Interaction StylesInteraction Styles

Graphical User Interfaces

Graphical User Interfaces (GUI)

GUIs 1. WIMP (Windows, Icons, Menus and Pointers)

2. NERD (Navigation, Evaluation, Refinement & Demonstration)

GUIs are graphical interfaces.

Most computer interfaces are GUI based.

GUI Interaction Styles1. Typed-Command Languages (Not really GUI)

2. Data & Scientific Visualization

3. Visual Databases

4. Video

5. Animation

6. Virtual Reality

7. Multimedia-Hypermedia

8. Touchscreens

9. Speech Synthesis

10. Natural Language

Interaction StylesInteraction Styles

Typed-Command Languages

Typed-Command Languages

Typed-Command Languages– UNIX, DOS, SQL

Advantages– Provides powerful, brief and rapid HCI.– Great for power users

Disadvantage– Extensive training to learn all of the commands.– Large number of errors due to typos

Design Guides

Choose meaningful, specific, distinctive names.

Command format should be consistent.– Examples: ls –l , head -10 x.txt, etc.

Allow easy correction of typing errors.– UNIX uses arrow keys

Allow users to create macros, shortcuts

Interaction StylesInteraction Styles

Data and Scientific Visualization

Data and Scientific Visualization Interfaces that use graphics to represent data.

– Models real world data (sometimes in real time)– Creates visual representation of physical phenomenon

Examples:– Medical Imaging of the human body (full body scans)– Fluid flow (air over an airplane’s wing)– Weather patterns– 3D Imaging of Molecules, DNA, etc.

Interaction StylesInteraction Styles

Visual Databases

Visual Databases

Represent data (usually textual) in a visual format.

Multimedia databases are visual databases.

Examples:– A collection of images in a museum under a common

interface.– Scatter plots, graphs, Treemaps (U of Maryland)

What’s The Difference?

Data & Scientific Visualization – Typically represents real time physical phenomenon– Created as real world changes

Visual Databases– Not changing at the time visualization is created.– Usually a historical point of view.

• Historical meaning not right now.

Interaction StylesInteraction Styles

Video

Video Captures the real world in the form of digital

video.

Disadvantages:– Formats: mpeg, avi, Quicktime, etc.– Size

Advantages:– Good for some training environments– Gives the real perspective on the world– Entertaining

Interaction StylesInteraction Styles

Animation

Animation Where visual databases and scientific

visualization meet.

Cartoon like representations of characters and their world.

Common uses:– Training simulation.– Entertainment– Education

Animation vs. Video

Animation is made up, fictional.

Video is real, reality.

Both are used for the same purposes.

When to use video vs. animation?– Depends: can you get real video?– Do you have animation software?

Interaction StylesInteraction Styles

Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality Allows people to immerse into interface.

Advantages:– Great for training.– Good simulation environment

Disadvantages:– Expensive, at the moment– Dangerous to your health if it is too real

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Multimedia-Hypermedia

Multimedia-Hypermedia

World Wide Web

Advantages:– Accessibility is growing– We all know and use the web– Access from almost anywhere

Disadvantages:– So easy to develop, design is compromised.

Interaction StylesInteraction Styles

Touchscreens

Touchscreens

Your finger is the pointer/mouse.

Advantages:– More people have fingers than those with a mouse.– Durable in harsh environments and public areas.

Disadvantages:– Arm fatigue can be an issue when typing is needed.– Screen space is not always appropriate

Touchscreens

Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) are touchscreen devices.

Interaction StylesInteraction Styles

Speech Synthesis

Speech Synthesis

Audible sounds and words from the computer.

Advantages:– Visually and physically disabled users– It is natural to listen

Disadvantages:– Synthetic voices can be annoying for some users

Agent User Interfaces

Interaction StylesInteraction Styles

Natural Language

Natural Language

HCI is accomplished using natural language. This could be spoken or typed natural language. HCI is close to Human-Human Interaction.

Natural Language

Advantages:– It is natural to interact natural– Requires less training

Disadvantages:– Speech recognition is good, but not really good.

Interaction StylesInteraction Styles

Interaction Style Selection

How To Select Interaction Style?

1. Typed-Command Languages (Not really GUI)

2. Data & Scientific Visualization

3. Visual Databases

4. Video

5. Animation

6. Virtual Reality

7. Multimedia-Hypermedia

8. Touchscreens

9. Speech Synthesis

10. Natural Language

Interaction Style Selection

1. User Centered Design– Do the users like cartoons, video?– Visually and/or physically disabled?– What interaction style are the users use to using?

2. Environment– Public access– Internet access– Classroom access– Infrastructure

Interaction Style Selection

3. Money– How much do they want to spend?

Example Client: Local school district.

Goal: Provide students with up to date information on school events.

How do you proceed?

Example Client: Local school district.

Goal: Educate students on racial tensions in America in the 20th Century, for their school district’s region.

How do you proceed?

Example Client: Google.

Goal: Provide employees with 401K updates.

How do you proceed?

Example Client: FOX Sports.

Goal: Provide online viewers with up to date stats on currently running games.

How do you proceed?