Design Analysis: Event classification for interactive design

Digging graves

Interactive design (interaction) was produced in the 1980s, at a 1984-year design conference, the famous British interactive designer Bill Mogrich first proposed the concept of interactive design, as a focus on the interactive experience of the new disciplines exist and developed to this day, He began by naming it "the soft side (Soft face)", which was reminiscent of the popular toy "Broccoli doll (Cabbage Patch doll)", which he later renamed "Interaction Design"--interactive designs.

Thinking

Interactive design is a technique for making products easy to use and enjoyable as much as possible, including understanding the psychological reactions of target users during product usage, understanding the behavior of the user when interacting with a product, understanding the habits of most user interactions, and also understanding the various ways of interacting effectively. and to enhance and expand them. The interactive design also involves a number of disciplines, as well as communication with multiple background people.

Interactive design in the use of products more and more of the major web sites as well as the attention of netizens, the theory of interactive design is increasingly plump, classic interactive cases are gradually enriched.

Today we are going to analyze some of the interactive design events on the internet, and make some personal superficial observations for our research and application.

In fact, the interaction can be understood as the user's feelings in the process of using the product and feedback for the sensation. From this perspective, life is a ubiquitous interaction. The sensation of interaction arises from the five senses we normally know, namely, hearing, sight, smell, taste, touch. Of course you have to think that interaction can give you a sixth sense, and I don't object to it, because there's a good interaction that makes you feel mysterious, and allows you to use the product in the direction that the designer has envisioned. The interactive design applied to the Internet is basically no sense of smell and taste, although the future may be related to hardware products as these feelings of the output equipment (such as not good-looking site, an output device directly emit a foul smell, or some output equipment tasted very bitter), But we're only talking about the feeling of most of the input devices at the moment. (Note i)

Analysis

When we use Internet products, the auditory, visual, tactile is often triggered. Here I classify the interactive events of the Internet products: Auditory interaction events, visual interaction events, keyboard interaction events, mouse interaction events. Although the latter both belong to tactile interaction events, but based on the user's operating habits (keyboard stream, mouse flow), I think it would be easier to discuss this topic apart, although sometimes they are mixed together, difficult to separate. (Note II)

Auditory Interaction Events

Auditory interaction events, as the name suggests, is the process by which the ear hears the sound to the user and produces the associated reaction. For example, Windows system beep, some of the sound effects in the network game, a lot of forum short message reminders, and so on. The main interactions of auditory interaction events are four kinds: hints, warnings, feedbacks, supplements. Let me give you an example of each.

Tips: For example, a lot of instant messaging software Friends online prompts, system message prompts.

Warning: System operation error warning tone, software login password error, some game red blood warning, time limit warning, opportunity limit warning.

Feedback: Registration Successful, upgrade successful, Operation button is clicked.

Add: A lot of Flash station background music, the game in the horse hiss, horseshoe dust, sword sonorous, electronic magazine page turn sound effect.

Sound interaction events are interactive in a single way, which is the default for making sounds during interaction. Its advantage is to remind users that in the output equipment (handset, speakers, etc.) complete, information transmission stability, users easy to receive, the best interaction effect. But it also has shortcomings, is subject to output equipment, if there is no speaker or handset, the interaction effect is basically not. Therefore, auditory interaction events are generally not used independently on Internet products.

Considerations for auditory interaction Events:

1. Not independent use, should be used in conjunction with other interactive events, at least with visual interaction.

2. Does not force the user to accept, has the choice item may let the user close, do not expect the user to turn off the output device for you.

Visual Interaction Events

Visual interaction events are the processes by which the eye sees the interface to the user and produces the associated reaction. Visual interaction events are often mixed with other interaction events, but they can be used independently. For example, a lot of offline activities online advertising, some movie posters, some cattle personal website notice, flow chart, registered users to confirm read the user agreement can not be clicked before (or the countdown is completed before the click) button and so on.

