Designing an HCI

3.3.2

• The use of colour, layout, quantity of information on screen, size of font, complexity of language and type of controls when designing a human computer interface.

• When designing any system the most important thing to consider is the user.

• Ultimately, the user is the person that will use the system.

• The system may be really good at processing data, but if the user struggles to use the system then the speed at which data can be processed is irrelevant as the user may not be able to input data into the system fast enough!

• There are certain principles that should be followed when designing an HCI but in general a designer must consider the following:– Use of colour– Layout– Quantity of information on screen– Font size– Complexity of language– Type of controls

Font

Quantity of information

• The use of colour can make or break a system.

• Companies invest millions of pounds in developing a house style so that customers know which organisation a product or service belongs to.

• With that in mind, a designer should consider how a house style could be incorporated into a system.

• A designer should make sure that any colours used are used not to make the product look ‘pretty’ but help improve it’s functionality.– Although making the product look good and modern is

important also!

• For example, the use of colour could be used to indicate stages of data input.

• Another thing to remember is that 9% of the population is colour blind.

• The most common form is Red/Green colour blindness.

• People with this problem use shades to distinguish between the colours but you have to check that the colours used will not hinder the efficiency of those users.

• Colours could also be used to indicate certain things. For example:– Red highlight to indicate test grades that were lower

than MEG grades and Green highlight to indicate grades which are higher than MEG grades.

– This example might cause difficulties for those are colour blindness.

Student MEG Test Grade

Student 1 C C

Student 2 B A

Student 3 A B

• Where possible, the layout of a system should remain consistent within itself and another similar applications that may have been used by the staff.

• This will ease the transition from one system to another.

• The location of tools should remain consistent across system screens also.

• In terms of what icons to use - these should follow the standard format e.g. A floppy disk for saving, a printer icon for printing, scissors for cutting etc.

Hardly anyone uses a floppy disk to save work on anymore! But...we still

use the icon to represent saving.

You would like that a more modern save icon would be a USB pen or

something?

Because people are so used to looking for the floppy disk it is unlikely to

change for a long time!

• Making sure the user knows what to interact with is important also.– A good way of doing this is disabling features of

the application which aren’t needed for the current task.

– For example, when setting up print options only the print option tools are enabled. Other tools, such as font style and size, are disabled.

Look closely and you’ll see that all the tools in the main application window have been disabled whilst the Print toolbox is active.

• Warning messages should be displayed in a location which is clear to the user and will demand their immediate attention.

• Help facilities should be in place but aren’t always needed – the user just needs to know how to access them.– Help icons are often used for this.

• Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur nisi purus, tristique vitae congue at, molestie ac lectus. Donec quam massa, condimentum commodo auctor et, tempus sit amet tellus. Nam dapibus, turpis vel consectetur tempor, risus metus ullamcorper ante, eget rhoncus tortor orci nec ante. Nam laoreet, augue non pharetra ornare, ligula augue convallis magna, id gravida mauris tellus non velit. Aenean rutrum nibh eget risus posuere ultrices. Nam quam ligula, egestas sit amet dapibus in, volutpat at neque. Maecenas quis tortor sed nibh convallis cursus. Fusce nunc diam, consectetur sit amet consequat sit amet, imperdiet vel odio. Sed tincidunt arcu non nisi imperdiet mollis. Sed felis elit, eleifend eu consectetur id, imperdiet non libero.

• Etiam dapibus, nisi ut semper congue, arcu purus elementum felis, sit amet venenatis mi odio quis metus. Aliquam erat volutpat. Ut mauris odio, lobortis eget fermentum ac, sagittis ac est. Aliquam vitae odio massa, a tristique ante. Aenean bibendum, tortor nec ornare ultrices, elit turpis aliquam lacus, imperdiet eleifend dui tellus non justo. Maecenas placerat leo quis massa pharetra nec cursus metus tempus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Curabitur quis augue scelerisque lorem consectetur molestie et id enim. Mauris ullamcorper euismod euismod. Duis feugiat massa eu justo placerat at dignissim lectus semper. Praesent quis commodo sapien.

