Category — Interface Design

Many app designers use wireframe software to create prototypes of apps for tablets and smartphones. Some believe that using wireframe software fosters creativity. By creating a prototype with wireframe software, designers have the freedom to experiment with their ideas before the programming stage of development begins. Wireframe software can be particularly useful for designers who want to draft interface designs in a field where there are not many previous apps to take inspiration from. One new area that companies are investing in is ‘second screen apps’. What does this mean? While we may watch TV while browsing on our laptops or smartphones, companies want to gain our attention through both screens. Creating apps that enhance the viewing experience can be a way for advertisers to achieve this.

The trick is to create an app that viewers will enjoy, that will also not distract too much from the program they are watching. Wireframe software is being used by some developers to draft smartphone and tablet applications quickly and at reduced cost. An app designer could use wireframe software to create a prototype of an app that gives bonus information about the television show, or even draft a game that can be used to play along with a TV show. A social media app that enables viewers to comment on shows could also be something designers might want to draft with wireframe software. As this is a relatively new field, there is a wide potential for apps to create. With wireframe software, designers and other stakeholders can be creative in the apps that they draft, which can help lead to a product that viewers and advertisers will love.

The e-book market is growing and the demand for online newspapers and magazines with it. Users can access articles instantly, making them more appealing to people on the go. Many magazine and book publishers would like to tap into the app market, but creating apps for these products can be more difficult than it seems, due to the challenge of transforming a vast amount of content into one application. Many designers use prototyping software to sketch out wireframes for web and mobile applications and this can also be useful for applications that have a lot of text content.

One of the challenges of creating apps for newspapers and magazines is that it can be difficult to organize information in a way that seems logical to the reader. While a newspaper has different sections, such as current affairs, international affairs, sport and comment, it can be interesting to experiment with how the information within these sections is organized and whether some articles should feature in more than one category. The home page of a mobile app is also important and prototyping software can be used to sketch out where different content should be positioned. With many types of prototyping software, you can use different sized headlines and edit text. You can even add text boxes and images with many types of prototyping software. If you are thinking of transforming an existing magazine or newspaper to a mobile app, I would strongly recommend taking an existing edition of your magazine and using prototyping software to upload the existing images and headlines. Even if you decide to use image holders, rather than the images themselves, this will give you an idea of the structure of your final application. With prototyping software, you can create professional-looking wireframes that can help you visually structure the content of your application. You can then show these wireframes to end-users for feedback to ensure that your app meets the expectations of your users.

After a long wait drawn-out for an update Windows Phone 7 is finally here. While further accentuating the much lauded tiled user interface design, Mango boasts a reported “500” new features! It seems the wait has been worth it as the update iteratively evolves the user interface design of Windows Phone 7 to present a seriously compelling challenge and alternative to Android and iOS. I would even go as far as saying that should Microsoft put as much effort and time into the usability and user interface design of Windows 8 as they have for Windows Phone 7 then it’s mojo will certainly be back. Detractors could point out that this version of Windows Phone 7, rather than being a 7 month late update, should have been the very first iteration. However, WP7 and the Kinect’s natural user interface design may not be as second rate as technological hipsters would have us believe.

Regarding user interface design the tiles are now more widgety, if such a word exists! Apps now show more information, e.g. real-time flight information from British Airways, on the tiles themselves making them even more useful. The social integration pioneered by the ill-fated Kin phones really shines here. None of the other major smartphone OSes offer such a comprehensive integration of social networks into its fabric and user interface design. Messages are now threaded across platforms meaning that someone can send you an SMS, chat, email or Facebook message and it will all be displayed neatly in a single place of the user interface design without having to launch the separate apps. Photos taken from the phone can be added to Facebook with faces tagged natively. Similarly Facebook events are integrated into the Calendar app from where you can RSVP, take that iPhone! With improved multitasking and a more forward thinking Bing, Mango makes Windows Phone 7 worthy of purchase. The question is will the improved features and user interface design of iOS5 and Android 4.0 squeeze all the Mango juice dry!

