Human Qualities Teppo Räisänen

A Human Being A human being is a psychofysiological entity Humans use their senses to find information about the surrounding world Human senses have abilities and limitations Humans are very different from machines

A Human Being Cognitive psychology Senses Mechanisms of reasoning Physical qualities of humans are part of genetical heritage Besides genetics there are cultural factors affecting our behaviour

Cultural Factors Beliefs Language Art Attitudes Tools Buildings User Interfaces

Cultural Evolution Cultural evolution is a much faster process than genetical evolution We have learned, eg. Respond on SMS-arrival signals Not to pay attention to Web advertisements

Physical Qualities of Humans We are usually from 1,5 meters to 2 meters tall Young humans are much smaller than adults We have hands capable of precise movements and adjustments Child’s coordination of movements is not as good as adult’s

Embedded Systems Embedded systems utilize microprocessors Cars Microwave ovens Many industrial tools Embedded systems have user interfaces very different from computer’s UI

Sense of Sight Sight is the most important of our senses User Interfaces are largely dependent on visual information they produce They are two kinds of specialized cells in human’s eyes responsible for creating visual sensations

Sense of Sight Humans are not very good at seeing in darkened environments Differences between shades of blue color are more difficult to observe for humans For older persons distiction between shades of blue becomes even more difficult

Sense of Sight Ganglion cells in the eyes are largely responsible for shapes and movements X type ganglion cells are located around the center of visual field => Shape recognition Y type ganglion cells are located around edges of visual field => Movement recognition

Sense of Sight Because of our two eyes and their placement our sense of sight is three- dimensional It is possible to evaluate distances between objects We also interpret two-dimensional pictures as three-dimensional, if there’s a clue of 3D in a picture

Gestalt Laws Seeing is a very complicated process Besides sensing light and movement there’s a need for interpreting an observation Interpreting is partly innate and partly learned Gestalt laws are essential to user interface design

Gestalt Laws Gestalt laws define how humans group observed shapes UI design should always follow these laws of natural observation

Gestalt Laws: Closeness Shapes close to each other are observed as grouped

Gestalt Laws: Similarity Objects of similar qualities are observed as grouped

Gestalt Laws: Connections Objects that are connected are observed as grouped

Gestalt Laws: Closure If an area is closed inside borders, objects inside borders are observed as grouped

Process of Reading Reading is normally based on recognition of words, not individual letters Hlleo wlrod Eg. Use of CAPITAL LETTERS distracts reading, because we have learned to recognize words written in small letters If a word is meant to be read as letters, it should be written used capital letters (PHP, ASAP)

Hearing Humans are able to recognize vibrations of air molecules We are also able to make assumptions about Distance of the source of the sound Direction of the source of the sound Movement of the source of the sound

Hearing Hearing is very important in communications between humans, since speech is a central way or communicating Humans can make conscious efforts to distinct faint sounds amongst loud ones

Hearing Hearing has traditionally been overlooked in UI design Alarm sounds Sounds to reinforce visual information Sounds can be seen as disturbing others Sounds may not be heard, when working in noisy conditions

Hearing Some UIs like telephone are based solely on auditive information Use of audio signals is recommendable especially when user performs tasks, which require his/her complete visual attention (eg. Outlook’s ’Incoming message’)

Other Senses Human beings have reasonably developed senses of smelling and touching Importance of aforementioned senses are often neglected in UI design Also it is not easy to produce smells, although there have been some experiments

Other Senses UI design leans heavily on our ability to remember and recognize things Human beings have a very good memory of smells Therefore use of smell can be considered as a possibility for UI designers

Other Senses Haptical information is often crucial Sensations of hot and cold Sensations of pain For example when typing with a keyboard a sense of key hitting the bottom sends us information of a succesful operation Compare to touch-screen phone