Building Web Apps for Google TV

Chapter . Designing the 10-Foot User Interface

In this chapter, we’ll cover some of the common challenges that developers face when they go about designing a 10-foot user interface for web apps. Our goal is for you to gain a better understanding of the nuances between an application viewed from a distance versus one viewed nearby on your laptop or desktop computer.

Focus on Design First, Implementation Second

When developing your web app, it’s always a good idea to break down the project into separate phases. As you may already know, the design phase is often the most critical and time consuming step in a project. Though you may want to quickly dive in and start implementing right away, you should fight this urge and focus on the design phase.

Jumping to the implementation phase before design mocks are created can often result in hours forfeited to developing an imperfect prototype. This can often limit your development in the following ways:

1. Constricts and limits design freedom based on your implementation

2. Potentially forces you to reject what you currently have, leading you to start from scratch

As you start to develop a 10-foot user interface, focus on design first. Set a goal to mock up anywhere from three to six interfaces, each posing a different perspective, then evaluate the pros and cons of each. Subsequently, evaluate, combine, and reiterate until you have a user interface with which you are happy.

Learn from Other 10-Foot User Experiences

There are already various 10-foot interfaces ...