Abstract:
Human-computer interaction in the large is an interdisciplinary area which attracts researchers, educators, and practioners from many differenf fields. Human-computer interaction studies a human and a machine in communication, it draws from supporting knowledge on both the machine and the human side. This paper is related to the human side of human-computer interaction and focuses on animations. The growing use of animation in Web pages testifies to the increasing ease with which such multimedia features can be created. This trend shows a commitment to animation that is often unmatched by the skill of the implementers. The paper presents a set of guidelines and tips to help designers prepare better and more effective Web sites. These guidelines are drawn from an extensive literature survey.
1. Introduction
Human-computer interaction (HCI) is known as an interdiciplinary area which attracts researchers, educators, and practioners from many differenf fields.There is currently no agreed upon definition of the range of topics which form the area of human-computer interaction. However, it is a discipline concerened with the design, evaluation and implementation of interactive computing systems for human use and with study of major phenomena surrounding them1.
Human-computer interaction in the large is an interdisciplinary area. It is emerging as a specialty concern within several disciplines such as computer science, psychology, sociology and anthropology, and industrial design. So, human-computer interaction studies a human and a machine in communication, it draws from supporting knowledge on both the machine and the human side. On the machine side, techniques in computer graphics, operating systems, programming languages, and development environments are relevant. On the human side, communication theory, graphic and industrial design disciplines, linguistics, social sciences, cognitive psychology, and human performance are relevant. And, of course, engineering and design methods are relevant.
This paper is related to the human side of human-computer interaction and focuses on animations. The paper presents a set of guidelines and tips to help designers prepare better and more effective web sites. These guidelines are drawn from an extensive literature survey coloured by personal experience.
2. Background
Animations have long been promoted as an even more compelling way to educate users by showing the dynamics of user interface actions. However, the research results have often surprised and frustrated the promoters of animations, since it is rare to find measurable benefits for users of animations2. User satisfaction with animations is usually high, but animations appear to distract users from concentrating on key issues3.
A recent review covered research on computer animation in education, human-computer interaction and psychology4. These authors concluded that computer animation is not a panacea, but it can improve users’ performance and attitude under certain circumstances. They summarized five factors that could influence the effectiveness of animation: the content to be animated, the level of interactivity, objective of animation, design of animated interface, and individual differences.
Haas and al. (2005) compared text, graphic and animation to provide meanings of statistical terms. There was little difference among formats in the effectiveness of presentations. User preferences varied but results suggest that the type of terms being explained made a difference, animations being more useful when there is an action or process.
