Specifications

21 | USER INTERFACE
DESIGN GUIDE
The wording you use in your interface is a primary form of communication with the user. Keep text in the user interface as
brief as possible, usability studies indicate that users are more likely to read short blocks of text than long ones. Review
your work to eliminate wordiness, and keep user interface text short without sacrificing clarity. Position the text so that
any relationship with a particular control is clear. Use sentence-style capitalization and ending punctuation. Avoid using
abbreviations unless the abbreviated form is as familiar to users as the full word or phrase. You can use an acronym for a term
that is not trademarked or for a well known industry standard. Instructional text helps reduce or eliminate confusion, use
introductory text in dialog boxes to provide additional information. Providing clear direction in error messages is extremely
important. When creating error messages for the interface, ensure that the message clearly communicates the next step a
user should take. Also if a message opens in a pop-up, be sure to allow adequate time for the user to read and understand
the message.
Color
Color is very important in the visual interface. You can use it to identify elements in the interface to which you want to draw
the user’s attention for example, the current selection. Color also has an associative quality; we often assume there is a
relationshipbetweenitemsofthesamecolor.Coloralsocarrieswithitemotionalorpsychologicalqualities—forexample,a
color can be categorized as cool or warm. However, when color is used indiscriminately, it can have a negative or distracting
effect. Misuse of color can cause an unfavorable user reaction and can hinder productivity by making it difficult for users to
focus on a task. Here are a few more things to consider about using color in your interface:
• Youcanusecolortoreinforcerelatednessorgrouping,itisnotalwaysobvioustotheusertoassociateacolorwitha
particular meaning.
• Colorappealissubjective;whatispleasingtoyoumaybeunusabletosomeoneelse.
• Interpretationofcolorcanvarybyculture.Evenwithinasingleculture,individualassociationswithcolorcandiffer.
• Somepercentageofthepopulationmayhavecoloridenticationproblems.Thiscanaffecttheaccessibilityofyour
software to the widest possible audience. For example, about 9 percent of the adult male population has some form of
color confusion.
To achieve a consistent appearance in graphics across the interface, use a common color palette as the basis for creating
your graphical elements. An entire set of graphical elements requires a consistent, family-like appearance across the
interface; contrarily, individual and sub-families of graphics require differentiation. Color choices can either bring unity or