> Some great user research on power icons was done by
> the group who developed the IEEE 1621, the "Power
> Control User Interface" standard. (offical name:*Standard
> for User Interface Elements in Power Control of Electronic
> Devices Employed in Office/Consumer Environments)
> *
I printed out that 55 page document on Wednesday, and it is probably
the best source of information I was able to find on the matter.
Specifically, on page 26 where it states:
>"3.4 The User Interface Standard Content
>Key elements of the User Interface Standard %u2014 the static
>interface %u2014 are to:
>Use only three power states when possible: On, Off, and >Sleep.
>Use the word "Power" for terminology about power.
>%u2022 Redefine the ('standby') symbol to mean %u201Cpower%u201D
as for >power buttons and power indicators; use
>the symbol (on/off) only when necessary."
As much of a contentious issue this seems to have become, I think
what it's served is bringing to the surface the fact that the
'signs' that have been incorporated as standards for power are far
from being universally (or even just globally) recognized.
As an interaction designer, I strive to ALWAYS adhere to the
standards that are already in place when doing whatever it is I do.
Unfortunately, in this case, if I were to have stuck to that strict
adherence, the product would have taken a fairly significant hit in
usability:
As I'd mentioned before, my users are most likely only going to use
this product once. (for the duration of their rental of the
conference room). Therefore, there were two options
1. Design it using the original standard with the vertical bar '1'
to 'power on' the system, knowing that the majority of users will
not immediately recognize that sign and will be somewhat confused,
but still get some satisfaction as an evangelist knowing that there
is now one more person in the world that has walked away with a new
knowledge and understanding of the icon. (go tell it on the
mountain!)
2. Forget the icon altogether and put the word "Start". Not nearly
as elegant, and the convention center could have people coming from
any country speaking any language, so not ideal.
Thankfully the referenced document pointed out the fact that the
Standby icon is perfectly acceptable.
I think the very fact that the standard has shifted a bit and is now
suggesting that the standby icon can sort of be the 'master' for
power speaks to the fact that there has been a history of confusion
over this set of signs.
I wasn't there, but I'm sure there was a lot of thought and
discourse put into the creation of this set of standards way back
when.
Are they ideal? Thus far they don't appear to be.
Do I have any better suggestions? Nope. Perhaps if the creation of
the standard were to happen today with this level of international
communication the group could come up with something better, but as
it stands... these are the standards and I am happy to live with the
"you can use 'Standby' if you need to" addendum.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Posted from the new ixda.org
http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=26596
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