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For GUIs, Just the Right Degree of Realism

Posted by timothy on from the insightful-line-drawing dept.

mr crypto writes "User interfaces make copious use of pictures and symbols, but how abstract should images be? Lukas Mathis has an interesting blog entry on where to draw the line."

1 of 256 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Confusing icon practices by stewbacca · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    There's no such thing as "intuitive" computer interfaces.

    I disagree completely. As a matter of fact, your next sentences proves that there is such a thing as intuitive interfaces by the fact that an intuitive interface is also "discoverable".

    However, that does NOT mean that intuitive interfaces are derived from previous knowledge. This is why people who jump to OSX from Windows have such a hard time with the "intuitive" interface of OSX. They grew used to a poor interface (Window Whatever) and then brought those bad habits with them.

    A truly intuitive interface is one that a user with little experience (not enough to be persuaded to try something out of habit) can just figure out. It's also more than just icons--it's system hierarchy, interfaces, dialogs, visual/audio/animation cues etc. I think iPods/iPhones are good examples of this, since most users are enamored by those products, most likely because they are easy to figure out without having any reference to compare them too (no prior experience).