I give a concrete example, a site appears a shocking advertising map, the content of "Zhejiang Mobile launched 200 to send 200 discount activities, please go to the nearby business hall for processing." "The user may not click, he will call the mobile company to inquire, or tell a friend to recharge, or go directly to the business hall for processing." As long as the person has a reaction, the interactive event is carried out perfectly, the advertising effect is achieved. The combination of visual interaction and other events is also ubiquitous, and I'm not one by one enumerated.

Visual interaction is the most intuitive and easy to access the user experience, so it needs to have beautiful, attractive, impact, resonance and other characteristics. This part coincides with the part of the interface visual design that needs attention, but not exactly the same.

Considerations for visual interaction events:

1. Express clearly, sometimes even to sacrifice the beautiful to meet the message clear communication

2. To resonate with the target users, from the copy, color, pattern and other aspects to enhance the attractiveness, so that users have a deep understanding of the product desire

3. In conjunction with other interactive events to use, as far as possible to meet the needs of other interactive events, to avoid the output of good-looking and useless flashy products

Mouse Interaction Events

Mouse interaction, as the name implies, is the user to use the product, through the mouse operation to produce feelings, and produce related reaction process. Mouse interaction events are the most commonly used and most important interaction events. For example, navigation bar, a lot of personality tests, regardless of the name of the voting system, some web version of the game, some flash ads, some of the site on the shortcut menu and so on are the mouse interaction events. Mouse interaction events, including primary key clicks, suspension, double-click, selected, key clicks, scrolling, etc., often reflected in hyperlinks, JS written on the series of events, flash buttons and other scenes.

Mouse interaction events Because the operation is relatively simple, get a lot of entry-level internet users love, we in the user Experience research test can also really find this category of users, is the legendary "mouse flow", the entire interactive process with only the mouse to complete, although this does not represent all netizens, but does represent a trend, Users like the simple way of interaction, but we are more concerned about the effective, if the user point to the point, can not find the entrance (export), can not achieve the goal, then this mouse interaction event is a failure, need to improve.

Since mouse interaction events have these requirements, we should weigh simple and effective relationships at design time. Must be required to step, we can not save a step, I believe that users will not begrudge a click. On the other hand, we can not because the user does not care about one click, so that users do not know what to point to the place or constantly click. For example, the site's shortcut menu can be directly accessible to many places. We can't have all the pages listed, it becomes a sitemap, and the shortcut menu on a page is best to list important, commonly used, or related links, and you can't just list a quick link to the Help center, although I believe your help Center is very organized, Users still need to point to point, one level to find relevant help, if you can directly to this page related help is not better? This trade-off is very challenging, I hope that you in the interactive design of the time to consider more, more research, more experiments, I believe we can find a better solution.

Considerations for Mouse Interaction events:

1. Fool-type: simple and convenient, in meeting the needs of users, while minimizing the number of clicks.

2. Hint obvious: Let the user know where to click, click where can reach the fastest goal. This needs to be in the interface and copywriting to the user to give guidance.

3. Feedback timely: The user in the mouse interaction after the event, can give timely feedback, such as the mouse after discoloration, click Error issued warning, jump page can directly to the relevant location, Ajax request to feedback after the obvious visual reminders or page changes

4. Hierarchy: After the user clicks, can have the entire operation process prompts, after the operation error may return the operation, has already clicked is not needs to record the status and so on.

Keyboard Interaction Events

The keyboard interaction event is the process by which the user experiences the interaction through the keyboard during the process of using the product. Keyboard interaction in the interaction of the network product application is quite common, such as writing a log, add comments, enter submit, keypad paging, tab switch Focus, some of the web game shortcut keys and so on. Keyboard interaction events are usually mixed with mouse interaction and constitute the main interactive behavior of Internet products. Before the user in the keyboard interaction, the cost of time and energy has a certain expectation, due to many years of Internet product interaction process to the user's habit of training, users in the keyboard interaction events more patience than other interactive events. So the keyboard interaction event should take full advantage of the user's patience with this event, and fully respect the user's habits. For example: The prompt in the text box should have a full selection function or delete function when the focus is produced; the text box input is completed to have the Enter submit function, and the text field input is completed after the Ctrl+enter as a commit, because enter at this time as the purpose of line wrapping Some text input has the word limit need to prompt the remaining words; some text fields are time-sensitive, need to have the ability to save drafts, or have timeliness prompts; When you need to set the shortcut keys and the system by default when the conflict, if the conflict is not as good as not.

