Setup for Starbucks

Wait in line, place your order, and wait for your order to be called

This particular post is inspired after the person in front me forgot to scoot down to wait for his coffee. As opposed to a buffet/cafeteria style line where you pick something up, scoot, pick something up, scoot, until you reach the end and pay for your selections, stores like Starbucks take the popular approach of order and pay, scoot to the edge of the counter, and wait for your order to be called. People, like I, have taken to this system well and it has become like muscle memory. With that said, it really stuck with me to see someone not realize that you needed to pick up your fancy mocha latte drink at the end of the counter. I wonder if it was because they needed the caffeine to wake up or because they honestly didn’t know? Another case of culture shock perhaps? Regardless, how people adopt this form of “shopping” is an everyday usability study.

All I know is that a grande soy peppermint mocha is delicious, and just in time for the holiday season. Just as long as they hold the whipped cream and easy up on the syrup…

From Cooper’s About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design 3

Controls that guide our interaction with the interface

With Chapter 21, Cooper focuses on controls. Imperative controls, selection controls, most of these controls are second-nature to any computer-literate individual. Imperative controls are buttons that take action. Think about the popular choice you come across, “OK” and “CANCEL”. You pick the ok, it submits and continues. The cancel gets me as far away from the action as possible. Another great example: the weekly or daily virus scans. Do I start the scan, or do I continue to ignore and ask the computer to kindly remind me later that I have neglected to protect/update my computer, again. It’s the snooze button of computer interaction. I did appreciate the comparison to hyperlinks. Newsflash, buttons take action, where links specifically connect you and navigate the web (externally), the site (internally), or places on the page itself (What hyperlinks were originally suppose to do: send you to anchors on the page or the <a> tag).

Do you flip-flop or separate?

Another control relatable, especially to online music lovers, is the flip-flop button. Cooper emphasizes how it saves space but creates confusion to the users unless spelled out. On the flip side, using two buttons waste real estate on the interface but clearly defines what is selected. A great example is Pandora.com. They use a flip-flop button for the play/pause actions, but emphasize the “pause” status by graying out the album art and putting a big “paused” sign. If that is not spelling it out, I don’t know what is.

Flip-Flop button control for play/pause feature

Additional points of interest from chapter

Radio buttons are mentioned, as well as drop downs, text editing controls, and pretty much any other form-related control familiar to computer interfaces. A few additional notes of personal interest:

- Scrolling text horizontally = bad; again, scrolling text horizontally = bad. Good tip for those not familiar with how people read the web. You are more likely to scroll down than scroll horizontally. That’s why most recent mice have a center wheel that rotates up and down. (Could you imagine a mouse with a horizontal wheel from left to right? That mouse would suck with usability.)

- Bounded controls with fixed outcomes. I always think of controls on music editing software. Dials that control levels, the idea was to mimic a soundboard. Some GUIs work, others may not.

- Unbounded equals validation. Cooper mentions how text edit controls are unbounded because it potentially accepts whatever the user plugs into the interface. I especially appreciated the review on active vs. passive validation. Active doesn’t allow keystrokes if the input is not validated, where passive validation will wait for the user to input the value before attempting to validate. The first thing I thought of as an example was password generators for passive. It judges if you have enough diverse characters plugged before accepting the new password. On a side note, I thought of the 1995 movie Hackers for this and laughed at how in the movie, they emphasized the most popular passwords used by powerful companies with egos: love, sex, secret, and god.  We have come a long way from using three-letter words as valid passwords.

Shifting focus to menus

In Chapter 22, Cooper outlines the importance of menus in interaction design. Most people are familiar with menus, buttons, and navigation associated with this chapter. A few points I took from this:

- Command-line interface takes me back as far as DOS. I remember working with my mother in DOS to reconfigure a whole computer through command prompts and actions. Type in a command, press enter, and poof! You have control. In most programming languages, this is still very much alive and used to build applications, reconfigure settings, and pretty much do whatever you like, hence hackers.

- Sequential hierarchical menus read from a list of choices and provide the option to choose one. We still see this in programming and on your computer. Think about when your computer unexpectedly shuts off. When you reboot, you are given the choice to start the computer normally, enter safe mode, or enter configuration options.

