This document provides an overview of user interface design. It discusses key concepts like mental models, conceptual models, information architecture and how they influence interface design. It also covers design patterns, elements, and aesthetics. The goal is to design interfaces that match users' mental models to ensure usability and an intuitive experience. Sections explore topics like organization, navigation, affordances, color, typography and more to help guide interface solutions.

1. Producing Design
Solutions
Media Design course
Autumn 2016

2. INDEX
1. Introduction
2. Understanding Users
4. UI design Patterns
5. UI Elements Design
6. UI Aesthetics
3. Information Architecture

3. 1. INTRODUCTION
What is a User Interface

4. 1. INTRODUCTION
That part of a computer system with which a user interacts in
order to undertake her tasks and achieve her goals.
Stone, Jarrett et. al., 2001
What is a User Interface

5. 1. INTRODUCTION
Image by Kapil Gohel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wearable_computer#/media/
File:Apple_Watch-.jpg
Graphical User Interface (GUI)

6. 1. INTRODUCTION
A GUI allows the use of icons or other visual indicators to
interact with electronic devices, rather than using only text via the
command line
Graphical User Interface (GUI)

7. 1. INTRODUCTION
Gesture based interfaces
http://static.lukew.com/TouchGestureGuide.pdf

8. 1. INTRODUCTION
Gesture based interfaces
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gesture_Recognition.jpg

9. A mental model represents a person’s thought process for how
something works (i.e., a person’s understanding of the surrounding
world). Mental models are based on incomplete facts, past experiences,
and even intuitive perceptions.They help shape actions and behavior,
influence what people pay attention to in complicated situations, and
define how people approach and solve problems.
Mental model
Carey (1989)
2. UNDERSTANDING USERS

10. Implementation model
Cooper, Reimann and Cronin (2007)
The representation of how a machine or a program actually works
2. UNDERSTANDING USERS

11. Also called the represented model, is the way designers choose to
represent the working of the program to the user.
Conceptual model
One of the most important goals of the designer should be to
make the represented model match the mental model of
users as closely as possible.
2. UNDERSTANDING USERS

12. 2. UNDERSTANDING USERS
Interface Metaphors

13. If the product’s conceptual model doesn’t match the user’s mental
model, then the user will find the product hard to learn and use.
Conceptual model mental model mismatch
UI PRINCIPLES / STRUCTURE
This mismatch leads to:
• Slow performance
• Errors
• Frustration

14. 2. UNDERSTANDING USERS
Conceptual model mental model mismatch

15. The structural design of information systems, interactive services and user
experiences.
3. INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
IA main components:!
• Organization schemes and structures
• Labeling systems
• Navigation systems
• Search systems
The organization, search, and navigation systems that help people to
complete tasks, find what they need, and understand what they’ve found

16. 3. INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
Information Ecology
Rosenfeld and Morville (2002)
Context
UsersContent
Documents/data types,
content objects, volume,
existing structure
Business goals, funding, politics,
culture technology, resources
and constraints
Audience, tasks, needs,
information seeking,
behavior, experience

17. 3. INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
IA Research Methods
• Generative: gathering user input on the organization and labeling of
content
• Evaluative: determining whether people can correctly find things in
an organizational structure we’ve created

18. 4. UI DESIGN PATTERNS
A pattern describes an optimal solution to a common
problem within a specific context.!
Design patterns
“Each pattern describes a problem which occurs over and over again in
our environment, and then describes the core of solution a million
times over, without ever doing it the same way twice”
Alexander et al. (1977)

19. Why using Patterns?
• Avoid reinventing the wheel
• Learn from expert designers
• Promote a familiar user experience for end users
• Free up designers to do innovative leading-edge work
4. UI DESIGN PATTERNS

20. Organizing the content: Dashboards
https://www.fitbit.com
Arrange data displays into a
single information-dense page,
updated regularly. Show users
relevant, actionable
information, and let them
customize the display as
necessary.
4. UI DESIGN PATTERNS

21. Getting around: Sign-in tools
https://www.headspace.com/
4. UI DESIGN PATTERNS

22. Using social media: sharing widgets
Image from http://ui-patterns.com/patterns/auto-sharing
• Use when you want social sharing to
be an integrated part of the flow.
• Do not use when information
shared is personal or sensitive –
when the user would be reluctant to
share the content in the first place.
4. UI DESIGN PATTERNS

23. Affordances signifiers
Image byVictor Kaptelinin
5. UI ELEMENTS DESIGN
The term affordance was proposed by James Gibson (1977) to denote
action possibilities provided to the actor by the environment.

