Cultural Screen  Project

Design Principles

Application of Design Principles

1. Golden Rule

Keep interface simple

-       Preferences are given to buttons with signs (arrows and pictograms) or images rather then buttons with words.

Speak user’s language

-       Labels and button names on the pages are expressed in simple every day language. We tried to avoid special or scientific terms.

Consistency and Predictability, Feedback

-       Language bar appears on every page in the same place. Language chosen is highlighted on the language bar showing in which mode the user currently is.

-       Back button and Home button, as well as Search window appear always on the same place. User working with a display gets used to it and expects to find it there when needed.

-       The feedback of button activation is the same: it is zoomed and changed in color.

-       The feedback of Image button activation is always like zooming it in.

Minimize memory load

-       We use only two button types in the whole application – image buttons (round image and a label) and control buttons (rounded rectangles).

-       On the page with Museum description we provided “Send me info by SMS”.

2. Gestalt’s laws 

-       Menu items on the first page organize an oval – i.e. appear to be perceived as a group (they all are menu items of the same hierarchy level)

-       All buttons and images have rounded shapes – thus they are more nice-looking.

-       Information which supposed to be connected (like museums list and a map) is embraced in the closed frames.

3. Norman’s rules 

-       Back button appears in the top left corner of the page. It is natural mapping with the turning over the pages of a book.

-       Up and Down buttons in the Museums list implemented so that they are logical continuation of the list. They have the same highlighting with the buttons, the same shape and size of the highlight. They are located according to natural intention to continue the list traversal (Up button in the top of the list, Down button in the bottom).

-       Buttons are zoomed in and highlighted when in focus – it gives a hint to a user that “they can be pressed”.

4. Fitts’ law 

-       Language bar is placed in the very bottom of every page – thus it can be easily reached. The items (flags) are organized in the row – thus according to the Fitts’ law we minimize the time for targeting the item needed.