Google Voice Search

Google Voice Search allows you to make a telephone call to Google with a search query and get the results on a web page. The purpose of this article is to briefly describe the user experience and investigate the usability implications of this tool.

Rhodes, John S. WebWord (2003). Articles>Web Design>User Interface>Audio

GUI Versus the Web

Focuses first on the differences between GUI and Web environments, and reveals effective approaches for each that can enable the best possible user experience.

Berry, Dick. IBM (2000). Design>Web Design>User Interface

GUIs and XML Configuration Data

Discusses how XML is used in the configuration of GUI interfaces. He looks at Mozilla's XML-based User Interface Language (XUL) which allows you to write applications that run without any particular dependency on the choice of underlying operating system. This may seem strange at first, but you'll soon see that this Mozilla project offers powerful tools for GUI building that allow you to develop for an extensive base of installed users.

Mertz, David. IBM (2004). Design>Web Design>User Interface>XML

Hierarchical Menus with the Underrated style.display Object

One of the most common DHTML requests I get is for a Windows Explorer-style hierarchical menu, where there's a list of topics or 'folders' that a user can click on to reveal subtopics, or 'files,' within that folder. It's a common desktop metaphor that seems ever more necessary on the Web, especially as we see navigation bars incorporating larger and more complex content while still trying to fit on the screen. Hierarchical menus are a solution to the common problem of having too many links in too small a space.

Pena, Bill. O'Reilly and Associates (2002). Design>Web Design>User Interface>DHTML

How to Build a Better Web Browser

Web browsers are funny things. On the one hand, they’re supposed to be lightweight little programs that just let you view websites, and on the other, they carry the same burdens as operating systems and application suites, trying to provide everything to everyone. Here in this little essay I explain what I know about designing browsers. I’m in the lucky minority of people that have actually designed successful browsers, or parts of them, for any length of time, and with Firefox and Opera in the headlines, and the art of browser design becomes important again, I thought I’d write down some of what I know. Its been years since I was a program manager on the Internet Explorer project, but I’ve maintained interests in the design of navigation and searching systems of all kinds: what follows is a rough summary of what I’ve learned.

Berkun, Scott. ScottBerkun.com (2006). Articles>Web Design>User Interface>Web Browsers

How to Design a Web Table of Contents

There's something in our human nature that makes us want to dive into things, to browse, to dabble. We first try to program our VCRs without looking at the manual. We drive for awhile; if we get lost, we look at a map or ask directions (or not, depending on our gender).

Toub, Steve. WebTechniques (1999). Design>User Interface>Web Design

Information Design for the Small-Screen Interface: An Overview of Web Design Issues for Personal Digital Assistants    

If the experts are on the mark, very soon handheld computer technology—--also known as the personal digital assistants (PDA)—--will supplant the desktop computer as ubiquitous technology on campuses and in the workplace (Weiser 1998; Chen 1999). In 1998, Gaston Bastien, vice president and general manager for the Personal Interactive Electronics Division of Apple Computer, noted that the handheld computer market 'could potentially grow larger than today's computer industry,' partly because of the capability of dynamic, modular design, and partly because its utility spills over to diverse communities of users. In 2001, Gartner Research (Bloomberg News 2001) predicted a 260% increase in unit sales, from 9.39 million units in 2000, to 33.7 million units in 2004.

Albers, Michael J. and Loel Kim. Technical Communication Online (2002). Design>Information Design>Web Design>User Interface

InfoRomanticism on the Internet

The internet is becoming more data-intensive. This is both an inevitable and perpetual reality.

Olsen, Henrik. GUUUI (2003). Design>Web Design>User Interface

Innovative User Interface Design

Increasing numbers of websites are developing new types of user interface design, taking advantage of users' increasing levels of Internet-sophistication and faster connections. This article will have a look at some of them.

Fidgeon, Tim. uiGarden (2006). Design>Web Design>User Interface

Interface Design

Users of Web documents don't just look at information, they interact with it in novel ways that have no precedents in paper document design. The graphic user interface (GUI) of a computer system comprises the interaction metaphors, images, and concepts used to convey function and meaning on the computer screen. It also includes the detailed visual characteristics of every component of the graphic interface and the functional sequence of interactions over time that produce the characteristic look and feel of Web pages and hypertext linked relations. Graphic design and visual 'signature' graphics are not used simply to enliven Web pages--graphics are integral to the user's experience with your site. In interactive documents graphic design cannot be separated from issues of interface design.

