Life and Death Design: What Life-Saving Technology Can Teach Everyday UX Designers

I just finished this book today and I've already personally recommended it to a bunch of people! The book of course is targeted to user experience designers but the content is so good at explaining the psychological mechanisms of what happens to your brain and body under stress, I highly recommend to casual readers as well. I finally understand why I was able to dive and save my baby brother falling out of a park swing without ever realizing what was happening. One second I was pushing him in the baby swing, the next, I was on the ground in a super man pose with my baby brother safely in my arms. One of the baby swing sides had broken and had dumped him out. I still have no memory of diving or what I saw, but now I understand the brain science behind it, even why I don't remember it! Author Katie Swindler does a great job of explaining things in an interesting and engaging way that makes if feel less like a technical read and more like an episode of Mythbusters, making it highly accessible to a non technical audience. Its very well researched, both with first hand accounts as well as the latest work from the field, all of which is annotated in case someone wants to learn more. Net, net, if you work with people under stress or are a person who has experienced stress, this book is for you!

I got this book for my son who is majoring in UX design but I decided to read it first. The author did a fine job of discussing the illustrating what happens in the mind and body as a person experiences stress and tying it to ways design can help or hinder a person experiencing trauma, stress, and even just minor annoyances. While some of the examples focus on the extreme, there are also practical examples and tips that can make users' experiences with every day apps, websites, and interfaces either more or less enjoyable. I also liked that the author includes references at the end of each chapter to find more information instead of burying everything in a bibliography at the end. I found the book thought-provoking, making me think about things I encounter every day that do exhibit thoughtful design to make my experience better and other things that could and should have been designed with more consideration of the actual user. I think this will be a good resource for son as he finishes his degree and ventures into the real world of design.

"Life and Death Design: What Life-Saving Technology Can Teach Everyday UX Designers" by Katie Swindler is an interesting read. The premise is backed up by the text. It was clearly presented. The progression from chapter to chapter was well done which made it highly readable and accessible even for someone, like me, who isn't familiar with 'life saving technology'. It was definitely worth the time to read.

Anyone who designs objects or software should understand UX.This books starts by explaining the different stages of Fight or Flight reactions, starting at the physical / hormonal level and from there different chapters are devoted to each phase of the reaction and how different interfaces, both physical and screen UX is applicable in a given state of mind. With clear and contemporary examples.The author has a diverse experience and is able to synthetize it plainly in this book.The book is printed in the USA, and as expected very well organized, and with plenty of examples, images and clear graphics.

I like the interesting concepts that I found. While this isn’t just a quick browse, you pretty much have to break this book into segments in order to grasp it. While some of the methods could have been elaborated with a fuller example(s), it’s resourceful enough to have on my shelf.