One of the things I've come to understand about multi-touch and NUI in general is that design of these types of interfaces is going to require that we leverage what we know from GUI but also that we introduce really new ways of doing things.Recently while trolling the Internet I discovered an article by Cult of Mac which pointed me to the work of an anonymous designer who has thought long and hard about how to design applications for the rumored Apple tablet computer. I've seen a number of mochups and pretend demos of the Apple tablet but this guy's work is the most detailed and the best I've seen. It's in an entirely different league.
According to Cult of Mac he has remained anonymous so that he doesn't damage his chances of being hired by Apple after he graduates from collage or grade school. Either he is being sincere in his wish for anonymity, or he an extremely clever self-promoter. Either way his anonymity is intriguing.
Below is the first in what is currently 10 videos which brilliantly explore his user interface design for the rumored Apple tablet. His work is explained in detail, and his own doubts are exposed with sincerity in video #10. I don't know who this Jon Doe is, but I like his designs and the way he thinks through design problems. If Apple doesn't hire him, it will be a huge opportunity cost for them. After all he hasn't even graduated yet and his work is superb. If Apple does hire him, than all I can say is "Mover over Jonathan Ive, here comes Jon Doe".
Update August 28
Ron George and I exchanged some comments on this article where he criticized the design of Jon Doe and I asked him to provide more details. To my delight, Ron did exactly that! On his own blog Ron provided a brief assessment of the 1st and 10th videos by Jon Doe as well as some ideas for improvement. I'm guessing that it took Ron some time to do this and I want to express my gratitude as I learned a lot by reading the post.
After taking a close look at Ron's constructive criticism and comparing it the video, I had to agree that some of the gestures just don't make sense. That doesn't mean that Jon Doe hasn't done a great job. He obviously worked hard and the moch-ups are fun to watch. I think Jon Doe has a place at the Apple design table and will one day be a great designer, but Jonathan won't have to give up his seat just yet. ;-)
Here is Ron George's post.
http://rongeorge.com/design/interaction-design/the-fake-apple-gestural-movies-a-critique-by-request/
7 comments:
Do you really think this is good or even slightly impressed with the gestures? I would agree that he has thought it out, but there are so many glaring errors it would be torn up in testing.
Thanks for taking the time to comment!
I'm more than slightly impressed with Jon Doe's work; I'm very impressed! So yes, I think the bulk of what he's done is outstanding.
However, I view your perspective as a learning opportunity. I would love to hear from you what you found objectionable as that will only help myself, and perhaps the designer Jon Doe, understand design of multi-touch applications better.
It's easy to make blanket criticisms but its much more difficult to provide constructive criticism that actually helps people. So here is my challenge to you, Ron:
Tell us which gestures you feel would not work so that we can all learn more together. You can do this on my blog or on Jon Doe's. I would love the opportunity to discuss his design ideas in more detail with knowledgeable designers!
p.s. Ron, I just found your web site (http://rongeorge.com/) and its excellent.
For everyone else, Ron is a designer that works for Microsoft who has designed some of Microsoft's surface demos (or aspects of them).
Perhaps you can discuss your objections on your own blog, that way you can drive more direct benefit from sharing your hard won experience.
Actually, I worked on the entire Surface interface system with several other designers. The main application that I worked on was Photos, after that was signed off I worked on some of the demos that needed help, context menu, etc.
I didn't want to criticize the person directly, as I understand he is a student and put a lot of effort into it. That's why I made an offhand remark on your blog instead. I think its a great effort though. I will try and write something up and just gloss over a few high level concepts that he missed rather than a nit-pick festival.
PS: It wasn't Ive, who is the Industrial Designer for Apple. It was Westerman from FingerWorks, that Apple purchased in 2003/4, that saved their failing tablet and turned it into a touch phone.
As requested.
http://rongeorge.com/design/interaction-design/the-fake-apple-gestural-movies-a-critique-by-request/
Nice work, Ron! Thanks for the constructive criticism. I learned a lot. I've posted an update to my blog pointing to your assessment.
I was impressed that you have the opportunity to talk to Bill Buxton, someone I've come to admire after reading his book on sketching user experiences.
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