Cooper stresses the need to organize actions, navigation, and buttons through menus. We are familiar with and take advantage of these features all the time (file, edit, window, etc.). It is almost insane to think of a world of computers without these tools. It would be interesting to send us back to the “dark ages” of computers with only a command-line interface. Let’s thank Apple and Microsoft now for their contributions…

Search Free Fonts, let’s talk.

When I was searching for a particular font, I found the font under your site, www.searchfreefonts.com. So, why is it that when I dig deeper into the site, click download, the site redirects me to fonts.com and offers the font to download… for $29? I mean, I understand licensing fonts and selling use of a font commercially, that’s business. I just find it frustrating that you can advertise your site as searching for free fonts, just to redirect to another site to purchase the previously advertised “free” fonts.

Random thought, but your tagline for the site is “Largest Collection Of Free Fonts On The Web ” which should really read “Largest Collection Of Free and Commercial Fonts Available on the Web”.  The search function should also separate the free from the commercial. Your main page does indicate the details a little better than the rest of the site, but remember usability guidelines. Avoid the pitfalls of false advertising, otherwise your competition will sweep in and steal your fans.

This is a review on The Meaning of Affinity and the Importance of Identity in the Designed World authored by Matthew Jordan. I would highly suggest reading the paper for more details on the concept of affinity applied to design and the methodology he suggests to collect relevant research.

Several elements in any design determine its success, measured by the perception, adoption and use by the designer, client, business, or market. Matthew Jordan writes a piece to identify and highlight the element of affinity, found as a compelling factor in whether a design is successful or not. Though usefulness, usability, novelty, and price are also briefly mentioned, Jordan focuses the majority of his paper on defining affinity in the realm of design, its relationship with identity, methods to research it, and how we methodically apply it to design thinking. This paper explores deeper into the driving connection people form and keep with specific products. As the designer attempts to mold a user experience that  forms lasting connections, affinities are considered to hook viewers to the final product, forming a psychological bond and attraction to the design’s style, feel, and meaning.

Defining Affinity

Jordan cleverly defines affinity combining two common definitions found in chemistry and biology. Phrases like, “attractive force” and “enter into and remain in combination” explains affinity on a sub-particle level.  The biological viewpoint describes as a “relation… involving resemblance in structural plan and indicating a common origin.” Jordan states a similarity found in a piece and ourselves. The design reflects identity and creates “strong passions for certain designs.”

Who am I with your work?

Jordan points out the saturated notion of beauty and what is aesthetically-pleasing to viewers. Ideas like balance, contrast, and creating tension on the design are basic principles cited in ancient philosophy and writings. He moves to an adjacent topic involving with “affinities based on self-image.” He mentions past, present, and future tense. We relate past (or nostalgic) identity with who we were and the past experiences we choose to remember.  Present (definitive) and future (aspirational) are affinity types that associate with our identification of self. With the now type, we focus on listing ourselves with and belonging to relatable communities. I personally relate with college students, more specifically graduate students, and therefore include that in my identity. I plan to associate myself with a career and company in the near future. I plan to also include myself in the community of family men, with a wife and kids, in the future. Continuing to future identity, Jordan uses examples like “eHarmony” and “Facebook” to state that a person creates the person that they want to become, projecting values and likable character traits.

Always on the sunny side

A point that Jordan makes about affinities is that they are always positive. From definition to application, it is an attractive force, an explanation to why you are drawn a piece, hopefully mimicking the identity that you, the viewer or fellow designer, relate to and hope to become in the future. He mentions the opposite being aversion, being repelled by a piece. Not investigated in this paper, my personal reasoning for the aversion would either be a disconnection to the piece, ( I can’t see myself in this piece or a part of what it means!) or even more psychologically intriguing/disturbing, a connection to the piece that a person doesn’t want to find, (I would never commit such an atrocity, it is sick! But maybe I secretly wish to divulge this desire.) Would be a fitting counterpart to write about this dark side of human psyche.

Researching the emotional connections

Jordan mentions the challenging nature of researching affinities. With discussion-based, open-ended techniques, researchers must enter and observe participants on an internal, psychological level. Not the easiest to address, especially when you have to build a safe zone to open people up to share emotions. No strangers can succeed with this research methodology, and Jordan highlights techniques like the narrative or the associative, allowing for imagination to help identify the style the group thinks, reacts, and organizes a list of details. He mentions providing key images and beginning tools to assist with the launch of ideas and their responses. Applied, these techniques could yield powerful results, purely qualitative, but essential to gauge how participants think.

