#interface 1

[sharonjordan]

Bookcase or not?

I'm starting the wireframes for the story app, and wondering whether to use a bookcase in the interface design or not. There are examples of apps out there that do and don't use such a metaphor, and it seems to be very much a matter of personal preference because there doesn't appear to be any particular pattern to it. 

The main benefit of using a book case metaphor is that it symbolises a real world artefact, which brings a set of predetermined assumptions about what will be found on it (books) and how they will work (same principles as reading a physical book). However, the interfaces using a book case are often more cumbersome than those without.

Interfaces without using a bookcase can make more of the screen real estate, and show the options in the best way for the media rather than trying to emulate a physical space. This format will also enable the inclusion of stories and nursery rhymes that don't necessarily have a book cover to show, and would fit better with the conventions established in other sections of the overall portal.

[sharonjordan]

Screen orientation

As I am progressing through the wireframes, it has occurred to me that a vertical layout may not always be appropriate, and has raised the question about whether to enable the screen to shift orientation as the device is moved, or to fix it either as a horizontal or vertical app - but not both.

In considering these options, I have tried to think about how the children used the devices and apps in the session, and look at other apps on the marketplace.

It is particularly interesting to note that on iphone, the angry birds app is fixed to horizontal orientation throughout, whereas the water? app is fixed to a vertical layout. These decisions reflect the best orientation for the main functionality, and the rest of the app has been positioned in the same way to avoid any need for the user to continually turn the phone.

From my perspective, it will be hard to determine which orientation will suit every app that becomes part of this system, therefore I feel it is more appropriate to constrain it within each individual app in the system to produce the most usable interface. This will avoid too much turning, but at the same time enable flexibility to suit the content.

This decision also means I need to rework my wireframes so far...!

[sharonjordan]

It is an appropriate design strategy to exploit the interactor's unconscious expectations and knowledge to cue their interaction with a new artefact or process, making the experience feel "intuitive" rather than difficult to understand or hard to learn.

Murray, J.H., 2012. Inventing the medium : principles of interaction design as a cultural practice. MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.

This quote directly relates to my work as I want the children to feel like the solution I create is easy to use and maximise their learning without them realise they are doing so. Combined with the ideas of play, this could be a very effective strategy for my work and will reflect interface design practices at the forefront of the field.

[sharonjordan]

Mobile apps currently have better usability than mobile sites, but forthcoming changes will eventually make a mobile site the superior strategy.

Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox

This quote summarises findings from one of Nielsen's user testing reports relating to the debate between Native vs web apps and relates directly to my work. This debate is at the cutting edge of the field and opinion is continually shifting as new developments and solutions test the boundaries. It is highly relevant to my work, and at this stage the jury is still out as to which strategy is right for my work.