Chapter 8 Synthesizing Good Design: Principles and Patterns Page 1 Chapter 8: Synthesizing Good Design: Principles and Patterns While corporate style guides are useful tools for fine-tuning interaction designs, design principles address more general interaction guidelines. Example: Apple’s Style Guide For Grouping Controls GROUPING WITH WHITE SPACE GROUPING WITH SEPARATORS GROUPING WITH GROUP BOXES

Interaction Design Principles Minimize User Work Logical (Syntax) Perceptual (Semantics) Mnemonic (Recollection) Physical (Motor) At this level, the principles establish guidelines that should generally be followed by all designs

Interaction Design Patterns Pattern Types Postural (friend or foe?) Structural (display/access) Behavioral (system/widget) By generalizing design decisions, design time can be reduced on new products and user interaction can be optimized

Interaction Design Imperatives Rules To Design By Ethical (Do No Harm) Purposeful (Do The Job) Pragmatic (Be Practical) In the heat of a design, it’s easy to lose sight of the fundamentals - considerations that should characterize every design Elegant (Keep It Simple)

Chapter 9: Platform and Posture The way a program presents itself to users, its posture, reflects how it is used and affects the way in which users relate to it. Each program is designed to have a primary or secondary focus, short-term or long-term duration, or foreground or background processing. These posture determinations are dictated by the purpose of the program.

Sovereign Posture Consider software with the following characteristics: The user wants access to every feature at once, regardless of complexity The user will be irritated by small inefficiencies and evidence of condescension The software will be heavily used and will require the user’s full attention Examples: Video Games Spreadsheets PowerPoint Developer Studio Such programs are said to have a sovereign posture.

Sovereign Software Design The nature of sovereign software yields certain design preferences: Assume that users will be viewing the application for long periods of time. Use a limited color palette and smaller control widgets (toolbars, rulers, etc.). Assume that users will mainly view the application in full-screen mode. Optimize accordingly (i.e., default to full-screen; when needed, use large widgets that are easy to locate). Child windows containing documents (text, presentations, code, etc.) should be maximized.

Transient Posture Software is said to have a transient posture if it has the following characteristics: The user will only want to use the application briefly The application has a limited number of controls The application is easily understood by first-time users Examples: Installers Small Utilities Dialog Boxes Transient software designs should be clear and uncluttered, with large controls and bright colors.

Daemonic Posture When software has no interaction with the user, it is said to have a daemonic posture. Examples: Device Drivers Operating Systems Daemonic programs tend to use transient programs (e.g., control panels) to configure them and on-screen icons to access them.

Auxiliary Posture Software is said to have an auxiliary (or parasitic) posture if it has the following characteristics: It is continuously present on the user’s screen It plays a supporting role, usually not capturing the user’s primary focus Examples: On-Screen Clocks Monitors Taskbars Auxiliary applications must be readily accessible when needed, but unobtrusive otherwise.