lesson 10 - module 1 review & consolidation
A summary of the key concepts from Module 1, bringing together the different interface types and the crucial factors that designers must consider to create effective user experiences.
Over the last eleven lessons, we've taken a deep dive into the world of User Interfaces. We've journeyed from the earliest text-based command lines to the smart, sensor-driven world of today.
Learning Outcomes
The Building Blocks 🧱 (Factual Knowledge)
The Connections and Theories 🔗 (Conceptual Knowledge)
The Skills and Methods ⛏️ (Procedural Knowledge)
Recall the main types of user interfaces: text-based, speech, GUI, sensor, and menu/form.
Describe the key factors that influence the choice of a user interface, including performance, ease of use, and accessibility.
Describe how hardware and software (e.g., screen size, operating system) can influence and constrain UI design.
The Connections and Theories 🔗 (Conceptual Knowledge)
Describe the relationships between a target audience's needs and the selection of appropriate UI design principles.
Analyse how various factors (e.g., user skill level, hardware limitations) must be balanced when making design decisions for a user interface.
Evaluate the most important UI factors to consider for the Majestic Cinema project, justifying your choices in relation to the project brief.
Skill Focus: Information, Data & Media Literacies: Managing and using information ethically (creating citations).
The Skills and Methods ⛏️ (Procedural Knowledge)
Apply knowledge from across the module to analyse an existing user interface and identify its type, key features, and influencing factors.
Apply information literacy skills to find a relevant online resource that could be used for the Majestic Cinema project research.
Create a correctly formatted citation for a website you might use for project research, giving credit to the original creator.
So, what have we learned? Let's recap the big ideas.
1
There's a UI for Every Job
There is no single "best" type of interface. The right choice depends entirely on the device, the user, and the task.
Text-Based (CLI): Powerful and efficient for experts.
Menu & Form: Simple and guiding for novices completing specific tasks (like at an ATM or booking tickets).
Speech & Natural Language: Fantastic for hands-free control and accessibility.
Graphical (GUI/WIMP): The visual, intuitive standard for computers and mobiles, great for multitasking.
Sensor-Based: The 'invisible' interface that makes our environments react to us automatically.
2
The Key Factors: A Designer's Checklist
Creating a great UI involves a series of trade-offs. A designer must balance many competing factors to find the perfect solution for their project. The most important factors we've considered are:
Performance: How fast, responsive, and efficient is it? A slow UI is a failed UI.
Usability: How easy, effective, and pleasant is it to use? If users get frustrated, they will leave.
User Requirements: Does it actually do what the client needs it to do (functional) and meet their quality standards (non-functional)?
Hardware & Software: Can the UI actually run on the target device? A graphically intense UI won't work on a low-power device with a weak GPU.
Storage & Connectivity: Is the app small enough to be downloaded easily? Does it need a constant, fast internet connection to work?
Last modified: October 8th, 2025
