This collection consists of
user interface design patterns (interaction patterns) that seems to be recuring
problems when trying to make design based on the user’s goals. These design patterns
have been analyzed during the past five years by going through hundreds of
designs, to give instructions and design examples to the students of design
courses at the University of Helsinki, Dept. of Computer Science. In addition, some patterns have
been crystallized in customer projects at Interacta Design Oy.
In the first place, I have
analyzed the design patterns and created the collection for my User Interfaces
II course. In 1998-2002, Karri-Pekka Laakso and Asko Saura have
made a considerable effort to analyze design examples and clarify the patterns
and they relationships with me.
The collection does not
primarily consist of GUI designs of common software, but tries to outline the
recuring design problems faced when trying to create good design. Our method to
produce good design is to use our Goal-Derived Design (GDD) method that
is based on simulation of the user’s goals. The pattern collection does not
include all the characteristics of good design we know so far, but only the
design knowledge that we have found appropriate to describe as design patterns.
We have not tried to apply
the format of Alexander’s design patterns, for example, but instead, these
descriptions try to emphasize the most interesting findings of each pattern.
Still, the relationship between patterns and users’ goals would need a lot more
examples and explanations.
In Helsinki, 16th September, 2003
Sari A.
Laakso
Updated 16.09.2003 / Sari A.
Laakso, email salaakso@cs.helsinki.fi