Designing Mobile Interfaces

Chapter 3. Control and Confirmation

Quiet, Please

The lights in the theater dim. Voices die down. All eyes stare at the giant illuminated screen and silence overtakes the room. Projecting now, the movie begins. Starting from high above a city, the audience’s view mimics the flight of a bird. Slowly, as the view trickles down below the clouds, a row of houses appears. Dropping lower, the view focuses to one house in particular. We enter the house; it’s dark, old, and abandoned. Slower now, the camera leads us down the stairs to the basement.

The audience is coaxed into believing something isn’t quite right. Attention is focused on the closed closet door, now bringing an increase in fear and tension. Something terrible is about to happen; the audience waits. The camera leads the audience closer to the door. Closer. Closer. Closer. Not a sound to be heard now. Then it happens! The sound of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” chimes loudly, breaking everyone’s concentration. Heads turn and eyes seek to identify the location of the sound and culprit. The patron embarrassingly finds her mobile phone and switches it off.

Yes, it’s annoying when someone forgets to turn off her phone. But hey, people make mistakes. Mistakes happen every day in our lives. Some mistakes go unnoticed, while others can be quite catastrophic. Some mistakes are caused by us, others by objects in our environment. But many mistakes can be prevented!

That Was Easy

How could the mistake of the lady not turning off her phone have ...