Digital design principles - CCEAGraphical User Interface

Graphical User Interface is sometimes shortened to GUI (pronounced "gooey"). The user chooses an option – usually by pointing a mouse at an icon representing that option, then clicking to select.

Features of a GUI include:

• Much easier to use for beginners
• Enable an easy exchange of information between software using cut and paste, or 'drag and drop'
• Use a lot of memory and processing power (can be slower than command line interfaces operated by expert users)
• Can be irritating to experienced users when simple tasks require a number of operations

When discussing user interfaces, it is important to note that Windows XP, Windows Vista, Apple OSX and Ubuntu all have GUIs.

A good GUI should:

• Be attractive and pleasing to the eye
• Allow the user to try out different options easily
• Be easy to use
• Use suitable colours for key areas
• Use words that are easy to understand aimed at the type of user
• Have help documentation

It should also consider the needs of the users. For example, young children are likely to prefer pictures to words and people with disabilities may benefit from particular input or output devices.

Developers will also use mock up tools to create proposed user interfaces. The mock up will identify all labels, text components, icons, menus, form fields and graphic components.