Case Study: Expert Evaluations of Complex UIs - Cross-Cultural Human-Computer Interaction and User Experience Design - page 71

Symbols.
The users are addressed by symbols pertaining to the user domain. In this case, the
application icon and splash screen of Adobe Photoshop feature a colorful feather. The
connotations are elegance, simplicity, and naturalness, which one would expect from
a professional tool. What might break the expectation, however, is the historical usage
of the image that symbolizes a writing pen. The other screens (and toolbars) are very
compact and gray. The menus are only text-based, whereas the toolbar has only icons
(with a textual label). The icons in the toolbar are related to their object in different
ways but are connected to the prevailing metaphor and follow the application genre
conventions.

Syntax.
The system processes are constituted by UI language components, as described earlier.
In the interaction transcript, we can find all the elements mentioned. There are basic
lexemes (“click,” “option-click”), interaction sentences (“Select the function to assign
to a different keyboard shortcut”), rhetorical tropes (e.g., metaphors, such as cards
layout), interaction games (these are the complete functions enabling us to accomplish
our goal, e.g., “Change a keyboard shortcut”). The designer's narration element is
found in the tool-tip help reinforcing the icon meaning; in the status bar of the window
or a dialogue window, it gives instruction on how to use the tool. Finally, in the Help
menu it describes comprehensively the program functions. In the “Keyboard Shortcuts
and Menus” window, the designer's narration gives detailed instructions for all the
steps involved.

Rhetorical tropes.
Perhaps the most prominent of the rhetorical tropes in this context is the metaphor.
The function metaphor is based on cards with labels, as in a filing cabinet. There
are two cards: “Keyboard Shortcuts” and “Menus.” The information in the window is
mainly text-based. The window is split into regions of different type and functionality,
which breaks the metaphor of cards.

Interaction phases.
On the level of interaction sentence, the interaction changes to reflect the constant
evaluation of results on the user's part. The interaction sentence is then modified
or repeated accordingly. Considering the example from the transcripts, the action is
modified after the system's feedback (if we select a keyboard shortcut, that is already
used somewhere else), the action is repeated (for different items in different menus),
or the action was needed only once (when applying the changes by pressing the “OK”
button).

GIMP steps
(1) Find the proper function in the menu or tool palette.

(a) The subtask involved was to look through the menu items (especially
in what seemed as most related: File and Edit) for a relative command
(it was found under Edit - > Keyboard Shortcuts).