The Windows 7 phone and the iPhone are natural and fierce competitors in the technology market. Preference for either is usually tied to whether or not you are an avid PC user or a staunchly loyal Apple supporter, as it is with laptop and desktop computers.  Still, not all customers feel particularly attached to a brand and instead purchase products based on their compatibility as a user with the product’s features. One of the main reasons people use smartphones is because of their apps.  Mobile apps now rule the smartphone empire and if you are looking into purchasing either an iPhone or a Windows 7 phone but don’t know which to choose, then a good place to start is by comparing their app capabilities.

Both the iPhone and the Windows 7 phone offer users a variety of apps to choose from. Both have a consolidated place for users to find apps: the iPhone “App Store” and the Windows 7 “Marketplace”.  Users are able to purchase apps from these stores, both through their smartphone or computer.  So what is the main difference between the two?  The number of apps available and the user interface display.  Apple offers users a much more vast selection of apps in their store.  Additionally, the iPhone offers user the ability to use and manage their apps from both their phone and their computer—currently, Windows 7 apps are only available to users through the phone’s user interface.  Thus, the iPhone is better organized and more diverse.  However, this does not mean that the Windows 7 phone will not one day reach or surpass the iPhone in terms of app numbers and interfacing options.  The Windows 7 phone is much newer than the iPhone and this leaves it more room to grow and evolve.  So choosing between the two requires you to put your faith in the Windows 7 phone’s evolution or putting stock in the iPhone’s proven reputation. Or you can simply succumb to the epic Apple-Microsoft battle and pick a side.

Hot on the heels of Microsoft’s re-boot of its Hotmail service, Google has tweaked and added features to its Gmail service and its widely familiar UI design. One of the features that I really liked was the ’sweep’ inbox management system which, considering that 90% of all webmail traffic is spam is a welcome addition. And it’s not just spam but all the social networks’ notifications, newsletters etc. and other websites that we sign up to sending us all manners of notifications that we may not want to unsubscribe from but are not that important. These last type of mails are known as “bologna” or “bacn”. Somewhere in all this are actual important emails from friends, family and work that are actually what e-mail was precisely designed for. Gmail now has a new feature entitled Priority Inbox to combat this type of email overload.

I found the Priority Inbox to score high in usability as it was very simple and straightforward to set up and use. Nestled at the top right of the interface design right next to the settings it is easy to find and always at the tip of your finger when you need it. Activating it offers users the chance to watch a short video describing the new service, should they wish to see it. An overlay appears that already sees Gmail suggest what are important and not important mails. Users can confirm this or change the suggestions. Important emails are unmistakable due to having a yellow mark along with the subject of the email. Priority emails naturally appear above the general inbox and have a corresponding folder. This feature is sure to make an already popular online software application much more manageable

Remember the end of the 90s? Microsoft was the all-conquering yet stuttering goliath. Apple was constantly in its shadow despite Microsoft borrowing a lot from Apple’s user interface designs. Fast-forward to more than a decade later it is Apple that has become the goliath and Microsoft living in its shadow (perhaps not in the software field, but certainly in the hardware section). This is none more so striking than in the mobile devices space. Microsoft’s tablets never took off despite Bill Gate’s proclamations and Windows Mobile’s smartphone market share shrunk to a dismal 5% well behind Symbian, BlackBerry, Android and, of course, the iPhone. And Vista, well let’s just not go there!

Windows Phone 7 sees the Redmond incumbent attempt to try to wrest more control of the highly prized smartphone market. The user interface design is refreshingly original. While a lot of the interface designs of other smartphone OSs seem to be playing the ‘me-too’ with Apple’s iOS in essence replicating its UI design. Windows Phone 7’s interface design features the ‘Tiles’ and ‘hubs’ system. Tiles and hubs link to a group of applications. The people hub for example integrates and reconciles your phone’s contacts together with those on Facebook, Gmail etc. It even suggests contact matches and acts as a log for calls, text messages, emails and status updates all within one hub of the interface design.

The Music and video hub has all the content in one place meaning users do not have to switch from one app to another. The same goes with the Office hub and documents or the Games hub. This makes for a slick navigation experience unlike any other. Users also have the option to add individual apps as tiles on the phone’s user interface design. But this then means that you have to scroll down for longer. The tiles themselves are used by first-party apps to display information. For example, an app for an alarm clock will display when the alarm is supposed to go off etc. It will be interesting to see how developers combine this functionality with their apps to the phone’s interface design.

