Credit: Mickey O’neil
Since the earliest days of the graphical user interface we have relied on the physical world to provide analogies and inspiration for our virtual interfaces. Buttons that push, trash baskets that delete files, diskettes that save and desktops for…desktops. This has served us well and soothed the transition for our simian brains, rooted in the physical world, to transition to the virtual world. There has always been an impetus to reach for the familiar. But for the next generation our current UI paradigms won’t be sufficient.
Much like discovering a new cut of meat, or revealing new regions in the brain, we must continue to unearth new ways to interface with our machines. Some suggest that the flat movement of design, the reduction of designed elements, disregards decades of research into what makes an interface useful. I would argue that for those who grew up submitting homework online or whose first job has them performing tasks entirely through a computer, old metaphors no longer hold up effectively. In the world of laptops, tablets and working anywhere any time, If you’ve never had a desk covered in paper, what does the concept of a desktop mean to you? When we uncover a new interface paradigm it’s like a door opens up to a whole new world of possibilities.
As more of our everyday interactions occur virtually, physical metaphors will become less necessary. Have you ever spent all day on your computer and then tried to command-Z the real world at home? I have, more than once. It was the most natural action and I was truly momentarily surprised when my air-shortcut failed to un crack an egg. For future generations of computer users, this will become more and more the case. Even before she could speak or walk, my 2 year old niece understood pinch and zoom, an action that has very little in common with any real world analog but which has become an essential aspect of her experience. Pinch and zoom feels natural. This might be one of the first new interface pathways in the brain. VR will accelerate this phenomenon.
Human factors will always play a major role in interface design, but we should be comfortable loosening our design roots from the purely physical wold. When your entire experience can take place outside the laws of physics, what sorts of new interfaces will we create?