Jared Spool

What Makes a Design Seem Intuitive?

Everyone wants an "intuitive" interface: the users, the designers,
and the content publishers. But building them is hard. User Interface
Engineering's recent research has given insight into why it's hard
and how to get past major obstacles.

To build an "intuitive" interface, a designer has to do two things:
(1) Take complete advantage of what the user already knows, so what
they see is completely familiar to them and (2) make the act of
learning anything new completely imperceptible to the user. It turns
out, if the interface requires the user to realize they are learning
something, the "intuitive" label disappears instantly.

In this talk, Jared will show:

- How users need both tool knowledge and domain knowledge to complete
their tasks

- How simple problems with designs can cause big problems for users

- What successful teams are doing to create experiences that delight

Jared will show examples from Microsoft Word, MSN, Google Talk,
Flickr, Avis, and many more.

Bio

If you've ever seen Jared speak about usability, you know that he's probably the most effective, knowledgeable communicator on the subject today. What you probably don't know is that he has guided the research agenda and built User Interface Engineering into the largest research organization of its kind in the world. He's been working in the field of usability and design since 1978, before the term "usability" was ever associated with computers.

Jared spends his time working with the research teams at the company, helps clients understand how to solve their design problems, explains to reporters and industry analysts what the current state of design is all about, and is a top-rated speaker at more than 20 conferences every year. He is also the conference chair and keynote speaker at the annual User Interface Conference, is on the faculty of the Tufts University Gordon Institute, and manages to squeeze in a fair amount of writing time.