OUGD504 - SB02 - Human Interface Guidelines

OUGD504 

SB02 

Human Interface Guidelines


Considerations
Main age group for competitive swimmers is 10 to 16 years (national age group categories). Some swimmers stay on to compete till there mid 20's (university leagues, triathletes, professional athletes) but the post 16 gap is responsible for the drop in participation. Therefore I will market this app at this age group. This means the graphics and design will have to be appropriate.

Aesthetic integrity 
represents how well an app’s appearance and behaviour integrate with its function. For example, an app that helps people perform a serious task can keep them focused by using subtle, unobtrusive graphics, standard controls, and predictable behaviours. On the other hand, an immersive app, such as a game, can deliver a captivating appearance that promises fun and excitement, while encouraging discovery.

Consistency

A consistent app implements familiar standards and paradigms by using system-provided interface elements, well-known icons, standard text styles, and uniform terminology. The app incorporates features and behaviours in ways people expect.

Direct Manipulation
The direct manipulation of onscreen content engages people and facilitates understanding. Users experience direct manipulation when they rotate the device or use gestures to affect onscreen content. Through direct manipulation, they can see the immediate, visible results of their actions.

Feedback
Feedback acknowledges actions and shows results to keep people informed. Interactive elements are highlighted briefly when tapped, progress indicators communicate the status of long-running operations, and animation and sound help clarify the results of actions.

Metaphor
People learn more quickly when an app’s virtual objects and actions are metaphors for familiar experiences—whether rooted in the real or digital world. 

User control
An app can make people feel like they’re in control by keeping interactive elements familiar and predictable, confirming destructive actions, and making it easy to cancel operations, even when they’re already underway.



App Architecture

Loading
When content is loading, a blank or static screen can make it seem like your app is frozen, resulting in confusion and frustration, and potentially causing people to leave your app. Make it clear when loading is occurring. At minimum, show an activity spinner that denotes something is happening. Even better, display explicit progress so the user can gauge how long they’ll be waiting. Show content as soon as possible. Don’t make people wait for content to load before seeing the screen they're expecting. Educate or entertain people to mask loading time. Customise loading screens. 

Navigation
People tend to be unaware of an app’s navigation until it doesn’t meet their expectations. Navigation should feel natural and familiar, and shouldn’t dominate the interface or draw focus away from content. 

Hierarchical Navigation

Make one choice per screen until you reach a destination. To go to another destination, you must retrace your steps or start over from the beginning and make different choices. Settings and Mail use this navigation style.

Flat Navigation

Switch between multiple content categories. Music and App Store use this navigation style.

Content-Driven or Experience-Driven Navigation

Move freely through content, or the content itself defines the navigation. Games, books, and other immersive apps generally use this navigation style.

Always provide a clear path. Design an information structure that makes it fast and easy to get to content. Organise your information structure in a way that requires a minimum number of taps, swipes, and screens. Use touch gestures to create fluidity. Use standard navigation components. Use a navigation bar to traverse a hierarchy of data. The navigation bar’s title can show the current position in the hierarchy, and the back button makes it easy to return to the previous location


Layout Considerations
Maintain focus on the current content during context changes. Content is your highest priority. Changing focus when the environment changes can be disorienting and frustrating, and can make people feel like they’ve lost control of the app. Ensure that primary content is clear at its default size. People shouldn’t have to scroll horizontally to read important text, or zoom to see primary images, unless they choose to change the size.Maintain an overall consistent appearance throughout your app. Use visual weight and balance to convey importance. 

Branding
Successful branding involves more than just adding brand assets to your app. Great apps express unique brand identity through smart font, colour, and image decisions. Provide enough branding to give people context in your app, but not so much that it becomes a distraction. Incorporate refined, unobtrusive branding.  Don’t let branding get in the way of great app design. Defer to content over branding.

Colour
Use colour judiciously for communication. Use complementary colours throughout your app. In general, choose a limited colour palette that coordinates with your app logo. Consider choosing a key colour to indicate interactivity throughout your app. Avoid using the same colour for interactive and non interactive elements. Test your app’s colour scheme under a variety of lighting conditions. Consider how your use of colour might be perceived in other countries and cultures.