Dontclick.it from the Institute for Interactive Research provides some interesting examples of interactivity in clickless interfaces. Mouse gestures and timers replace inteface functions normally activated by clicking (such as item selection, buttons, etc.). The demos were pretty straightforward, but once the explicit cues reminding me to not click were removed, I found that I tried to click things--which results in a screen full of random bits and an admonishment.
On one level, the thing feels a little gimmicky, like asking someone to tie their shoes without using their thumbs. At another level, it's an interesting reminder of how "intuitive" is always partially constructed by past experience. Clicking interfaces has become the norm, but that doesn't mean it's always the most effective or interesting solution.
[via the ID Discuss list]
Posted by johndan at July 21, 2005 10:14 AM | TrackBack