Universal Principles of UX

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Pointing devices inform functionality.

Pointing devices in the field of HCI (human-computer interaction) refer to any kind of input that allows the user to control an interface. For desktop computers, that’s commonly the mouse. For laptops, it’s the touchpad, and for smartphones and tablets, it’s our finger. But there are many more kinds of pointing devices. A stylus, joystick, trackball, or Wii remote are also types of pointing devices. There are even special glasses that allow us to control computers with our eyes.

In 1954, long before the personal computer revolution of the 1970s, American psychologist Paul Fitts developed a mathematical model of human motion that states that the further the distance and the smaller the target’s size, ...