Tragic Design book cover, The true impact of bad design and how to fix it by Jonathan Shariat and Cynthia Savard Saucier
This revolution is just beginning, and it's exciting to have Tragic Design to ground the growing movement of achieving truly inclusive design in the digital era.
John Maeda
— John Maeda
Global Head of Computational Design
and Inclusion at Automattic Inc.
Read the first chapter »

About the book

Bad design is everywhere, and its cost is much higher than we think. In this thought-provoking book, authors Jonathan Shariat and Cynthia Savard Saucier explain how poorly designed products can anger, sadden, exclude, and even kill people who use them. The designers responsible certainly didn’t intend harm, so what can you do to avoid making similar mistakes?

Tragic Design examines real case studies that show how certain design choices adversely affected users, and includes in-depth interviews with authorities in the design industry. Pick up this book and learn how you can be an agent of change in the design community and at your company.

You’ll explore:

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Photo by Delbarr Moradi

Jonathan Shariat

Jonathan is a design leader who is passionate about doing right by others and using design as a tool to improve the world we live in. With over a decade of experience from startups to large companies, Jonathan leverages his unique background to promote ethical design everywhere he goes. He loves to learn and share it through: writing, speaking internationally, co-hosting the Design Review Podcast, and on Twitter as @DesignUXUI. He is currently working at Google.

Cynthia Savard Caucier, co-author of Tragic Design

Cynthia Savard Saucier

Passionate about human beings and their means of communication, Cynthia has always sought a deeper understanding of how people think, interact, connect. Communication has thus been a key ingredient in her technological endeavors. A Université de Montréal graduate in industrial design, she is now Director of Design at Shopify. On top of her daytime job, Cynthia mentors startups and is regularly invited to speak at events around the world, where her playful approach both startles and charms. In her conferences, she shares her passion and her point of view: user-centered design is a reality, not a utopian methodology.

As an engineer, reading Tragic Design has changed the way I think about the products we build.
Jordan Bramble
Engineer, United States Digital Service at the White House
Tragic Design shows how thoughtful design solutions drive positive change and make more meaningful products.
Andy Law
Mobile Product Design Manager, Netflix
...a must-read for anyone working in design or support for B2B and Enterprise products/services. In the consumer space, bad UX means your business won't grow. In the enterprise space, the consequences of bad UX can be tragic.
Sam
Review on O'Reilly.com