Neha Kulkarni IDD623/DIGD305 Theory of Electronic Communication II Instructor: Philip Charron Date: 12/3/2013
User centered Design
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“Usability Rules the Web” Design is both a product and a process. The product is an artifact designed for a
specific purpose, with the help of required components, resources and constraints
within which a designer has to work. (User Interface Design, 1). In our case, as an interface
designer, our purpose is to satisfy users need(s). The users are not interested in the
process; they are interested in the products usability.
Earlier software engineers would design software that was understood by computers
only and not by people. It was because of limited memory and speed. Due to such
limitations software engineers hardly thought from the users point of view. Their
main aim was simply to get the computer to work correctly. (Designing For Interaction.)
In 1980, Designers and Computer Scientist started a field called “Human Computer
Interaction” where engineers did not have to handle the designing. Later due to
development in computers, with increased memory capacity, processing speed and
colored monitors were launched. Different types of interfaces were designed and the
focus revolved around users. Later, this led to User Centered Design.
The term User Centered Design was first used in Industrial Design and Ergonomics.
Industrial designer, Henry Dryfuss, designer of The 500 Series telephone for Bell
telephone popularized this method in his book “Designing for People”. But there is
difference between usability in Industrial Design and Interface design. In Industrial
design, the customer pays first and then experiences usability. But in Interface design
the customer experiences usability first and then they pay. (Designing Web usability)
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As Jakob Nielson said, “Usability rules the Web.” (9) If a customer can’t find a
product, then he or she will not buy it. The philosophy of User Centered Design is:
The Users know best. The people who will be using a product or service know what
their needs, goals and preference are and its up to the designers to find out those
things and design for them. The main aim of the designer is to facilitate the
achievement of the user goal. It also takes into account the business goals and
objectives of the group managing the project.
(Adapted from Google Images)
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Best Practices for Designing an Interface
Everything stems from knowing your users, including understanding their goals,
skills, preferences, and tendencies. Once you know about your user, make sure to
consider the following when designing your interface:
• Know your user: Your user’s goals are your goals, so learn them. Then, learn
about your user’s skills and experience, and what they need. Find out what
interfaces they like and sit down and watch how they use them. Do not get
carried away trying to keep up with the competition by mimicking trendy design
styles or adding new features. By focusing on your user first, you will be able to
create an interface that lets them achieve their goals.
• Keep the Interface Simple: The best interfaces are almost invisible to the user.
They avoid unnecessary elements and are clear in the language. Whenever you
are thinking about adding a new feature or element to your interface, ask the
question, “Does the user really need this?” or “Why does the user want this?”
Are you adding things because you like or want them? Never let your UI ego
steal the show.
Example: Microsoft word in 2003 had 260 menu items and over 30 toolbars. In
2007 it was redesigned and new UI elements like the Ribbon and Minibar where
launched. (Designing for Interaction, 23)
• Create Consistency and use Common UI elements: By using common
elements in your UI, users feel more comfortable and are able to get things done
more quickly. It is also important to create patterns in language, layout and
design throughout the site to help facilitate efficiency. Once a user learns how to
do something, they should be able to transfer that skill to other parts of the site.
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Example: The use of different universal icons like a floppy disc for save, a file
icon to create a file, scissors for cut, printer icon for print etc. These icons are
designed from things that are familiar to users.
• Use typography to create hierarchy and clarity. People don't read pages, they
scan pages. So carefully consider how you use typeface. Different sizes, fonts,
and arrangement of the text help to increase scanability, legibility and
readability.
Example: The everyday newspapers or even their websites like the NEWYORK
TIMES or weekly magazines have their own specific style, margins, gutters, and
fonts to highlight the important news.
• Use visual hierarchy: Design your interface in a way that allows the user to
focus on what is most important. The size, color, and placement of each element
work together, creating a clear path to understanding your interface. A clear
hierarchy will go great lengths in reducing the appearance of complexity, even
when the actions themselves are complex.
• Speak the users language: Provide clear and concise labels for actions and keep
your messaging simple. Your users will appreciate it, because they won’t hear
you – they will hear themselves and/or their peers. Always inform your users of
location, actions, changes in state, or errors. The use of various User Interface
elements to communicate status and, if necessary, next steps can reduce
frustration for your user. (Usability.gov)
Example: The breadcrumbs, sitemaps, error messages in layman’s terms,
progress bar etc.
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Benefits of User Centered Design
According to the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)
2005 research, roughly $1 trillion a year was spent on IT worldwide, with the U.S.
Government spending more than $60 billion on its roughly 1,200 civilian IT projects
and an additional $16 billion on military IT.
In the Human Factors International (HFI) video, The (ROI) Return on investment of
User Experience, Dr. Susan Weinschenk notes that of those IT investments, up to
15% of IT projects are abandoned and at least 50% of a programmers’ time during
the project is spent doing rework that is avoidable. By putting a larger emphasis on
User Centered Design principles and practices, you can make iterative improvements
and avoid costly large-scale rework that doesn’t fit your users or organizations goals.
(Usability.gov)
Example: Obama HealthCare website is spending millions on redesigning as lot
of features were not working or were giving wrong information, as it was launched
way early before testing.
Conclusion:
The main aim of User Centered Design is to improve the quality of life of firstly the
users and then the developers and designers and not to increase sales or productivity.
If we make our interfaces easy to use, we will increase users quality of life by
reducing a lot of frustration and the feeling of inadequacy that follows the user every
time they are stumped by a computer. So emotions are important in design. Empathy
is the way of thinking. To think about some idea or even a problem, the designers
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have to feel it. They have to go out into the world to see and understand the problems
differently and get different solutions. This is innovation.
References
Larry E Wood. “User interface design.“ Print.
Jakob Nielson. “Designing Web usability.” Print.
Steve Krug. “Don't make me Think.” Print.
Dan Saffer. “Designing for Interaction.” Print.
“Usability.gov.” Web
“Designing For Interaction.” Larry Tesler. Web.
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