Lynch, Patrick J. and Sarah Horton. Yale University (1999). Design>Web Design>User Interface

Interface in Form: Paper and Product Prototyping for Feedback and Fun

Sketching and modeling are integral features of the design process, critical for both the generation of ideas, and the communication of concepts to others for discussion and evaluation, particularly in the context of human-centered design. While these methods are a natural component of the designer’s education and professional tool kit, there is immense value in exposing other professions involved in the development of products and interfaces to at least a limited set of these same basic tools.

Hanington, Bruce. uiGarden (2006). Articles>Web Design>User Interface

The Interface in the Environment: "One Size Fits Nobody"

At the outset of an interface design project we would normally conduct a detailed phase of user requirements gathering. We have discussed the various methods of conducting these in previous articles, but typically this includes stakeholder interviews and task analysis exercises. As many of you will be aware the results of this stage will lead to the development of user personas, task scenarios and ultimately lead to the development of wireframe screens of the interface. We tailor this approach to suit the job, so that specialised interfaces such as stock trading software will focus more on complex task analysis while mass-market interfaces such as Interactive TV will focus more on different user profiles. If the research and analysis is carried out well, then the resulting interaction design should be effective, allowing users to complete the required tasks easily. However, apart from the user and task there is one other key factor influencing the usability of the interface – the user environment.

Long, Frank. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Design>Web Design>User Interface>Contextual Inquiry

Interfaces That Flow: Transitions as Design Elements

Many UX designers--myself included--approach projects from a combination of information architecture, information design, interaction design, and visual design perspectives. These disciplines and their methods are fundamentally different from those people use to construct the continuous linear narratives we see and hear in film, video, and music. However, as the technologies for creating interactive user experiences become more robust--especially in the realm of Rich Internet Applications (RIAs)--we have an opportunity to draw upon a much wider visual vocabulary. This will also make narrative elements such as timing, pacing, and rhythm increasingly important. Using such design elements may enable us to move users from mere understanding to engagement and, ultimately, to immersion in our digital products and services.

Follett, Jonathan. UXmatters (2007). Design>Web Design>User Interface

Is the Internet Really Collapsing?

The sky is falling. It has been falling for about a year now, and it feels like it won’t stop falling until every business associated with the Internet is dead, dead, dead.  What is happening now happens with every new explosion of technology. When the sky has finished falling, it will leave behind an industry with far fewer, but much healthier players. And then things will get better than they ever were.

Tognazzini, Bruce. Nielsen Norman Group (2001). Careers>Web Design>User Interface

Map-Based Horizontal Navigation in Educational Hypertext  

The paper discusses the problem of horizontal (non-hierarchical) navigation in modern educational courseware. It considers why horizontal links disappear, how to support horizontal navigation in modern hyper-courseware, and looks at our earlier attempts to provide horizontal navigation in Web-based electronic textbooks. Map-based navigation -- a new approach to support horizontal navigation in open corpus educational courseware -- which we are currently investigating, is presented. We describe the mechanism behind this approach, present a system, KnowledgeSea, that implements this approach, and provide some results from a classroom study of this system.

Brusilovsky, Peter and Riccardo Rizzo. Journal of Digital Information (2002). Articles>Web Design>User Interface

MAX-WIDTH and Flexible Layout with Short Lines

It is now possible to make flexible layout with user-friendly short lines that adapt to screen resolution, to width of browser window, and to font-size chosen by the user. This could be a new beginning for more accessible and usable web pages.

Tverskov, Jesper. Smack the Mouse (2003). Design>Web Design>User Interface>CSS

Menús Pastel

Los menús-pastel (pie-menus) muestran cierta superioridad sobre los ubicuos menús lineales a los que estamos tan acostumbrados. ¿Por qué no han proliferado más y sólo se muestran en algunas aplicaciones?

Dursteler, Juan Carlos. InfoVis (2003). (Spanish) Design>User Interface>Interactive>Web Design

Minimal-Feedback Hints for Remembering Passwords

Passwords are a widely used mechanism for user authentication and are thus critical to the security of many systems. Strong passwords (e.g., b5j#Kv!8N) are less vulnerable to attack but at the same time more difficult to remember. Minimal-feedback hints are introduced to support users in remembering their passwords and thereby enabling them to choose stronger passwords.

