Apple’s iOS platform is famed for its usability, user interface design, and overall user experience. One area that could do with an improvement is the Notifications system. Not only does it drain the battery it can get cumbersome. An example of this is when you unlock an iPhone and have to go through all notifications just to get to the home screen. The user interface design of the notifications system is such that only one is overlay-ed at a time. Furthermore notifications on the lock screen do not offer much added functionality save for launching the app from where the notification came from. After-all double-clicking the home button when the screen is locked allows users to play/ pause and to skip songs.

One of the ways of improving the system is by re-imagining it as an app.  Andreas Hellqvist, a concerned netizen, took it upon himself to conceptualize an app from the ground up that centralizes all notifications. The user interface design of the concept app was built using existing iOS visual elements so it fits snugly. Since it is an app, users can decide how important notifications are and can place the app in the quick start bar or any other part of the user interface design. Open the app and all your mails, missed calls, Facebook posts, and software updates can be seen at a glance. The lock screen also displays numerous notifications and uses the same slide to unlock paradigm to access and act on notifications (such as kick starting the Mail app to reply) from the lock screen itself. The concept and user interface design is so completely formed it almost makes the current notification system appear outdated!

For years BMW has been using its iDrive computer system to control a  number of secondary vehicle systems (like entertainment, air conditioner, and navigation). The iDrive user interface design appears on an LCD panel in the dashboard and is controlled by a knob on the center console. The knob, known as the Controller, allows front and back seat passengers to manipulate the iDrive’s functions via rotate-and-press mechanisms. In other words one can think of the Controller much like the iPod’s click-wheel in terms of functionality. The user interface design of the system works very much like a GPS system with a dash of  the Symbian user interface design. Although the iDrive has been criticized for having a steep learning curve, other up-scale car manufacturers (such as Mercedes Benz, Audi and Lexus) have since introduced their own variants using screens in the dashboard to display the user interface design.

BMW has also developed better integration of the iDrive system with the iPhone. Downloading the free BMW Connected app and connecting a smartphone allows users access to certain apps through the iDrive’s display. This allows drivers to access these services through a user interface design and a controller designed to allow drivers to keep driving at the same time. This may sound alarming but if you consider all the time spent in traffic then it makes sense to be able to access iPhone services without having to pick it up only to put it down again to move forward a little bit. The App allows users to access music, web radio as well as Twitter and Facebook.  The news feeds are modified to fit the user interface design of the iDrive (i.e. less but bigger-sized text). The Controller knob obviously has no keyboard but instead leverages real-time data from the car to suggest pre-composed statements such as “it’s 32°C out and i’m driving around in my BMW” etc

Thus far Microsoft’s tablet strategy has been to cram the desktop version of Windows into a tablet. This has not proven to be successful as Apple, and Android to a lesser extent, have released tablets with a tailored user interface design that befits the smaller screens. Naturally the user interface design of Windows is optimized for use with a mouse and keyboard whereas  tablets like the iPad are optimized for touch input.  Take for example how right click is used to open further menu options, how exactly does one right click with one’s fingers? And speaking of fingers, ever notice how much fatter they are than a mouse point?! MS Paint would be a pain to use with a finger unless it was optimized for it. Early previews of Windows 8 reveal a user interface design that does have tablets in mind, but in the mean time one company has decided to take things into their own hands.

In order to solve usability and user interface design conundrums such as these the EXOPC tablet has taken a similar route as the likes of HTC and Motorola with Android. What those firms did was to create a custom UI design on top of Android to make it more appealing and usable. The EXOPC gives users the best of both worlds. On one hand users can run Windows 7 as is or they can switch to the EXOPC custom user interface design that is optimized for touch input. The custom user interface design combines the ease-of-use of touch with the true multitasking of Windows 7, not to mention full on Adobe Flash. The device is on the pricey side but considering that the iPad cannot run heavyweight programs such as Adobe Master Collection then the price becomes more palatable. Furthermore there’s an EXOPC app store where you can download a ton of content that is optimized for the custom UI design. Despite doing a great job in terms of hardware (i.e. USB ports etc.) and user interface design my main fear for the EXOPC is that Windows 8 will render it somewhat redundant.