There is some debate as to whether the newest generation of iPod improvements makes them perform better or just adds some cosmetic flair and enough changes to reinvigorate the product for the public.  The truth is that the new iPods are probably a little of both: flashy and functional.  However, that seems to be Apple’s doctrine, marketing gadgets that are flashy enough to top the trends but easy and practical enough to use to sustain their popularity over a long period of time.  The fact that Apple gadgets interface easily with each other, as demonstrated by the iPod Touch Skype feature, also contributes to its secure technological reign over a court of very loyal subjects. It seems as though the new generation of iPods fits Apple’s credo like a glove and the popularity of the iPod in all its forms shows no sign of decline among consumers.

A while ago, the iPod Touch, iPod Shuffle, and iPod Nano user interface designs were all subjected to a variety of tweaks by Apple, although the iPod Classic model was left as is.  The changes are meant to boost usability, intrigue new and old customers, and make the new generation of iPods more accesible than ever. Some of the new developments for each product include:

•    iPod Nano: Smaller size, added touch screen capability, lost camera.

•    iPod Shuffle: VoiceOver capacity in 25 different languages in addition to a larger size and smaller price; at $49 it is the cheapest iPod to date.

•   iPod Touch: Improved screen and battery life and a front-facing camera that allows users to make calls via Skype to iPhone 4 and other iPod Touch users.

Several weeks ago Netflix, an American a company that offers online streaming and online flat rate DVD and Blu-ray Disc rental-by-mail, released its new iPhone app that is designed to allow subscribed users to stream TV episodes and movies directly to their iPhone or iPod Touch at no additional cost.  The announcement of the new Netflix app spiked the organization’s shares by 2% and Google searches were trending towards “Netflix Android” with many Droid users wondering when Netflix would release an app for their phones.  Netflix releasing an app only for iPhone can be seen as a good marketing strategy as it makes the services that much more enticing to non-Apple users.  If and when Netflix decides to expand their application to Droids and other smartphones, users will no doubt be chomping at the bit to download it.  Another bonus is that since Netflix is a subscription based service, people may be more willing to sign-up purely to use the services on their smartphones despite the fact that the user interface design might be a challenge for older users in comparison to the larger home PC screens.

The Netflix app user interface will allow members to organize their materials by personal preferences, genres, new arrivals and individual instant queues.  Members will also be able to access their Netflix content from both 3G and Wi-Fi networks, though Wi-Fi will provide faster and more reliable streaming and downloads. So after you have finished downloading music, checking email, and Facebook stalking, you can always watch a movie on your iPhone—if you even have the time left.

At Pidoco we market our wireframes as interactive and living, so when I came across Will Evans’s article in UX Magazine entitled “Shades of Grey: Wireframes as Thinking Device” my interest was certainly peaked.  If wireframes are “living” devices then surely it isn’t a far stretch to claim that they are thinking devices too—wouldn’t thinking be a prerequisite for existence? Or maybe we should leave terms like “thinking” and “living” in the metaphorical realm because how can something as inorganic as a wireframe really be alive? Ok I took that a little too far and so for the sake of avoiding my woefully amateur philosophical musings, perhaps it is best if we take a look at some of the reasons why Evans believes wireframes help us “think” and then maybe we can draw our own conclusions as to whether or not a wireframe’s capacity to facilitate our “thinking” brings it to life in its own right.

Thinking with wireframes: they are more than just an inert tool

First and foremost Evans claims that wireframes are thinking devices because they are the setting “for the exploration of a given problem space” (UX Magazine). Evans asserts that UX designers often view the development process as purely problem solving rather than an explorative process that both poses and solves problems based on user contexts and needs.  “I use my sketches and wireframes as means to make explorative moves and assess the consequences of those moves” says Evans.  Thus, the wireframe is not just an artifact but really a framework that provides designers the space to think through and iterate their UI designs, simultaneously facilitating their problem solving and creative capacities.   By viewing the wireframe as a partner in a dynamic process instead of a static, inanimate tool, designers “will find they have the opportunity to more successfully create great user experiences.”

This take on wireframes being a kind collaborative partner in the user interface design and development process is compelling and brings a fresh outlook to the wireframing method as a whole.  If designers can learn to see wireframes in this new way then perhaps they will also feel more inspired in their work. After all new perspectives often engender reinvigorated creative flows and ideas and that is what a living thought process is all about.