M. Regalado
CS 476A, F19
-- an organized whole that is perceived as more than the sum of its parts.
First, before delving into any particular principles from this chapter, I wanted to focus on an informative manner in approaching visual design, the understanding of a lovely Bauhaus design term: gestalt. Without understanding how humans perceive objects--both physical and digital manifestations of objects-- it can help explain why certain shapes project a particular connotation before a person has had the pleasure of experiencing the details. In its rawest form, quite literally, people first engage with the silhouette of an object which categorizes the design. I couldn't help but share this before further delving into any particular principle. Though due note, there is a mention of this very idea on p.134,
"allows us to make sense of space and the relationship of things in it"
I resonate with this principle the strongest. Currently, there's a tension between learning more about a user versus learning about the details of bettering an interaction. As a user experience designer, this becomes our mantra when creating delightful experiences through digital interfaces. We are constantly testing and iterating (shoutout Principle 3.15!) from learnings of how our users interact with our prototypes. Thus, informing a tightly coupled finesse to our final designs.
Prototyping through a plethora of tools enables me to learn the best on how to improve a particular piece of a design or the experience as a whole. when creating delightful experience before touching a line of code is Principle, solely offered for macOS. However, when thinking about Principle 3.9 from the initial perspective or lense of an applied computer scientist, I cannot help but remember Design+Code by Meng To, who began his journey of designing and coding iOS applications and leveraging Sketch and Xcode, and now has turned into this entire online community in building a wealth of applications.
I absolutely love this principle and helps embody, both literally and figuratively, how skeuomorphic design still exists in our flattened user interface world. Some of my favorite animations truly add character in ensuring a delightful experience. A personal favorite, which is a derivative of Apple's initial trash can design, is in WhatsApp trash can animation of deleting a voice message before it's been sent.
WhatsApp voice message cancelling animation.
Furthermore, the listing of "expressive words" are relatable and evoke experientially memories, images, sounds, etc. All in all, this entire chapter had me laughing, and mind churning for current delightful experiences I constantly am bookmarking mentally, and how to challenge myself in becoming a better designer.
M. ✌🏽