| The interface is the face of the application behind | | | | organisation or your own is often a good choice. You |
| which all of our instructional code is hidden; the | | | | can give the user the option of changing the primary |
| interface between the user and the machinations for | | | | colour of an application specific to their PC. The main |
| data crunching. It is imperative that the interface is | | | | proviso in colour choice is consistency and as few as |
| well organised and easy to traverse with a mouse. I | | | | possible. I have seen many programmers first |
| have seen command buttons thrown upon a form as | | | | attempts at an application become a fairground of |
| if the developer were throwing dice in a game of | | | | diversely coloured forms or having a form within the |
| yahtzee! ( | | | | application that changes colour from green to red |
| Ugly or disheveled design does not entice a user to | | | | during data validation errors. My first application was |
| utilise the application we put our blood, sweat and | | | | an example of the full colour spectrum. When I first |
| tears into and after all of our effort we want to | | | | started programming, colour computer screens had |
| motivate the user to utilise our application as much as | | | | not long been on the market and I used the new |
| possible. | | | | functionality to it's fullest extent! It drove the user |
| One of our purposes as programmers is to improve | | | | batty and someone else edited the application to use |
| the user's experience of their working environment. | | | | more uniform colours. |
| Well ordered and aligned controls upon a form and | | | | Limitations to a user's access to data within an |
| well spaced details within a report will be easier upon | | | | application needs to be made obvious. If a user |
| the user's eye and easier for the user to navigate | | | | cannot access a control's data then disable that |
| the information presented. The user often uses the | | | | control and colour it a non-intrusive grey. Profligate |
| mouse cursor to guide their eyes around the display | | | | use of error notifications with phrases like "Access |
| screen in a more focussed way. This is a similar | | | | Violation!", "Warning!" or "Security Breach" when a |
| principal to using a pencil to guide one's eyes as a | | | | user clicks a control that has data they do not have |
| speed reading method ( | | | | access to, is an absolutely ridiculous waste of time |
| It is important to understand the psyche of the user. | | | | and an unnecessary cause of user anxiety. |
| Most users live in a very different work space to us | | | | In most cases it is preferable to allow the user to |
| developers. A user who works for Administration | | | | see all of the controls upon a form including features |
| services relies heavily upon grammatically correct | | | | they cannot access; features which can be disabled. |
| written language and a particular spatial sense of | | | | If you hide controls upon a form you risk |
| proportion and balance with regards to information | | | | discombobulating your well organised form layout |
| printed upon a report which also extends to an | | | | which violates the guideline of improving the user's |
| application's forms. Inconsistent use of capitalisation | | | | working experience. Even more disconcerting is |
| within a report or spelling mistakes within an | | | | hidden controls that magically appear in front of the |
| application will be revealed by the user or client. Some | | | | user: Yes I know the controls have a visible property |
| programmers may conclude that the user or client is | | | | but it does not mean we have to use it. |
| being pernickety but would we want this type of | | | | In summation of the above: |
| grammatical or syntactical error to appear within our | | | | - Well ordered and laid out controls are easier upon |
| code? For instance; would we want to find the word | | | | the eye and easier to navigate with the mouse |
| employee to be misspelt as employea and appearing | | | | cursor. |
| as employea or Employea within a case insensitive | | | | - Check for grammatical errors or inconsistency in the |
| language? | | | | way words are used. |
| Accurately named buttons upon a form are | | | | - Use written names instead of icons or images for a |
| preferable to images. An image can speak a thousand | | | | form's controls. |
| words but what does an image of a tree say? I've | | | | - Use a uniform colour identifier for applications. |
| seen trees and fish used as images upon buttons. | | | | Corporate branding colours are a good choice. |
| Really, it is not kindergarten and images are always | | | | - Do not hide controls from the user. If the user |
| open to interpretation. Write out a button's intentions | | | | cannot access a control then notify them of the |
| clearly in written language. Images are useful for | | | | limitation in a a non-intrusive way. |
| toolbars or coolbars and there are well defined and | | | | - Do not make controls appear and disappear upon a |
| almost universally acceptable sets of icons available | | | | form. |
| for these purposes and I suggest buying a quality set | | | | For those interested in improving the grammar and |
| of icons from a graphics house like IconExperience or | | | | punctuation within their applications I highly |
| IconFactory. | | | | recommend the following book: |
| Application colour is also a critical aspect of usability | | | | Renton, N.E. (1990) Elements of Style & Good |
| and application identification. Brand colours of a client's | | | | Writing, Schwartz and Wilkinson, Melbourne, Australia. |