Universal Design for Interactive Systems

Universal Design Principles

A working group of architects, product designers,engineers led by Ronald Mace in the North Carolina State University developed 7 Principles of Universal Design for Interactive Systems in 1997. The main purpose of the Principles is to guide the design of environments, products and communications.

1.Equitable Use

The design is useful and marketable to people with diverse abilities. For an example, a web application that is designed to be accessed for everyone, including people who are disables with technology.

2. Flexibility in Use

The design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities. For an use case is a windows os user that allows user to choose to read or listen to the description of the contents of a display.

3. Simple and Intuitive Use

Accesing of the design is easy to understand, without considering of the user’s experience, knowledge, language skills, or technical knowledge level.

4. Perceptible Information

This principle means that the design always communicates necessary information effectively to the user, regardless of ambient conditions or the user’s sensory abilities.

5. Tolerance for Error

The design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions.

6. Low physical effort

Systems should be designed to be comfortable to use, minimizing physical effort and fatigue.

7. Size and space for approach and use

The placement of the system should be such that it can be reached and used by any user regardless of body size, posture, or mobility.

Multi-modal interaction

In this model, your system will be able to provides access to information through more than one mode of interaction is an important principle of universal design. Such design relies on multi-modal interaction. A Multi-modal interface acts as a facilitator via these modes of interaction.

1.Sound in the interface

There is research evidence to suggest that the addition of audio confirmation of modes, in the form of changes in keyclicks, reduces errors beacuse sound is that mush an important to usability. The dual presentation of information through sound and vision supports universal design, by enabling access for users with visual and hearing impairments respectively. Sound can convey transient information and does not take up screen space, making it potentially useful for mobile applications.

2.Touch in the interface

The use of touch in the interface is known as haptic interaction. This can be roughly divided into two areas; cutaneous perception which is concerned with tactile sensations through the skin as well as kinesthetics which is the perception of movement and position.

3.Handwriting recognition

Handwriting is also a considerable important sensor for usability. This can be graphical or textual. It is a natural form of communication. Sometimes there are problems with how to input handwriting in applications but now many new methods coming to overcome that issue. In most of the applications, designers use capturing handwriting and input them into the application method.

4.Gesture recognition

The gesture is a component of HCI that has become the subject of attention in multi-modal systems. Being able to control the computer with certain movements of the hand would be advantageous in many situations where there is no possibility of typing, or when other senses are fully occupied. It could also support communication for people who have disabilities.

Designing Interfaces for diversity

Usually,most of the interfaces are usually designed to cater for the ‘average’ user, but unfortunately this may exclude people who are not ‘average’. People are diverse and there are many factors that must be taken into account. Some of them are disability, age and culture.

1.Disability

As the result of the researches at least 10% of the population of every country has a disability that will affect interaction with computers. So when designing interfaces in the context of a disability, sensory, physical and cognitive senses must be taken into account. Systems should provide a good form of communication for the visually impaired. Indeed, if you have hearing loss, computer technology can improve communication for deaf people. E-mail and instant messaging are great organizational tools and can be used by both hearing and deaf users. Speech and visual recognition systems can be added to systems to help people with disabilities.

2.Age

In this category, older people and children have specific needs when it comes to interactive technology. The requirements of the older population may differ significantly from other population groups.Mobile technologies can be used to provide memory aids where there is age-related memory loss. Like older people, children have distinct needs when it comes to technology, and again, as a population, they are diverse. It is therefore important to involve them in the design of interactive systems that are for their use.

3.Culture

Cultural difference is often used synonymously with national differences but this is too simplistic. Whilst there are clearly important national cultural differences other factors such as age, gender, race, sexuality, class, religion and political persuasion, may all influence an individual’s response to a system. This is particularly the case when considering websites where often the explicit intention is to design for a particular culture or subculture.