Current Issue
The Concept of Universal Design - 13 May 2008
by Edward Steinfeld in Opinion
The idea that environments can support human function is not new to designers. But, the perception that design can enable one’s abilities and participation in society is something relatively new from a consumer perspective.
Five Rules for Communication between Machines and People - 28 January 2008
by Don Norman in Opinion
The Human Research Institute has conducted extensive studies of the proper form of Machine-Human Interaction (MHI). Most of our work has been summarized in our technical report series and was presented at the last global MHI symposium. This report summarizes the key findings in nontechnical language, intended for wider distribution than just the specialized designer machines.
The application of model matching principle in user interface design - Part 2 - 16 January 2008
by Liang Zhang in Opinion
For programmers, a programming language is a software tool. Its interface consists of its lexicon, grammar and semantic rules. From this view, using a language to do programming is actually using that tool to accomplish something. As we will see shortly, different languages vary greatly in the degree of how they get close to programmer’s conceptual model.
The application of model matching principle in user interface design - Part 1 - 2 January 2008
by Liang Zhang in Opinion
It is clear that the dustbin consists of two containers: one in blue and one in yellow. The labels on the dustbin indicate that the blue one is used for materials that can be recycled, while the yellow one is for materials that can not be recycled. The problem is, however, how will people know what are the materials that can be recycled? If you ask the people around you, you will find that even some PhDs can’t answer it correctly.
Easy, Intuitive and Metaphor, and other meaningless words - 12 December 2007
by Peter Bagnall in Opinion
What is easy? I find many things easy; making tea, speaking English, driving. I also find many things hard; speaking Spanish, understanding modern art (which I privately suspect is because there isn’t much to understand) and keeping my desk tidy. Is this because these things are inherently easy or hard? Or is more about me and my specific abilities, or lack of them? After all, speaking Spanish can’t be that hard, almost 400 million people around the world seem to manage it effortlessly, (just as I do speaking my native language, English).
The Gap between 25 Seconds and 5 Seconds - 13 November 2007
by Zhou Jiong in Opinion
I wanted to write this long before, about frustrating design flaws that exist in our daily life.
Moving UX into a Position of Corporate Influence: Whose Advice Really Works? - 9 October 2007
by Richard I. Anderson in Opinion
A few days ago, a Principal User Experience Architect wrote about the challenges User eXperience (UX) was confronting in her place of work…
Meaning of Chopsticks in Asia - 30 September 2007
by Young-Ill (John) Kim in Opinion
There are basically three major fundamental needs in a human being’s life: clothing, housing and food. Throughout history, these have been developed and cultivated in a variety of ways according to differences in the climate, nature and lifestyles of the people living in the East and West.
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