Desirability and usability as a design team

According to John Soellner’s article “Design, Usability, Desirability, What’s The Difference?” desirability design is “about expanding on the idea of what human factors are” in order to better understand what drives users to employ interfaces based on their interest level and personal satisfaction.  It can be functional and emotional.  Functional desirability is almost interchangeable with usability in that it means users desire to use a site because it is usable and well organized.  Emotional desirability, although related to the subjective satisfaction which is a part of usability, breaks away from usability because it seeks to understand a user’s emotional reaction to the aesthetics of a user interface: the look, feel, and even the content.  Emotional desirability concerns itself with the intangibles and emotional human factors that Soellner refers to above.

Desirability works well in tandem with usability because it measures the intangible aspects of user experience such as fun and enjoyment, aspects that usability itself usually cannot address.  Desirability helps designers discern whether or not their user interface design is enticing enough for users to want to employ, reaching beyond whether or not it is easy and functional enough for users to want to use.  “Desirability design techniques supply the X Factor which motivates users to make usability matter” says Soellner.

One of the major problems that social networking sites have come up against relative to their interface designs is that of privacy and security. The Facebook hegemon recently took a brutal hit when users began complaining en masse that the security feartures user interface design was not only ambiguous, but also deceiving. If Google is developing a social networking website of their own, it would behoove them to make privacy and security the vanguard of their user interface design. In a cutthroat world, preying on the weaknesses of your competitors is often a good strategy, and Google can continue to assert their internet dominance by designing their site to be the antithesis to Facebook’s equivocal and complex privacy user interface. While many have criticized Google for not being able to crack the social networking egg, their late entrance to the party may just allow them to become the belle of the ball.

Both ways of user interface customization can be successful, but if you are thinking about implementing modification options, the personalization method is the lowest risk tactic in terms of complexity.  This approach does not require users to perform the customization act itself. That means that the site is easier to use because users have less to think about.  The less users have to think and the easier the site is to use, the more successful it will tend to be.  Although the personalization strategy provides lower risk in terms of ease of use, it does not mean the actual interface design will be easier to construct. It just means that it will require less effort on the part of the user.

Conversely, the customization method requires more effort on the part of the user.  This can be advantageous if enough users find this a beneficial feature and change their use or buying decisions based on it. Yet, if that is not the case, your effort will have been wasted, and, what is worse, the additional complexity may have adverse effects on user adoption, which is why this is a higher risk strategy.

Ultimately it is up to you whether or not you want to incorporate customization setting into your interface design.  Factors that need to be considered is the projected rate of use (the value you create) and the impact on usability of the user interface design through additional customization options (the usability barriers you may create) when deciding whether or how much effort you can risk to invest in customization. If you think the personal settings you have created will be popular and usable then take the risk of giving the user full autonomy to customize the interface design.  Otherwise, play it safe and let your system be in control.

Integrative interface designs: Apple’s iPad model

Apple recently introduced its new iPad and proved that they understand how important integration is to simplicity and usability. The iPad functions like a combination of the OS system and the iPod. Apple was smart in realizing that two of its more popular programs could be a force to be reckoned with if they were combined. Combining the features of the iPod and OS operating system’s interface designs increases simplicity because the user is able to consolidate all his „Apple needs“ into one place. Apple’s new iPad shows that integrating extant interface designs not only vamps up usability through simplicity, but it also a produces a lucrative marketing strategy to promote a profitable product.

Simplicity works

Successful interface design relies on usability, and usability often relies on simplicity. If you want to create the most usable and therefore profitable interface design possible, keep in mind that simplicity often works. Gooogle and Apple understand that, and look where it has gotten them.