STC Usability SIG Newsletter
Usability Interface

Book Review
Designing Web Sites for Every Audience by Ilise Benun

Reviewed by Whitney Quesenbery

I liked this book from the very first page, where it starts with these words:

"During my thirteen years as a marketing consultant, one of my most persistent tasks has been to remind designers and other creative types I work with to think first of their audience….Sounds easy, but this is a huge challenge. You want the art and design to speak for themselves, regardless of who sees the work. But in marketing…it’s crucial to know who your market is and what they need to see."

Author Ilise Benun looks at the web from a refreshing perspective, tying marketing and usability together through a common interest in understanding the people who use a web site.

The first chapter approaches the question, "Why does usability matter?" with an overview of a user-centered approach to design and lessons in usability from a wide-ranging collection of experts. Benun’s ability to reach across the web design community to bring together different perspectives is one of the strengths of the book. If you have ever wondered how to find the right words to talk to marketing directors and visual designers about the importance of usability, you might start here. Familiar usability concepts are tied to specific examples and presented from a marketing perspective. Most importantly, she makes the case that marketing and usability are not opposites, but have the same goals.

The rest of the book uses a series of case studies of site redesigns. They include before-and-after screen shots, interviews with the designers, which provide insight into how and why decisions were made, and background on the goals of the project. Each story shows how usability is important to the success of a site and how posing the question "’Does this work?’ while also asking ‘How does this look?’" can allow beauty to mesh with functionality.

The case studies are divided into six chapters, each focusing on a different type of user and reason for using a web site. The chapters begin with a brief personas, creating a tangible picture of these users and reminding the reader that web sites are should be designed for their audience. The six personas are:

• Learners
• Shoppers
• Connection Seekers
• Transactors
• Business Browsers
• Fun Seekers

These personas focus on the relationship between the person and the site, and highlight different approaches to design for different audiences. Using these personas as a window into the world of web design, Benun reminds us that successful web sites start with an understanding of the audience – and are designed to meet their needs.

If you are looking for a set of guidelines or instructions on a process for designing a web site, this is not the book for you. Instead, this is a book to browse for inspiration and an overview of the current state of web design.

Benun is the Director of Creative Marketing and Management, an expert in self-promotion, and the Vice President of the New York Chapter of the UPA. To find out more about her work, visit www.artofselfpromotion.com