Arete Works | Blog

Think good design is expensive? Just wait and see what bad design ends up costing you. -karj23

Good design is good business. -Thomas J Watson

I’ve been amazed at how often those outside the discipline of design assume that what designers do is decoration. Good design is problem solving. -Jeffery Veen

Persuasive Design is described as “the use of psychology in design to influence behavior” through persuasion and social influence instead of coercion. It’s an intriguing idea in that User Research helps to understand behavior and User Interface design generally enables behavior. There is the belief that Persuasive Design is the next step in using design to create a positive impact in the world instead of enabling already-existing behaviors. User Experience design may lag behind in this area. We should encourage designers to start incorporating influential design practices into their work in an effort to further advance the industry.

Smashing Magazine provides a thorough look into common UI patterns and their importance in creating an effective and successful user interface and user experience. The idea of design patterns was first introduced in the 1960s by an architect named Christopher Alexander. These design patters provided solutions to reoccurring problems–and thus UI design patterns are solutions to reoccurring user interface problems. Some of the design patterns discussed are utilizing a “forgiving” format, having clear primary actions and the use of breadcrumbs in navigation.

Placement consistency of graphics in a user interface system not only helps users learn the system, it helps their muscles “learn” the system as well. A user’s constant and continual use of a product’s UI causes their muscles to “memorize” certain movements and actions.

For example, when a user’s muscle memory tells them that the “Save” button is always in the lower right corner, the user will eventually go to that spot through muscle memory without requiring any visual confirmation that the “Save” button is actually there. This is one reason why consistency in graphical placement within a user interface system is so important.

Increasing healthcare costs have been one of the main components in the miniaturization of medical devices. Much like employees who telecommute, patients are now being treated in their homes more and more. The User Interface systems for these devices will need to consider a patient and technician-centered approach as well as clinician-centered, with the user experience encompassing both types of users. With patients having more avenues to health information than ever before, home medical devices that connect patients with their physicians may soon become standard.

The majority of modern mobile devices and smartphones utilize touch screens, providing both unique opportunities and constraints for UI Designers. As a result, designers and their clients should consider the ergonomics of using mobile devices, including gestures and transitions.

Device dimensions, the way a user holds a device and touches the screen, and especially gestures all will play important roles in the development of a successful mobile User Interface system. Being knowledgeable of the general standards for mobile phones and understanding the ergonomic trends in the mobile industry will go a long way in the successful completion of a client’s project.

Medical Design & Manufacturing West is one of the most wide-ranging MedTech Conference in the industry. Areteworks will be attending, with hundreds of MedTech leaders and practitioners worldwide, sharing best practices and innovative ways to transform the future of medical devices.

Join us this February 11 – 14 at booth 504 and let us show you how Areteworks can use its comprehensive knowledge and award-winning graphics to invigorate your projects with intuitive and innovative UI Design solutions.

“The public is more familiar with bad design than good design. It is, in effect, conditioned to prefer bad design, because that is what it lives with. The new becomes threatening, the old reassuring.”-Paul Rand

“The old computing was about what computers could do; the new computing is about what users can do. Successful technologies are those that are in harmony with users’ needs. They must support relationships and activities that enrich the users’ experiences.” -Ben Shneiderman

“If interaction design is considered only at the end, software is driven by engineering design, of which users are rightly unaware, rather than by representations with which they interact.” -Gillian Crampton Smith and Philip Tabor