Category — Interface Design Tools

Microsoft finally pulled the curtains off Windows 8 at the recently concluded BUILD Conference. As was heavily speculated the upcoming OS features a dual-mode user interface design. Effectively what Microsoft has done is to merge two operating systems, one for desktops and another for tablets. When Microsoft released Windows Phone 7 I felt its user interface design would even work better on the larger screen size of tablets. All the while Android (namely Honeycomb), webOS, and Blackberry’s QNX were all optimized for tablets in the wake of the iPad. Now it is clear that Microsoft is eyeing a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship between the two user interface design modes. Despite PC sales slowing down Microsoft can almost be certain of shipping a high volume of Windows 8 when it ships.

Microsoft seems to be taking a leap of faith as the tablet optimized user interface design is touch friendly. Yet most Windows users do not possess a touchscreen so unless they opt to buy a Windows tablet they would need to buy a touch-enabled display to use this functionality. There is also the ergonomic factor of having to lift your hands, which I imagine could quickly become annoying. There is also the smudges and fingerprints taking over the screen to consider. However that is precisely what the user interface design of the Windows 8 Start menu seduces you into doing. Clicking on the Start menu now opens up the Windows Phone 7 like “Metro” UI design. Switch back to the traditional Desktop user interface design and not much has changed from Windows 7, apart from the introduction of the Ribbon UI to the Windows Explorer.

There are some things that Metro does better than iOS. A good example of this is moving an app to a desired location on the user interface design. On iOS one has to laboriously drag the app icon from page to page whereas on Metro one can activate a tile for moving, hold it down and use another finger to smoothly swipe through. The tiles themselves are bigger and can thus be used to display widget like information which is a great example of beautiful yet practical user interface design. iOS apps on the other hand are represented by static tiny icons whose added functionality is the number of notifications available.

Adobe has now released the public beta of its ambitious web and user interface design application Muse. To be fair graphic design software would be more apt but Muse is clearly intended for the creation of web sites. The basic premise of Muse is as a web and user interface design tool that works like InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator from the flagship Creative Suite tools. The main difference is that Muse will not be available to buy but as Software-as-a-Service for a monthly fee. With Muse users can create user interface designs by combining graphics, text, and other user interface design elements using the workflows of desktop publishing.

Not having to code the user interface design is an appealing factor. Muse is obviously directed towards graphic designers and one glance at the websites so far made with the tool seems to confirm this. Many feature lean and clean user interface designs showcasing artistic and creative work but there are a few for small businesses too. The question remains whether Muse can be used to create larger more complex websites, such as an e-commerce website. Muse for example doesn’t have a real content management system, which is what essentially brings a user interface design of a website to life.

Muse runs with Adobe AIR and is therefore not a native app. This means that it can run on Mac and Windows but it also makes it light with minimal footprint. The user interface design of the app itself is very much like InDesign. In fact the user interface design team was the same one behind InDesign. To tool is slated to be released in early 2012 so there is plenty of time for feedback to further improve it

Twitter has recently changed the user interface design of its startpage. The new startpage, visible when logged-out of Twitter, sports a much more refined user interface design in relation to its predecessor. In a sense it is reminiscent of the UI design of the Facebook startpage, complete with the continents and all, albeit with a Twitter-esque minimalism. What is great about the user interface design of both these startpages, besides being simple and easy on the eyes, is that users can sign up on the pages themselves. It all happens in one step. No having to go to another page only to presented with a convoluted list to fill out etc. Barring saved passwords and other log-in data, users new to these networks can get in on the act almost as fast as existing members. This low barrier of entry is even more evident on the Twitter startpage.

The user interface design of the new Twitter startpage features big text input fields and buttons for sign in and sign up. Each of the text input fields also features descriptive text in it. The attention to detail is evident as the font color even blends and matches with the color scheme of the user interface design. The result is text that is clear without being distracting. The right side of the user interface design is dedicated to sign up or joining. There is, however, more than enough space marking a very clear distinction.  The left side of the UI design  features a large search box inviting users to search Twitter, in stark contrast to Facebook’s closed wall policy.  Below all this are linked thumbnails from popular Twitter accounts further reinforcing the variety and utility of Twitter.

