HCI Reading Journal - Journal #3 - Research Paper Example

HCI Reading Journal - Journal #3 Number HCI Reading Journal - Journal #3 Observation users only care for their needs. Typical Users will have interest only to their needs; everything else will mean nothing except to the curious user. For instance, I wouldn’t take much interest in an interface that doesn’t help me perform particular tasks either in my studies or social networking. It’s only the other day that I realized that I could effectively use the snipping tool in the Windows operating system to accurately copy images to be used in a document.

This taught me a lot as a designer. First, as a designer I should understand the users of my interface; their needs and their perception levels. According to Heim (2008), this can be done by putting oneself in the user’s shoes to be able to understand their needs and requirements. Secondly, know the users for which the interface is intended. By studying them, you will be able to develop a seamless interface that adequately meets the user needs. Observation 2: Users want the designer to do the homeworkSince my project involves creating a user interface for a sales system, I saw it prudent to visit some of the sites.

As a user of this interface I found it so easy to choose a product after some suggestions such as; most viewed, most purchased, don’t miss, most popular among other suggestive tags. From this I learnt that items with suggestive tags will have a high chance of being viewed and even purchased. Therefore, as a user interface designer, one must consider the possibility of aggregating related content in one interface to ease navigation of the user (Dillon, 2003).Observation 3: In a user interface Content is KingMost users will seldom dwell on the layout and the structure of the interface but will go straight to the content.

According to Dillon (2003), in order to effectively engage users of an interface, the designer must get the content of the interface right. One could have a perfect design for an interface with shallow content that will not effectively the client. Design is a magnet but the content is what keeps the user coming back again and again. I tried to compare between the design interface for two social sites; Face book and Twitter. Face book has a more interactive interface that has options for posts, messages, image and video communication.

On the other hand twitter is simple with fewer graphic but more messaging. However, despite the differences the two sites have almost equal users due to the content in each interface. Observation 4: Users are smarter than they are perceivedMost designers will think users have no idea or will not realize several aspects of the user interface. This is not the case in the current society. Users visit several sites and interact with man interfaces on a daily basis. In this process, the pick up several aspects of user interfaces and are in a better position to compare and contrast and finally make a judgment on a user interface.

As a designer I am obliged to do the same, visit various sites and use interfaces in a bid to improve my design. Most importantly, we should remember that the user is smart therefore; the interface should be equally smart (Dillon, 2003).Observation 5: Users are attracted by color and graphicsI visited the government website and I must admit that apart from the logo everything else was plain and dull. If not for the important content carried in the website, I wouldn’t find any motivation to visit the site again.

This speaks much about color and graphics used on an interface. The designer should always consider the color and graphics to be used in the interface. Depending on the purpose of an interface it is important to use attractive colors and graphics that will appeal to the user and at the same time ensure visibility of the interface (Heim, 2003). ReferencesDillon, A. (2003). User interface design. Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science.Heim, S.(2008). The resonant interface: HCI foundations for interaction design.

Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.