The Humane Interface
The Humane Interface by Jef Raskinby Jef Raskin
Ranked 9 of 12 design books by recommenders
People recommend it as a timeless, ahead-of-its-time book on interface design, with ideas that have only recently become practical with AI.
People recommend it as a timeless, ahead-of-its-time book on interface design, with ideas that have only recently become practical with AI.
4 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 4
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 4 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Timeless ideas, written early
“It's timeless, especially since he did his explorations in a time before users were already”
Comment from 30 May 2026 in “Jef Raskin, the Visionary Behind the Mac” Ahead of its time
“ahead of its time outline reasons why such generative interfaces would be a bad idea”
Comment from 17 Apr 2026 in “Claude Design” Ideas newly practical with AI
“Many of the ideas in the book are only now implementable with the arrival of AI.”
Comment from 31 May 2026 in “Jef Raskin, the Visionary Behind the Mac”
Other design books people recommend
The four most recommended other design books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Design of Everyday Thingsby Don Norman | 29 | 2 | 94% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Refactoring UIby Adam Wathan and Steve Schoger | 14 | 3 | 82% | 3 | — | — |
| Don't Make Me Thinkby Steve Krug | 12 | 1 | 92% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Practical Typographyby Matthew Butterick | 10 | 3 | 77% | 8 | — | Approved |
| The Humane Interfaceby Jef RaskinThis page | 4 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
3 of the 4 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Many of the ideas in the book are only now implementable with the arrival of AI.”
“It's timeless, especially since he did his explorations in a time before users were already”
“ahead of its time outline reasons why such generative interfaces would be a bad idea”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.