Krug, Steve. Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition. Berkeley, CA: New Riders, 2011. Print.

Krug wrote a very accessible primer on the subject of usability. It is concise, easy to read and seems push only a few important themes and points. These begin with a generalized view of the internet user that doesn't read web pages as much as glaces over them. His web user is impatient and unwilling to give much energy toward figuring out how to use a site, "Don't Make Me Think." The entire book is about simplifying design, so this type of impatient user will find what they want, or what you are offering. This approach is probably essential in a commercial setting, where the user wants to find the product or service and the goal of the website is to create that transaction. I am not sure simplicity needs to be the overarching measure on all sites or applications, though complexity for its own sake is a mistake. Some sites/applications (including the one I am designing) are not about a commercial transaction, but an experience. Having the material well organized and navigable is important, but exploration of topics may be just as important as moving toward a preconceived transaction.

Still, Krug's advice is sound and these are important takeaways:

Obviousness. The designer should take care make the actions and choices available of the website obvious to the uninitiated user. If they end up on your site they should be able to engage your material without a tutorial.

Reading/Scanning. People do tend to scan web pages, though it is not true that people don't read on a computer screen. They are likely to read deeper content when they have select to do so, rather than when they are trying find that content. Use the design process to guide scanning eyes to my content, rather than resist the practice.

Billboards. Krug says websites should work like billboards that are readable at 60 mph, i.e. easily discerned messages and directions for glancing eyes. Elements include a clear visual hierarchy, use of conventions, pages divided into defined areas, lack of busyness, and making obvious what is clickable (31-39). Integrating these principles aids navigation, and simplifies a cluttered site.

Writing. Concise writing without needless words. Good advice, but there is more to creating content than Krug offers. In fact, his book is so concerned with not thinking it creates a problem for the implementation of certain, complex content.

Navigation. Krug's largest chapter is devoted to navigation, and I think it contained the most useful ideas. He explains how the web experience has no real form, no scale, no sense of direction, no sense of location. These are artificial constructs, and the responsibility of the designer:

"I think we talk about Web navigation because " figuring out where you are" is a much more pervasive problem on the Web that in physical spaces. We're inherently lost when we're on the web, and we can't peek over the aisles to see where we are. Web navigation compensates for this missing sense of place by embodying the site's hierarchy, creating a sense of there. Navigation isn't just a feature of a Web site; it is the Web site, in the same way that the building, the shelves, and the cash registers are Sears."(59)

The navigation creates a sense of place including:

• Something to hold on to when we feel lost.
• Tells us what the site contains.
• How to use the site.
• Instill confidence in the abilities of the persons who built the site.

Home page. An obvious point Krug makes is about the route people take onto a website. Because of search engines, many times a user will end up deep in the site, and not at the home page. This affects not only the navigation from any page but also should be considered when designing the home page. It should not be the central portal to the site, like a hub that all pages proceed from, rather it has specific purposes. The home page is the heart of the site, and the designer needs to make all of the site reflect (not duplicate) its purpose. Elements include:

• Site identity and mission.
• Site hierarchy.
• Search.
• Teases (Content promos and Feature promos).
• Timely content.
• Deals. 
• Shortcuts.
• Registration.
• What I am looking for...
• ...and what I am not looking for.
• Show me where to start.
• Establish credibility and trust.

Usabilty testing. Usability testing brings fresh eyes to the process, that can become too familiar, and therefore blind to content and flaws. Krug stresses testing at whatever level of sophistication/cost you can provide, and it should be done early and often in the process. It is not focus group testing, which is more concerned with content an meaning. Usability testing is about getting from point a to point b.

Krug stresses the need to do usability testing as a courtesy to the end user, and as away to build ethos and credibility.

Miscellaneous. Krug devotes a couple of short chapters to accessibility issues, Cascading style sheets and how to deal with clients who want to implement bad design. These were not useful, except to introduce the topics.