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Issues in Mobile Interface Design
Issues in Mobile Interface Design
Issues in Mobile Interface Design
Jason McDonnell
designing interfaces that are both user-friendly and efficient in
performing their intended task.
ABSTRACT
Mobile devices such as smartphones continue to increase in
popularity, and as such the uptake and use of mobile applications
also increases. However, owing to the unique nature and
capabilities of mobile devices, interface designers must take
various issues into consideration when designing interfaces for
mobile applications. This paper reviews the main issues faced by
the mobile interface designer, including hardware related issues
(input/output related issues such as touchscreen and screen size),
software related issues (navigation, browsing, and menus) and
other issues (heuristics, consistency).
2. HARDWARE ISSUES
2.1 Input Related Issues
General Terms
Design.
Keywords
Usability, Mobile Application Interface Design.
1. INTRODUCTION
2.1.2 Gestures
Gestures are platform specific input methods that enable the user
to interact with the system more efficiently. Examples of gestures
include swiping, pinching the screen, or tapping. While these
gestures typically adhere to specific platform conventions in the
context of their functionality, interface designers should be aware
of these in the context of what they can add to the application in
question [1].
3. SOFTWARE ISSUES
3.1 Navigation and Browsing
Navigation and browsing present challenges in mobile interface
design owing to the relatively small display area these devices
typically possess. Information must be segmented into multiple
small presentation units, which can create difficulty when it
comes to users navigating from one part of the app to another
[10]. Hierarchical menus are the norm for mobile applications as
a method of segmenting information, but these present their own
challenges.
4. OTHER ISSUES
4.1 Consistency
Consistency across platforms is a particularly challenging issue
from a mobile interface design perspective. According to Gong
and Tarasewich [7], it is important to offer users the same
experience across different applications on the same platform and
between the same application across different platforms. With
regard to the former of these, each platform generally offers
designers and developers specific guidelines that detail how the
interface should look and behave in response to different types of
input.
However, it is these very guidelines that present difficulties when
trying to maintain consistency between the same application
running on different platforms. The designer must strive to
maintain the same interface across the different platforms, while
4.2 Heuristics
In addition to the 10 heuristics proposed by Nielson [12], others
have proposed an additional two heuristics specifically for use
with touchscreen based mobile devices [11]. These are listed
below.
4.3 Icons
In the interest of conserving space, icon use is generally
encouraged [15]. Designers must take care to use icons that
accurately convey their functionality however. Furthermore, icon
use can be detrimental to user experience in certain populations
[6]. As such, the designer should take characteristics of the
intended audience into consideration when deciding on whether
or not icon use is appropriate.
5. CONCLUSION
The aim of this paper was to illustrate the various challenges and
issues present in mobile interface design, with reference to the
available literature on the topic. While these issues present
unique challenges in the context of mobile interface design, these
challenges are far from insurmountable, as evidenced by the
many well designed mobile applications on the market. However,
well designed mobile applications are still in the minority,
possibly due to designers not taking due consideration of the
unique requirements of mobile. As such, it is important that
mobile designers properly inform themselves of these issues so
that they properly meet the challenges presented by them.
1.
REFERENCES