Users and the Interface When designing an information system you need to have a clear idea of who the target audience is. If the target audience is an expert then you can design the interface with lots of shortcuts which an expert user can navigate easily. If the target audience is a is made up of ‘ novices’: people with no expertise then the interface should be as simple and straight forward as possible with lots of simple menus and icons.

Older users If the target audience is older people e.g. pensioners then the interface should be as simple and straight forward as possible with lots of large icons and on-line help available.

User Interface for older people Older user interface technologies: such as gesture interaction, voice control, avatars, second screen multi-touch devices and gyroscopic remote controls.

User interface for the very young If the target audience is young people then then the interface should be as interesting and interactive as possible since they will look for lots of movement, colour and sound to get their attention.

Expert users Expert users will often find graphical interfaces slow them down and prefer to use command lines or keyboard shortcuts to get things done.

Key Features of a well designed user interface A well designed interface will incorporate the following design aspects: – visual layout – navigation – selection – consistency – interactivity – readability

Visual layout The visual layout should be clear and attractive without being too cluttered or use too many distracting colours.

Navigation It should be easy for a user to find their way around, to navigate the site. This will mean e.g. having clear menus, buttons, graphics, site maps

An example of well designed navigation There are two navigation bars. The top one for moving between the different sections of the website. The lower one for the news section There is also a search facility.

Making selections A user should be able to make selections easily e.g. by providing drop down menus like this one:

Consistency It is important that the user interface in an information system has a consistent appearance. That means that the colours, the menus, the icons, the navigation should be similar, within sections and throughout the system.

Examples of consistency in design

Interactivity A good user interface should enable the user to interact with the system e.g. to enlarge or rotate the graphics

Interactivity Enabling the user to choose to listen to a sound file or view a video clip

I Interactivity Enabling the user to access more data on an item or topic

Readability A well designed user interface should be readable. That means that the text should be clear and be a size that suits the user { text size can be made variable}.

Readability: Varying the text size

Readability The colour balance should ensure that the text colour does not clash with the background colour