singlot

Computers and related devices have to be designed with an understanding that people with specific task in mind will want to use them in a way that is seamless with respect to their everyday work. To do this, those who design these systems need tho know how to think in therms of the eventual users’ tasks and how to traslate that knowledge into an executable system. But there is a problem with trying to teach the notion of designing computers for people. All designers are people and, most probably, they are users as well. Isn’t it therefore intuitive to design for the user? Why does it need to be taugh when we all know what a good interface looks like?
…
The interface is not something taht can be plugged in at the last minute; its design should be developed integrally with the rest of the system. It should not just present a ‘pretty face’, but should support the tasks that people actually want to do, and forgive the careless mistakes. We therefore need to consider how HCI fints into the design process.

From the Introduction to Human-Computer Interaction book, by Alan Dix (et al.).

In think it’s a very good summary of the philosophy behind HCI and UI design. I like the idea that designers are also users but they don’t design for themselves.


@book{
author={Alan Dix},
year={1998},
title={Human-computer interaction},
publisher={Prentice Hall Europe},
address={London},
pages={638},
note={Alan Dix ... [et al.].; Includes bibliographical references and index.},
keywords={Human-computer interaction; System design},
isbn={0132398648}
}