• Nullam eget adipiscing magna. Ut molestie auctor turpis nec scelerisque. In vitae euismod erat. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec interdum bibendum massa eget suscipit. In sit amet erat enim. Aliquam sodales nibh non ipsum iaculis convallis. Cras rutrum ullamcorper euismod. Vestibulum non velit libero. Cras ornare egestas arcu, sed scelerisque orci malesuada et. Etiam non tortor eget ipsum pretium facilisis in sit amet velit. Cras molestie hendrerit massa mattis malesuada. Sed sagittis bibendum egestas. Phasellus tellus metus, fringilla ac imperdiet at, tempus vitae augue. Sed nec nisi a ipsum ullamcorper sodales sed non nunc. Aenean non odio arcu. Maecenas pellentesque, dolor id dictum sagittis, leo augue gravida leo, sit amet eleifend purus dui ac lacus. Donec in convallis augue.

• Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Pellentesque volutpat tempor iaculis. Suspendisse potenti. Praesent ac nibh urna, sed tristique lorem. Cras convallis sollicitudin nulla in faucibus. Nunc viverra leo eget quam bibendum condimentum. Nulla in augue in mi vestibulum eleifend. Mauris sit amet blandit urna. Nunc vitae eros eget tellus rutrum lobortis. Quisque id purus ac tellus lobortis cursus.

• Curabitur in risus ut dui elementum pellentesque at a nibh. Suspendisse potenti. Donec nec nibh at felis iaculis condimentum scelerisque et ligula. Duis fringilla ante mollis est iaculis lacinia. Curabitur quis dictum eros. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Suspendisse porttitor, risus a sagittis bibendum, orci lectus accumsan nisl, sed viverra turpis nisi sit amet metus. Aenean aliquam justo ut diam tempor pulvinar. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Proin gravida rhoncus erat nec commodo. Aenean sit amet erat magna.

• Donec consequat est ut erat fringilla id cursus est accumsan. Donec sit amet odio ut risus faucibus dapibus vel vitae ipsum. Duis egestas felis nec lacus porttitor in ultrices magna placerat. Donec id turpis enim. Suspendisse nec ipsum sed quam euismod euismod nec id diam. Mauris lobortis dapibus velit, ac ullamcorper lacus pellentesque vel. Nullam dapibus sollicitudin dictum. Duis vestibulum faucibus dolor, dapibus rutrum enim tincidunt sit amet. Sed ut mauris metus. Sed ut erat sed nisi mattis gravida. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Sed vehicula risus elit, a sodales felis. Morbi lacus sapien, adipiscing pharetra pharetra vel, congue quis lorem. Donec at ligula tortor, quis congue ante. Sed tincidunt libero quis leo venenatis eget viverra dolor vehicula. Aliquam tempor aliquam massa vitae luctus.

• Donec consequat est ut erat fringilla id cursus est accumsan. Donec sit amet odio ut risus faucibus dapibus vel vitae ipsum. Duis egestas felis nec lacus porttitor in ultrices magna placerat. Donec id turpis enim. Suspendisse nec ipsum sed quam euismod euismod nec id diam. Mauris lobortis dapibus velit, ac ullamcorper lacus pellentesque vel. Nullam dapibus sollicitudin dictum. Duis vestibulum faucibus dolor, dapibus rutrum enim tincidunt sit amet. Sed ut mauris metus. Sed ut erat sed nisi mattis gravida. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Sed vehicula risus elit, a sodales felis. Morbi lacus sapien, adipiscing pharetra pharetra vel, congue quis lorem. Donec at ligula tortor, quis congue ante. Sed tincidunt libero quis leo venenatis eget viverra dolor vehicula. Aliquam tempor aliquam massa vitae luctus.

• Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur nisi purus, tristique vitae congue at, molestie ac lectus. Donec quam massa, condimentum commodo auctor et, tempus sit amet tellus. Nam dapibus, turpis vel consectetur tempor, risus metus ullamcorper ante, eget rhoncus tortor orci nec ante. Nam laoreet, augue non pharetra ornare, ligula augue convallis magna, id gravida mauris tellus non velit. Aenean rutrum nibh eget risus posuere ultrices. Nam quam ligula, egestas sit amet dapibus in, volutpat at neque. Maecenas quis tortor sed nibh convallis cursus. Fusce nunc diam, consectetur sit amet consequat sit amet, imperdiet vel odio. Sed tincidunt arcu non nisi imperdiet mollis. Sed felis elit, eleifend eu consectetur id, imperdiet non libero.

