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Interface Design

I have been interested in visual design ever since I was a kid. I remember drawing things such as semi-trucks, tanks and VCRs rather than animals or people. I liked thinking about where to place pieces not just for visual appearance, but also for function. I developed my first interface skills while running an Amiga BBS system in the early nineties, and today I'm working on a research interface called Inertia.

On this page you will find projects, articles and designs I have worked on over the years, and references related to interface design.

 
Projects    
  Inertia User Interface   Inertia is a user interface concept I've been working on over the years. It focuses on the user and common tasks, and is more akin to a PDA interface.
       
Articles    
  Alternative to Google?   An short article I wrote about the alternatives to Google. In the end, Google still comes out on top because of it's simple and uncluttered interface.
       
  The Context User Interface   An older article I wrote a few years ago about putting the focus back on the user. It has some history about other user interfaces such as Sun's Self and Squeak.
       
Designs            
    PDA Style Desktop Mockup     Script Studio Compiler
    This is a mockup I did very recently in September, 2005. It tries to combine the simplicity of a pda with the real estate of a desktop.     A compiler, ide and transfer interface for a scripting language I wrote for sbcRobotics.
               
    New Craigslist Mockup     Multimedia Website
    This is a mockup I did a few years ago when I got tired of looking at the atrocious craigslist interface.     A sample web stie with rollovers, sound, dhtml and php code that connects to a MySQL database.
               
    Inertia Interface Mockup     Another Interface Mockup
    An older, circa 2002 Adoble Illustrator mockup demonstrating the different concepts of Inertia.     An Adobe Photoshop mockup using some Inertia concepts.
               
    Apple Store Mockup     Google Elite Mockup
    A modified Apple store configuration page that makes better use of space. Compare to the original page.     For the power Googler: condensed, framed search results that allow you to explore more quickly.
               
    Bitlocker DB Templates     Inkscape Dialog Mockup
   

A database template chooser I created for Bitlocker.com.

 

     A mockup of a simplified preferences dialog for Inkscape.
               
Related Links    
  Novel Interaction Techniques for Overlapping Windows   Tabbed windows, turning and peeling back windows, and snapping and zipping windows
  http://planethci.org/    
  Palo Alto Research Center    
  www.dontclick.it   Don't click it!
  Peter Piper's Palette Picker    
       
 
 
2005 Mike Austin