Chapter 5. Tools
- Patterns
Toolbar, Toolbox, Call to Action Button, Inline Actions, Multi-State Buttons, Contextual Tools, Bulk Actions, Lock Screen Controls
In Chapter 1, we looked at how screen size constraints are forcing designers to think off-canvas and explore new solutions. Before diving into this chapter, I encourage you to embrace another challengeâshed three decades of abstract desktop metaphors and start designing, really designing, for touch interfaces. For inspiration, start with Josh Clarkâs âButtons Are a Hackâ campaign (http://globalmoxie.com/blog/buttons-are-a-hack.shtml):
Buttons are a hack. As in the real world, theyâre often necessary, but they work at a distanceâsecondary tools to work on primary objects. A light switch here turns on a lightbulb there. These indirect interactions must be learned; theyâre not contextually obvious. The revolution that touchscreen devices are working is that they allow us, more and more, to use primary content as a control, to create the illusion of direct interaction.
I donât mean to suggest that we throw out all of our familiar buttons entirely. Light switches shall remain necessary, after all, and so shall buttons, especially where itâs necessary to trigger abstract actions (âshare via Twitter,â for example). But itâs important to recognize those devices for what they are: necessary hacks for moments when ...
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