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coding technique comparison table

Subject	have localization issues	have problems	is a kind of	have	is a subtopic of	have example	have advantages
abstract sound		can be distracting and annoying can be hard to interpret not usable by deaf people	coding technique		7.4 - The Basics of User Interface Design	beep	attracts attention rapidly even if the person is not looking at the screen
animation		bandwidth-intensive, hence reduces response time sequential, requiring replay viewing consumes the user's time not usable by blind and possibly deaf people expensive to produce may be annoying	coding technique		7.4 - The Basics of User Interface Design		provides high impact communication of complex information entertaining and hence attractive for users
colour		users cannot distinguish among large numbers of colours some colour combinations clash colour-blind people cannot see differences in hue some colours (e.g. bright red) can be distracting if overused colours may have unexpected emotional meanings to users (e.g. a sickly shade of green)	coding technique		7.4 - The Basics of User Interface Design		draws attention to specific items conveys organization (items coloured similarly are related) makes the UI more attractive
diagram		can be hard for users to interact with or interpret not usable by blind people it can be expensive to program diagram drawing software	representation	a label if its meaning is not obvious, using a caption or pop-up label that appears when the user moves the mouse over it	7.4 - The Basics of User Interface Design		it conveys or summarizes complex concepts or mechanisms more easily than other techniques
flashing		distracting and annoying fast flashing can cause epileptic seizures	coding technique		7.4 - The Basics of User Interface Design		it rapidly draws attention to items
font	Unicode can handle most world character sets, but you also have to ensure that appropriate fonts are available	using too many fonts results in confusion and a cluttered appearance decorative or unusual fonts can be distracting	locale-dependent feature		7.5 - Usability Principles		it adds emphasis to text, and reinforces its structure, thus simplifying the information
grouping and bordering			coding technique		7.4 - The Basics of User Interface Design		helps to convey the organization of information and reduce its perceived complexity
icon	can invoke different impressions in people of different cultures	notoriously difficult for users to interpret or distinguish unusable by blind people	locale-dependent feature	a label if its meaning is not obvious, using a caption or pop-up label that appears when the user moves the mouse over it	7.5 - Usability Principles		allows many commands or objects to be listed in much less space than is possible with text users can scan the screen to find an icon faster than they can scan to find particular words of text
music		does not usually convey meaning frequently annoying since people have different tastes in music	coding technique		7.4 - The Basics of User Interface Design		conveys mood adds attractiveness
photograph		can take a lot of space on screen and can slow response time due to downloading not usable by blind people	coding technique	a label if its meaning is not obvious, using a caption or pop-up label that appears when the user moves the mouse over it	7.4 - The Basics of User Interface Design		helps users better appreciate reality
purely decorative graphic		can be distracting or annoying not usable by blind people	coding technique		7.4 - The Basics of User Interface Design		makes the interface more attractive and helps to emphasize its organization
spoken word		can be overheard, violating privacy can be annoying sequential, so the user has to request replay if he or she missed part of it slower for most users than reading text not usable by deaf people	coding technique		7.4 - The Basics of User Interface Design		essential when there is no screen or only a small screen (e.g. on a telephone system) mportant for blind people who otherwise must rely on tools that convert text into Braille
text		takes a lot of space writing clearly and unambiguously is hard not usable by young children or the illiterate	coding technique		7.4 - The Basics of User Interface Design		Unlimited ability to express meaning Simple to generate and display Accessible by blind people using Braille translators
video		bandwidth-intensive, hence reduces response time sequential, requiring replay viewing consumes the user's time not usable by blind and possibly deaf people expensive to produce may be annoying	coding technique		7.4 - The Basics of User Interface Design		provides high impact communication of complex information entertaining and hence attractive for users

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