Download DENIM: An Informal Web Site Design Tool Inspired by

DENIM:
An Informal Web Site Design Tool Inspired by
Observations of Practice
CS 376 – Research Topics in HCI
11/01/2005
Tony Tulathimutte
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Initial Inquiry
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Comparing methods of web design in
early stages
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Pen-and-paper techniques vs. Web design
applications (Dreamweaver, Fusion, etc.)
Hypothesis: Informal design techniques
work best for early design
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Ambiguous
Natural
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Different Levels of
Representation
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Site maps
Storyboards
Pages
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Schematics
Mock-ups
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Ethnographic Study
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Interviewed 11 Web designers
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Varying experience and background
Asked to walk the interviewers through
an entire project
Collected artifacts and documents
relating to the design
Findings were validated by participants
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Web Design Specialization
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Information design
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Navigation design
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Structuring related
information content
Designing means of
accessing information
around the structure
Information
Architecture
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Combines the above two
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Web Design Specialization
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User interface design
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Design of the navigation systems (i.e. IE)
Graphic Design
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Color, images, typography, layout
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Web Design Specialization
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Information design
was almost always
done before graphical
design
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Exception:
entertainmentoriented site with print
background
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Case Study: CAD Tools Suite
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Designer’s process
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Studied background materials, previous
versions + related software
~20 sketches on paper
Intentionally undetailed, bland layout
Visual design polished before coding begins
Sketches are abandoned once coding
begins
8
Generalized Web Design
Process
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Geared toward presentation to client
Phases:
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Discovery
Design Exploration
Design Refinement
Production
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Discovery
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Determine and clarify scope of the
project
Consider the desires of the client
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Interviewing, observation, testing,
surveying
Perform competitive analysis
10
Design Exploration
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Solutions addressing pertinent problems
are generated
Information architecture is established
Designers produce multiple ideas
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Design Refinement
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Iteration
Precise graphical + layout decisions
solidified
General templates produced to dictate
the design of different classes of pages
within the site
User testing w/ interactive prototype
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Production
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Guidelines, specifications, all prototypes
sent to implementers
All creative material established
13
Role of Collaboration
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All designers worked in teams
Common group activities:
brainstorming, idea assessment,
integration of work
Occurs most frequently at the beginning
and end of milestones
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Design Artifacts
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Site Maps
Storyboards
Schematics
Mock-ups
Prototypes
Specifications and Guidelines
Presentations
Written Documents
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Site Maps
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Site Maps
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Diagrams the structure of a site
Typically only used internally
Design often evolves over course of
project
Used most heavily by information
architects
No specific detail
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Storyboards
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Represents a specific interaction
sequence
Characterizes some primary usage of
the site
Limited in detail
Also used internally
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Adapted into “walkthroughs” for clients
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Schematics, Mock-ups,
Prototypes
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Represents the content of a particular page
Schematics = more iconic than literal
Used by information architects rather than
graphic designers
Shown to clients with deliberate visual
ambiguity
Mock-ups and Prototypes are hi-fi versions of
schematics, meant to be taken literally
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Prototypes are interactive
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Presentations
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Significant milestone
“A design process in itself”
Walkthrough was most commonly used
structuring technique
Doesn’t necessarily relate to actual
website design
Supplemented with formal emails +
concept briefs throughout the process
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Design Tools
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Techniques used to produce the
artifacts
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Sketching
Design War Rooms
Computer Based Tools
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Sketching
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Used to rapidly draft early ideas in
discovery phase
All designers used sketching
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Extent varied by designer and project
Only used internally
Sketches converted to electronic form
from scratch, then abandoned
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Design War Rooms
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Amounts to “collaborative sketching”
Organizing ideas into groups
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Post-it notes on walls
Paper valued for its portability, ease of
use, spatial associations, low cost
Large surfaces allow for large-scale
organization
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Computer-Based Tools
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Photoshop, Illustrator, Director, Word
Earlier deadlines encouraged adoption of
these tools
“Hybrid” designers prefer graphically-oriented
tools; UI designers used Word and Visio
Designers attached to their tools of choice
Many programs often used
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Makes synchronization more difficult
Disrupts flow of activity
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Study’s Implications for Web
Tool Design
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Use Informal UI
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Support transitions into later phases
Manage history and variations
Integrate with paper
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DENIM: Integrating Levels of
Representation
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Pen-based system
Supports and encourages rapid
sketching and organization at high
levels of abstraction
Informal, intended only for use by
developers
Semantic zooming
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Semantic Zooming
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Five Levels
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Overview
Site map
Storyboard
Page
Detail
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Other Features
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Built over SATIN
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Manual + Keyboard Text Input
Text Field Widgets
Creating Links with Arrows
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Gesture Recognition
Navigational + Organizational
Run Mode
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DENIM Usability Study
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Supported both architecture- and interactionoriented approaches
Problems with requiring zoom to navigate
around the site design
Feedback:
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Scored only above-average on ease-of-use
Scored relatively low on ability to communicate
with clients
Did well otherwise
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Future Work on DENIM
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Scenarios
User-created widgets
The Designer’s Outpost
WebQuilt
Generation of medium-fidelity
prototypes
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New Features in DENIM
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