Values, tone, and action!

After researching the participants, understanding the psychology and emotions needed to consider for successful implementation, Jordan moves to action. He lays out a very familiar process for design, whether for branding, service, industrial, or interaction. The steps include identifying the community’s core values, establishing the character and tone for the design, implementing principles and referring to guidelines of implementation, and finally design action. This process refers to common steps in the action stage, from early prototyping to development, testing, and refinement. Jordan caters to traditional models of design, but remembers the goal of his investigation. The process leads to the successful implementation of a designed product, guaranteed to create affinity and attraction by the right audience.

In an area that focuses tremendous amounts of resources on testing usability and usefulness, (a similar area of research includes other factors like motivation and adoption in regards to the interaction technology), it is great to note a valuable perspective on the concept of affinity with design. I personally relate to that psychological love to a piece or product because of the design, the look, and/or the feel of it. The ability to record and process qualitative data to help understand the minds of markets and related entities is extremely valuable. Matthew Jordan is articulating an area that needs more work and research done to collect relevant data. I cannot wait to see the next stage investigating this topic.

I took this picture walking inbetween the Grant Street Parking Garage and Purdue Memorial Union on campus. I saw these markings and thought of the band group OK Go. Ironically, these markings, for the crosswalk that may or may not ever occur, lead me to the questions, “OK, go now?” and “OK, go where?” Thought it was amusing and eye-catching

Picture retrieved from http://bit.ly/bNYT0E

Let’s talk crosswalks. We have been hearing various stories and happenings that include cars vs. people. Cars win, no surprises there. What’s even more amazing is that the Purdue Exponent newspaper published an article where Purdue Police Chief John Cox stated that “They will not be enforcing laws or instructing pedestrians to follow them, but will largely work to “enhance the safety of the current system.”  Not taking this out of context, they are hiring crossing guards to assist with the problems people have been experiencing with cars. There is a usability issue here with a question, “Where can we cross?”

We shouldn’t need to play Frogger.

Frogger lives on Campus

Crosswalks are fundamental in busy streets. White stripes, spanning across a street. People cross on them, cars watch for them. It’s a beautiful thought in theory. In practice, not so much. They are never where you need them to be. Always down the street. But beware, if you step out, wait, if you dart out into the street, you probably will get hit. That is unless you are waiting 5-10 minutes for traffic to die down between lights. That leaves another question to discuss, do you wait for the traffic to break, or do you walk the extra steps to the nearest crosswalk?

By all means, I know Purdue does not have crosswalks everywhere, but they do a pretty good job and are always looking for suggestions. Remember, if you feel that a location needs a crosswalk, let the university know. Just don’t pick spots that are literally steps from another. And the crosswalk in the new parking lot outside Schleman Hall? That just screams “Hit me!” and not for a game of Blackjack.

I am excited about this series I am introducing to my collection of posts here on Think Beyond Here. The Usability Factor series looks at any everyday item I run across during my time at Purdue. The current course I am in, CGT512, started the class off with examples not related to human-computer interaction (HCI) factors, but human interactions with a door and other items we take for granted any given day. In spirit of that discussion, I plan to take pictures, describe related factors, and ask questions to spur on conversations. Call it curiousity, call it determination to post daily. But whatever this is, I look forward to bringing forth objects that we may not realize assumptions are built regarding our interactions with it. It’s going to be fun.

Friend or Foe: How a few bars result in curious interactions

KNOY Order of Operations

For my first post in the series, anyone who is familiar with KNOY Hall of Technology at Purdue University in West Lafayette knows of this familiar site. It is the barrier that blocks the main stairwell on the first floor. It’s red, it’s there, and it’s funny to see people react to its presence differently. I’ll describe interactions as a fork in the road, sometimes decided in a split second. Other times, you’ll see people stare and ponder, especially if it is their first time noticing it.

Time is also a large factor. If I am early heading to a class, I will go around using the extra doors to go outside the stairwell and then back in to continue using the stairs. If I am running late to class, I will hop over and do a funky dance, almost a leap to avoid hitting areas I rather not hit. Again, this choice is common for Technology students going from the upper floors to classes in the basement. The interactions vary and even within groups of friends/classmates, you generally will get a mix of responses.

So, it’s a stairwell, big deal.

