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Unit 23 P2 M1
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Assignment covering criteria P2 and M1 for Unit 23 Human Computer Interaction
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Unit 23- Assignment 2Perception
Perception varies between the developer and the user- i.e. the user may not know the
importance of colour or positioning items on a GUI, and the developer may not be the
same person as the designer, meaning they are unaware of the needs that may be
required by the user.
Colour
When designing a graphical user interface, use of colour is important. Bright colours can
strain and become uncomfortable for the user to look at, and users with the learning
difficulty of dyslexia often find it difficult to read passages of text if they are on certain
colour backgrounds, i.e. if using a red pen on a whiteboard, this can cause the writing to
appear almost invisible. Cream or pastel backgrounds can make it easier for dyslexic
individuals to read what is on screen.
If a GUI has been designed with a 3D effect, then the trichromatic system is important.
The Trichromatic system uses a combination of three colours that are the basis for
viewing items in 3D; these three colours are red, blue and green.
Luminance
The three colours in the Trichromatic system are detected by three different types of
cells on the retina on the eye, which are known as receptors. These receptors generate
signals, and these signals are believed to take the form of red-green, yellow-blue and
black-white- the signals are called opponent colour channels because they relay
information about opposite colours.
The word luminance is used when describing this, and the theory that produced the idea
of signals goes on to say that there is a hierarchy of luminance, and detail cannot be
displayed effectively by early colour pairings. This makes a fundamental rule of design- in
order to display in the best detail, luminance contrasts should be used. Some devices
rely on luminance, and this may be essential when designing a GUI that is meant to be
used at night or in poor light.
Pop out effect
When a display has many images or symbols, to make one specific item stand out they
can be aligned, coloured differently or adjusted to a different shape. The item will then
stand out, and this is known as the pop out effect, or the preattentive processing theory,
and this can be experimented with.
, Unit 23- Assignment 2
Pattern
A user may think that this refers to the picture on the GUI or the layout, but the designer
may see it as a template. This template provides consistency and symmetry, and is likely
to include colour, format, layout and common groupings such as menus and options.
This aids the way the user can feel related to the interface, and provide connectedness
and user-friendliness- consistency can help with making the user feel more at ease and
comfortable with what happens next.
Pattern perception is a fundamental process in the perception of displays and objects. A
set of laws known as the Gestalt Laws were made to describe how we view patterns and
create rules for designs.
Proximity: things that are close together are viewed as a group.
Continuity: smooth, continuous lines are interpreted easier than ones that
change.
Symmetry: symmetrical shapes are seen easier than ones that aren’t
symmetrical.
Similarity: similar objects are seen as a group, and objects that are different to
the other are often viewed on their own. (the pop out effect)
Common groupings: a way of separating different types of objects.
Connectedness: the ease in which users are able to move from one location to
the next, like between different software applications which would appear
familiar.
Objects
All components of a graphical user interface are built using separate objects- each object
then appears in the hierarchal system, so the images are layered. It is important to know
which image is first, and which others are placed over the first- without this knowledge,
the interface may appear as an incomplete object and be of no use to the user. If images
are behind or blocking the other images, then the entire interface is not visible to the
user.
Geons and gross 3D shapes are used to provide consistency when reproducing images.
Geons are 2D shapes that are recognisable by the user from almost any angle, and they
are less complex to design than 3D shapes. They are also relatively cheap to produce.
Gross 3D shapes are used in video games, and like geons, are relatively easy to produce.
They do not require exact reproduction and are used to transmit images in real time.
However, 3D images can easily be misinterpreted by the user due to their varying
perception.
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