorphous concepts that guide work in our profession, from affordances to Fitts’s Law to user errors. Each concept is explained clearly and thoughtfully, with crisp, unfussy illustrations that help root its central idea in real world examples. It’s truly excellent, and highly recommended. Find out more at the book’s site and order it from Amazon.

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