02 June 2010

Nielsen and Norman on Gestures

Gestural interfaces: A step backwards in usability...

Yes, new technologies require new methods, but the refusal to follow well-tested, well-established principles leads to usability disaster.

I completely agree. Most of this article covers this and covers it well. There’s been too much abandoning of important user-interface principals with the iPhone and iPad. Apple ought to know better.

Bold explorations should remain inside the company and university research laboratories and not be inflicted on any customers until those recruited to participate in user research have validated the approach.

Following known principles is important. User testing is important. You cannot, however, fully vet an UI in the lab. Lab testing only goes so far. Then you’re going to learn a lot more a lot faster by releasing it into the wild.

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