Expressive Interfaces are interfaces that make use pleasing aesthetic design as well as efficient use of space and various forms of feedback in order to deliver a satisfying user experience.
Expressive Interfaces are a critical component of modern designs, with such a wide variety of choices for consumers, companies that want their products to be successful must not only lower the barrier of knowledge needed to operate their systems, but also make their systems desirable to use (Preece, Rogers, & Sharp, 2015, p. 139) . Many companies in the consumer electronics industry have focused heavily on this aspect of design, and today’s smartphones are one of the current pinnacles of expressive interface design.
Expressive Interface design can be achieved in a number of ways, that modern designs typically use several of to create a cohesive and satisfying user experience. Dynamic icons such as the recycling bin on a computer desktop changing based on the amount of deleted files within it, or icons with text bubbles indicating the number of unread messages on smartphones are both good examples of dynamic icons that convey useful information in an unobtrusive but efficient way (Preece, Rogers, & Sharp, 2015, p. 138). Another way in which smartphones make use of good expressive interface design is vibrotactility in their feedback, having the phone vibrate when you press keys on the digital keyboard to simulate the feedback you get from typing on a physical keyboard and specific vibration patterns depending on the notifications being received are examples of this.
Being interested in Game Design, efficient and visually appealing design is very important to what I want to do in future projects, building off of research that has already been done, and industry standards that have already been established will be important. When playing games myself, the ways in which the game lets me know what’s going on without having me sort through useless visual information has always been something that has stood out to me, and well designed user interfaces are very satisfying to use. Overall, I think it’s important to find a balance between feedback, so that it effectively conveys information without being obtrusive, and seeing how that balance is being struck as interfaces trend towards flat, visually simple and minimalist design is very interesting.
References
Preece, Rogers, & Sharp, (2015). Interaction Design: Beyond Human Computer Interaction. West Sussex, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Interaction Reflections 