Interface design

Interface Design

Ten principals of Interface Design 

When it comes to designing interfaces there are ten solid principals that must be obeyed is 

you want to create an effective interface and they are: 

Visibility of Systems Status:

it is important to keep you user informed about the status of the interface there using as well as what action they have or are currently using  for example  when an application is selected on a mac

its icon which appears on the bottom tool bar will start to bounce up and down this indicates the application is launching or is under going a problem/change, this is an effective systems status 

as it grabs the users attention , its simple and easy to create for a range of applications. 

Match between systems and real world: 

 every interface needs to speak a language that any user can understand and simply

and effectively explain the function and condition of everything displayed on the interface 

an example of this would be

User Control And Freedom:

Users need to be able to control what happens with the program  for example if they need 

to undo a mistake or return to the previous page there should be something allowing them  

to correct these errors, a good example is the undo tool in photoshop interface this allows 

users to refresh the image to the state it was before the last change was applied for this kind of software this is extremely useful in this software it is also clearly marked, in quick reach of the user and has infinite uses allowing a simple , easy and very  effective tool for users. 

Consistency And Standards:

the interface and its content must be consistent all the way threw so that everything is constantly easy to find , use and understand for example toolbars must remain constant threw out an entire webpage regardless of the current page , making navigation simple, another example is the consistency of a words meaning threw out the interface one phrase or word must be chosen to represent one task or area.

a example of this could be " layer " in photoshop , it is represented universally in the program as a section of the picture but it is mentioned threw out the program and anything that mentions this always has some effect on the field.  

Error Prevention: 
it is important during the design process to continuously check,test and fix the interface  it is a ritual that substantially helps any product as well as helping others learn from you mistakes also error prevention needs to effect the product and its deign minimally.

Recognition Rather Than Recall:
everything the user really needs should be insight and easy to use a interface shouldn't take up to much of the users memory all operations should ether be immediately visible or in the first layer of menus.


Flexibility of efficiency  of use:
this can include shortcuts or techniques that a expert with the program can learn and use to make some processes  quicker or easier for those who are more familiar to the soft ware one example might be
certain tools shortcut in a sequence of keys rather than scrolling threw a menu, they also must allow
inexperienced users to quickly grasp these concepts.

Aesthetics  and minimalist design:
you should not over do information only display information that is vital don't overcrowd it with irrelevant or rarely used information this diminishes room for information and allows the general look to improve.
Help users recognise, diagnose, and fix Errors: 
users should be able to understand clearly what the problem is most users want understand whats wrong if the error message isn't clear or just uses coding language so that all users can easily fix a problem.

Help and documentation:
although not  necessary it can pay to set up documentations or help services which the users can consult if they are stuck or come across  some problem that they may not be able to tackle , the documentation should be very easy to accesses and search for the answers they need it also needs to be in visible sight
and easy to identify.

Games Design and Interface Design for children



Designing games for the younger audiance is not as easy as it seems as something to simple and vaige will become boring and as children do not have much an attention span and can lose there intrest quickly but making it too complicated they will become frustrated, in order to make something they can enjoy it has to be fairly simple but challangeing and rewarding enough to keep them intrested for the entrie experiance.

graphically speacking any game or interface needs to be designed with simple , soft and bright
layouts making them easy to navigate or view  and understand generally they should be very brightly coloured and fell very soft and simple but they still must be formed enough to represent something which the chiald can understand.

Notice in this example all the tools can be easily understood and noticed non of them are too
close or complecated meaning that they do not cuase frustration and are easy to use as well as identify.
the game is a coloring in game not to complicated but has a variety of options and pictures to color meaning its very simple too use but still keeps the child intrested and will be rewarding to the child.


most childrens games are based on television shows or familar storys that the children will recognise
not only making it easy for the children to recognise and assotichate with it also can make it easier to sell to a audiance of children becuase they recognise and enjoy the brand.

cinema4d is a great example of good interface design its simple and easy to navigate everything has its own individual sectors like modelling ,textures and animation each have there own part of the screen also all tools and variables are colour coded and alphabetised meaning experienced users don't have to think about navigation and newer users have an idea of the context.

blender is an example of bad interface design there are no contextual acknowledgements like
individual sectors and even the most basic functions require complicated navigation in order to achieve and are not very easy to learn about or start out on however this is not to say blender is not a powerfull program.

a screenshot of the working wireframe showing all moveable and unomveable objects.

      

Game Soundtrack

i orignally created two tracks one for each stage however  due to some proggramming errors i was limted to one level given the remaning time therefore i had to pick only one of them. 

these soundtracks were created in a music creation and editing called garage band using the stock sounds provided within the program to create the soundtracks.

i also used a zoom personal recorder to capture some sounds for the game and edited them in aduaciy to be used during interactivety one is used to indicate a peace has been placed into position theo ther is a flowing water sound to be played when the puzzle is complete a link to these will be provided below.

Garuageband