lucks like an elegant document readi ng application...
The iPad is not a laptop or net book, nor is it a smartphone or PDA. It fills a new space, and with it comes a new type of software, arid unique challenges for user interface, web and interaction designers,There are new conventions and considerations to apply when designing for this platform, and for touch-screen tablet devices in general
The iPad is a touch-screen device running the iPhone operating system (now known as iOS) but treating it as just a larger iPhone would certainly be unwise,The reality is that the iPad is a productivity and entertainment platform in a way the iPhone rightly never tried to be. It's a target for streamlined versions of apps which previously only existed on the desktop-not just a place to rework utilities and games from smartphones.
The biggest challenge for designers is learning how to bring desktop-class applications to this type of device. We need to rethink our approach to user interface design, because what works on the desktop or on a smartphone won't automatically work on a large touch-screen. Fundamentally, the differences all come down to input and output.The iPad's display is very large {1024x768
pixels), so apps with demanding presentation requirements will be at home. The virtual keyboard is almost full-size (and external keyboards are supported), so text entry is now much more feasible. Lastly, whilst the iPhone supports multi-touch, only the iPad can credibly claim to support two hands.
These facts directly affect which interfaces will work on the iPad, and help define a set of design principles to follow.
Look Like a viewer
There is a big temptation to let the iPad's large screen go to our heads. The primary warning about designing for the iPad is: more screen space doesn't mean more Ul. It's tempting to violate that principle, and it's very important to resist. There should be enough Ul to cover the app's functionality (and no more), but a bigger screen doesn't mean all the controls should all be visible at once. If there's one golden rule of iPad interface design, it's 'Look like a viewer, behave like an editor! Hide configuration Ul until it's needed, then dismiss it afterwards. Apple's own iWorkapps area prime example.
app enables you to edit enables data entry animations di rectly on the us ing a real-worSd object to be animated form-filling interface
Edit in-place
On the desktop, we often have globally positioned controls such as floating Inspector palettes, toolbars and menus. You should avoid these whenever possible on the iPad, because they introduce indirection between the user's action and the object being affected. On a touch-screen device, users want to interact directly.
Enable the user to edit objects in-place. Attach editing Ul to the object itself; show, hide and move it as needed. A prominent example is the interface for editing transitions and animations in the Keynote presentation app on the iPad. In-place editing is a powerful principle to follow; it's direct and immediate, and is the most intuitive approach for a device where you're interacting with 'actual'objects using your fingers.
Remove features
Feature-creep is the bane of software. Even expert users of Microsoft Word or Adobe Photoshop may barely have scratched the surface of their functionality. Most software has features you'll never touch, and would never miss if they were removed.
is a ful l-feaiured web browser, but its UI is of one object whi lesimple, with only five resizing another buttons sn its toolbar .
Most users need only a small set of features, and software is better when it's focused. A beneficial side-effect of this approach is that the Ul is easier to design and comprehend (because there's less of it, and it's more obvious why each element exi5ts).The trick is to determine which features are important, and implement only those. When in doubt, leave it out.
Similarly, try to avoid letting users customise or configure how a feature works, decide what will suit most people, and make the app work that way. You can always add features and options later after receiving feedback, but you'll never recover from a confusing first impression.
Two hands
The iPad is large enough for two-handed input, and the hardware can distinguish 11 discrete touches simultaneously. Users want to take advantage of the input-space available. Resist {at all costs) the temptation to fill this space with controls. Equally importantly, don't add anything requiring two hands; people will very often be holding the iPad with one hand and interacting with the other.
Two-handed input should be optional, and act as a shortcut or convenient additional way to access functionality.
Keynote provides several examples, such as matching the size of one object while resizing another, and dragging multiple slides into new positions in the presentation. There should always be other, more obvious ways to accomplish tasks; two-handed input is a power-user feature. Always be usable with one hand, but don't be afraid to support two.
Touch and form
The twin factors of touch sensitivity and form factor create a strong, immediate attachment to tablet devices. It's these factors, combined with the software user experience, that give the iPad mass-market appeal outside the technology sector (the Nintendo Wii is in a similar position).
The Notes app on the iPhone will forever be a simulation of a legal pad; the the user, the corresponding iPadapp/sa legal pad. It's an incredibly important distinction in terms of how it influences the design process. There's a predilection towards visual
Keynote enables the user to match the size of one object whi le resizing another.
shows rich wooden shelves, bathed in sunlight; 10 reinforce the tactllity and implied refinemeni of a library.
and behavioural realness on the iPad which overrides mere fashion and aesthetics; it's a core component of the attraction. iPad software can build directly on this by using virtual materials.
Your software's user has clipped card dividers into ring-binders and has seen them become dog-eared. They know how waxy laser-printer paper feels, and they've bent and reshaped paperclips. An interface which mimics those real objects reinforces the surprising sense of familiarity of the hardware and enhances the user's comfort.The principle can betaken further, by simulating not only familiar objects but those which areaspirational and luxurious, or which reflect the user's desired lifestyle.
Don't underestimate the significance and value of replicating analogue, real-world objects in software. People form strong emotional connection to objects, even if they can't articulate the fact. You can, and should, directly capitalise on these feelings and connotations when designing software interfaces. Make your interface a real object (or a surface on which to manipulate real objects), and the user will engage with the application immediately.
Designing for the future
More than two million iPads were sold within the first 60 days ofrelease, and everyone has an anecdote about a technophobic lative who desperately wants one. The product has struck a
chord, to a degree few expected.
There are unique challenges facing designers on this new platform, and of course plenty of opportunities. iPadapplications are feature-light and interaction-heavy; they create an emotional connection with the user, and they delight without overwhelming.
It's an incredibly exciting time to be a user interface and interaction designer, and there has never been a greater demand for software-focused graphic design. We're possibly seeing the beginning of the next major stage of user experience, and you're getting in on the ground floor. Keep your focus on the user, and good luck.
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