Principles of interface design

MULTIMEDIA PRODUCTION 4(1+3)
Lesson 5 : Interface Elements

Principles of interface design

User interface is a program that provides an interface or medium for humans to interact with the system.
There are eight main principles of the user interface.

  1. Consistency: Consistency means the interface design is in harmony and the same applies to all screen in a software program. The same words or commands perform the same functions throughout the user interface.
  2. Clarity: Clarity means clearness of labels on all icons to make the system easy to understand. Users should use relevant icons or graphics to indicate the information. Icons, words or commands should be clearly labelled so that users can understand them easily.
  3. Context: Context means every part of a lesson should be relevant to a particular title. Ideas presented need to relate to the title the user interface should be structured . For example, if the lesson is about Flow Chart, all the sections including the introduction, content, activity, evaluation, summary and extension should be related to the Flow Chart.
  4. Navigation: Navigation means users can move around the menus, help files or other screens in a system
  5. Search: Search means the system enables users to search keywords or glossary. The user interface should have a search function. It should provide multiple ways for users to make queries by grouping or sorting. The system should provide users a preview in order to get a word in the correct page.
  6. Learnability: Learnability means the system provides support information and help files to make the system easy to understand. Support information is important, especially in helping the user to use the system. The help function should be available to speed up the interaction for both experienced and inexperienced users.
  7. Flexibility: Flexibility means a user has the authority to navigate through all the sections without any limitations. For example, the user is allowed to access any of the lessons, sections and pages of the program.
  8. Personalisation: Personalisation means the users can make their own personal or individual learning. Users can choose their display options. Figure1 & Figure2

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Last modified: Tuesday, 22 November 2011, 10:12 AM