Design for the iPad

kicker KICKER. [KIK-er] noun. 1. One who kicks. 2. An unexpected twist. 3. In poker, a high-value card used as a tie-breaker. 4. In football, the player who drills it though the uprights when the game is on the line. 5. In extreme sports, a ramp used to launch off of. 6. In design, a brief phrase or sentence lead-in to a story or chapter. 7. In product design, a consulting firm that smashes through convention.

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kickerDesign for the iPadHacks/Hackers Unite, May 22, 2010

2Hi, Iʼm Jennifer Bove. Iʼm a Founder and Principal at Kicker Studio.Weʼre a product design studio specializing in design for emerging technologies, most notably touch screens and gestural interfaces.

3We recently finished a project close to home for this event, about storytelling on tablets. We collaborated with publishing group Bonnier to investigate the future of digital magazines, and how to design for the deeper engagement levels possible on a touch-screen tablet.

gestural interfaces are changing the way we use computers.

4because really...

traditional computing image

Old-School Computing

5Weʼre used to sitting at desks, using keyboard, mouse (and the occasional command lines.)

Gestures can be read without traditional input devices like a mouse, stylus or physical button.

6Now we can use our fingers to directly manipulate objects on screen - who needs a mouse?

mediated experiences

7The old-school mouse and keyboard provide mediated experiences.

8As our technologies have advanced, weʼve learned to use tools to express ourselves.

9These tools are controlled. Exact. And can require some serious skills.

10Sometimes to scary results.

unmediated experiences

11Gesture controls allow for unmediated experiences – no tools to get between us and our stuff.

12These experiences may be crude, but theyʼre visceral.

Photo courtesy Scott Beale/Laughing

13They provide a tactile, satisfying feeling.

14And technology-enabled gestures--- can feel like magic.

Gestural interactions are removing the artificially-mediated interactions we created to work with technology in the first place. Our advances in technology have blown away the problems that the mouse & keyboard were created to solve.

Jorge Colombo, iPhone sketch

15And weʼre left with this.

unmediated, direct manipulation of “our stuff” is as close as we can get to tangible experiences

in the digital world.

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Enter the iPad

iPad != mini laptop

•A mobile device that’s a bit computer like

•A smart object that’s a blank slate, literally

•Meant to be used out in the world

18The iPad is less like a computer you’ve liberated from the desktop and more like a device that can do some computer-like things. It has high-res, rich graphics, applications & wifi, but it’s singularly focused and GSM enabled like a mobile phone. It’s a smart object - it knows where it is, how it’s it’s tilted and which end is up. Its form factor - literally a blank slate - removes social barriers and barriers of use.

Photo courtesy Moka Pantages

19It’s portable, although most say it’s easiest to use with 2 hands, or propped up on a lap.

Photo courtesy Moka Pantages

20or an arm.

Photo courtesy Moka Pantages

21It’s more social than either the laptop or the mobile phone. Sharing is as easy as handing it over.

Photo courtesy Matt Biddulph

22Of course then thereʼs also this -- the iPad glow makes it a tricky thing to use outdoors.

iPad = leisure object

23I see the iPad as a leisure object. Itʼs not as task driven as a cell phone, or designed for multitasking like a laptop. The larger screen and rich multi-media capabilities make it more akin to print than web.

24Apple sees it that way too, from their ads...

25And the apps that theyʼve designed for it. The iPadʼs size and affordances make it ideal for experiencing rich, immersive experiences, diving into books, magazines, newspapers, photos, videos, etc.

26And the apps that are getting the most attention from consumers & media are also more immersive, leisurely experiences that reflect our offline behaviors a digital way.Thereʼs convergence of the digital and physical that requires new thinking, incorporating metaphors and best practices from each.

designing for the iPad

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Touch screen basics

•One-handed, left-handed use

• Fingers are less exact than cursors

• Targets should be as close to user as possible

• Touch targets don’t have behavioral cues like mouse over & hover states

• Targets need to be of a reasonable size

28Optimize for single hand use if possible. Beware of covering the screen with the hand. Targets need to look touchable.

25 mm 18 mm 13 mm 5 mm

Touch targets should be at least 10 mm

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Screen orientation

• It’s a portable, physical object. Take advantage of that.

•Very few interface cues on the form itself - feels natural both horizontally and vertically.

•How does the story shift in each orientation? Should the layout be the same or different?

30Think about what makes sense in which view -- scrolling, width of the screen, depth of content.

Screen orientation can afford different views into content

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Unmediated content

• Rich canvas for story telling

•Visuals as anchors, entry points into content

•Use content as navigation wherever possible - don’t crowd interface with buttons and controls

•Menus and contextual info in popups & overlays

32It’s the content that is the primary thing that’s what makes it a video player vs a photo frame vs a newspaper vs a music player. The role of the device is to bring the content closer to us.

Content as navigation, minimal controls

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Contextual info and control overlays

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Workflow

•No multitasking - be prepared for interruption at any time

•Users shouldn’t lose work, get stuck mid-way through task, lose place, start over

•Consider the context & environment of use

35The iPad can only run one app at a time (with a few exceptions). Work flow needs to take this into account and allow for incremental feedback and results.

Complex workflow, incremental feedback

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Connected

• Large screen brings us closer to our stuff

• Sharing over one’s shoulder, across the internet, based on here and now

•GPS, Wifi, GSM, compass – think of the possibilities

•A new platform in an ecosystem of devices – not to be designed in a vacuum

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Co-located and location based sharing

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Interaction patterns

• It’s the wild west out there

•Don’t reinvent the wheel - it causes confusion

• Top 3 usability problems - discoverability, memorability, accidental activation

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Scrub to flip

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Tap to flip41

Swipe to flip

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Swipe to scroll

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Survey Says:

Tap a photo to:

• Enlarge the photo

• Link to a more details page

• Flip the image to reveal additional photos

•Do nothing

44Can anyone guess the right answer? Answer is, all of the above - depends on which app you use.

it’s just the beginning of the story.

45Design for touch devices, and the iPad in particular, is just getting started, and the possibilities are endless.

Thanks!

Kicker Studio300 Brannan StreetSuite 207San Francisco, CA 94107

ph. 415-796-3434

jennifer@kickerstudio.comwww.kickerstudio.com@jenniferbove / @kickerstudio

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