Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Kaldeidoscope in ME Magazine
ME Magazine, a mechanical engineering publication as the title suggests, spoke to our very own Chris Hammond recently for an article they published on user interface. Here's what he had to say:Apple also did something else unusual. It kept the iPod controls simple. It included the commands necessary to play music, and it made them intuitive and obvious. (Later, it added equally intuitive commands to display photos and movies.)
This took enormous discipline, said Chris Hammond, design manager for the Cincinnati-based design shop Kaleidoscope. "Complex interfaces happen with consumer electronics all the time," he said. "You start with a sheet of features and you look at how many bullet points differentiate you from the competition, and try to include as many features as possible.
"But look at the iPod or the Blackberry personal digital assistant," Hammond said. "It's an integrated, rich experience that people become addicted to. Think about Apple's iPhone. You can access all those features and never use a single drop-down menu. Now, think about the clunky interfaces on your TV and VCR. They are among the most unintuitive products ever designed."
posted by Finn McKenty at 10:06 AM
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