The question I pose is why does it exist in this particular stairwell? Is it a building code necessity? Avoiding fire hazards? A traffic flow control between classes? Maybe it was an Engineer’s joke towards a building specifically for Technology students. I am not sure of the right answer myself. If someone knows 100%, please post. It’s always nice to  know why certain choices were made.

I know no computers appear in this human interaction, but the foundations are the same. You have given perceptions and set rules governing the treatment of this obstacle. Go around, use the doors that surround the main floor. And you have the defiance, the response that says “Why do I have to do what most people do?” I have had both reactions during my time here. Unfortunately, it boils down to the simple answer, “It depends.”

The simple solution to avoid this dilemma altogether is to take the elevator. But, the human interaction with an elevator is another story in itself.

Greetings readers, old and new, to Think Beyond Here. I have been keeping to a promise and learning something new everyday. The problem lies with me not posting to you on a daily basis. This does you no good and for that, I apologize.

But fear not, for I am enrolled in a 512 graduate course this semester at Purdue University that will introduce a structured perspective regarding the Human Factors of Computer Interface Design. I will do my best to offer interesting perspectives, pose thoughtful questions, and hopefully link you to some relevant resources. At least, I will post readings, pictures, and analyses on various topics we discuss during our coursework.

With that said, I do want to post dates that will serve as class deadlines to post reflections on relevant research readings. I hope to add more, but do expect a full review and analysis in research on the following dates:
September 16th, October 7th, October 21st and November 11th. I look forward to tying in Computer Interface Design with my thesis work.

Let’s get back into the swing of things for class.

For those of you who know me, I try to actively participate on sites like Mashable. You can’t help people with social media if you are not current and up-to-date on the news related to it. I also will try to comment responding to questions, posing new thoughts and related ideas, and generally keep the conversation going to the best of my abilities. I also use my Disqus profile to track my commenting on such sites. Good news, Disqus is quick, simple, and really easy to use and track sites with. Bad news, the website needs to allow Disqus comments to be posted on their site. More sites are picking up on this, but there are still many out there that are unaware of the awesomeness that is Disqus.com.

So, to all the sites I comment on, please consider using Disqus as an option to “log in” for commenting. It makes tracking my comments and replies so much easier to organize.

revisit student affairs

Like many universities, Purdue University hosts several annual leadership retreats and conferences, gathering student leaders from over 800 organizations together for the day or weekend. The participants spend that time developing their skills and improving collaboration between the Office of the Dean of Students and student organizations. Energizing speakers, teambuilding activities, and personal reflection all occur the duration of the retreat. During that time, the conversations held between student leaders is priceless and extremely helpful in improving the quality of student life on campus. This is how Twitter and the Revisit Twitter API can help capture those thoughts and conversations, displaying the real-time results in a pleasing visualization for others to contribute to.

the API

Revisit is a free tool that aggregates tweets by trend or keywords, arranges the group by date and time posted, and coordinates a visualization that rotates through resulting tweets. The rotation cycles through randomly, unless the content is new. A newly posted Tweet will display promptly on the visualization, along with the person who made the comment and time posted. Another cool feature is the ability to track mentions and retweets by enlarging the icons and moving them towards the center. I would like to thank Stan Schroeder from Mashable for writing a quick story about this API, and Moritz Stefaner for the free project demo and information. Please visit their respective sites for more information on Revisit.

how student affairs can evolve

The idea of having a large number of tweets on a wall screen at a conference is nothing new in the tech world. Many groups and national conferences already include hash-tagged trends during their week-long conferences to track responses and reactions from conference participants. This is mostly to see in real-time how the conference is going, if people are enjoying the sessions and exhibits, and what those unable to attend need to learn about the disseminated information from their homes. In a sense, a student leadership retreat is a shorter, smaller version of a conference. Though it may be a day or weekend, the reaction to seeing a wall projection full of tweets from fellow student leaders on topics shared at the retreat would be exciting. I imagine that people would share thoughts and continue conversations past the presentation or activities if a visual stimulus was introduced to catch their eyes. That is why the Revisit free tool could help student affairs during their leadership programs. Having a speaker present a motivating topic with quotes, engaging in a teambuilding activity with reflections, discussing student life issues in their off time, all of these topics could be included on Twitter and shared for feedback from other leaders. Even those unable to make it could contribute an idea or thought to help stir up creativity and perspectives otherwise left out or ignored. This is just one more way we can take the next step and really get students to contribute, while having fun and using cool social media tools and technology to collect real-time feedback.