In this post, my goal is to help you learn about user interfaces, their components, and the characteristics that define them. Understanding the fundamentals will assist you in designing better. So let’s get started:
User Interface (UI)
We interact with interfaces on a daily basis. We do it every time we use our smartphone, when we want to buy a drink from a vending machine, in our car, when entering a banking app, at an ATM. In all these examples, we establish communication with a system.
Basically, we convey or indicate what we want to do, and the system responds. User Interface makes this possible!
We could then define UI as: “the set of controls and sensory channels through which a user can communicate with a machine.” For example, on a computer, the screen, keyboard, and speakers are part of the interface because their purpose is to input or output information from the device.
Types of User Interface
User interfaces can basically be categorized into three types:
- Hardware Interface
- Software Interface
- Software-Hardware Interface
Hardware Interface
These are the devices or controls that allow a user to exchange data with a machine. For example, when you press a button on your TV remote control, on your computer’s keyboard, and mouse.
Software Interface
This is the interface responsible for providing information about processes carried out by a user and translating them into data that are readable to the user, usually through a screen.
Software-Hardware Interface
It serves as a bridge between devices and users, meaning the machine understands a command and provides a response in a readable form for the user.
A good example of this is an ATM, which guides you step by step once you start interacting with it until you can complete an action, such as withdrawing money, checking your account balance, changing your PIN, among others.
But that’s not all! Interfaces can also be classified based on how the user interacts with them:
- Command Line Interface (CLI): These are alphanumeric interfaces that only display text. An example of this type of interface is the CMD in Windows.
- Graphic User Interface (GUI): These visually represent control elements to optimize communication with the user and, in general, enhance the user experience.
- Natural User Interface (NUI): These enable communication between humans and machines using everyday or natural language. This means the user does not need special skills to control it. They can be touch-based with touch-sensitive screens, such as tablets; they can work through speech recognition, like Alexa; or through body movements, as in the case of Kinect.
Characteristics of a User Interface (UI)
- Clarity: It conveys information accurately, preventing the user from making errors, resulting in an ideal user experience.
- Conciseness: It provides the user with the necessary information in a simple, clear, and precise manner.
- Consistency: The user should feel comfortable when interacting with the interface. Recognizing usage patterns and experiencing a consistent experience throughout the interaction.
- Interactivity: The interface should be fast and provide real-time feedback to the user.
- Flexibility: A good interface allows a user to undo undesired actions, such as restoring a accidentally deleted file.
- Attractiveness: In addition to being flexible in its operation, visual appearance plays an important role in attracting users’ attention and creating a pleasant visual experience.
A good user interface should be easy to use, intuitive, and, above all, useful. It should solve a specific problem in the most efficient way possible.
Conclusions
A good user interface should be easy to use, intuitive, and, above all, useful. It should solve a specific problem in the most efficient way possible.
Every physical or digital product has a form, function, utility, ergonomics, and visual identity (among other aspects) that we must understand and consider when designing, in order to have a positive impact on users.
If you found this article helpful, we invite you to leave your opinions in the comments.
Thank you very much for reading, Jonathan Buitrago signing off.
Until next time!
