Lecture Week 5

Interface or to interface with something/someone is to create a Common boundary between things create a point of interaction, a medium which data passes. Interactivity relies on and interface, however, it is a different system in its own.Interface is a factor of interaction.

Examples of interfaces are buttons, touch screens, game play ect. Interface design is the practice of the theories and design of these devices between data, machines and humans.

Nicholas V. Lupa wrote: “Good,clean, clear navigation is critical to the success of any interactive experience, but it is so basic that its excellence has to be a foregone conclusion(Nicolas V. Lupa, Interative Designer for New Media and the Web, Focal Press, Boston, 2001, p.59)

He is stating that the interface that the design of the interface needs to be seemless.

He also states: “Designers of interface whose users as the terrible question”what do i do now?” when they suddenly find themselves at a dead end should surely consider another line of work(Nicolas V. Lupa, Interative Designer for New Media and the Web, Focal Press, Boston, 2001, p.59).

If a user has difficulty in using the interface, we have done a poor job as a interface designer.

The success of and Interface is equal to its transperancy. To be noted as a interface but then erased…a transparent function of the interactive.

Interactivety has been one of the critical concepts in new media, whereby old media provided passive consumption and new media offer interactivity.

Watching TV is a example of Passive consumption. It is a one on one based theory,  while New media is a one to many theory i.e. social media and web 2.0

Martin Lister conceptualises  Contemporary Interactivity in to four elements.

1. Hypertextual navigation(The user make decision based on a data base.)
2. Imersive navigation(immersed/ embodied by the interface.)
3. Registrational interactivity(relies collaboration from users and freely allow collaboration back in to interactive experience.)
4. Interactive Communications( based on face to face human communication)

Visual-spatial thinking/ Gestalt psychology:

“A method in which users conceptualise the  whole website, by focusing and discerning the function and meaning of visual spatial objects and their unique characteristics”( Criag M Baehr, Web Development: A Visual-Spatial Approach,Pearson New Jersey, 2007,p.5 and p.125)

“Visual thinking comes from the field of Gestalt psychology, which argues that the human respond, organise, and assign meaning to elements in their visual field.

This approach considers how users conceptualise function wholes from the individual elements they perceive in the visual field” ( Criag M Baehr, Web Development: A Visual-Spatial Approach,Pearson New Jersey, 2007,p.5 and p.125).

1. Visual Focus

• used improved figure-ground  contrast to signal which elements users need attention
• ultilize animation and rollovers in navigation tools to show functionality
• give contextual and visul signals a greater meaning
• create style sheets that use the same formats for sub headings and leading between paragraphs

2. Problem solving

• recognise guides to readers with breadcrumb trails, site maps, indices and headers
• create navigation tools that use information pathways to users, which don’t outline content
• give many navigation tools and choices for readers, such as toolbars,search fields, drop -down list, sitemaps etc
• accounting time in the design. provide other optionss like skip to let users solve problems in a speedy manner if they choose

3. Context

• place more relevant data like visual cues in higher site hiarchtcy
• provide details on lover site levels
• provide regions, tables, frames to other methods to hold navigation tool in the same place
• put content no more than 5 to 7 link/clicks from users, so it is reachable

4. Conceptual

• designing same icons, shapes, and  graphics that depend on users past knowledge
• put graphics in the same format
• give text tags for images used in new context
• use design metaphors to assist users grasp the layout and content of visual space

  5.Wholeness

• gather related content by visual shapes like shaded box/rules , or by using space
• designing figure -ground contrast and gathering to assist users recognise relationships between elements
• use breadcrubs,site maps, indices , etc., to assist users recognise the site structure and[and filter data]

Lecture 4

The screen can be a static medium. The meaning of

– Static is: of forces not causing movement.  Motionless.

– Kinetic: Relating to change over time and motion.

Andy Polaine describes himself as “an experience designer focusing on playful interactions and service design research within the field interactive concept development” he is based in Germany but also moved to Australia in 1999. He assisted the development of Animal logic’s Interactive Department and played a curial role in the Matrix movie saga. He was a lecture and the head of media arts in UNSW COFA, and writes for Desktop Magazine and has recently completed his PHD in UTS entitled “Developing a language of interactivity through the theory of play”

Designing with Play in mind, makes for interactive, engaging and fun products. It can (depending on the brief and target audience of a project be central to all production considerations, this is specially the case in gaming. For Polanie the concept of play is central, to  interative design in both the interactive experience and the design of an interactive. His  Definition of  Interaction Design reads

Reflection 

“I think is simple; we design interactions. Those might be interations between people, machines ,and screen and they might be interations between two or more people. It is a combotions of how elements function- what they look like , what they do and what they look like they do. And the experience of using them. In many cases, it’s about making about complicated things easier and more pleasurable to use.

