Abstract

Brave NUI World is the first practical guide for designing touch- and gesture-based user interfaces. Written by the team from Microsoft that developed the multi-touch, multi-user Surface® tabletop product, it introduces the reader to natural user interfaces (NUI). It gives readers the necessary tools and information to integrate touch and gesture practices into daily work, presenting scenarios, problem solving, metaphors, and techniques intended to avoid making mistakes.

This book considers diverse user needs and context, real world successes and failures, and the future of NUI. It presents thirty scenarios, giving practitioners a multitude of considerations for making informed design decisions and helping to ensure that missteps are never made again.

The book will be of value to game designers as well as practitioners, researchers, and students interested in learning about user experience design, user interface design, interaction design, software design, human computer interaction, human factors, information design, and information architecture.

• Provides easy-to-apply design guidance for the unique challenge of creating touch- and gesture-based user interfaces
• Considers diverse user needs and context, real world successes and failures, and a look into the future of NUI
• Presents thirty scenarios, giving practitioners a multitude of considerations for making informed design decisions and helping to ensure that missteps are never made again

"Brave Nui World by Daniel Wigdor and Dennis Wixon is a must read for anyone involved in creating compelling user interfaces using modern technology and who, after testing, say ‘Why didn’t that design work the way it was intended?’ To novices in the field, it will read as a how-to guide. For seasoned designers, it reads like a novel where you suspect the outcome but there is usually a twist in the plot, giving you that extra idea to think again. I genuinely enjoyed it and I am not likely to put it away soon."—Paul Neervoort, Lead User Experience Design, Philips Design

"A good grounding framework that immediately kindles ideas of how best to use NUI.  Based on the developments of the past few decades, it provides solid foundations of NUI and develops these with the use of specific examples.  While this isn't a cookbook, it does provide clear thematic guidance on how to make your NUI experience excel.  The book covers basic through to advanced concepts in a very clear way.  Good for reference, but even better if you read it cover to cover - you will grow immeasurably."--Dylan Evans, Principal Usability Consultant, Veluuria

"Interfaces are moving beyond our usual computers and into many facets of our lives. The way we design these interfaces is changing too. Brave NUI World helps highlight the new considerations you will need when designing for NUIs."--Daniel Naumann, User Experience Designer