The bad interface design features…

The following features may trigger Vista flashbacks:

1.    Confusing names:  Some of the feature names are misleading or do not describe their functions properly.  For example, “User Account Control” doesn’t actually control the user account etc.
2.    Windows Update: The Windows update feature does not always follow your commands—if you tell it to download and install everything as Microsoft suggest, it still might reboot without your permission.  Thus it is inconsistent with what the interface design suggests.

The strange interface design features…

Microsoft may have gone through a minimalistic metamorphosis with Windows 7, but that doesn’t mean they have taken out all the fun.  Just take a look at one of their pre-installed background options. These will certainly enliven your desktop in unexpected ways… Apparently, Microsoft couldn’t resist giving us something to scratch our heads about. Literally.

But sketching and refining ideas is not the only thing wireframes are good for! With a wireframe you can communicate your ideas and specifications to other stake holders in the project team. And as we all know, programmers speak a completely different language than designers, with a wireframe both parties communicate in a universal language: with animated pictures! The perfect thing about communicating on the basis of a wireframe is that your programmer can really see and experience what you want, ask the right questions and help finding solutions where certain (may be technical) requirements not have been considered (making changes in the concept necessary – lucky me who created a wireframe instead of spending long hours on designing all detailed pages first).