This article appeared in the September/October 1989 issue of Quick Connect, the Newsletter for Apple User Groups. It may be reproduced in other User Group publications not sold for profit. We require only that credit be given to the Apple Computer User Group Connection and that we receive a copy of any publication in which reprinted articles appear. The Apple User Group Connection, Apple Computer, Inc., 20525 Mariani Avenue, MS: 36/AA, Cupertino, CA 95014.
User-Centered Design
No matter how much user interfaces begin to look alike, the Macintosh(R) difference remains. Apple’s design point is, has been, and will continue to be the user. Simply creating specific elements of a user interface—icons, a mouse, easy cut-and-paste—has never been Apple’s goal. Rather, we are committed to building a unique, cohesive, and engaging computer system that extends the power of the user. Our interface—focusing on the user, not the computer—allows individuals to radically change the way they work, think, and manipulate data.
Does all of this sound like “AppleSpeak” to you? Yes or no, read on. Apple’s chief wizard of the user interface—and the design points comprising the Apple(R) advantage—explains it all inside.
Bruce Tognazzini, Apple employee #66, is Apple’s chief Human Interface Evangelist. He wrote Apple’s first Human Interface Guidelines in 1978, and guided both the research and writing efforts for the most recent version. “Tog” was responsible for the human-interface design for AppleWorks (R), put the mouse on the Apple II, and is responsible for every keyboard layout for the Macintosh after the first. As founder of the Human Interface Group, he is dedicated to making Apple computers easy for users to learn and use. Here are some of his thoughts on the Macintosh interface and the importance of user-centered design.
QC: How is writing an application for the Macintosh different from writing for other computers?
BT: In the applications of old, programmers were the stern yet kindly father, trying to get users down the right path, and the user became a peripheral to the CPU. With the Macintosh, that’s all turned around. We construct a world, a reality, in which the user can work and live and feel comfortable.
QC: Does this mean you have to change the way you go about designing a program?
BT: Very much so. Writing programs for the Macintosh is not an easy task. To ensure that software applications remain consistent and intuitive, programmers must adhere to Human Interface Guidelines established by Apple. These principles reflect Apple’s philosophy that the user’s comfort, ease and enjoyment are at the heart of the computing experience.
The Mac desktop is a virtual world, an illusion with which Mac users are familiar. It is populated by objects, such as the desktop, file folders, the trash can. But these objects are not just thrown together. They are driven by fundamental principles of the Mac interface. These principles form a single coherent whole, a complete reality in which the users can operate effectively.
QC: It seems that the power of this approach is that users don’t have to learn obscure commands or a new language. And they never really are aware of the complex programming that’s going on behind the scenes, right?
BT: Yes, if the application is designed well. The programmer’s level is like the subterranean world of a hotel complex. There’s power, water, communication lines—a dangerous, confusing place, and not the sort of place a user should have to deal with. But like the hotel, we’ve created for Mac(R) users a separate, virtual world upstairs, a world in which they can operate comfortably—the desktop.
At this level there’s not just beauty, there’s also functionality, choice and control. Like the hotel visitor, the Macintosh user doesn’t need to navigate through the system to find the way around. Services are brought to him or her. It’s user-centered design, created from the world of the user, not the hardware engineer.
QC: What are the challenges for software designers in this approach?
BT: In order to create the most efficient applications, designers need to develop a simultaneous viewpoint. We need to be looking down from above as the user, while at the same time looking up from underneath as the programmer.
Also, Mac users are even more picky than residents of a luxury hotel. They want a familiar world that works, that they can use intuitively. They know the objects, and how those objects should behave. If you deviate from the interface, the users are jarred in their reality. If you follow the guidelines, they don’t even realize it, and that’s exactly the way it should be.
Another element we emphasize is feedback. As programmers, we have to let users know in clear and precise terms that a message has been received and properly interpreted. On the Mac, we’ve carried feedback one step further. Not only can it inform, it can and often should entertain, engaging the user and avoiding any possible moments of boredom.
QC: Apple is strict about applications being consistent with established guidelines. Why is this so important?
BT: Consistency is the heart and soul of the Macintosh interface. The guidelines ensure that those objects and behaviors that are known by the user always act in the same manner. In this way, people are comfortable as they move from revision to revision, and application to application on the Mac. It allows continuity without stagnation, growth without confusion.
What does this mean for the user? It means reduced learning time on applications, because the way the applications work is consistent. That may explain why Macintosh users tend to use more applications than users of competitive products generally do. There’s less learning and relearning involved, because what you’ve learned on the last application helps you intuitively approach the next. This results in a satisfying, productive computing experience in which the user builds from a base of consistency.
QC: What is the biggest difference you see between older interfaces and the Macintosh interface?
BT: Perhaps the biggest philosophical difference between the Mac interface and interfaces of old is user control. For years, we programmers and designers have jealously guarded the freedom to create whatever human interface we want. It is a frightening prospect to give up that measure of control over users. But this approach takes us out of the world of “father,” and sets us to the task of building a world, becoming an architect. We’re designing a complete space where we don’t need to predict everything our users will do. In fact, if we’ve done our job right, they will do things that we never thought of.
QC: What would you suggest to someone just beginning to write applications for the Macintosh?
BT: Immerse yourself in the Macintosh. Study the design features of two or three word processing programs. Learn how a spreadsheet works, and how to use draw and paint programs. Use these applications until their design features flow from your fingertips. Absorb the grammar and the “music” of the Macintosh. Then you will learn to “think” in Macintosh and intuitively know how to handle situations. These two things—understanding user-centered design and absorbing the music of the Macintos—form the basis for becoming a competent Macintosh designer.
Developer University
Want to get a deeper look into Apple’s design points? Bruce Tognazzini will walk you through from the basement to the penthouse suite in a new Apple Developer University class called “Macintosh User-Centered Design.” The course uses videotape and a variety of interactive learning tools to provide a lively insight into Macintosh design fundamentals. Whether your interest is for work or for enjoyment, this self-paced, modular course will guide you through the elements of successful Macintosh applications and the techniques and principles central to Macintosh software development.
The course is available for $195 through Apple’s Developer University, which also offers a host of technical courses on more in-depth Macintosh development topics. For information on “Macintosh User-Centered Design” or other Developer University courses, AppleLink(R) DEVUNIV or call the Apple Training Registrar at 408/974-6215.
This article was adapted from the “World Builder” video from the Apple Developer course on Macintosh User-Centered Design.
PULL QUOTES:
"Macintosh users are even more picky than the residents of a luxury hotel. They want a familiar world that works intuitively."
"For Apple, the user's comfort, ease, and enjoyment are at the heart of the computing experience."
"Consistency is the heart and soul of the Macintosh interface."
(c) 1989 Apple Computer, Inc.
Apple, AppleLink, AppleWorks, Mac and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc.
