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User Interface Design for Electronic Appliances fills an aching void in the
literature of user experience. While pundits have been busy rhapsodizing
about the coming convergence in interactive media, what has actually been
happening is an explosive divergence in the form and functions of elec-
tronic devices. Convergence, I think, is a myth created to fulfil our wistful
desire for everything to be simple and coherent. Instead, we find ourselves
in a world where user interface styles seem to be multiplying as rapidly as
device types. Our backpacks and belt loops are cluttered with little gadgets
that communicate poorly with us, and with each other not at all. The ideal
of a life smoothly augmented by technology seems farther away than ever.
This book provides a comprehensive array of explanations, guidelines and
techniques that can serve the designer of any new (or 'improved') electronic
device, from cellular phones to augmented reality devices. Were this book to
become the design manual of choice, we would experience a twofold gain in
the quality of user experience: better-informed standards for consistency and
ease of use, and increasingly effective customization of devices to specific
users, activities and situated contexts. In other words, we can have the best
of both paradigms - convergence and divergence - through better design
practice.]
Baumann and Thomas have resisted the temptation to see user interface
design for today's new devices as simple extensions of conventions
developed for the personal computer. Indeed, Baumann reaches back to
the world of analogue controls for numerous examples of input devices
that are universally understood and superbly well suited to their particular
functions. Likewise, the contributors to this book do not rely on the received
wisdom of the human factors and user interface communities as unques-
tioned standards for appropriateness. Readers will find refreshing explana-
tions of the realities of human perception, social behaviours and cultural
differences along with concrete examples of their relevance to successful
design. From brainstorming to team structure to user testing, this book
also provides guidelines for managing the human side of design practice. |