In this talk, Claudio discusses how our human abilities, not technology, should define our digital experiences. He reveals how one should address the human-motor system, human vision, and cognitive abilities when designing those experiences.
Human-motor system
Neck flexion and neck extension: Head can move 30º backward and 45º forward comfortably. Similarly,
Wrist flexion and wrist extension: 51º upward and 46º downwards
Lateral backbend: 21º sideway
Lateral neck bend: can move head sideway by 25º
Ulnar and radial deviation: can move your palm sideways by 15º towards your thumb and 25º on the other side
Shoulder abduction is 25º towards your body and 60º away from the body
The above shows that no matter how fascinating the sci-fi movies showcase the futuristic User Interfaces, it's outside the human comfort zone to control everything with full and dramatic gestures
Focus on increasing efficiency and accuracy of what we can do within a comfortable range
Designers should not become personal trainers and train their customers
For instance, Instagram only adheres to human-computer interaction guidelines for a minimum tappable area in navigation but not in inline comments, etc.
How we can use this info at work
Consider the direction and ranges that are more comfortable for repeated motion.
Design for inaccuracy - make the system forgiving since humans will make mistakes.
Use all information available to identify intent. Mix signals received and craft experiences accordingly.
Human vision-related abilities
Humans recognize images in 1/200th of a second
We have 120º binocular vision
We have central vision 2º which is where we see things most clearly
900º angular speed which is responsible for content-aware fill
Stereoscopic vision 120º: good at recognizing patterns
30º to recognize icons/ symbols
Far peripheral vision - just survival skills/ motion identification, etc.
How to use it in real life
Know when to break the rules
Focus the attention on the content
Orchestrate your compositions, so the eyes know where to go using your central vision and peripheral skills to complement each other.
Human cognitive abilities:
About 8 seconds of transient attention
20 seconds sustained attention
10-15 seconds working memory
Humans can hold 5 - 9 discrete items at once
Cognitive load is the total amount of mental effort being used by our working memory as we complete tasks or learn new things.
Cognitive load is both an enhancing element of learning and an inhibitor for it.
Intrinsic: how difficult something is
Germane: the work put into creating a permanent store of knowledge
Extraneous - how it is presented
Leveraging relevant past knowledge stored in long-term memory facilitates our learning. For instance, a doctor who has performed the same operation hundreds of times can leverage to identify new insights.
There are no limits to our learning capacity, but there is a progression to it.
How to use this at work:
Leverage user's previous knowledge to minimize content overload and ambiguity.
Consider progressive disclosure and learning goals when using unique user interface paradigms.
Closing notes:
Nothing is impossible
Everything can be learned
Abilities change over time