LAB 01: Interface Design Assessment

Purpose
The purpose of this lab is to introduce students with the basics of software interface
designing.

Outcomes
The expected outcome of this lab activity is students’ ability to:

 Critically look at interface design of any system

 Identify problems in system interface design
 Differentiate between good and bad interface design

Introduction
There are various aspects of a good design ranging from look and feel to the desired
functionality. We often experience the interaction of different applications; some of those
seem quite good whereas it is not the case for all applications. The following activities help
us to think about and assess interface designs in general.

Activity 1
The following homepage (Figure 1) is an example of bad design. Think about the reasons
why it is not considered to be a good design. Discuss the given design in detail and discuss
what is wrong with it. Weblink: http://www.pnwx.com/

Figure 1: Homepage of pnwx.com

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Activity 2
Figure 1.2 is a screenshot of a web application in which you can find information if you
want to paint your buildings. Weblink: http://industrialpainter.com/

Figure 2: Example of Web Application for companies

Activity 3
The following screenshot (Figure 3) is an example of bad interface. The website is designed to offer
rental services of cars and vans. Website link: https://www.lingscars.com/

Figure 3: Example of Car rental services

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Activity 4

Figure 4 shows the website of a university that offers Advance Technology courses in
their university. Weblink: https://www.uat.edu/#

Figure 4: University of Advanced Technology website example

Home Activities
Select any five systems (software/website/mobile) which are bad design in your opinion.
Discuss in detail why you have chosen them to be examples of bad design.

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Assignment Deliverables
Students need to submit a report containing the following:
 Brief description of the chosen systems
 Key problems identified for each system

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