Texture and placement improve usability

Texture and placement can improve usability. After all, many user interfaces have at least some spatial or physical component. Even if every interface you design is web based, your users are probably going to be using a mouse. And they’re certainly going to be affected by the placement and layout of navigational elements on the screen. So, in keeping with my goal of relating an finding usability in everyday life, I’m going to examine how the usability of my remote control is improved through texture and placement.

I think the remote control that came with my cable box is very usable. But because I use it so much, please keep in mind that my observations might be a little biased. The remote itself is long and slender but has a nice curve to it that makes it very comfortable to hold. The main area of the remote flares out in a circular shape. At this same area, the remote dips in in the back. Both of the features help me easily find the main area simply by feel, but they also prevent the thing from sliding out of my hand.

The wide area serves another purpose as well. It follows the circular curve of the navigation buttons. The navigation buttons are themselves laid out in a circular pattern fanning out from the center “SELECT” button. This arching placement of the buttons not only mimics the individual buttons’ functionality (i.e., the up navigation is above the select button, the right navigation is to the right of the select button), but the centrifugal design also mimics the natural movement of my thumb which naturally pivots right over the “SELECT” button. So, when I pick up the remote, I can immediately find the area of most importance…the area that holds the buttons I use most: navigation, volume, and channel.

In addition to being placed very conveniently, the main buttons are also all textured. The textures are unique among buttons but are also telling in their design. For example, the “CHANEL UP” button has a raised plus sign on it. The “VOLUME DOWN” button has a depressed minus sign. Even in the dark, I can feel which button is the volume up or the channel down.

Maybe that’s the lesson here. Close your eyes. Can you still use the interface you created? You probably won’t be able to make every aspect of every interface usable in the dark, but try finding ways to use texture and placement to improve usability. After all, if you can use an interface without looking at it, then not only is it probably very usable, but its also going to be very accessible-even to the blind.