graphical user interfaces

What is a software application?

When we think of a software application, most of us will conjure up the image of some sort of user interface splashed across a computer screen. As far as most of us are concerned, whatever is on the screen is the software. Period.

Engineers will tend to look at it a little differently. They are of course very aware of what goes on 'behind the screen' that makes all this stuff appear as it does and do all the things it does.

As a software artist I am a beast with two heads. I am an artist by compulsion and I am a software designer/engineer both by choice and sheer determination to understand technology. Most people tend to address one head or the other, depending upon whether they meet me first as an artist or as an engineer. Some colleagues grasp the nature of my hybrid approach and they are a pleasure to work with. Some never grasp it at all.

The motto and the objective of The User Advocate Group is to:

"Bridge the Gap Between End Users and Engineers"

Last weekend we set the clocks back for the winter. It's always nice to have an 'extra hour' and to perhaps do something a little special: lay in bed, go for a leisurely breakfast, take a long walk in the park. It's one of the perks of living on a tilted globe.

For me, this time of year also means that I get to be an Occasional User for certain technology interfaces such as the button riddled panel on my car stereo and the monstrous web tool for managing expiring domain names.

For a few weeks now my left brain has been absorbed in the details of implementing a client's web site. Being wedded to a tight deadline and having already done all the loose, creative design stuff, I'm now focused almost exclusively on solving the challenges of writing computer code in what is still a new territory for me. It's a great way to get to know the nitty-gritty details of how to build a modern, 'AJAX driven' web application.

It's five days to the software release date. Do you know what your icons mean?

Icon design is like an endless skirmish amongst transient zealots. I wish I had a nickel for every time I've been involved in a debate over the meaning of icons. OK, maybe a dollar.

You might wonder what is there to debate? An icon is a simple illustration of some important function. We all know a 'Print' icon when we see one. Heck, even my younger daughter knows what a 'Save' icon is - even though she's never seen a floppy disk.