Seductive Interaction Design: Creating Playful, Fun, and Effective User Experiences 1st Edition

Stephen Anderson does an excellent job introducing the questions that we ask ourselves when we visit a website, open software, buy physical products, and gravitate toward certain people. The book's psychological approach to explaining the catalysts and triggers of human behavior is thorough and provides good examples of how to use those triggers to create a lasting and impressionable experiences. There are 25 chapters which are grouped into four sections...see section descriptions or skip to the bottom line.Section one (Aesthetics, Beauty, and Behavior) covers topics like gestalt principles/psychology, perceived affordances, product credibility and personality, affect, cognition, and association. Anderson makes plenty of references to other quintessential UX books such as Designing with the Mind in Mind by Jeff Johnson, Visual Thinking for Design by Colin Ware, and Emotional Design by Donald Norman. Section two (Playful Seduction) covers ways to engage audiences with positive affective states such as humor, the mystique of unexpected behavior, and `delighters'. Anderson also uses specific phenomenon such as the information gap theory to explain alternate methods of eliminating the feeling of deprivation in users seeking information. Section three (The subtle Art of Seduction) covers some of the covert ways that our behavior is influenced by revealing topics such as the endowed progress effect, default options, and the many interfaces that offer suggestions such as Twitter's `Who to follow'. Topics such as loss aversion were clearly outlined and empowers users to be more aware of the influences we encounter while online. Section four (The Game of Seduction) takes a gamification approach to explaining the intrigue of certain user experiences. Anderson explains the power of `fun' by introducing the elements of game design (challenges, choices, and conflicts)BOTTOM LINEThis book provided so many examples and references that even a proficient UX specialist would learn something new or easily be referred to other helpful sources of information. Rarely have I found so much information packed into such a short book. I highly recommend the book for newcomers to UX, but I also encourage experienced practitioners to grab a copy for reference.

OK ... lots of rave reviews on this one. What am I missing? I just don't see it. I think this book is fine. There are some cute stories to spark ideas. There is a strong emphasis on delighting the user with unexpected personalization during their experience... yup, that's good. And that's why this is three stars, not less. I can see how the book can capture the reader's attention, although maybe not for more than a few pages per sitting. The layout is clean/well-done. But I honestly think a group of friends hanging-out at Starbucks on a Sunday morning could muse at least half of what's here. I suppose there's value in having these ideas compiled in a book as opposed to quickly-forgotten musings over scones and a Latte. But I'm not seeing anything here that's really sticking as I contemplate designing a website.Here's a test for you. If you're considering buying this book ... how much did the title effect your decision to surf to this page? If the title is the only reason you're here, then you can expect that experience to translate to pretty much every page of this book. It's all about the quick 'grab' ... not too much substance after that. So, I guess if that's the kind of inspiration you're looking for then this book is for you. Hey, it got me to buy the book. I totally have to cop to that.And to be honest that's the only reason I gave it three stars. I bought the book ... LOL! I didn't hate it ... just didn't get the kind of zing that apparently others got. Oh well. Keeping it ... but not loving it. And definitely not seduced by it. I'd need a LOT more substance for that :)

This book gave me new and valuable perspectives on a design project I am working on. The ideas are well thought out. The author is intelligent and modest with a clear and easy to follow style.More and more it seems as though emotion is what drives decision, so it is therefore important to understand how certain products have an effect on our emotions. It is important to understand how to effect emotion in others through design and testing.If you are designing a novel concept of doing business then you should read this book. It will offer guidance and reference.Even if you are doing business as usual, putting good use of some of these techniques in subtle ways will probably put you in successful regards with your customers and clients.We create seductive design to introduce the world to our true potential and missions. If our missions and purposes are great then customers will fall in love, that is if we behave in such a way as to be lovable also. This is where design plays a part by inspiring emotion to get us to do the right things. In doing the right things, we feel good. Feeling good about what we do, does make this world a better place.

Anderson puts psychology and technology in a blender and hits frappé in this short and highly-readable primer on interactive design. In chapters thick with practical examples, he covers the basics of aesthetics (particularly as it relates to user experience), persuasive technology, and gamification, all in a laid-back conversational tone. Color illustrations abound, allowing readers to actually see the design elements Anderson discusses in action, as it were.Given that I read this for a class, I would have appreciated more footnoting/endnoting (he occasionally cites a work, but it's rare), along with a bibliography and glossary at the end, but readers who are just looking at this as a jumping off point for work projects are less likely to notice that lack. Overall, Seductive Interaction Design manages to be both informative and entertaining, proving Anderson can make full use of the tricks of the trade even when his technological medium is old-fashioned paper.

When I did my undergraduate degree there was a lot spoken about persuasive and seductive technology among the students. This book is a good introduction and goes well with earlier texts like the book on Persuasive Technology by BJ Fogg and perasusive website design by A Chak.

Accessibly written if sometimes gratingly American twee. Like that author backs up argument with research. References are not that formal though so hard to find. A good formatted bibliography would help. Taking away several ideas.

Since I've read this book, I couldn't help but recommend it to everyone I talk to. If you're thinking about building a product or rethinking the user experience of your existing product, you can't miss this book!It's very well written, and it's THE book to use as a reference.UX is not only about colors, placement, etc. It's a 360° concept that takes into account the human brain, psychology and this book explains it in a way that anyone can understand.You'll never see the world the same way again! Enjoy the read!

This is by far a great book. It's an extremely great book that should be a must read for everyone working in IT, whether you're developer, designer, manager, CEO etc.

I loved this book, it's really easy to read and gives you ideas and other points of view of common situations on UX design. Recommended.