Pondering User Perception

Everything in this world has some type of design or format affiliated with it. In Jesse James Garrett’s presentation titled “Elements of User Experience” she keys in on the idea of user experience design as being “the design of everything with human experience as an outcome and human engagement as a specific goal”. This definition applies to almost every aspect of our day-to-day lives, as we are constantly interacting with our surroundings. User experience design has been revolutionized and transformed by the constant technological advancements in our society. Companies plan out their web design and layout in order to project a certain image and mood that parallels their values. This layout, consisting of a surface, skeleton, structure and scope according to Garrett, is seen by the user and interpreted to form an overall perception. Deliberate choices are made when laying out the skeleton of a website, in order to enhance user experience as well as provide them with information in a logical way.

 

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For example, the image above of a typical Gmail inbox is much more complex than it appears to be. The surface of the site needs to be simplistic as well as visually appealing in order to ensure the user is not confused during their initial visits to the site. The specific skeleton of the site in this instance needs to be very carefully laid out, in order to allow for the user to quickly find new mail and be able to sort through the different sections and additional applications. Certain individual customization features are available to the user, but the basic skeleton and structure must be carefully organized and laid out by Google to ensure a positive user interface experience. As Garrett states in her presentation, there is a fine line that separates the two views of a product as information as well as technology. In this example, Google first focuses on the information side of the spectrum to project the hard data to the user. The technology side of the spectrum is observed as the individual components of the site that make the content available. Different people will form different perceptions of each and every website, illustrating the importance of a site’s surface, skeleton, and structure to provide a solid foundation for the user to interpret. Different content requires unique structure, but the overall feeling of the website will ultimately be determined by the omnipotent user.

 

Sources:

1. Jesse James Garrett, Elements of User Experience, http://www.slideshare.net/openjournalism/elements-of-user-experience-by-jesse-james-garrett