This week we started looking at the conceptual frameworks and main principles that HCI professionals use to understand and assess good and bad design. Some design principles are more obvious than others. Clearly the functionality of the system being designed needs to be visible, and feedback can help the user know their current state in the system (so to speak). The idea of physically constraining the user so that they are almost "forced" onto the correct path is similar to the very important concept of affordances (see Norman 1988), which we looked at in detail in Cognitive Ergonomics earlier in the week. For example, why would you have a handle on a door that needs to be pushed??? These are all over campus. The affordance of the object indicates pulling not pushing. I was thinking that the fire exits make good use of affordances (just as well really). By applying any pressure to the handle it automatically pushes away from you and the door opens. Why can't they just do that for all doors? On the other side (the pull side) they could have the same mechanism but with the handle upside down so that it could only be pulled. the affordances of the door handles would thus match its function.
As well as design principles we also looked at conceptual models in the context of human to computer interfaces; from text command (instructing), through to speech (conversing), through to direct manipulation (mice, Wii remotes, etc), and beyond. A big question pointed out was; What comes next... Direct Brain Interface? further? I think DBI is surely the holy grail of HCI. Once perfected the interface would be completely transparent, in a sense uniting the user and computer system together to form (at the very least) a functional whole.
In the seminar we started by looking at examples of good and bad design that people sent in (as well as some rather irrelevent photos of people playing UNO I think). Then we headed to an exhibition at Sussex, which was making use of technology such as screens, directional speakers and also a chair with pressure sensors so that a talk started when the listener sat down. It inspired me to think that it would be great if everytime you got up whilst watching tv/dvd the seat recognized it and paused the program/film. I'm all up for more smart technology in the home and I think it may be be an area I will research during this degree. What about presure hobs in the kitchen that turned the gas off when no weight was on them for over say 30 seconds.
Anyway thats about it for this week. Looking forward to next week and will blog again then!
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