Ease of use with digital tabletops in public settings is contingent on how well the system invites and guides interaction. The same can be said for the interface design and individual graphical user interface elements of these systems. One such interface element is menus. Prior to a menu being used however, it must first be discovered within the interface. Existing research pertaining to digital tabletop menu design does not address this issue of discovering or opening a menu. This thesis investigates how the interface and interaction of digital tabletops can be designed to encourage menu discoverability in the context of public settings. A set of menu invocation designs varying on the invocation element and use of animation are proposed. These designs are then evaluated through an observational study at a museum to observe users interactions in a realistic public setting. Findings from this study propose the use of discernible and recognizable interface elements – buttons – supported by the use of animation to attract and guide users as a discoverable menu invocation design. Additionally, findings posit that when engaging with a public digital tabletop display, users transition through exploration and discovery states before becoming competent with the system. Finally, insights from this study point to a set of design recommendations for improving menu discoverability.

The objective of the thesis is to introduce the reader to the topic of user interfaces and their design, to provide basic information about the concepts and methods used for the development of user interfaces. The author based the theoretical part of the work on a particular interface design approach - user centered design. The practical part applies selected methods that are described in the theoretical part, the optimization and design of a user interface for a specific application is described. The design process precedes an analysis of other competitive products, the identification of target groups of clients and their needs, the optimization of existing key processes, the development of existing functionalities and proposals for the implementation of new functionalities. Against this background, the author creates a web application interface design and associated mobile application designs. The end of the work deals with designing a model for payments as a system service and outlines possible further extensions of the system.

Information visualization tools provide visual representations of data (commonly known as visualizations), textual representations of data and interactive operations on both these representations. It is possible, in theory, to make use of only the textual representations in order to detect trends and patterns in data. However, it would be extremely laborious and ineffective and it defeats the purpose of a visualization tool. Novices have had the problem of relying on text and failing to successfully detect trends in data because it was too laborious. We want users to effectively use visual representations to detect trends in data. Information visualization tools have been shown to be successful with experts. But can novice users using a visualization tool for the first-time, adopt visualization-based strategies to finding trends and patterns in data? This thesis derives a framework of learnable elements in an interactive coordinated-view visualization tool. This framework provides an outline of prerequisites to be learned in order to effectively use visualizations. That is, the new aspects of visualization tools must be mastered so that novices can use the tool effectively. Three interface design principles are derived to make these elements learnable to novice users: • The data-first approach - Provide a prominent overview of all available data, as opposed to showing only visualizations. This helps understand the data structure - this may be essential knowledge in being able to navigate to required data attributes. • The "less visualization, more explanation" approach - Show more explanations of visualizations at the expense of being able to pack in more visualizations. Explanations help identify how data is mapped onto visual marks, a crucial step in understanding visualizations. • The "predetermined task-based coordinations" approach - Provide separate predetermined sets of coordinated visualizations that help achieve different tasks. This is different from techniques that simply present all visualization types and expect users to choose coordinations according to tasks. Two versions of Datamaps visualization tool for Census data were tested. Both were equivalent in functionality and the kinds of visualizations offered. But the new version was specifically designed based on the three design principles. A usability study showed that the version that was implemented according to the three design principles successfully led novices to effectively use visualization-based strategies to detect trends and patterns in data. / Master of Science