24. Affordances signifiers
Affordances provide strong clues to the operations of things. Plates
are for pushing. Knobs are for turning. Slots are for inserting things
into. Balls are for throwing or bouncing.When affordances are taken
advantage of, the user knows what to do just by looking: no picture,
label, or instruction needed.
Norman (1988)
5. UI ELEMENTS DESIGN

25. Affordances signifiers
Affordances define what actions are possible. Signifiers specify how
people discover those possibilities: signifiers are signs, perceptible signals
of what can be done. Signifiers are of far more importance to designers
than are affordances.
Norman (2013)
http://blog.teamtreehouse.com/affordances-web-design
5. UI ELEMENTS DESIGN

26. Affordances signifiers
Image byTwitter user setharyImage by Flickr user Jodiepedia
5. UI ELEMENTS DESIGN

27. https://webdesign.tutsplus.com/articles/a-comprehensive-introduction-to-grids-in-web-design--cms-26521
6. UI AESTHETICS
Layout

28. https://developer.android.com/design/index.html
6. UI AESTHETICS
Color

29. 6. UI AESTHETICS
Color
https://www.moves-app.com/

30. https://almaujudy.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/screen-shot-2015-05-31-at-10-02-18-am.png
Icons
6. UI AESTHETICS

31. Typography
http://blog.invisionapp.com/4-tips-on-typography-in-ui-design/
6. UI AESTHETICS

32. Functional animations
https://vimeo.com/126783967
6. UI AESTHETICS
https://vimeo.com/127066642

33. FURTHER READINGS
This material uses Creative Commons License
Recognition – Share alike.
Alexander, C. (1977). A pattern language: towns, buildings, construction. Oxford University Press.
Alexander, C. (1979). The timeless way of building (Vol. 1). NewYork: Oxford University Press.
Brown, Dan M. Communicating design: developing web site documentation for design and planning. New
Riders, 2010.
Carey, S. (1986). Cognitive Science and Education.American Psychologist, 41 (10), p1123-30
Cooper,A., Reimann, R., Cronin, D. (2007). About Face 3:The Essentials of Interaction Design. Indianapolis, IN:
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
Crumlish, C., Malone, E. (2009). Designing social interfaces: Principles, patterns, and practices for improving
the user experience. O'Reilly Media, Inc..
Gibson, J. (1977):The theory of affordances. In: Shaw, Robert and Bransford, John (eds.). Perceiving,Acting
and Knowing. Hillsdale, USA: Lawrence Erlbaum
Krug, S. (2005). Don't make me think:A common sense approach to web usability. Pearson Education India.

34. FURTHER READINGS
This material uses Creative Commons License
Recognition – Share alike.
Norman, D.A. (1988): The Psychology of EverydayThings. NewYork, Basic Books
Norman,D.A. (2008): Signifiers, not affordances. In Interactions,15 (6) pp. 18-19
Norman, D., Wadia, B. (2013, June). 39.1: Invited Paper:The NextTouch Evolution Advancing the Consumer
Experience in Other Realms:Tasks andTough Environments. In SID Symposium Digest ofTechnical
Papers (Vol. 44, No. 1, pp. 541-543). Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Payne, Stephen J. (2003): Users' Mental Models:TheVery Ideas. In: Carroll, John M. (eds). HCI Models,
Theories, and Frameworks Morgan Kaufman Publishers .
Raskin, J. (2000). The humane interface: new directions for designing interactive systems.Addison-Wesley
Professional.
Rosenfeld, L., Morville, P. (2002). Information architecture for the world wide web. O'Reilly Media, Inc..
Stone, D., Jarrett, C.,Woodroffe, M., Minocha, S. (2005). User interface design and evaluation. Morgan
Kaufmann.
Tidwell, J. (2010). Designing interfaces. O'Reilly Media, Inc..