So last week we looked at some examples of past User
Interfaces and found out that in order for a UI to be remotely useable it needs
to be simplistic, it's ok to push the boundaries and images work well.
Everything lately is moving towards the metro styling with bigger and more
easily understandable 'tiles'. Text based instructions and labels are becoming
less and less important with interfaces becoming more visual. So the question
becomes, what can you do to take advantage of this in your UIs?
The answer is that you need to use things
that are familiar to your audience. Smart phones are so prominent in today's
society that within the few short years since their introduction there has been
some very standard ways of showing different things within the interface. One
example of this is the menu button.
The menu button to the right is the basis for a lot of menus
in mobile applications and websites. The three horizontal, parallel lines have
become synonymous with "more options" and as such if your interface needs
a menu then you should definitely use this. Don't get me wrong, you can change
the colours and the size and style it however you like, but if you want people
to know that this button means "menu" then don't stray too far.
The next example we'll look at is the "settings"
icon. The cog, or two interlocking cogs has been used time and time again. It's
used in Android, it's used in iOS, it's used to Google Chrome, it's used in
Internet Explorer. Anywhere that has a visual interface to interact with its settings
uses an icon similar to this one.
Obviously there are a lot more examples than the two I
mentioned but they are the two most prominent and the ones that sprang to mind
first. Obviously you don't have to use these when designing an interface, but I
would highly recommend it.
The next point is this, you have to know who your audience
is. You have to know how they will react to the interface. You have to know how
they will read the interface. Western
cultures read from the top left going across and down the page. If your target
audience is primarily Western then you should probably put your
name/company/logo in the top left where they will see it first. Some cultures
read from the centre out. This obviously means you should have a more circular
design with the primary information in the centre of the design with the least
important stuff on the outside. Other cultures again read from the right, or
the bottom. You have to do a little bit of leg work and a little bit of
research in order to understand how your intended audience will want to use
your UI.
Other than those two things, your UI is completely up to
you. Colours, styling, sizes, art style, placement all lends a hand to the
understandability and usability of the design. Just remember to get other
people to look at it and do tests with lots of different people because it is
possible and very likely that you will become too 'involved' with your project
and not be able to see its faults.
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