O design é abordado neste trabalho desde a sua criação com a Bauhaus, passando por suas definições e conceituações, assim como também aponta os avanços tecnológicos da informática em especial à computação gráfica como ferramenta salutar ao designer gráfico. O mundo digital traz ao designer novas segmentações de atuação como o interface designer e o Web designer. O design, mesmo que historicamente exista há muito mais tempo do que a sua institucionalização como profissão independente no Brasil, firma-se na modernidade e ganha-se força neste momento contemporâneo, até definindo, em algumas situações e questões econômicas de mercado. Há uma singularidade no design que aglutina virtualmente duas características: facilitação da leitura e informação - que é o Web design, pois ao mesmo tempo em que informa o conteúdo de um Web site, demonstra o caminho a ser navegado e toda a sua interatividade. Com a disposição das novas mídias digitais¹, é salutar acompanhar o crescimento vertiginoso e preponderante que as informações permeiam com mais amplitude, permitindo a cada instante ganhar o aperfeiçoamento e a descoberta de novos meios de explicitar a mensagem com rapidez e objetividade oriundos num mundo moderno e globalizado em que vivemos. As universidades e faculdades, como facilitadoras de aprendizagem, investem em novas tecnologias para disseminar seus cursos, seus produtos, sua infraestrutura, e também utiliza dos recursos da Web para oferecer cursos on-line². Nessa linha de raciocínio, sobre o que é funcional, eficaz e ao mesmo tempo audacioso em um Web site, é analisado neste trabalho 80 instituições de ensino superior brasileiras, objetivando uma inovação no que diz respeito a usabilidade, baseado numa arquitetura de informação estruturada. A metodologia adotada baseia-se numa sequência de ítens de maior relevância, do ponto de vista técnico e operacional de usabilidade, juntamente com assuntos de interesse comuns apontados pelo público alvo. A análise remete a um diagrama de ordem quantitativa e, posteriormente, qualitativa, que evidencia aspectos inerentes ao interface design. / The design is approached in this paper work since its criation with Bauhaus, having its definitions and concepts , this way it also shows technological advances in the field of information technology in special to the graphic information technology as an important salutary tool to the graphic designer. The digital world brings to the designer new segments of perfomance such as interface designer and the web designer. The design, even existing such a long time before its intitutionalisation as an independent profession in Brazil, it gets strengh in both modern time and at this contemporary moment, and also in some situations and economic points in the market. There is such singularity in design that joins virtually two features: an easy way of reading and information - which is the web design field, though at the same time it informs all there is in a web site , shows the way to browse and all its interactivity. With all the display of new media , it is necessary to be aquainted with the growth and the manner that the information broadens with an opening way, allowing the user at every moment gain improvement and the discovery of new forms to set out the message fast and originating goals in this present and globalised world in which we live. The universities and colleges, places for getting knowledgement, invest in technology to broaden their courses, products, structure, they also make use of resources from the web to offer on line courses. In this line of approach what is functional, effective in a web site, in this paper work is analysed 80 institutions such as universities and colleges, getting the point of inovation about the use based on an structered information architecture. The metodology adopted is based on a sequence of items of important points of technical views and operational use, together with subjects of interest pointed by the target audience. The analysis sends to a quantitative diagram and further to a qualifying diagram that displays inherent aspects to the interface design.

This paper documents the planning, design, implementation, and preliminary evaluation of the Multimedia Story Builder and Multimedia Story Player – two applications that together are used to create, edit, manage, and deliver web-based multimedia presentations. These applications incorporate simple and intuitive interfaces, extensive functionality, multiple presentation methods, and support for multiple media types, all of which represent improvements over similar systems. The results of a preliminary usability test and suggestions for future testing and development are also described.

Current multimodal interfaces for complex systems, such as those designed using the Ecological Interface Design (EID) methodology, have largely focused on effective design of interfaces that treat each sensory modality as either an independent channel of information or as a way to provide redundant information. However, there are many times when operationally related information is presented in different sensory modalities. There is very little research that has examined how this information in different modalities can be linked at a perceptual level. When related information is presented through multiple sensory modalities, interface designers will require perceptual methods for linking relevant information together across modalities. This thesis examines one possible crossmodal perceptual relationship, temporal synchrony, and evaluates whether the relationship is useful in the design of multimodal interfaces for complex systems. Two possible metrics for the evaluation of crossmodal perceptual relationships were proposed: resistance to changes in workload, and stream monitoring awareness. Two experiments were used to evaluate these metrics. The results of the first experiment showed that temporal rate synchrony was not resistant to changes in workload, manipulated through a secondary visual task. The results of the second experiment showed that participants who used crossmodal temporal rate synchrony to link information in a multimodal interface did not achieve better performance in the monitoring of the two streams of information being presented over equivalent unimodal interfaces. Taken together, these findings suggest that temporal rate synchrony may not be an effective method for linking information across modalities. Crossmodal perceptual relationships may be very different from intra-modal perceptual relationships. However, methods for linking information across sensory modalities are still an important goal for interface designers, and a key feature of future multimodal interface design for complex systems.

