Interface evolution in Hong Kong

Think back to how fast interfaces have changed in computing; I remember my parents taking a class in COBOL where they had to type their instruction set into a terminal, that then punched a paper card that was then fed into the computer. Not exactly fast, easy or intuitive.

Eventually, you could type directly on a keyboard and see it on a video terminal before going into the computer's memory, so that was an improvement.

Fast forward a decade to the first MacIntosh with a mouse - you could now click, drag and manipulate objects on screen with the mouse.

Jump up to 2007 with the introduction of the iPhone, where for the first time on a truly massive scale, people were using a finger on a screen to open, delete, sort, type, organize - the touch interface was born and years later is still only scratching the surface - no pun intended - of it’s full potential.

Since the touch interface was so new and different six years ago, physical realities were mirrored in skeuomorphic graphics and web interface conventions to help users transition to working with this new device.

In Hong Kong, this last few years, as users have adapted to the touch interface - and as digital natives, tomorrow’s consumers, will grow up only knowing touch interfaces - we've seen a move away from the skeuomorphism and borrowed web conventions to a more Natural User Interface.

Buttons no longer require a box around them or a gradient to provide an affordance to show they are tappable; in today's smarter apps, everything is tappable.

Users don’t need or want hints or clues on what or where to tap, they expect it. Think about apps like Clear and Rise, list and alarm apps respectively. These apps, while tightly focused in scope (they do one thing phenomenally well) perform that task with a minimalist elegance that has yet to be equalled, and are almost entirely gesture based. From a design standpoint, simple is very hard to do, and these apps do it extraordinarily well.

Gestures are often overlooked way of solving problems in interface design, and the most common reason is that users won’t know them. That’s obvious for anything new, but also misses the point that users are adaptable and can learn - I’d even say want to learn - if it helps them solve a problem or complete a task with less effort.

One of the most interesting (and most difficult) design challenges of mobile device interface design as used in Hong Kong is the limited amount of screen real estate. Removing layers of fluff and decoration and focusing on the user content and natural, intuitive interactions with it can improve user experience. Ask yourself if the apps you are creating are blending in with what everyone else is doing, or if are you leading the way with new ways to help your users get things done more efficiently.