NEW112H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Etsi, Human Interface Guidelines, Hermann Von Helmholtz
Document Summary
Symbols, pictograms and icons are widely used components of user interfaces in ict applications and services e. g. navigation, status indication and function invocation. Pictograms: images that represent a word; they are symbolic representations of an object or an idea. Icons: a graphic on a visual display terminal that represents both functions (actions) and objects on the computer system. Icons may represent a file, folder, application or device on a computer operating system. Well-designed icons and symbols can have the following advantages over written commands and labels. Easier to recognize and remember over long periods of time; Easier and faster to learn when the size of the symbol set is small; Icons are time sensitive, culturally relevant, and poorly designed icons are highly problematic. Simplicity: apple human interface guidelines (2008) recommend using one easily recognized object, because the basic shape or silhouette of an icon can help users to quickly identify it.
