GUI Design Guidelines
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For years my company has been following the guidelines presented by MS in the book "The Windows Interface Guidelines for Software Design". Now the direction is to move into Web applications and portable Java applications as well as the traditional Windows applications. So we're looking for a good book of GUI guidelines that are not as MS specific, that we could apply to all three application types. (Obviously there is going to be some conflicts between the various types that require specific guidelines, but we want as many of the common guidelines to be covered as possible.) Does anyone know of such a book, and have opinions to offer on it? William E. Kempf
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For years my company has been following the guidelines presented by MS in the book "The Windows Interface Guidelines for Software Design". Now the direction is to move into Web applications and portable Java applications as well as the traditional Windows applications. So we're looking for a good book of GUI guidelines that are not as MS specific, that we could apply to all three application types. (Obviously there is going to be some conflicts between the various types that require specific guidelines, but we want as many of the common guidelines to be covered as possible.) Does anyone know of such a book, and have opinions to offer on it? William E. Kempf
William, > Does anyone know of such a book, and have opinions to offer on it? this post: false > Does anyone know of such a book, or have opinions to offer on it? this post: true While I don't know for sure I can say that a book which covers what you are hoping for probably does not exist. If you think about the scope of the modern GUI across different systems the conflicts are not just one or two out of every 10 controls but rather almost every control. Being a web developer I have problems with just simple HTML controls displaying differently and working differently between Windows and Mac, never mind Linux, Java, mobile devices, kiosks etc. When you first load up VS.NET and see the incredible range of GUI controls available, for WinAPPs and WebAPPs you rejoice till you find out that of course things like Netscape browser will conflict and then of course the Mac platform does it differently as well. What we are trying to do is too pick an overall usability book for GUI development and then have a seperate book for each specific platform. This way our APPs are generally the same across any platform, and are also intuitive, usable etc, while not being anal about slightly different behaviours or rendering. We have found that the lowest common denominator is, surprise surprise, WebAPPs. With HTML's limited control set you have to work up from it if you want succesful projects spanning multiple platforms. Sure you can have ActiveX on Windows and Java Applets (be gone evil demons) on other platforms but they often cause more problems than they are worth. Of course now we have to start offering WAP portals to information and catering for limited handheld screens. It is a nightmare :) regards, Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa "We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible." - Chretien Malesherbes
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William, > Does anyone know of such a book, and have opinions to offer on it? this post: false > Does anyone know of such a book, or have opinions to offer on it? this post: true While I don't know for sure I can say that a book which covers what you are hoping for probably does not exist. If you think about the scope of the modern GUI across different systems the conflicts are not just one or two out of every 10 controls but rather almost every control. Being a web developer I have problems with just simple HTML controls displaying differently and working differently between Windows and Mac, never mind Linux, Java, mobile devices, kiosks etc. When you first load up VS.NET and see the incredible range of GUI controls available, for WinAPPs and WebAPPs you rejoice till you find out that of course things like Netscape browser will conflict and then of course the Mac platform does it differently as well. What we are trying to do is too pick an overall usability book for GUI development and then have a seperate book for each specific platform. This way our APPs are generally the same across any platform, and are also intuitive, usable etc, while not being anal about slightly different behaviours or rendering. We have found that the lowest common denominator is, surprise surprise, WebAPPs. With HTML's limited control set you have to work up from it if you want succesful projects spanning multiple platforms. Sure you can have ActiveX on Windows and Java Applets (be gone evil demons) on other platforms but they often cause more problems than they are worth. Of course now we have to start offering WAP portals to information and catering for limited handheld screens. It is a nightmare :) regards, Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa "We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible." - Chretien Malesherbes
I don't think you comprehend the question quite right. I'm more than aware of the differences in rendering across platforms and of the availability, or lack there of, of certain controls. But such concerns are beyond the scope of practical GUI guidelines. When you say "what we are trying to do is too pick an overall usability book for GUI development" you get much closer to what we're looking for. William E. Kempf
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For years my company has been following the guidelines presented by MS in the book "The Windows Interface Guidelines for Software Design". Now the direction is to move into Web applications and portable Java applications as well as the traditional Windows applications. So we're looking for a good book of GUI guidelines that are not as MS specific, that we could apply to all three application types. (Obviously there is going to be some conflicts between the various types that require specific guidelines, but we want as many of the common guidelines to be covered as possible.) Does anyone know of such a book, and have opinions to offer on it? William E. Kempf
I do not know of any books, but I frequently read the web site www.asktog.com and I have found it very incitefull. This guy covers more than just computer based user interface design. He talks about it from the perspective of human interface. Anyway, just a suggestion.
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I don't think you comprehend the question quite right. I'm more than aware of the differences in rendering across platforms and of the availability, or lack there of, of certain controls. But such concerns are beyond the scope of practical GUI guidelines. When you say "what we are trying to do is too pick an overall usability book for GUI development" you get much closer to what we're looking for. William E. Kempf
Not sure if this is the kind of thing you are looking for, http://www.fogcreek.com/gems/uibookcomplete.htm Michael :-)
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For years my company has been following the guidelines presented by MS in the book "The Windows Interface Guidelines for Software Design". Now the direction is to move into Web applications and portable Java applications as well as the traditional Windows applications. So we're looking for a good book of GUI guidelines that are not as MS specific, that we could apply to all three application types. (Obviously there is going to be some conflicts between the various types that require specific guidelines, but we want as many of the common guidelines to be covered as possible.) Does anyone know of such a book, and have opinions to offer on it? William E. Kempf
What about User Interface Design for Programmers by Joel Spolsky, this is available on-line or a longer version is available from bookstores. Michael Martin Pegasystems Pty Ltd Australia martm@pegasystems.com +61 413-004-018 "Don't belong. Never join. Think for yourself. Peace" - Victor Stone
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What about User Interface Design for Programmers by Joel Spolsky, this is available on-line or a longer version is available from bookstores. Michael Martin Pegasystems Pty Ltd Australia martm@pegasystems.com +61 413-004-018 "Don't belong. Never join. Think for yourself. Peace" - Victor Stone
Human aptitude tends towards the bell curve.
Maybe 98% of your customers are smart enough to use a television set.
About 70% of them can use Windows. 15% can use Linux. 1% can program.
But only 0.1% of them can program in a language like C++. And only 0.01% of them can figure out Microsoft ATL programming.
(And all of them, without exception, have beards and glasses.)http://images.amazon.com/images/P/1861000111.01.LZZZZZZZ.gif :) Now that is funny! It is Illogical to define an inventor by his invention