Hertzum, Morten. uiGarden (2006). Design>Web Design>User Interface>Security

Modeling Information in Electronic Space: An Introduction to This Special Issue    

Organizing content for delivery on the computer screen challenges us to design our information in an imagined three dimensions. As mobile devices respond to the surrounding world, our content also needs to adjust to the real physical environment around our user. Our rhetorical space has changed, and in this special issue, authors wrestle with the ways in which we think, move, and design differently as we explore these virtual and real worlds. One team suggests showing the user the structure of the information gradually in search forms. Another author suggests that merging object-oriented thinking with visual language may offer us a way to consider structure and format together, while granting each its own distinct qualities. Focusing on mobile devices, one author sketches out the challenges we face in this new rhetorical space, and another highlights the idea of embeddedness, the fact that our devices are enmeshed within a content-rich world that we move through. Our final contributor takes us to museums, to

Price, Jonathan R. Technical Communication Online (2001). Design>Information Design>User Interface>Web Design

The Myth of Optimal Web Design

Perfection in design is not possible. No matter how much is known about a given business, user group or technology, you can not simultaneously satisfy all possible objectives. For any website or user interface, there are no mathematics, and no algorithms, for deciding which objectives to satisfy in a single design, or even for accurately defining an optimal solution within any of those objectives. There are usability, design and business methods that effectively evaluate and illuminate promising directions , but they are sensitive tools, that work more as guides, rather than maps. In general, any form of design involves too many simultaneous possible objectives and forms of solutions to enable any overall mathematical or algorithmic based confidence. An optimal design, in the broadest sense, is a mythical idea.

Berkun, Scott. UIWeb (2001). Design>Web Design>User Interface

Navigation  

Navigation refers to the method used to find information within a Web site. A navigation page is used primarily to help users locate and link to destination pages. A Web site's navigation scheme and features should allow users to find and access information effectively and efficiently. When possible, this means designers should keep navigation-only pages short. Designers should include site maps, and provide effective feedback on the user's location within the site. To facilitate navigation, designers should differentiate and group navigation elements and use appropriate menu types. It is also important to use descriptive tab labels, provide a clickable list of page contents on long pages, and add ‘glosses' where they will help users select the correct link. In well-designed sites, users do not get trapped in dead-end pages.

Usability.gov (2006). Design>Web Design>User Interface>Sitemaps

The Need for Web Design Standards

Unfortunately, much of the Web is like an anthill built by ants on LSD: many sites don't fit into the big picture, and are too difficult to use because they deviate from expected norms. Users expect 77% of the simpler Web design elements to behave in a certain way. Unfortunately, confusion reigns for many higher-level design issues.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2004). Design>Web Design>User Interface>Standards

People Finder: Searching Without Logic? Improving the People Finder Application

One of the most frequent tasks on many intranets is finding people within the company. Providing an effective way to search people is thus a key goal in designing intranets. This goal becomes even more important for an organization like Emirates, a leading international airline, which has over 35,000 employees with over 140 nationalities and where more people are likely to use this feature more frequently.

Deshmukh, Vivek. Boxes and Arrows (2008). Articles>Web Design>Usability>User Interface

¿Por Qué los Menús Pastel no son Ubicuos?

En el ultimo artículo de InfoVis.net preguntamos a Don Hopkins por qué los menús pastel, que son más eficientes que los menús lineales, no se han hecho ubicuos, siendo usados sólo en algunas aplicaciones como video juegos y algún software experimenta avanzado. Aquí está su respuesta.

Hopkins, Don. InfoVis (2003). (Spanish) Design>Web Design>User Interface

Princippet om Helhed

Inden for Internet genren hersker der, ligesom i enhver anden medie genre, trends og mode. I denne artikel vil de nuværende strømninger bliver udredet i forbindelse med en fokusering på de generiske elementer, der ligger til grund for webdesign. I relation til enhver løsning vil der kunne tales om et interface. Interface metodologi kendetegnes på nuværende tidspunkt ved en række design zoner, som sætter en linje for ”tidens trend”. Denne trend opfølges af designere, og ender slutteligt i de kommercielle kredse. Beviset for denne teori findes i www.k10k.dk (som nu er taget off-line), som gennem de sidste 2 år har defineret kommende trends. Først var det det minimalistiske, widescreendesign i år 2000, og i år 2001 er det retro i c64 stil (bit æstetik). Denne trend vil kunne spores i designkredse, som www.coolstop.com , www.coolhomepages.com (i mindre grad, på grund af deres meget store lister) og naturligvis www.k10k.dk. Trenden dækker imidlertid over et dybere æstetisk paradigme. Et teknologiparadigme som fokuserer på grænserne i mediet, og overskridelsen af disse.

Quark, The (2002). (Danish) Design>Web Design>User Interface