Current multimodal interfaces for complex systems, such as those designed using the Ecological Interface Design (EID) methodology, have largely focused on effective design of interfaces that treat each sensory modality as either an independent channel of information or as a way to provide redundant information. However, there are many times when operationally related information is presented in different sensory modalities. There is very little research that has examined how this information in different modalities can be linked at a perceptual level. When related information is presented through multiple sensory modalities, interface designers will require perceptual methods for linking relevant information together across modalities. This thesis examines one possible crossmodal perceptual relationship, temporal synchrony, and evaluates whether the relationship is useful in the design of multimodal interfaces for complex systems. Two possible metrics for the evaluation of crossmodal perceptual relationships were proposed: resistance to changes in workload, and stream monitoring awareness. Two experiments were used to evaluate these metrics. The results of the first experiment showed that temporal rate synchrony was not resistant to changes in workload, manipulated through a secondary visual task. The results of the second experiment showed that participants who used crossmodal temporal rate synchrony to link information in a multimodal interface did not achieve better performance in the monitoring of the two streams of information being presented over equivalent unimodal interfaces. Taken together, these findings suggest that temporal rate synchrony may not be an effective method for linking information across modalities. Crossmodal perceptual relationships may be very different from intra-modal perceptual relationships. However, methods for linking information across sensory modalities are still an important goal for interface designers, and a key feature of future multimodal interface design for complex systems.

O design é abordado neste trabalho desde a sua criação com a Bauhaus, passando por suas definições e conceituações, assim como também aponta os avanços tecnológicos da informática em especial à computação gráfica como ferramenta salutar ao designer gráfico. O mundo digital traz ao designer novas segmentações de atuação como o interface designer e o Web designer. O design, mesmo que historicamente exista há muito mais tempo do que a sua institucionalização como profissão independente no Brasil, firma-se na modernidade e ganha-se força neste momento contemporâneo, até definindo, em algumas situações e questões econômicas de mercado. Há uma singularidade no design que aglutina virtualmente duas características: facilitação da leitura e informação - que é o Web design, pois ao mesmo tempo em que informa o conteúdo de um Web site, demonstra o caminho a ser navegado e toda a sua interatividade. Com a disposição das novas mídias digitais¹, é salutar acompanhar o crescimento vertiginoso e preponderante que as informações permeiam com mais amplitude, permitindo a cada instante ganhar o aperfeiçoamento e a descoberta de novos meios de explicitar a mensagem com rapidez e objetividade oriundos num mundo moderno e globalizado em que vivemos. As universidades e faculdades, como facilitadoras de aprendizagem, investem em novas tecnologias para disseminar seus cursos, seus produtos, sua infraestrutura, e também utiliza dos recursos da Web para oferecer cursos on-line². Nessa linha de raciocínio, sobre o que é funcional, eficaz e ao mesmo tempo audacioso em um Web site, é analisado neste trabalho 80 instituições de ensino superior brasileiras, objetivando uma inovação no que diz respeito a usabilidade, baseado numa arquitetura de informação estruturada. A metodologia adotada baseia-se numa sequência de ítens de maior relevância, do ponto de vista técnico e operacional de usabilidade, juntamente com assuntos de interesse comuns apontados pelo público alvo. A análise remete a um diagrama de ordem quantitativa e, posteriormente, qualitativa, que evidencia aspectos inerentes ao interface design. / The design is approached in this paper work since its criation with Bauhaus, having its definitions and concepts , this way it also shows technological advances in the field of information technology in special to the graphic information technology as an important salutary tool to the graphic designer. The digital world brings to the designer new segments of perfomance such as interface designer and the web designer. The design, even existing such a long time before its intitutionalisation as an independent profession in Brazil, it gets strengh in both modern time and at this contemporary moment, and also in some situations and economic points in the market. There is such singularity in design that joins virtually two features: an easy way of reading and information - which is the web design field, though at the same time it informs all there is in a web site , shows the way to browse and all its interactivity. With all the display of new media , it is necessary to be aquainted with the growth and the manner that the information broadens with an opening way, allowing the user at every moment gain improvement and the discovery of new forms to set out the message fast and originating goals in this present and globalised world in which we live. The universities and colleges, places for getting knowledgement, invest in technology to broaden their courses, products, structure, they also make use of resources from the web to offer on line courses. In this line of approach what is functional, effective in a web site, in this paper work is analysed 80 institutions such as universities and colleges, getting the point of inovation about the use based on an structered information architecture. The metodology adopted is based on a sequence of items of important points of technical views and operational use, together with subjects of interest pointed by the target audience. The analysis sends to a quantitative diagram and further to a qualifying diagram that displays inherent aspects to the interface design.

