Situation

The article indicated that the iPad rated highly with “therapists, dietitians, [and] case managers” and this was mainly attributed to the fact that the ipad was used with these professionals mainly as a means of patient education. For those that have more typing activities, a desktop or laptop may prove to be more suitable. According to the article, some of the medical professionals had data entry difficulties with the iPad.

The iPad brings up a keyboard on the screen so the user can type information, and one disadvantage posed by the article was that half of the information is then covered up and it posits that this aspect of the UI design could have been one reason for the returns.

UI design is not just about looks

UI design concerns itself with how the user interface looks and how it also “feels”. It could have been that for some users the “feel” of the UI design was too “compact” so that they could not see the information they needed. An important aspect of a UI design is usability. Usability refers to the degree in which a user is able to effectively interact with the UI design.

The article mentioned that the newest iPad was going to have a UI design that addressed the size of the keyboard on the screen so this may influence the number of medical professionals returning the tablets.

Completely buttonless UI design, you may think? The only button that Samsung Galaxy S2 has is the home button at the bottom of the screen, which helps the user to return to home screen from any menu or window. Even though it is hard to imagine a phone’s UI design without a single button, Samsung Galaxy S2 is nearly there. What benefits would the removal of the home button have for the Galaxy’s UI design?

Firstly, absolutely no buttons adds to the “coolness” factor. The phone would look very smooth and uncluttered. The absence of buttons is also said to provide a comfortable experience when the phone is pressed against one’s face when calling. Another change to the UI design that is being discussed is the new user interface with five columns instead of four. If that change is implemented then Galaxy S3’ UI design would become more similar to Galaxy Note’s UI design, which already has five columns.

The latest rumor has it that the home button is likely to stay, after all. However, Samsung is currently working on the next generation and the new phone with the updated UI design may come out as soon as the beginning of summer. If this rumor is true, testers are likely to leak photos of the new UI design soon enough for us to stop wondering.

As long as a person is not working solo on a project, there is always a need to exchange thoughts with other people and get ideas across in team projects. This is why some wireframing tools offer developers and designers the opportunity to put annotations and comments on their wireframes.  Annotations can be used to explain things to others, which are not necessarily visible on the wireframes. Wireframes are usually put together quickly and display only the essential elements and functionality of an application design. At times it is not even possible to create some of the more complex UI design elements without resorting to code.

All the stakeholders involved in the creation of a user interface have individual needs and concerns and I find it important to address them all. Depending on the volume of the comments that I have, I create a few copies of the wireframe with my wireframing tool and insert a few different sets of annotations: one set for the client, one for the developer, etc. Some wireframing tools allow color-coding of annotations used for different purposes. Does your wireframing tool have the annotations function? If so, be sure to give it a try. Once you have worked with annotations you cannot really go back to the wireframing tool without them.

Wireframe Lion Head
The Lion Dance is actually a dance performed by two people inside a lion costume during the Chinese New Year (also called the Lunar New Year). It is apparently a demanding dance physically and holds great cultural significance. The Lion’s head within the costume actually is created by covering a large wire frame in the shape of a lion. The structure of the wireframe is first laid out and then decorated with extravagant features in whatever color desired. (Red is a beloved color in China because it is regarded as lucky and has a strong cultural affiliation).

Explaining Wireframes
A website wireframe is a simple outline of what the website contains, just like the wireframe lion’s head. Leong Kwok Khuen shows a wireframed lion head in his YouTube video. This wireframe has no fancy “bells and whistles” as it were but simply shows how the structure will look, just like low fidelity wireframes. (By the way, the Korean Lion Dance actually has bells on the heads of the lion costumes.) I really liked this picture of the lion’s head wireframe, because I felt it gave a good analogy to website wireframes that I could use to explain the concept. Wireframes are the foundations for the house or the outline of the lion’s head. It’s only after the wireframe has been finalized that the “dance” begins and designers can begin to focus on other creative elements.

How to use Wireframing Software for New Businesses

New businesses generally have limited monetary resources. For this reason, hiring web designers and usability experts may not be an option for some companies for the entire duration of the project. Wireframing software can therefore help the new business by enabling them to sketch a visual design, which they can show to end users for feedback. When it comes to the next stage of development, many things will have been agreed upon, which can help companies avoid costly redesigns in the middle of implementation. With wireframing software, employees of new businesses with little IT experience can also draft the wireframes for websites and be in control of what elements should be included. Using wireframing software in this way can help the user design usable interfaces because the wireframing software may provide elements that incorporate proven UI design principles. Once a prototype of a website has been created with wireframing software, this can then be sent to a web-developer, who can give feedback on the wireframe and tweak the concept in order to make implementing the prototype easier and more cost efficient. In today’s climate new businesses must be innovative in the way they create a brand, conceptualize their websites, and use new technologies to save money. Wireframing software is becoming commonplace in web-design and may soon become a vital tool for those in start-up companies.

