M2 - How the fundamental principles of HCI have been applied to my designs

M2 - How the fundamental principles of HCI have been applied to my designs



These images show the designs that I have created for my interactive disk. It is a Disney themed disk that will appeal to children below the age of 10. I have designed 3 pages; a homepage, a game page and a gallery page. The background colour of the pages is white. I chose this because I thought that it looked clean and it would make the writing, whatever the colour or font, look clear.

The type of font that I have chosen is Berlin Sans FB Demi in size 25. I think that this font and size will be good for people with impaired vision as it is clear and easy to read. The colours I have chosen for the text are;

• Homepage - Red
• Game - Blue
• Gallery - Pink

These colours show luminance as they pop out from the black background colour that they are on. Also, I haven't used to many colours as there are only the 3 shown and the black background. The colours that I have chosen emphasise the pages and they show the user that the homepage is the main page as it is an urgent colour.

The buttons will be a Mickey Mouse head as it stays with the theme of the interactive disk. I think that it will make the page more professional and it is a recurring image on each page which shows continuity.

The logo is black in colour which will make it appropriate for everyone as people with colour blindness can still see the colour black. Also, the image that I have chosen for the homepage is in colour which may not be appropriate for some people to view which I could change if it is needed.

The games that I have made for the game page will be good for people without disabilities but may be difficult to use and see to people that have. This is because of the use of colours and the use of the keyboard for the controls.

The gallery contains 12 images which when hovered over appears as a larger image in the centre of the page. This may be ok for some people if they don't have a sight disability or a physical disability. If they do I will have to make a change so that they will be able to see the screen as others do.

These images show the designs that I have created for the Trends website. It is a website that sells both men's and women's clothing. I have designed 3 pages; a homepage, a men's page and a women's page. The background colour is black. I chose this because I thought that it looked clear and made the other colours stand out.

The font that I have chosen is Cambria Math in different sizes ranging from 10 to 50. I have chosen this because it is clear and easy to read. The colour I have chosen for the text is white which is repetitive throughout the 3 pages.

The button colour I am going to use is a dark grey and a red to highlight which page the user is on. I feel that these colours look appealing however they may be inappropriate for some users. Also, the red on the black background will make theme more urgent rather than clean.

To conclude, I think that some of the aspects of my designs will look good and appealing for some people but may be inappropriate for others. Therefore, I may need to make some changes to the designs to make them correct for everyone to view.

M1 - How a HCI can be adjusted for specialist needs

M1 - How a HCI can be adjusted for specialist needs

Specialist needs can range from mild disabilities or food allergies to serious psychiatric problems. They can be treated in many different ways which can start with the way a HCI is designed for everyone to use. When creating an interface the specialist needs that need to be considered are aural, oral, visual and physical.

Firstly, a HCI can be adjusted for specialist needs such as aural. This is relating to listening and the sense of sound. A disability that this may affect is deafness. A way of making a HCI appropriate for this type of disability is closed captioning and an avatar signing on the computer. Both of these would be appropriate because closed captioning is text on the screen from a video and an avatar signing on the screen will make it good for people who can't speak.

Secondly, another specialist need for some people is oral. It is relating to speech and can be done by using technology such as speech synthesis. The keyboard is used to input information which is then read out and appears on a screen. There is a range of voices and accents that can be chosen and altered for the user's preference. The advantages of this are it doesn't take much training to use and it gives disabled people the opportunity to use a computer. However, the disadvantages of speech synthesis are it is liable to error and background noise can interfere with the system.

Thirdly, a HCI can be changed visually for someone with special needs by using different colours and text. Colour can affect everyone differently because what some people can read others may be unable to. For example, the colour yellow isn't very clear on a white background, whereas, red is clear and easy to read.

Perception is something that has to be considered when creating an interface for specialist needs because it is when your mind fills in the blanks of an image. Some disabilities may be unable to do this making it impossible for them to view an image.

Finally, a HCI can be adjusted to a specialist need such as physical by using eyegaze technology if they have no use over speech or body movement. This could have been caused by a stroke or arthritis. It is controlled by the user's eyes by them looking at the letter on the screen keyboard, they can create speech, control a mouse and access their emails and the internet. Another, technology is using StickyKeys as they permit one finger typing. An example of StickyKeys is pressing 'Ctrl' followed by a letter rather than pressing the two buttons together.

To conclude, HCI's need to be suitable for all types of people and they need to be appealing. Each of these specialist needs need to be thought about when creating an interface. Without them an interface would never be applicable to everyone.

P2 - The fundamental principles of HCI design

P2 - The Fundamental Principles of HCI Design

HCI (Human Computer Interaction) is the study, planning, and design of the interaction between people and computers. The human side of this is how the computer and the user interact, graphic and industrial design disciplines, human language, and human factors such as the satisfaction the user gets when using the computer. On the other hand, the computer side is computer graphics, operating systems and programming languages.

Perception is an essential feature in HCI design. It is the structure, recognition and understanding of sensory information in order to characterise and recognise your surrounding. When you look at an image that is an illusion your mind fills in the blanks making you see the full picture. The colours of the image or the interface affect each user differently making it something to keep in mind when designing one. Medical conditions such as; dyslexia and colour blindness effect the way the user views the page. Colour is caused by the way your brain views it. The appearance of colours is affected by others that are nearby. Information can be affected by the colours used, such as some look darker and smaller against a white background, whereas, some look brighter and larger against a white background.

    

Another fundamental principle of HCI design is behaviour models. They predict the way in which an interface or user will behave. There are two types of models; predictive and descriptive. Predictive models are used to compare and assess motor behaviour when designing interfaces and systems whereas descriptive models help to understand interaction situations. Examples of this is Guiard's model. This is a model of how human's use their hands and it identifies the roles and actions of the preferred and non-preferred hands that we use. Such as, being left or right handed. A right handed person would be able to use an ordinary keyboard with ease, whereas, a left handed person may find it more difficult.

Information processing is also a fundamental principle of HCI design. It has many features that have to be considered. For example, the human as a component. This has to be thought about because the interface is designed for the human to use. Also, the human information process is a feature to be considered. It is when the human is thought to be like the computer; the senses are the input devices, the brain and mind are the CPU and the action that you perform is the output device. A final feature that has to be considered is an overview of goals, operators, methods and selection. It helps to predict the time it will take for the actions to be carried out. The goal is a description of what the user wants to achieve, the operator is possible actions in the system, the method is a sequence of operators that achieve the goal and the selection is rules that define when a user employs which method.

Specialist interfaces are a fundamental principle of human computer interaction. They can be voice recognition software, speech synthesis, language translators and eyegaze. They are used in everyday life to make it easier for disabled people to use computers and other technology. Other types of specialised interfaces include; remote control devices and head up displays. Remote control devices are used most commonly in the home for TV remotes using infrared. Head up displays are used so that the user doesn't have to look away from their main viewpoint. It is used, for example, in aircrafts to make it safer for the pilot and passengers as the driver doesn't have to look away from the air in front of them.

Another fundamental principle of HCI design is geons and gross 3D shapes. They are needed in the creation of interfaces. Geons are 2D shapes that are quickly recognisable from any angle. Such as, cylinders, bricks, wedges, cones, circles and rectangles. There are four essential properties of geons;

• View-invariance
• Stability or resistance to visual noise
• Invariance to illumination direction and surface markings and texture
• High distinctiveness

Gross 3D shapes are 2D shapes that give the impression of three dimensional shapes. This is done by placing the image lower or higher on the page. They are used to make reproducing images more consistent and they are relatively cheap to produce. Most commonly they are used in video games and in real time transmission, such as at football games.