It is important to respect the mainstream operating habits, especially in this regard. For example, I do not like the QQ ctrl+alt+z default extraction message, because this is Photoshop back to the previous step of the shortcut, this setting is very disturbing my work; I like the ctrl+z in Google Docs (commonly known as the regret button) and ctrl+y (commonly known as the recovery key), Because it conforms to the operating habits of most Internet products. Although some habits are more biased towards the individual, but I believe there must be a lot of products clever Smart set some shortcuts, but interfered with some commonly used software or the system's default shortcut keys, is a good interactive will, but achieved the opposite of the interactive experience.

Considerations for keyboard Interaction events:

1. Security: Keyboard interaction events may reveal some user's personal information, or disclose some privacy, good Internet products should be given to the user to protect.

2. Stability: In the use of the user's patience to this interactive event to collect information or get feedback, to ensure that the user's patience to have results, can not let users waste time and energy, the results of naught, or failed.

3. Consistency: Do not expect users to have a superb ability to distinguish between keyboard interaction events and take different ways of doing things, if you're using an interactive approach, try to continue using the same interaction in the same or similar interaction scenarios, step back, and don't use the same interaction, step back and say, Never use the opposite way of interacting. This is also important for visual interaction, but generally this consistency can be maintained for people who can be called Interface designers (without image handlers).

4. Respect for habits: at present, some of the Internet products are very great (or powerful) products, regardless of whether the interaction is absolutely perfect, at least he has used the market share and the continuity of time to cultivate the user some of the existing habits, interaction designers do not easily break the user's current habits, this is not to say that there can be Rather, the optimization and promotion of an interactive experience in existing habits is an extension of the existing way of interacting.

Summarize

The above is my classification and analysis of the interactive events of Internet products, although the interactive events of real products are complex, it is basically a combination of these events, and if we can make interactive design on the basis of events, it would be great to hope for complex interaction events.

In addition, the industry on a product interaction design well, there is no standard, through the above analysis, although we still can not work out this standard, but we could see from the above analysis of an interactive design is not good. In my opinion, this is also a progress. I hope all of you to contribute their own strength, will be good interaction design application in more products, so that users get a better experience.

Some of the analysis of the individual, it is inevitable that there are deficiencies, I hope you will add and correct. (This article is longer, no graphics, boring, theory, thank you for the friends who can read here)

Add

Note one:

When discussing with Zongxi, Zongxi that: "Five senses" should be interactive "input" (input), that is, through the human "five senses" as the external information into the brain, and the feeling of interaction should be quoted in the "Emotional design" in the description of the speed of the three layers, namely: the instinct layer, behavior layer, reflective layer.

Zongxi's explanation is correct, but the five senses I'm talking about here are the feelings of specific interaction events, the point to line to analyze the problem (portrait), and the three-layer structure mentioned in the affective design is point to plane to analyze the problem (landscape). Personal feelings don't conflict.

Note II:

Continuing with Zongxi, Zongxi that: I personally think that should be from the input and output to distinguish. Auditory interaction events, visual interaction events are input in interaction (for humans, the same below), that is, interactive devices to feed information to the human process, keyboard interaction events, mouse interaction events are output information, that is, human feedback output to the interactive device. The input + output forms an "interaction".

The distinction between input and output is feasible, but to induce interaction events I think there is a shortage of places, there are examples to show that some interaction events are directly to the reflective layer, may not have any information on the interaction device.

So although there is a Zongxi reminder, this article also leaves a regret, is the article structure is not rigorous. The point to surface of the structure through superposition, can form the whole, and point to line structure is insufficient, if the relationship between line and line is not clearly expressed, the formation of the whole is flawed.