Chapter 5. Tools
Patterns: Toolbar, Overlay Menu, Contextual Tools, Inline Actions, Call to Action Button, Bulk Actions
In Designing Web Interfaces(http://shop.oreilly.com/product/9780596516253.do) (OâReilly), Bill Scott and I wrote of six principles for designing rich interactions on the Web. Two of these core principles, Make It Direct and Keep It Lightweight, can also help drive the design of tools and actions in mobile interfaces.
Make It Direct suggests providing input where there is output; the interface should respond directly to the usersâ interaction. A good example on the Web is Flickrâs inline editing.
Figure 5-1. Inline edit on Flickr
Keep It Lightweight refers to keeping the interaction as lightweight as possible. An early example of this principle in action on the Web was Digg. The one-step process to Digg an article had a huge impact on the success of the site.
Figure 5-2. Diggâs lightweight âDigg Itâ button
Iâve been thinking about both principles quite a bit as I follow Josh Clarkâs Buttons are a Hack campaign. He writes:
âButtons are a hack. As in the real world, theyâre often necessary, but they work at a distanceâsecondary tools to work on primary ...
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