Where Visual literacy and Interface Design meet
An excellent article putting User Interface Design in historical perspective and offering minimimum design criteria ...
"From archaeological records, we know that prehistoric cave dwellers were able to communicate with each other through signs and symbols. As mankind evolved, the form, function and meaning of visual communication changed drastically, but unfortunately, the understanding of the nature and importance of visual communication has not improved significantly over time. We generally accept that humans are dependent on vision for most of their information. Scientists tell us that visual communication is natural human behaviour which all normally sighted persons engage in every day and take for granted, yet it is the product of a complex human intelligence that is very poorly understood.
The functionality of a computer application and its representation in the user interface is simply a message that the designer is trying to communicate to users. To ensure effective communication, the designer needs to use more than just his or her natural, inborn or intuitive, verbal and visual talents. It requires knowledge of the elements of visual communication of a particular medium, as well as the structuring and functioning of these elements in effective communication.
In this short overview of visual communication, I have tried to indicate that there is more to the design of user interfaces than "meets the eye"! The computer as communication medium is ideally suited to exploiting the principles of visualisation - visually attractive and culturally appropriate interfaces can serve as an intrinsic motivator in task performance. There are such obvious parallels between effective visual communication and usability that it is surprising that not more attention is paid to visual literacy in UCD." continued ... (Via Usability News )
"From archaeological records, we know that prehistoric cave dwellers were able to communicate with each other through signs and symbols. As mankind evolved, the form, function and meaning of visual communication changed drastically, but unfortunately, the understanding of the nature and importance of visual communication has not improved significantly over time. We generally accept that humans are dependent on vision for most of their information. Scientists tell us that visual communication is natural human behaviour which all normally sighted persons engage in every day and take for granted, yet it is the product of a complex human intelligence that is very poorly understood.
The functionality of a computer application and its representation in the user interface is simply a message that the designer is trying to communicate to users. To ensure effective communication, the designer needs to use more than just his or her natural, inborn or intuitive, verbal and visual talents. It requires knowledge of the elements of visual communication of a particular medium, as well as the structuring and functioning of these elements in effective communication.
In this short overview of visual communication, I have tried to indicate that there is more to the design of user interfaces than "meets the eye"! The computer as communication medium is ideally suited to exploiting the principles of visualisation - visually attractive and culturally appropriate interfaces can serve as an intrinsic motivator in task performance. There are such obvious parallels between effective visual communication and usability that it is surprising that not more attention is paid to visual literacy in UCD." continued ... (Via Usability News )
Early attemps at interaction design.
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