Book Review: Interface Design for Learning, by Dorian Peters

If you’veever thought about—I mean reallypondered—the power of visual design as related to how users learn, then DorianPeters’s Interface Design for Learningis a must-read. Peters, a designer, author, and specialist in user experiencefor learning and well-being, outlines more than 100 evidence-based strategiesbased on principles in psychology, human-computer interaction, and learning. Butthe strength of the book isn’t just about the strategies. Peters does amasterful job at providing the scientific rationale behind each strategy, alongwith illustrative examples, so that readers can truly make the most of applyingeach of the tactics to their day-to-day eLearning realities.

What’sin the book?

The firstfour chapters of the book provide an introduction to interface design forlearning (IDL), a high-level summary of key learning and educational psychologytheories, a rundown of myriad online learning examples, and a discussion of keyprinciples that guide effective interface design. This section lays thegroundwork for the remainder of the book, and Peters sets the stage byclarifying terminology and provides her definition of interface design forlearning as “the design of the following aspects of digital learningexperiences: multimedia and visual design (graphics, video, animation, audio);information design and architecture (structure, labels, navigation); usability;and screen-based interaction.” This simple explanation reveals the power of thebook for multiple audiences. Instructional designers, graphic designers,eLearning developers, or virtual instructors relying on technology to delivercontent can all benefit from Peters’s experience and insights.

Figure 1: Three layers of designing experiences from Interface Design for Learning by DorianPeters

Beyondsetting the stage with a common lexicon, the summary of related theoreticalwork and recap of eLearning and educational technology advancements acrossworkplace learning, higher education, and K-12 instruction provide relevantcontext for new and experienced designers alike. Without getting mired in thedetails, Peters provides the reader with enough of the specifics to make theprinciples outlined in Chapter 4 come to life. Speaking as an instructionaldesigner, this “crash course” from Peters on principles ranging fromaffordances and signifiers to scaffolding was especially helpful.

In Chapters5 through 10, Peters covers the specifics, with an individual chapteraddressing six critical considerations—visual, social, emotional, multimedia,mobile, and space—that should guide interface design decisions. These chapterseach contain two sections: “The Backstory” and “The Strategies.” The backstory providesfoundational theories and research that link to each of the strategies. Additionally,some of the strategies in this section include caveats and considerations.These additional points are especially helpful for the reader to determine howa particular tactic might, or might not, work for a given project.

Perhaps whatis most beneficial within these six chapters is the fact that Peters providesreal-world examples to further contextualize each strategy. So, for example,she doesn’t just explain that Fitt’s Law states, “the time required to rapidlymove to a target area is a function of the distance to the target and the sizeof the target;” she shows how Dropbox applies Fitt’s Law to make clicking thesign-up button as easy as possible. And for eLearning developers, especiallythose designing for mobile learning, this means making the buttons and otherinterface controls big enough to make it easy for learners to navigate.

Figure 2: Dropbox applies Fitt’s Law in its interface design.Can learners navigate your mobile learning designs just as easily?

And lastly,the final chapter of the book is actually a reference toolkit, complete withcommonsense rules of thumb, practical guidelines, and useful resources to helpreaders put the concepts into practice. The shining star in this last chapteris the list of Jakob Nielsen’s usability heuristics that Peters has converted forthe first time to guide the design and evaluation of learning interfaces. Manymay seem obvious, and Peters acknowledges the list will be refined as researchdictates, but the 11 items provide a helpful and quick checklist for designersto ensure their interfaces are as effective as possible.

Why you should read the book

Above all,the strength of Interface Design forLearning lies in Peters’s “been there, done that” advice and insights. Inaddition to her first-hand knowledge and experience, each chapter is capped offwith “Go further” resources and a full reference list allowing readers to digeven deeper into the world of interface design. Whether you’re an experiencedgraphic designer or eLearning developer, an instructional designer who has beentasked with building the interface for your course projects, or a virtualinstructor curious to learn more about how to engage your learners throughvisual design, all readers will certainly benefit from Peters’s keen insightsand practical guidance in InterfaceDesign for Learning.

Bibliographic information

Peters, Dorian. Interface Design for Learning: Design Strategies for LearningExperiences. San Francisco: New Riders, 2014.

(Editor’s Note: Listen to a recording of Dorian’s February 12, 2014, Thought Leaders Webinar “Interface Design for Learning” here.)