• Etiam dapibus, nisi ut semper congue, arcu purus elementum felis, sit amet venenatis mi odio quis metus. Aliquam erat volutpat. Ut mauris odio, lobortis eget fermentum ac, sagittis ac est. Aliquam vitae odio massa, a tristique ante. Aenean bibendum, tortor nec ornare ultrices, elit turpis aliquam lacus, imperdiet eleifend dui tellus non justo. Maecenas placerat leo quis massa pharetra nec cursus metus tempus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Curabitur quis augue scelerisque lorem consectetur molestie et id enim. Mauris ullamcorper euismod euismod. Duis feugiat massa eu justo placerat at dignissim lectus semper. Praesent quis commodo sapien.

• Nullam eget adipiscing magna. Ut molestie auctor turpis nec scelerisque. In vitae euismod erat. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec interdum bibendum massa eget suscipit. In sit amet erat enim. Aliquam sodales nibh non ipsum iaculis convallis. Cras rutrum ullamcorper euismod. Vestibulum non velit libero. Cras ornare egestas arcu, sed scelerisque orci malesuada et. Etiam non tortor eget ipsum pretium facilisis in sit amet velit. Cras molestie hendrerit massa mattis malesuada. Sed sagittis bibendum egestas. Phasellus tellus metus, fringilla ac imperdiet at, tempus vitae augue. Sed nec nisi a ipsum ullamcorper sodales sed non nunc. Aenean non odio arcu. Maecenas pellentesque, dolor id dictum sagittis, leo augue gravida leo, sit amet eleifend purus dui ac lacus. Donec in convallis augue.

• Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Pellentesque volutpat tempor iaculis. Suspendisse potenti. Praesent ac nibh urna, sed tristique lorem. Cras convallis sollicitudin nulla in faucibus. Nunc viverra leo eget quam bibendum condimentum. Nulla in augue in mi vestibulum eleifend. Mauris sit amet blandit urna. Nunc vitae eros eget tellus rutrum lobortis. Quisque id purus ac tellus lobortis cursus.

• Curabitur in risus ut dui elementum pellentesque at a nibh. Suspendisse potenti. Donec nec nibh at felis iaculis condimentum scelerisque et ligula. Duis fringilla ante mollis est iaculis lacinia. Curabitur quis dictum eros. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Suspendisse porttitor, risus a sagittis bibendum, orci lectus accumsan nisl, sed viverra turpis nisi sit amet metus. Aenean aliquam justo ut diam tempor pulvinar. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Proin gravida rhoncus erat nec commodo. Aenean sit amet erat magna.

• Donec consequat est ut erat fringilla id cursus est accumsan. Donec sit amet odio ut risus faucibus dapibus vel vitae ipsum. Duis egestas felis nec lacus porttitor in ultrices magna placerat. Donec id turpis enim. Suspendisse nec ipsum sed quam euismod euismod nec id diam. Mauris lobortis dapibus velit, ac ullamcorper lacus pellentesque vel. Nullam dapibus sollicitudin dictum. Duis vestibulum faucibus dolor, dapibus rutrum enim tincidunt sit amet. Sed ut mauris metus. Sed ut erat sed nisi mattis gravida. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Sed vehicula risus elit, a sodales felis. Morbi lacus sapien, adipiscing pharetra pharetra vel, congue quis lorem. Donec at ligula tortor, quis congue ante. Sed tincidunt libero quis leo venenatis eget viverra dolor vehicula. Aliquam tempor aliquam massa vitae luctus.

• Donec consequat est ut erat fringilla id cursus est accumsan. Donec sit amet odio ut risus faucibus dapibus vel vitae ipsum. Duis egestas felis nec lacus porttitor in ultrices magna placerat. Donec id turpis enim. Suspendisse nec ipsum sed quam euismod euismod nec id diam. Mauris lobortis dapibus velit, ac ullamcorper lacus pellentesque vel. Nullam dapibus sollicitudin dictum. Duis vestibulum faucibus dolor, dapibus rutrum enim tincidunt sit amet. Sed ut mauris metus. Sed ut erat sed nisi mattis gravida. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Sed vehicula risus elit, a sodales felis. Morbi lacus sapien, adipiscing pharetra pharetra vel, congue quis lorem. Donec at ligula tortor, quis congue ante. Sed tincidunt libero quis leo venenatis eget viverra dolor vehicula. Aliquam tempor aliquam massa vitae luctus.

