Skip to Main Content
Designing Gestural Interfaces
book

Designing Gestural Interfaces

by Dan Saffer
November 2008
Intermediate to advanced content levelIntermediate to advanced
272 pages
9h 16m
English
O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Content preview from Designing Gestural Interfaces

FLICK TO NUDGE

WHAT

A slight flick of the index finger in any direction moves either the screen itself or a selected object in that direction.

USE WHEN

Use Flick to Nudge for simple drag-and-drop, to push objects away (or off-screen), or for slider movements.

If the "object" is the entire screen or a list, the related pattern is Fling to Scroll.

WHY

Since grasping and moving aren't possible with a 2D screen, flicking is a natural gesture for moving items around the screen.

HOW

The index finger lightly touches the screen and moves in a straight line in one direction. If the tip of the finger is used, it can indicate a light flick, whereas the use of a finger pad (combined with a longer duration) can indicate more of a push or pull. (Objects on-screen can react differently to both.)

One addition to this is physics to mimic slowing to a stop. Based on the speed of the flick, the movement of the object will continue after the gesture is complete, slowing to a gentle stop. The rate of the flick is translated into momentum, which is slowed and eventually stopped by simulated friction.

EXAMPLES

The Neonode N2, using the NeNo user interface, is controlled by a series of Flick to Nudge gestures along a set of marked UI controls. Courtesy Neonode.

Figure 3-19. The Neonode N2, using the NeNo user interface, is controlled by a series of Flick to Nudge gestures along a set of marked UI controls. Courtesy Neonode.

The HTC Diamond allows users to flick through their contacts. Courtesy HTC.

Figure 3-20. The HTC Diamond allows users to ...

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.
Start your free trial

You might also like

Designing Web Interfaces

Designing Web Interfaces

Bill Scott, Theresa Neil
Designing Mobile Interfaces

Designing Mobile Interfaces

Steven Hoober, Eric Berkman
Designing Social Interfaces, 2nd Edition

Designing Social Interfaces, 2nd Edition

Christian Crumlish, Erin Malone
Interaction design for tangible interfaces

Interaction design for tangible interfaces

Stephen P. Anderson, Jonathan Follett

Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9780596156756Errata