We’re predisposed, as pattern-seeking mammals, to find “causes” for things we can’t explain.This is why we’re all so riveted by stories of any kind – movies, TV shows, novels, theater. These big brains of ours love explication and resolution.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOMqDIXsLm8

We are a pattern seeking species. Through our ability to differentiate similar from dissimilar, we are able to produce complex environments like blogs for example. The language we use on blogs is a complex pattern of symbols, shapes, and sounds which we are able to make sense of through the processes of similar and dissimilar – the processes of visual and auditory discrimination.

If we think back to out tribal ancestors, this ability to form visual and auditory patterns of recognition would have been a survival advantage. Not only would it have helped mankind to be able to progress to more and more complex technological and cultural concepts – but it would have enabled many of our ancestors to survive, literally.

Not only are we pattern seeking animals, we are a species which is honed evolutionary for physical survival. The ancestor who was in the forest at night and saw a shape in the woods with which he/she was unfamiliar, would have probably quickly visually processed if the shape was friend or foe. If the shape could not be quickly identified as a friend, or as something harmless, it would have been advantageous from a survival point of view to assume that the shape was harmful. And as the natural world was distinctly more harmful to human survival than it is now for many of us – the wary individual would have been one who assumed harm.

The best Shape of the logo should fit the right proportion of human eye. It is proposed to be about 1×2 1/4

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ0W-_9gTH8

In this talk, Ries is displaying many different logotypes and suggesting what are good logotypes. He had compared few logos such as hertz and Pizza hut to show how a right proportion logotype would make a logo easy to read and stand out in a jungle of brands.

We Love to be Scared. If you haven’t been inside a haunted house lately, you might be shocked to see how far they have come. The haunted houses of today have animatronics and Hollywood-quality sets and special effects designed to shock you and make you scream. Haunted houses keep trying to one-up each other with the latest technology and special effects.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig9dhC06nwU

When people get scared, their bodies automatically triggers the “fight or flight” response—their heart rates increase, they breathe faster, their muscles tense, and their attention focuses for quick and effective responses to threats.

If the brain knows there is no risk of really being harmed, it experiences this adrenaline rush as enjoyable, Rudd explained. The key to enjoying such thrills lies in knowing how to properly gauge the risk of harm.

Eye tracking is the process of measuring either the point of gaze (”where we are looking”) or the motion of an eye relative to the head. An eye tracker is a device for measuring eye positions and eye movements.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbWu7GC5w3k

The most widely used current designs are video-based eye trackers. A camera focuses on one or both eyes and records their movement as the viewer looks at some kind of stimulus. Most modern eye-trackers use contrast to locate the center of the pupil and use infrared and near-infrared non-collimated light to create a corneal reflection (CR).

Since 2005 Eye tracking is used in Communication systems for disabled allowing the user to speak, mail, surf the web and so with only the eyes as tool. Eye control works even when the user has involuntary movement as a result of CP or other disability, those who wear glasses or many other characteristics that limit the effectiveness of older eye control systems.

More Information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_tracking

Principles and strategies for practitioners designing universally usable sites

The goal of universal usability is to enable the widest range of users to benefit from web services. These links contains recommendations and information resources for web developers who wish to accommodate users with slow modems, small screens, text-only, and wireless devices. It deals with content design issues such as translation to other languages, plus access for novice, low educated and low motivated users, children and elders. The website also covers design guidance for blind, deaf, cognitively impaired, and physically disabled users. Each article has practical guidelines, web site examples, links to organizations, and a bibliography.

Users with Disabilities

• Blind and low vision users
• Color vision confusion
• Cognitively disabled
• Deaf & hearing impaired
• Mobility impaired

Special User Groups

• Children
• Elderly
• Users with low education, low motivation
• Users of other languages than English
• Users from other cultures than the US
• Cross language information retrieval

Technology

• Users with slow connections
• Users with screens less than 640 x 480
• Telephone based access to the web (WAP)
• Telephone based access to the web (speech recognition)
• Textual equivalents for audio/video representations of content

Tutorial methods

• Designs to help novice web users
• Online help design, email help methods and customer service guidelines

The information is a class project for Human Factors in Computer and Information Systems (Computer Science 838S) ( Spring of 2001). It is a continuation of the UUGuide project started by graduate students in the Spring 2000 class. The courses were led by Prof. Ben Shneiderman Founding Director of the University of Maryland Human-Computer Interaction Lab.