Chapter 13 -- Learn from the Web
The World Wide Web has profoundly changed how we view computing; we can now use computers as a global information appliance.
It shouldn't be surprising to discover that the Web has also changed how we view user interface design. What's remarkable about the Web is that users are able to visit a Web site they haven't seen before and quickly figure out how to use it with little effort—even without a help system or documentation. While Web sites tend to have rich, highly visual content, the user interface mechanisms provided by HTML are fairly primitive compared to those available through the Microsoft Windows API. This simple document-based approach to user interface design has many benefits that we can incorporate into our standard Windows programs.
The goal behind learning from the Web isn't to be trendy. I'm not suggesting that you redesign all your user interfaces to use this technology because it is a cool thing to do. In fact, I'm not necessarily suggesting that you redesign anything. You don't have to make your program look like a Web site. Rather, I suggest that you see whether you can improve the way you create programs by looking at user interface design from a different, simpler perspective. The goal is to make software easier to use. And you can do a good bit of this by making small changes to your existing user interfaces.
TIP
The goal behind learning from the Web isn't to be trendy but to make software easier to use.
If you have spent much time on the Internet, you know that there are many things that you should not learn from the Web. You can find many astoundingly bad Web sites out there that are the result of poor design decisions, such as presenting text on distracting backgrounds, overusing graphics, prominently displaying useless distracting animations, and making poor use of color. These Web sites have a tendency to draw unwanted attention to themselves. The lesson to learn from this aspect of the Web is how to use restraint.
In Chapter 5, "Pay Attention to Other Programs" I suggested that you analyze other programs' user interfaces while you use them. The same applies to the Web. Ask yourself why you like the Web sites you do. Try to understand why you like them or dislike them. If you find them easy to use, try to understand why. If you find them difficult to use, try to figure that out as well. Then try to see whether you can apply the methods and principles you find effective to your user interfaces.
EAN: 2147483647
Pages: 334