GUI for U and I

I recently read a post about the many types of graphical user interfaces (GUI) that are currently available on mobile phones (around 20 different GUIs for Windows Mobile OS alone). Given that our relationship with mobile technology begins at the point at which we and the device meet face-to-face, this article has led me to consider what it is about the interface that attracts different people to different GUIs.

People have diverse interests and needs when they interact with mobile devices. The ability of the GUI to fulfill those interests and needs will directly impact the device's functionality and enjoyment to the end user. For some users, a mobile phone is a business tool to maximize efficiency and productivity through email, contacts, and calendars. For others, it is a toy for entertainment, with an emphasis on music, Web surfing, texting, photos and movies. And for still others, a mobile phone is, well, a phone. For example, a businessperson may be more concerned with a GUI that is well-organized and offers ready access to information and applications. In contrast, a young person interested in entertainment and appearance may like a GUI that is animated and colorful. Having a GUI that is incompatible with those needs will likely interfere with the experience of the user and motivate him or her to make a change.

Previous works on user interface design have offered principles and goals that should be followed for an effective human-device interface. Drawing on these design recommendations, my psychology background, and my perspective as a relatively sophisticated end user, I have identified six characteristics that seem to be relevant in the GUI choices laypeople make.

Complexity

Complexity actually lies on a continuum from simple to complex. This issue involves both the setup of the GUI and its use. Some people like very simple GUIs that require little setup and can be used right out of the box. Others are willing to accept complexity for enhanced performance, efficiency, and uniqueness. But because most people are not tech savvy, the vast majority of mobile-phone users likely prefer simplicity. This observation may explain the popularity of the iPhone's GUI. As simply an app launcher, it is easy to understand for the end user: you swipe until you find the icon that represents the application you want to open, you press the icon and voila. In contrast, Windows Mobile 6.5 has a menu hierarchy that makes finding an application more complex.

Customizability

Related to complexity is customizability. Some end users like Burger King ("Have it your way"). Others prefer McDonald's (note that McDonald's, like the iPhone, is most popular despite its lack of "customizability" of its food). I think that this is the one place that Apple has not gotten it right with its GUI. Despite its ease of use, the iPhone , in my view, lacks one key element in a GUI — namely, user control. With the iPhone GUI, you have to have it mostly their way. However, despite living in a culture where uniqueness seems to matter (of course, need for acceptance is an equal and opposite force), the iPhone doesn't seem to have been hurt by the limits on its GUI. Conversely, more complex GUIs, like SPB Mobile Shell and PointUI, offer the ability to create personal configurations that can fit most users' needs — but, as anyone who has ever used these types of GUIs can attest, they require time, effort, and a degree of skill to "tweak" them just so.

Efficiency

Efficiency is one more attribute that seems important to some users, particularly businesspeople. Efficiency means the ability to access the most information immediately (e.g., time, missed calls, appointments, battery life) or launch applications in the fewest number of maneuvers. For example, on my HTC Fuze running the TouchFlo 3D2 GUI, I'm able to garner ten useful pieces of information just by looking at my screen, and access 20 functions through the touch screen and physical buttons with just one touch and literally dozens in two touches. One benefit of GUIs that go beyond app launchers is that users can be even more efficient by previewing information, such as email, text messages, or weather, before deciding whether to fully open an app.

Aesthetic

In a popular culture where appearance plays such a central role, the aesthetic of a GUI cannot be ignored. People just love a certain look, whether physical or graphical, and may very well sacrifice function for form. The challenge for GUI designers is that aesthetic preferences are highly personal. The GUI aesthetic is created with layout, icon design, and colors. Plus, more UI than GUI, the look and feel of the device itself can inexplicably attract or repulse a prospective user. Clearly, the iPhone got the hardware aesthetic right as confirmed by its popularity and the legions of iPhone clones marching over the horizon these days. At the same time, one thing that I appreciate about Windows Mobile is all the GUI aesthetic (and functional) options that are available. In contract, one thing I don't like about the iPhone is its one-aesthetic-fits-all GUI. Overall, I don't think anyone has completely nailed the GUI aesthetic and whoever does will have a leg up on the competition.

Brand

Though branding is not technically a feature of a GUI, it nonetheless may also influence the perceptions that people hold about a particular interface. For example, the iPhone brand may have enabled Apple to gain acceptance of its GUI despite the fact that, in my view, it's the least elegant and forward-thinking aspect of the iPhone. Apple has become so good at branding their products that there is a "halo effect" (justified or otherwise) between Apple's name and reputation and the attributes of its devices.

Community

Like branding, community is also not, strictly speaking, an attribute of a GUI, yet it too can impact the perception of the GUI. People like to be a part of a community. It gives them a sense of identity and belonging. What "product community" people choose to join depends on their interests and the culture in which they are immersed. For example, I would guess that many iPhone users want to be part of that community for social-status and aesthetic reasons. BlackBerry users become part of a corporate status and functionality community. Windows users become a part of a community of "tweakability" and, perhaps, anti-iPhone sentiment. The power of product community should not be underestimated, because without specific knowledge of a GUI (and I don't think that the typical mobile-phone users gives it much thought), I believe end users assume its value partly based on the community in which it resides. Apple has brilliantly connected the community of the young and the cool with Apple products (as personified by the actor, Justin Long, who portrays a Mac in the Apple computer commercials). Not surprisingly, many people would rather be a part of the young and cool crowd than the middle-aged and stodgy crowd (no offense to John Hodgman, the actor who portrays a PC in those same Apple commercials).

Perhaps the future winner of the GUI wars will be the company that is able to most completely incorporate these characteristics into their GUI design and create a GUI that is simple, customizable, efficient, aesthetically pleasing, well branded and has a community behind it. It seems likely that a GUI that is uniquely, simply, and practically yours will be the next great function and fashion statement in mobile technology.