How to make a User Friendly Interface

Author: Daniel Flaquinti - 100393621

For this week’s blog post I will be discussing how I would create an interface that would be useable to a mass amount of different users. The interface would be used for a tablet type device. The application would be used in a kind of business / home type of environment. One factor the interface would have to excel at is being user friendly. As mentioned in the video lecture, there are numerous things the interface must excel at in order to be user friendly. One of these categories is for the interface to be accessible and comprehensible.  To make the application easy to understand, I would limit the amount of buttons and options that would be on screen at once. This is to prevent the user from being overwhelmed by the options. The buttons would also be large and simplified, so they are easily legible and would still be usable if the application was to run on different devices. For example, the buttons must be usable if the application is being run on a tablet with a large screen or a smart phone with a smaller one. If the buttons were made too small, they might work fine for a tablet but might be hard to use of smart phone users. 

Another attribute I would do would be to label each button with text instead of using an image icon. This would be to make the application acceptable to people who are not familiar with application or technology in general. This would help make the interface accessible and idiot proof. For example, an elderly person might not know that a floppy disk symbol means to save what they are working on. If that button was replaced with a button that clearly stated “SAVE”, then the person would have a better understanding to what task and function that button performs. This is similar to how in the Nintendo Wii’s system menu; all the options are labeled and simplistic.

A very easy to use interface

To make the application further idiot proof, I would include a “HELP” button on each page. When pressed, a small description of what each button does would appear around the page. An overall description would also appear offering further explanation on what is happening in the application. There would also be audio that would narrate what the help descriptions are saying, as some people can take in information easier through audio. To make the application more available and ready, I would ensure that the application would be useable without an internet connection. This kind of offline mode would be very important as not all tablets and smart phones are connected to a network. For example I know a family member who owns a high end android smart phone, but does not have a data plan, meaning they can only use the internet if they are connected to a Wi-Fi network. If the application has internet functionality; I would ensure that the interface would still mostly function when not connected to a network. Essentially, the interface should work as much as possible without the presence of a network connection. Obviously this might be impossible if the application is totality internet based, but some effort should go into ensuing that it works as much as possible under a network free condition. With these ideas, an application could be created to have maximum user friendliness for anyone who uses it.