Effective Visual Communication for Graphical User

InterfaceMultimedia Design

• Understand basic principle of visual communication for Graphical User Interface Design

• Apply those principle in designing effective Graphic User Interface

Instructional Goals

The use of typography, symbols, color, and other static and dynamic graphics are used to convey facts, concepts and emotions.This makes up an information-oriented, systematic graphic design which helps people understand complex information. Successful visual communication through information-oriented, systematic graphic design relies on some key principles of graphic design.

Visible LanguageVisible language refers to all of the graphical techniques used to communicate the message or context. These include:

• Layout: formats, proportions, and grids; 2-D and 3-D organization • Typography: selection of typefaces and typesetting, including variable

width and "xed width • Color and Texture: color, texture and light that convey complex information

and pictoral reality • Imagery: signs, icons and symbols, from the photographically real to the

abstract • Animation: a dynamic or kinetic display; very important for video-related

imagery • Sequencing: the overall approach to visual storytelling • Sound: abstract, vocal, concrete, or musical cues • Visual identity: the additional, unique rules that lend overall consistency to

a user interface. The overall decisions as to how the corporation or the product line expresses itself in visible language.

Principles of User Interface DesignThere are three fundamental principles involved in the use of the visible language.

• Organize: provide the user with a clear and consistent conceptual structure

• Economize: do the most with the least amount of cues • Communicate: match the presentation to the capabilities of the user.

Principles of User Interface Design

Consistency, screen layout, relationships and navigability are important concepts of organization.

Organize

Example: Chaotic Screen Example: Ordered Screen

There are four views of consistency: internal consistency, external consistency, real-world consistency, and when not to be consistent.

Consistency

The "rst point, internal consistency states the same conventions and rules should be applied to all elements of the GUI.

Example: Internal Consistency - Dialogue Boxes

Same kinds of elements are shown in the same places.Those with different kinds of behavior have their own special appearance.

External consistency, the second point, says the existing platforms and cultural conventions should be followed across user interfaces.

Example: External Consistency for Text Tool Icons

Same kinds of elements are shown in the same places.These icon come from different desktop publishing application but generally have the same meaning.

Real-world consistency means conventions should be made consistent with real-world experiences, observations and perceptions of the user.

Example: Real World Consistency

The last point, innovation, deals with when not to be consistent. Deviating from existing conventions should only be done if it provides a clear bene"t to the user.

Three ways to design display spatial layout: use a grid structure, standardize the screen layout, and group related elements

Screen Layout

A grid structure can help locate menues, dialogue boxes or control panels. Generally 7 +/-2 is the maximum number of major horizontal or vertical divisions. This will help make the screen less cluttered and easier to understand.

Linking related items and disassociating unrelated items can help achieve visual organization.

Relationship

Example: Relationship

Left: Shape, location, and value can all create strong visual relatinship which may be inappropriate

Right: Clear, consistent, appropriate, strong relationship

There are three important navigation techniques: - provide an initial focus for the viewer's attention - direct attention to important, secondary, or peripheral items - assist in navigation throughout the material.

Navigability

Example: Navigation

Left: Poor Design

Right: Improved design; spatial layout and color help focus viewer’s attention to most title Bulleted items guide the viewer through the secondary contents.

Four major points to be considered: simplicity, clarity, distinctiveness, and emphasis.

Economize

Simplicity includes only the elements that are most important for communication. It should also be as unobstrusive as possible.

Simplicity

Example: Complicated and simpler designs

All components should be designed so their meaning is not ambiguous.

Clarity

Example: Ambiguous and clear icons

The important properties of the necessary elements should be distinguishable.

Distinctiveness

The most important elements should be easily perceived. Non-critical elements should be de-emphasized and clutter should be minimized so as not to hide critical information.

Emphasis

The GUI must keep in balance legibility, readability, typography, symbolism, multiple views, and color or texture in order to communicate successfully.

Communicate

Example: Illegible and legible texts

display must be easy to identify and interpret, should also be appealing and attractive.

Readability

Includes: characteristics of individual elements (typefaces and typestyles) and their groupings (typesetting techniques). A small number of typefaces which must be legible, clear, and distinctive (i.e., distinguish between different classes of information) should be used.

Typography

Example: Recommended typefaces and typestyles

Recommendations: maximum of 3 typefaces in a maximum of 3 point sizes - a maximum of 40-60 characters per line of text - set text #ush left and numbers #ush right. Avoid centered text in lists and short justi"ed lines of text -use upper and lower case characters whenever possible.

Provide multiple perspectives on the display of complex structures and processes. Make use of these multiple views: - multiple forms of representation - multiple levels of abstraction - simultaneous alternative views - links and cross references - metadata, metatext, metagraphics.

Multiple Views

Example:Verbal and visual multiple views

Color is one of the most complex elements in achieving successful visual communication. Used correctly, it can be a powerful tool for communication. Colors should be combined so they make visual sense.

Some advantages for using color to help communication: emphasize important information - identify subsystems of structures - portray natural objects in a realistic manner - portray time and progress - reduce errors of interpretation - add coding dimensions - increase comprehensibility - increase believability and appeal

When color is used correctly, people will often learn more. Memory for color information seems to be much better than information presented in black-and-white.

There are some disadvantages for using color: requires more expensive and complicated display equipment - many not accommodate color-de"cient vision - some colors can potentially cause visual discomfort and afterimages. - may contribute to visual or may lead to negative associations through cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural association.

Color

Color Design PrinciplesThe three basic principles can also be applied to color: color organization, color economy, and color communication.

Color organization pertains to consistency of organization. Color should be used to group related items. A consistent color code should be applied to screen displays, documentation, and training materials.

Similar colors should infer a similarity among objects. One needs to be complete and consistent when grouping objects by the same color. Once a color coding scheme has been established, the same colors should be used throughout the GUI and all related publications.

Color Organization

Color economy, suggests using a maximum of 5+/-2 colors where the meaning must be remembered. The fundamental idea is to use color to augment black-and-white information, i.e. design the display to "rst work well in black-and-white.

Color emphasis suggests using strong contrasts in value and chroma to draw the user's attention to the most important information. Confusion can result if too many "gures or background "elds compete for the viewer's attention. The hierarchy of highlighted, neutral, and low-lighted states for all areas of the visual display must be designed carefully to provide the maximum simplicity and clarity.

Color Economy

Color communication deals with legibility, including using appropriate colors for the central and peripheral areas of the visual "eld. Color combinations in#uenced least by the relative area of each color should be used.

Red or green should not be used in the periphery of the visual "eld, but in the center. If used in the periphery, you need a way to capture the attention of the viewer, size change or blinking for example.

Blue, black, white, and yellow should be used near the periphery of the visual "eld, where the retina remains sensitive to these colors.

Color Communication

Use colors that differ in both chroma and value. Avoid red/green, blue/yellow, green/blue, and red/blue combinations unless a special visual effect is needed. They can create vibrations, illusions of shadows, and afterimages.

For dark viewing situations, light text, then lines, and small shapes on medium to dark backgrounds should be used in slide presentations, workstations and videos.

For light-viewing situations, use dark (blue or black) text, thin lines and small shapes on light background. These viewing situations include overhead transparencies and paper.

Color SymbolismThe importance of color is to communicate. Therefore color codes should respect existing cultural and professional usage.

Color connotations should be used with great care. For example: mailboxes are blue in the United States, bright red in England and bright yellow in Greece. If using color in an electronic mail icon on the screen, color sets might be changed for different countries to re#ect the differences in international markets.

Reference:http://web.cs.wpi.edu/~matt/courses/cs563/talks/smartin/int_design.html