Lessons Science Offers for Creating Engaging Graphical User Interface Animosities
In the realm of user interface design, Google's Material Design stands out as a groundbreaking approach that seamlessly blends digital and physical worlds, making digital interfaces more intuitive and user-friendly. This innovative design philosophy is heavily influenced by cognitive science principles, leveraging users' existing mental models and understanding of the physical world to create intuitive, meaningful digital interactions.
At the heart of Material Design lies the idea that users find graphical user interfaces (GUIs) easier to understand when they mimic the physical world. GUIs are often inspired by physical objects and the way they relate to each other. For instance, objects in Material Design should conform to users' expectations of the physical world, such as existing when hidden, not moving without help, and falling from mid-air when released.
Animations play a crucial role in Material Design, serving not just as aesthetic enhancements but also as tools to help users and provide information. Animations should make sense, be subtle, and not take up more time than necessary. They are used to show how objects move or can be moved, and to provide information about changes. For example, the minimising of a window on a GUI is an animation that mimics the physical world, where an object becomes smaller before disappearing.
Movements are an important part of Material Design, particularly movements that mimic how objects behave in the physical world. When objects touch other GUI objects, they move, similar to how objects move when pushed by an outside force in the physical world. Objects also move along a curve when moved diagonally up or down, imitating the effect of gravity in the physical world.
Google's Material Design Guidelines consist of three core principles: Material (grounded in the reality of physical objects), Bold, Graphic, Intentional (interface objects should create meaning and look good), and Motion provides meaning. By embedding the physical world’s rules into animation and visual cues, Material Design helps users intuitively grasp interface structure and function.
The Android interface is built up as a 3-dimensional space using layers and shadows, further enhancing the physical feel of the interface. Skeuomorphic elements such as shadows and elevation are used to create a sense of depth, making digital objects appear tangible and interactive. This taps into cognitive psychology principles since users rely on prior knowledge of the physical world to interpret digital affordances.
In sum, by embedding the physical world’s rules into animation and visual cues, Google’s Material Design helps users intuitively grasp interface structure and function. This application of cognitive science promotes faster learning, reduces errors, and enhances the overall user experience by building on pre-existing mental representations of objects and their behaviours.
[1] Google's Material Design Guidelines (2014) and related research in cognitive psychology provide a strong foundation for understanding the cognitive science principles at work in Material Design.
- The cognitive science principles, applied in Google's Material Design, suggest that users find digital interfaces more intuitive when they resemble the physical world, such as in the case of UI design elements that mimic the movements and behaviors of physical objects.
- The principles of science and technology are evident in Google's Material Design, with cognitive psychology research guiding the design of interfaces that are not only visually appealing but also user-friendly, by utilizing principles from the real world to create interactive and engaging digital experiences.