With the advent of Web 2.0 Facebook has become the undoubted king of the hill leading to an A list Hollywood film with the humorous tag-line “you don’t make 500 million friends without making a few enemies”. Since launching its Facebook Connect set of APIs, there has been a proliferation of third party websites incorporating Facebook log in functionality in their interface design. Considering the large number of Facebook users and the central part social networking plays in users’ web habits such a move lowers the entry barrier considerably. The ability to sign up with a few clicks would entice users who find having to register and enter all kinds of personal information a convoluted process.

How has the social web impacted the interface design of web browsers?

As APIs from various social networks found themselves to the interface designs of various websites, the browser itself largely remains untouched. Mozilla Labs had experimented with an in-browser tool called Ubiquity that was used to post data to social networks. Other add-ons have also tried to bring the social web closer to the browser. Two browsers, RockMelt and Flock, have championed the integration of the social web into the fabric and interface design of the browser itself.  In the rest of this blog I shall look at RockMelt, which recently released a limited public beta. The browser is based on the open-source Chromium from which Google Chrome draws its code. By that virtue RockMelt’s interface design and functionality is similar to Chrome.

How does RockMelt incorporate the social web in its interface design?

One of the most striking things about RockMelt is that you have to log in when you start it. After authorizing it to connect with your Facebook account the browser instantly customizes its interface design to your social circle by way of slim sidebars to the left and right. This leaves plenty of space for the browser to be, after all, a browser. And while browsing the web users may update their status and post links to Facebook and Twitter (the only services supported at the date of writing) from the interface design of the browser itself. Built-in clients allow you to access your news feed or even manage multiple Twitter feeds. By incorporating social networks into the interface design of the browser itself RockMelt could streamline surfing the web as users won’t have to have extra tabs open and the ability to access feeds and post would mean less clicks.

The BBC has recently released the third iteration of its acclaimed on-demand iPlayer media service to a slew of new features and a revamped user interface design. At first glance the layout of the interface design is less cluttered and now better demarcated easing web site navigation. This is partly achieved due to TV and radio content now separated into individual tabs. Each of these tabs has panels designed to help users find content fast and without having to think. The four panels at the top, in order from left to right, highlight ‘Featured’ content, ‘Recommended’ content linked to a user’s viewing/listening habits, ‘Most Popular’ content, and your ‘Friends’ recommendations. The latter feature requires users to register for a BBC iD and takes advantage of Facebook and Twitter APIs to make it easy to share and receive content. Each of these panels can be expanded to reveal more viewing options in the UI.

In addition there is a search bar at the top right of the user interface design that suggests results as you type them in, i.e. in real time. Below the four panels there are the TV/ radio channels on the left including a schedule for the previous four days. This makes sense because the site tagline is “Catch up on the last 7 days of BBC TV & Radio”. Users, however, can open the full schedule with a single click. To the right, below the fours panels is the ‘Categories’ area where content is divided into Music, Children’s, Comedy, regional etc. By default four different programs, each from a different category are highlighted. Another handy feature is the ‘Favourites’ right at the top of the interface design just below the search bar. Once a show has been chosen as a favourite, new shows as well as the last episode can be accessed from here. All in all the new user interface design scores high in usability and has impressive discoverability. On the down side I found the registration process to be lacking. I felt that the number of steps taken from signing up for a BBC iD account until activating Facebook and Twitter accounts was too high for a top mark. Nevertheless, a commendable approach to a functional UI design.

Despite leading the browser charts as the most successful browser Internet Explorer still remains much-maligned by all and sundry.  Internet Explorer’s apparent ubiquity seems to stem from coming bundled with Windows (leading to anti-trust suits against the Redmond giant). According to StatCounter IE’s market share has now fallen below 50%, perhaps a sign of things to come! Popular gripes about IE include the slower benchmarks in regards to the competition, such as Firefox. IE also lacked a download manager and hogged up more RAM.  Even more worryingly it came with a lot of unwanted add-ons and toolbars that made it even slower and negatively impacted the user interface design as website viewing space would shrink, requiring even more scrolling to see all parts of the UI.

IE9 is Microsoft’s way of staying relevant in a cutthroat industry and is currently available in public beta form. At first glance the interface design is minimalistic falls somewhere in between the really lean interface design of Google Chrome and Firefox allowing users to see more of the web. IE9 eschews the menu bar and the search bar giving the address bar and navigation controls more prominence. The address bar now also doubles as the search bar thereby simplifying the interface design. Coupled with Bing, which displays certain info as you search (such as a photo of the person you’re searching for or weather conditions etc.), IE9 lives up to Steve Krug’s first law of usability because users have to spend less time thinking and clicking through processes to accomplish critical user tasks.

