[LINK] Are GUI design standards no longer relevanr?

[Ivan Trundle]

On 17/01/2010, at 10:07 AM, Fernando Cassia wrote:

> I guess list members would appreciate getting into this discussion:

Perhaps not ALL Link members, but since it's part of my job, I have an interest...

> are
> vendors like Google no longer caring about GUI design standards, all in the
> name of "simplicity"?

If something is 'simple', then this is more helpful than a standard. However, 'standards' implies a level of simplicity (amongst other things).

> Are CUA style menus no longer relevant?

Yes and no: the Apple iPhone interface rarely uses the CUA style template. Apple HIG is a very comprehensive document, and CUA drew some details from it.

> Would we need
> to learn a new set of Egyptian Hyerogliphics every time we use a new
> application, because text menus are suddenly not in vogue? Is the drawing of
> a "monkey wrench" or a "star" more intutive than a button that reads "File"
> ?

Well, this depends: using the iPhone as an example, there are hieroglyphics that are common to all apps, and people become accustomed to them, and thus it becomes simple.

Icons are useful: consider the 'play' button, or the 'record' button: (on hi-fi devices, TVs, mp3 players, etc). They have become a standard through use. I'm developing an interface that has to rely entirely on icons, and there are emerging standards that most people understand. Using text instead of words is not always helpful, and in any event, some icons (with meaning) work better than text.

> Is recovering 23 vertical pixels a good enough argument to throw away years
> of standarisation?

On the web, quite often. On the Mac, also quite often. On emerging devices, more often than not

Just my 2¢ worth...

iT

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Ivan Trundle
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