On May 28, 2009, at 2:22 AM, Kunal Kapoor wrote:
The references are based on working for touch applications, talking
to users, and a reference which was spoken of on this forum some
time back.
http://www.sapdesignguild.org/resources/TSDesignGL/Index.htm
I'm wary of anyone spreading inaccurate critical technical information
based on "talking to users," 99.99% of whom don't know the size of
their fingerpads. The SAP guidelines, while a good starting point, are
hardly definitive and offer no suggestions on touch target size.
Also, Preeti spoke of something similar to HP Touch. I am sure 1 cm
works for an iPhone, but would it always work for all other products?
Nothing always works in all products.
Example, I worked on a product for oil drillers, who wore gloves,
and we wanted to have a 'big enough' target size. So I am sure there
is an accepted range of value, 1 cm may be the minimum most
requirement, as suggested by you. But only a starting point.
Gloves are a very different case than other touchscreen applications.
2cm may have been the minimum for them, but I'll stick my 1cm square
number. Why? Because it's not only my number. I got my information
from “3-D Finite-Element Models of Human and Monkey Fingertips to
Investigate the Mechanics of Tactile Sense,” by Kiran Dandekar,
Balasundar I. Raju, and Mandayam A. Srinivasan, The Touch Lab,
Department of Mechanical Engineering and The Research Laboratory of
Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
<http://touchlab.mit.edu/publications/2003_009.pdf>
Aside from this technical study, walking around with a ruler to
measure various physical button sizes confirmed their basic premise:
the average adult fingerpad is 10-14mm, fingertip is 8-10mm and most
physical buttons conform to these dimensions. Yes, you can go smaller
(keys on a Blackberry for instance are about 8mm) and larger, of
course, but 1cm is a good round number that I'm confident will prove
valid in most instances.
Dan
Designing Gestural Interfaces
http://www.designinggesturalinterfaces.com
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