TDA491 Graphical Interfaces, 7.5 ECTS, sp 1

Current course website: [2010]

Course website for previous years: [2009] [2008] [2007] [2006] [2005] [2004] [2003]

Aim
The course aims to give a basic understanding of central problems regarding the design of screen-based and pixel-based interfaces, including methods and practical training in designing these.

Learning outcome
After having completed the course you should be able to:

- Know commonly used interface solutions
- Understand how to depict and express functionality
- Layout components in a graphical interface
- Make design decisions related to interaction-related issues
- Design different software postures
- Design interfaces for beginners, experts and users with intermediate skills
- Create interfaces that utilize other input devices than mouse and keyboard
- Design a graphic interface displayed elsewhere than on average computer screens
- Solve interaction design problems related to graphical user interfaces and motivate your solutions

To summarize: After the course, you should be able to design a relatively complex graphic user interface, and be able to provide a valid design rationale for it.

Content
Content includes, but is not limited to:

- Designing for Beginners, Experts and Intermediates
- Software Posture
- Flow vs. excise
- Designing navigation
- Designing Look and Feel
- Using colour, text and graphics
- Information Visualization
- Metaphors, Idioms and Affordances
- Direct Manipulation
- Selection, Drag and Drop
- Manipulating Controls, Objects and Connections
- Using Controls
- Using Menus, Toolbars and ToolTips
- Using Dialogs
- Designing for embedded systems
- Designing for non-traditional output and input

Organization
The course is highly practical. Lectures and literature give a theoretical foundation, but this theory is immediately put into practice in a series of small exercises and a few larger projects. When practicing, focus is upon motivating, making and analyzing the design decisions made. Most of the work is done in groups of various sizes but there is also a significant amount of individual work.