• One of the biggest challenges a system designer faces is passing on information to the user in the most minimal way.

• Some designers create input forms with so many text boxes, labels and instructions on the user simply gets confused.

• Sometimes it is better to break up tasks over a series of screens.

• Many websites use this technique when you are setting up an account.

• Font size is often an issue when designing a system.

• Too large and work space becomes an issue.

• Too small and the font is hard to read.

• Choosing a good default font size is important but it should also be changeable. Some users might have difficulties in seeing small text – so systems should have an option in place to change the default font size.

• Choosing the right font style is important also.

• Sans-serif fonts like:– Verdanna– Calibri– Ariel

are more suited for on screen reading.

• Serif fonts like Times New Roman are better suited for printed works.

• Some fonts are designed solely for small amounts of text – like on posters. These tend to be very hard to read.

• Our eyes are deisnged to anasyle shaeps.

• Wehn you raed a wrod you dno’t atcaully raed ecah letetr...but you look at the shpae of the wrod.

• As lnog as the frsit and lsat letetr are corecrt and you hvae all the leterts in the wrod, you can undresantd waht a wrod syas eevn if it is slpet icnorertcly.

• Some people enjoy giving instructions...and some of those people like to sound really clever by using fairly complex language...

• That’s fine for them...but for some of us it leaves us feeling confused and lost.

A complex question is the fallacy of phrasing a question that, by the way it is worded, assumes something not contextually granted, assumes something not true, or assumes a false dichotomy. To be a fallacy, and not just a rhetorical technique, the conclusion (usually the answer to the question) must be present either implicitly or explicitly. What do you think?

...

• Making sure instructions are clear and in the simplest form of the language is essential.

• Assumptions should not be made that all users have a good handle on their spoken language!– Ok it is safe to assume that the users will be able to speak

their language but remember...not all users are technically minded.

– Providing help with errors is essential – don’t just give them an error code! Explain what the error means and how to fix it!

• Early systems consisted of a command line interface.

• These were slow and didn’t really help those who were new to computer systems.

• Modern systems now make use of a combination of buttons, forms and menus to help the user navigate and use the system.

• Buttons allow complex tasks to be carried out very quickly.– Macros can be created which perform a number of tasks with

just a click of a button.– This saves the user time as they have less repetitive tasks to

carry out.

• Also, because a button now carries out the tasks less mistakes are made through human error.

• The use of buttons also helps new users of the system. By performing the tasks for the user, the only things the user needs to worry about is making sure the conditions are valid and they know which button to press.

• There are problems with using buttons though.

• If the conditions that the button requires to operate are not valid then an error will occur.– Data could be missing?– The button could be pressed too early?

• If the macro the button uses doesn’t work correctly then the user will need to have some knowledge of how to use macros in order to fix it.

• Forms are highly directed.

• They know what kind of data they are going to receive.

• They are often used on the World Wide Web.– Text boxes– Radio buttons– Check boxes.

• Used for collecting predictable information.

• They usually consist of certain input objects with clear instructions regarding how those inputs should be dealt with.

• Submit buttons used to start validation of data.

• Designers will often use tabbed interfaces to help users access information quickly and easily.

• Using tabbed browsing enables users to minimise the time they spend interacting with the mouse.

• When you have completed inputting data into one text box or radio button, a user can press the tab button to move to the next input.

• Microsoft have gone down the tabbed route in their new Office suite.

• They found that by putting tools in tabs helped increase the efficiency in which people used their software (after getting used to it!).

• Provides easy access to software.

• Usually grouped together logically.– Editing tools all under one menu– Formatting tools under another menu

• Basic input is mouse driven.

• Used to help break down large information systems so information can be found quickly and efficiently.– Especially good for weaker users of ICT.

• Most applications make use of a menu system to help people use their application.