Microinteractions

Microinteractions

by Dan Saffer
Released May 2013
Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ISBN: 9781449342685

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Book description

It’s the little things that turn a good digital product into a great one. With this practical book, you’ll learn how to design effective microinteractions: the small details that exist inside and around features. How can users change a setting? How do they turn on mute, or know they have a new email message?

Through vivid, real-world examples from today’s devices and applications, author Dan Saffer walks you through a microinteraction’s essential parts, then shows you how to use them in a mobile app, a web widget, and an appliance. You’ll quickly discover how microinteractions can change a product from one that’s tolerated into one that’s treasured.

  • Explore a microinteraction’s structure: triggers, rules, feedback, modes, and loops
  • Learn the types of triggers that initiate a microinteraction
  • Create simple rules that define how your microinteraction can be used
  • Help users understand the rules with feedback, using graphics, sounds, and vibrations
  • Use modes to let users set preferences or modify a microinteraction
  • Extend a microinteraction’s life with loops, such as “Get data every 30 seconds”

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Table of contents

  1. Praise for Microinteractions
  2. Foreword
  3. Preface
    1. What Is This Book About?
    2. Who Should Read This Book
    3. How This Book Is Organized
    4. Why Write a Book About Microinteractions?
    5. Conventions Used in This Book
    6. Using Code Examples
    7. Safari® Books Online
    8. How to Contact Us
    9. Acknowledgments
  4. 1. Designing Microinteractions
    1. Microinteractions Are Not Features ... But Still Matter
      1. Microinteractions Can Be Big
    2. The Secret History of Microinteractions
    3. The Structure of Microinteractions
    4. Microinteractions as a Philosophy
    5. Summary
  5. 2. Triggers
    1. Manual Triggers
      1. Bring the Data Forward
      2. The Components of a Trigger
        1. Controls
          1. Making manual triggers discoverable
          2. Invisible triggers
        2. Control states
        3. Labels
    2. System Triggers
      1. System Trigger Rules
    3. Summary
  6. 3. Rules
    1. Designing Rules
      1. Generating Rules
      2. Verbs and Nouns
      3. Screens and States
      4. Constraints
      5. Don’t Start from Zero
      6. Absorb Complexity
    2. Limited Options and Smart Defaults
      1. Controls and User Input
      2. Preventing Errors
    3. Microcopy
    4. Algorithms
    5. Summary
  7. 4. Feedback
    1. Feedback Illuminates the Rules
      1. Feedback Is for Humans
      2. Less Is More
    2. Feedback as a Personality-Delivery Mechanism
    3. Feedback Methods
      1. Visual
        1. Animation
        2. Messages
      2. Audio
        1. Earcons
        2. Speech
      3. Haptics
    4. Feedback Rules
    5. Summary
  8. 5. Loops and Modes
    1. Modes
      1. Spring-Loaded and One-off Modes
    2. Loops
      1. Styles of Loops
      2. Long Loops
        1. Progressive disclosure or reduction
    3. Summary
  9. 6. Putting It All Together
    1. Example 1: Mobile App
    2. Example 2: Online Shared Playlist
    3. Example 3: Dishwasher Control Panel
    4. Prototyping and Documenting Microinteractions
    5. Orchestrating Microinteractions
      1. Turning Microinteractions into Features
      2. How to Fix a Dull Microinteraction
    6. Think Small
  10. A. Testing Microinteractions
    1. What to Look for During Testing
    2. Using Quantitative Data
    3. A Process for Testing Microinteractions
  11. Index
  12. About the Author
  13. Colophon
  14. Copyright

Product information

  • Title: Microinteractions
  • Author(s): Dan Saffer
  • Release date: May 2013
  • Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
  • ISBN: 9781449342685