This research addresses a problem that centers on the persistent disparities in computer use and access among racial minorities, particularly African-Americans and Latinos, and persons of low socio-economic status (SES) here in the USA. "Access" to computer technology maintains a dual meaning. Access may refer to having a computer and software available for use or it may refer to having a computer interface that effectively facilitates user learning. This study conceptualizes "access" as the latter — having an interface that facilitates user learning. One intervention for this problem of access, from a Human Factors perspective, is in recognizing and accounting for culture's influence on one's cognition. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were integrated to effectively determine a process for engaging typically marginalized groups, interface metaphor preferences of African-Americans, and user performance with varying types of interface metaphors. The qualitative aspects of this study provided a basis for understanding how entry was obtained into the participants' community and for obtaining richer descriptions of user successes and challenges with the various interface designs. The researcher developed a culturally valid interface design methodology, i.e., Acculturalization Interface Design (A.I.D.) methodology, which was used to identify meaningful computer interface metaphors for low SES African-Americans. Through the A.I.D. methodology and an associated field study, a group of African-American novice computer users determined that the home, the bedroom and comfort were meaningful computer interface metaphors to integrate into a letter writing task. A separate group of African-Americans performed benchmark tasks on an interface design that utilized the home, bedroom and comfort metaphors or Microsoft Word 2003. The African-American group performed significantly better on the novel interface than on Microsoft Word 2003 for several benchmark tasks. Qualitative analyses showed that low acculturation African-Americans were particularly challenged with those same tasks. Regression analyses used to determine the relationship between psychosocial characteristics and user performance were inconclusive. Subject matter experts (SME), representing low SES Latinos, discussed potential learnability issues for both interface designs. Furthermore, results from the African-American group and the SMEs highlight the critical importance of using terminology (i.e., verbal metaphors) and pictorial metaphors that are culturally and socially valid. / Ph. D.

The older population is increasing, as is life expectancy. Technical devices are becoming more widespread and used for many everyday tasks. Knowledge about new technology is important to remain as an active and independent part of the society. However, if an old user group should have equal access to this technology, new demands will be placed on the design of interfaces and devices. With respect to old users it is and will be important to develop technical devices and interfaces that take the age-related decline in physical and cognitive abilities into account. The aim of this work was to investigate to what extent the age-related cognitive decline affects performance on different computer-related tasks and the use of different interfaces. With respect to the use of computer interfaces, two studies were conducted. In the first study, the information was presented with a hierarchical structure. In the second study the information was presented as a 3D-environment, and it was also investigated how an overview map could support navigation. The third study examined the age-related cognitive decline in the use of a small mobile phone display with a hierarchical information structure. The results from the studies showed that the most pronounced age-related difference was found in the use of the 3D-environment. Within this environment, prior experience was found to have the largest impact on performance. Regarding the hierarchical information structures, prior experience seemed to have a larger impact on performance of easy tasks, while age and cognitive abilities had a larger impact on performance of more complex tasks. With respect to navigation aids, the overview map in the 3D-environment did not reduce the age-differences; however, it contributed to a better perceived orientation and reduced the feeling of being lost.