The popularity of web applications is also given due prominence. IE9 now allows users to pin their favorite web apps (be it social network, webmail, or music streaming services) to the Windows taskbar, meaning easy one-click access to the most-used online services right through the interface design. After all, first opening the web browser and then clicking on a bookmark is about to become so passé. Coupled with other long absent and asked for features, such as a download manager, Microsoft has shown that the browser wars are far from becoming stale.

Developing any user interface can be a challenge, but designing a VUI (Voice User Interface) comes with its own unique set of obstacles that developers must grapple with.  And they are different from those that designers of GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces) are faced with.  One of the major mistakes that a designer can make when working with a VUI is buying into the misconception that a VUI is a just simplified, telephone version of a GUI and thus requires a similar design approach based on a similar set of issues and challenges.  This mindset couldn’t be further from the truth.  In order to better understand how to craft successful and optimally usable VUIs, it is important to note the differences between the two user interfaces in order to achieve the results that providers and users expect.

For many years now, outsourcing has resounded through the land. But still it is linked in our heads with big companies which give some work away because they either do not have the capacity to carry out the work themselves, or want to save money by using this strategy. However, nowadays it is not only big companies anymore who try to gain from this process, but more and more small businesses and private people.

The advantages of outsourcing

But what are the advantages of outsourcing and how can these be generated? The system is easy. If you as a company – (whether a small or big one) – would like to give previously performed in-house tasks to an external provider, you can simply give the contract to a third-party who you will pay to carry out the task on your behalf. The main advantages include cost savings, being able to focus on your core business, overall being able to improve the quality while increasing flexibility at the same time. Collaborating with external experts allows customers to calculate their business costs more precisely because the costs only occur for a certain period of time.

But how can you find such an external provider, and how do you know if the price you are paying is not too high and if the proposal is really the best you could get? One possibility is: Using global internet platforms which arrange services for you in order to meet your individual needs. One of the biggest in Germany is twago.

Facebook has added a so-called panic button to its security interface design for users in the UK. This new feature will allow minors to report suspicious or inappropriate behavior of adults (or others) to the authorities. The new addition is a part of Facebook’s collaboration with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP). The British government-run organization is dedicated to ensuring  that minors are safe when they surf the web. To this effect, they have requested updated security features from various social networking sites. Facebook is recovering from an explosive internet safety controversy in the last few months, so its newest user interface security feature sends a clear message that user safety has become a priority. According to Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes „both Facebook and the CEOP have shared interests in keeping young people safe online.“ Thus, both organizations will complement each other as they work toward the mutual goal of privacy and security for youth.

With the global smartphone market estimated at $2 billion and the iPhone (a product that did not exist 3 years ago) accounting for 40% of Apple’s revenue, it is an understatement  to say its future is anything but bright. According to research2guidance, the market is set to reach $15 billion in 2013. Which players appear set to be the winners and loosers of this boom? As things stand Apple is far ahead of the pack. A January report from the research firm Gartner found that the app market in 2009 was 99.4% Apple’s. Despite this, other stores, particularly Android, are currently growing at a much faster pace.

According to eco (the German Association of Internet Businesses) handset manufacturers seemed poised to continue their hegemony over the smartphone app market despite more and more cellphone carriers, such as Vodafone, planning their own app stores.  But they might be simply too late to the party. With handset manufacturers in pole position, OS platform providers such as Microsoft come in second.  With this in mind it would seem that the combination of creating your own handset and platform is all it takes to challenge the market leaders but one must not forget what made the Apple App Store a success in the first place.
One of the important things that made the iPhone and its App Store a success was their ease-of-use, i.e. high usability and great interface design. Compared to other mobile platforms the iPhone was intuitive and did not have a labyrinthine menu layout. The capacitive touch screen coupled with the interface design of the OS allowed for revolutionary Human-Computer Interaction that was seamless. The app store also well and truly brought e-commerce to mobile phones with an interface design that allowed users to browse apps as if they were music on an iPod. Android would pack a lot of the same functionality but on a more open platform that could be tweaked by handset manufacturers as evidenced by HTC’s celebrated Sense User Interface design. So, really, challengers should strive for a great interface design in addition to whatever features they may be planning to differentiate and market their offerings.