Lecture 3

example of persona

Personas and Scenario Planning are tool to assist distinguish what a user requires.

example of persona

They are the foundation for the look and feel of the design at the conclusion of the process. Personas are fictional archetype users. It  helps  in faithfully record and articulating who a specific archetypical user is, hence making better design decisions.

example of  persona

A scenario is a narrative describing possible  interactions of types of users and systems. They include information about goals expectations, motivations, actions and reactions. They are not predictions or forecasts, rather they try to reflect the attempts the portrayal in how structures  are used in  everyday living.

Reflection

Personas and Scenario Planning are esential to the design process because it determines who is the design is catered for. Thus ensuring the design will meet the users needs.

Lecture 2

Example of interactivity

 

Interactivity , Information  Architecture, Time and Motion, Narrative and Interface are the five key design areas that contribute to the design of interactive products.In Interactivity you need to consider how does the user do, feel and know. Cognition is the science of how we process information, how we possessive the world, and what their internal metal model is of the outside world. This is vital to designers more so for screen based designs.

example of information architecture

The definition given by Sharp, Rogers and Preece of interation design is “Designing interactive products to support people in their everyday lives”. Winograd definds it as “ The design of spaces for human communication and interaction

Interactivity can be associated with – of or relating program that responds to user activity, working together so the total effect is grater then the sum and capable of acting on or influencing each other

 

example of interface

Reflection 

Interactivity has to have all its components running  cohesively in order for it to work. They all rely together to achieve a common goal, which is to satisfy the users needs. When designing Interactivity you need to what emotions, actions and knowledge you bring out of the user to have success.

Lecture 1

WEB 2.0

Web 2.0 is the shift in the media landscape which combines visual design and communication, from the form of hardcopy publishing to a soft copy on a screen with interactive capabilities. Thus, forming user groups and also provide information.Some examples of web 2.0 that we use in our everyday  lives are Facebook, twitter, google,youtube etc

example 3 of Web 2.0

example 2 of Web 2.0

Television broadcasters are nervous about the depth of television due to the popularity of Web 2.0, saying  “The current developments online will be fundamentally disruptive, and the foundations on which many media is built may be erased entirely …any creative strategy will fail unless it takes account of these new evolutions , both in technology and audience expectations”(Mark Thomson, Director General of BBC, Creative Future speech). 

Because of the popularity of applications as an online service, the web has evolved from a mass communication resource to a medium and mass communication between people. Web 2.0 is not classified as a technology, it is more of a  guide to protect software and businesses.

example 1 of web 2.0

Future designers need to gain more knowledge and understanding of their work and think outside the box. They will have to consider their audience and the impact they perceive.

 

 

Convergent Media

Convergent media is the integration of Communication Network, Computing Information,Media and Web 2.0. A division by Lawrence Lessy on convergent media is as follows:

• Physical layer: a network of communication devices and their activities
• Code layer: a code/software which is utilized by communications hardware devices
• Content layer: information sent through the communication framework

Jenkins typifies the emerging media ecology in basis of convergence culture, defining

it as […] both a top-down corporate-driven process and bottom up consumer driven process.Media companies are learning how to accelerate the flow of media content across delivery channels to expand revenue oppertunities, broaden markets and reinforce viewer commitments.Consumers are leaning how to use these different media technologies to bring the flow of media more fully under their control  and to react with other users (Jenkins,Henry. the Cultural logic of Media Convergence, International Journal of Cultural Studies:33-43 2004)

Convergent Culture is found on these 3 concepts:

• Media Convergence
• Participatory culture
• Collective intelligence

Media convergence as the flow of content throught-out a variety of media platforms.

Reflection 

The critical segment in this module for me is Web 2.0 and how people utilise it. With the break-though of Social Media it is integrated in to our daily life. In some cases it is a primary form of communication, especially  in a global aspect.