Here is one example. I was typing up “where to stay in Dresden” in the search box, and before I completed the text the autocomplete suggested “where to download free music” and “where to buy amazon gift cards”. This is the feature of the Google search UI design that makes me smile because the suggestions are often funny and rarely relevant to what I am actually looking for.

Despite appearing silly, the autocomplete feature of the Google search UI design is not silly at all. It takes into consideration global searches performed by millions of people around the world. Whenever we have a question or a doubt we turn to the almighty Google for help. There is nothing that we are afraid to ask because the search UI design is completely anonymous. The autocomplete feature summarizes all of the wishes and problems around the word by suggesting search terms.

The Google search UI design filters the results by our area. I can assume from the suggestions above that the majority of people in my area are looking for places to download free music and buy amazon gift cards. What will Google search’s UI design suggest if I type in “how to”, “it is wrong to” or “is it difficult to”? We can actually learn about the thoughts and problems of people in our area by being curious and asking such questions, and this is only one example of the Google search UI design’s capabilities…

What is prototyping software?

Prototyping software is an application that enables professionals to create early-stage mock implementations of the user interface of a website or app. While some people find paper prototyping useful for sketching user interface designs, others find that prototyping software has the advantage when it comes to planning the navigation of a website. Prototyping software helps build interactive prototypes much more quickly and easily than actual programming.

How can prototyping software help optimize navigation?

Interactive prototypes created with prototyping software can be used in usability testing. Showing an interactive prototype to a test user will give the user a much more accurate impression of what the end product will look like than just a static depiction. Some prototyping software enables integrated usability testing, which can be a useful way to see first-hand how users react to an interface design. If a usability flaw is discovered in the navigation concept, this can be considered in the prototypes much more easily than in the final product, especially when using the right prototyping software.

It could be said that navigation is the most important aspect of usability. With prototyping software and the appropriate testing methods, you can ensure that the navigation in your applications is easy to follow, thus making your applications more likely to succeed.

Learning should be engaging

In the user interface prototyping stage of your project, you should remember that software has the potential to go beyond the two-dimensional text book. With user interface prototyping, you can experiment with different interactive elements. There are some types of user interface prototyping software available that let you include video and sound to your interface design. If you are interface prototyping for a touch-screen device, take advantage of the engaging qualities of this medium. You can use functions that enable students to zoom in on images and highlight text that they find interesting. With one iBook textbook, students are even able to dissect a virtual frog.

Why is user interface prototyping for education important?

With user interface prototyping, you can create a rough outline of your design at the very beginning of a project. User interface prototyping can therefore be used to optimize the concept of your e-learning application and to optimize navigation and layout. There are some types of user interface prototyping software that enable you to carry out usability testing. This is extremely important for educational tools. By seeing how students engage with the website, app or software you have created with interface prototyping software, you can discover usability issues that may arise. You can then optimize your design with interface prototyping software to ensure that your educational tool is as interactive, fun and engaging as possible. This helps ensure that education is as effective as possible – and fun at the same time.

What is a wireframe tool?

A wireframe tool is a type of software that enables web designers to create quick and basic prototypes of website user interfaces. Prototypes created with a wireframe tool often depict the basic outline of a website, and wireframe tools can be used to visualize where interactive elements like buttons or links as well as static elements like text and images should be positioned. People often use a wireframe tool to map out the navigation of a website as well. Once a wireframe tool has been used to sort out the best design options, the programming stage can begin.

Why do startups use wireframe tools?

Many startups use wireframe tools, because the website is the most important part of their business. This is where they gain new customers and also gain their trust. Wireframe tools enable entrepreneurs to create visual mockups, which can then be shown to potential consumers for feedback. Designs can then be adapted with the wireframe tool to optimize usability before final implementation. In this process, wireframe tools can help startup companies avoid mistakes, which take time and money to correct. The main reason startups use wireframe tools is because wireframe tools can help them get their website up and running to a high standard as quickly as possible while keeping cost down.

What is a user interface design tool?

A user interface design tool is a type of software that lets you prototype the user interface of a website or software application. Interface design tools can help you experiment with the layout and content before final implementation.

User interface design tools and Google Chrome

When you use an interface design tool, remember that users are choosing Google Chrome not only because of its speed, but also because of its simplistic user interface. If you can create a minimalistic layout with your user interface design tool, you will be able to give your user a page that is familiar and consistent with his web browser. With your user interface design tool you will therefore be able to enhance usability. While Google has created a greater interface space by combining the search box with the address bar, your website will also be seen as a small thumbnail picture on the user’s home page or in their search history. It is a good idea therefore to use your interface design tool to prototype your design in both sizes. Your interface design tool should help you create the most usable design, but also the most striking thumbnail, so that users will want to go back to your website.

Why should you use an interface design tool?

With so many different web browsers on the market, it can be difficult to optimize your website design for all of them without an interface design tool that lets you quickly try out different alternatives. The agility you can gain from using a user interface design tool can be an important driver of competitive advantage. If you decide to focus on Google Chrome, you can use a user interface design tool to simplify the user interface to be consistent with this web browser. A user interface design tool can therefore help you create the most attractive designs and improve usability.