K-I-S-S, right? Well, yes, generally. But in interaction design, sometimes a user’s need to be assured requires a bit of extra complexity.
To illustrate this user insecurity, here’s an everyday example: As a kid (and even somewhat to this day), I was always unnerved by those push-button locks that are found on the inside of a lot of bathroom doors. You know, you push this little button in the center of the doorknob which, when depressed, indicates that the door is locked. But of course, when you turn the knob from the inside, the button immediately pops back out, and the door is unlocked. This is simpler for the bathroom-goer, right? It consolidates two actions—unlocking the door, turning the knob—into one—turning the knob. But, like I said, I was always unnerved by these locks. It was hard to have faith that the door wouldn’t unlock so easily from the outside, too. Just a turn of the knob…. Couple this with the fact that these locks seem to appear in a lot of restaurant bathrooms and other places where one really is afraid of being suddenly exposed and it seems that “Keeping it Simple” can be stupid.
And this does apply to software (and web interface) design, too. Yesterday, I was adjusting my preferences in Pidgin, the IM program. At the bottom of the preferences panel, there was just one button, reading “Close”. Now, I knew that the intelligent makers of Pidgin wouldn’t have done this if my changes didn’t save automatically, but it’s bad interaction design. First of all, there’s no “Cancel” or “Reset“ button. If I don’t notice this absence right away and decide to discard the changes I made, it looks like I’ll have to remember each and ever change I made. This could be problematic. But, more directly related to the Bathroom Door Problem, give me a goddamn “Save” button. A “Save and Close” button would be a significant improvement, but better still would be both: “Save” and “Save and Close” buttons. I, the user, am insecure. I want to know that my changes are saved, not assume it. So, it turns out that Windows’ seemingly redundant “Ok” and “Apply” buttons are the smart call.
Keeping it simple is a great rule, but, as with any other, there are exceptions.
One big change, one small.
The big change: I changed the font for the body of posts from Georgia to Verdana. The explanation is that the text block was too dark in Georgia. I think the added weight of the Serifs account for this, but either way Georgia’s a darker font. Verdana has more open counters too. The lighter text “color” makes the text more approachable, but also adds contrast (thus direction) to the page as a whole. Given that Verdana has a much larger x-height than Georgia, I reduced the font size to 12px (from 14px). This increases the leading, also contributing to a lighter feel (though the x-height makes this change minimal, practically speaking.
The small change: I’ve lightened the color of the 1px dashed border between blog content and meta the sidebar. With the change in font serving to differentiate the two, the border need not be so pronounced.
I’m currently planning to apply to the new MFA in Interaction Design at the School for Visual Arts. As such, interaction design is very much on my mind these days. So I give you two examples of brilliant interaction design:
Jenova Chen’s masterful Flow game. (Thanks to Andy Rutledge for pointing me to this.) Chen does EVERYTHING right. There’s a logic to everything. It’s consistent with what we expect of games in general, and even somewhat with its setting (oceanlike). It has levels, each with something of a “end guy” or “level boss”. Flow presents attainable challenges and allows the player the pleasure of figuring things out himself. That said, the instructions provide you with the little info that you need to know in advance. Really, what makes this game the most fun for me is not the game play itself (which is still terrific), but the fun of figuring out how it all works and fits together. I could go on gushing forever, but let me just reiterate that it does everything right. It’s systematic and logical, challenging, gradated. But it does need a pause option
The second great example of interaction design is found at http://www.changethis.com. In the main navigation menu (at the top) there’s a link reading “preferences.” Brilliant. It’s no secret that customizability is a cornerstone of great user experiences, but what a great way to put this principle to work. I was about to leave the site, largely uninterested (too business-y), when I saw that link. My thinking was that maybe I could tell the site to filter out articles less likely to interest me. In reality, the “preferences” options are disappointing, which brings me to a second point: you still have to deliver. Nonetheless, the familiar “preferences” link is immediately enticing. Love it.