Interface Architecture

the following parameters:

􀂃 Layout, which defines the location on a webpage where objects such as toolbars, forms, widgets, text, media players, buttons, sliders, and the like are placed.

􀂃 Aesthetics, which define the shape, style, colors, gradients, and textures of objects. Typically, it is highly desirable that the aesthetics match the properties of the company’s brand.

􀂃 Interactions, which define the colors, textures, gradients, sounds, animations, and special effects for:

o States including enabled, disabled, hovered, clicked, selected, or visited state. For example, an enabled button should be embossed to invite a user to click on it, while a disabled button should be engraved with fading colors to indicate its disabled status.

o Shapes including icons representing the different states of the cursor. For example, a cursor could be normally represented by an arrow which is transformed into a hand upon hovering over a hypertext or a hyperlink to indicate to a user that the text or the object is a link. Different shapes should be used for sizing, dragging, panning, etc.

o Actions including cut, copy, paste, drag, drop, size, collapse, expand, rotate, flip, slide, pan, scroll, etc.

More than just looks, aesthetics, and beauty, the architecture of the different elements of a GUI must have an underlying function beyond their façade. In other words, the elements of a GUI must have a meaningful behavior that makes their usage more intuitive. For instance, when dragging an object, it is necessary to display the shadow of the object to indicate to the user that the object is actually being dragged and to enable the user to drop the object at the desired location. Playing a sound when expanding a window and another sound when collapsing it could enhance the user experience. When users become so accustomed to all such sounds, animation, and special effects, they unconsciously rely on those special effects to conclude whether or not their action was successfully executed. Thus, those special effects become an integral part of the GUI.