At Sat, 26 Jun 2004 01:41:17 +0100, Dave Griffiths wrote: > > "I HAVE to understand everything about an interface in 5 SECONDS!" > attitude to gui design. People can learn things, it's part of > playing music on real instruments - why can't it be part of playing > computer instruments?
I simply don't believe in making things arbitrarily difficult, so long as the thing in question is a tool. This mentality is actually reflected in real instruments; they are as simple as possible, but no simpler (i.e., to the point of removing functionality). There's isn't any benefit to be had by putting the pedals on the backside of the piano. I further believe that this school of thought actually enables the creation of more unique music than otherwise. A guitar is, from a usability point of view, self explanatory. After a few minutes of fooling around, you'll understand how it works (you'll still suck, however). After a few *years* of fooling around, you'll discover two-handed tapping. Similarly, a software instrument designed with an intuitive UI will make it easier for the user to put things together in unexpected and intriguing ways, since mental resources aren't being diverted to rudimentary actions that could be made trivial. -Pete
