20 September 2013

Tizen Design Principles

These are the key design principles that have shaped Tizen and helped set it apart from other mobile operation platforms. These principles ensure every application people use to customize their phones will be content-driven, focused and tailored.

The principles are divded into 3 overarching principles which each contains several sub principles.

Also check out their site for developers which is a great resource for both developers and designers.

Source: Tizen Developers


The principles

  1. Content-driven

    When designing your application, you should ensure it recognizes and delivers the most important content at the right time and in the right context.

    The best way to do this is to make your primary information easily visible and accessible. This improves both usability and design.

    When prioritizing your content and planning your information presentation, keep the following guidelines in mind:

    Showcase primary content

    Compose your content so that important information stands out. Highlight primary content by applying different font sizes and colors or by changing the layout.

    Present information according to importance

    Offer information based on its degree of importance. For example, deliver simple messages, such as "Deleted" or "Shared", on the indicator to avoid interrupting the user in the main body of the application.

    Put the emphasis on fun!

    Users should find the process of accessing content an enjoyable one. By designing applications with visually compelling layouts and engaging, interactive graphics, you can enhance the user experience.

    Display essential information first

    In the Detail view, users should see essential information on the first screen, then be able to scroll down to see additional information.

  2. Focused

    Major functions are the ones users access the most, so your application design should ensure they are available at all times.

    You can differentiate functions by the degree of importance in various application environments, but always make sure you consider the most effective ways to use each function.

    When determining focus levels in your application, keep the following guidelines in mind:

    Facilitate access to primary functionality

    Display the functions users access most on the first screen. Use the Menu key to house any functions users might need less frequently.

    Only display essential information as default

    Differentiate between the essential information that's always displayed and any additional information that's only displayed when a user requests it.

    Minimize user effort

    By promoting a user's access to the major functions in your application, you minimize the effort required. For example, when a user wants to create a new item, you can automatically move the focus to the required input field and offer the virtual keypad.

    Make it clear what can be done

    Disable or hide functions that are not available in certain circumstances. For example, you can disable the Save button to let users know a required field is empty.

  3. Tailored: Delivering Customization and Personalization

    Users typically want to customize their applications based on their personal needs. That's why any Tizen application you develop should empower users to optimize it according to their personal tastes.

    When planning the customization capabilities of your application, keep the following guidelines in mind:

    Understand individual user patterns

    By taking the behavioral patterns of each user into account, your application can deliver a more personalized experience. For example, by ensuring the most frequently or recently used applications are easily accessible, you support users that want to find an application or content as quickly as possible.

    Use customization to enhance usability

    Make sure you support customization that not only improves your application's aesthetics but also enhances its usability. By providing accessibility functions, such as font sizes and a screen reader, you can help differently abled users navigate Tizen applications more conveniently.

    Make recommendations

    Based on a person's usage of your application, you can understand and recommend content he or she may want. For example, by providing recommendations, Favorites, or History, you can help users perform tasks more conveniently and efficiently.

1. Content-driven

When designing your application, you should ensure it recognizes and delivers the most important content at the right time and in the right context.

The best way to do this is to make your primary information easily visible and accessible. This improves both usability and design.

When prioritizing your content and planning your information presentation, keep the following guidelines in mind:

Showcase primary content

Compose your content so that important information stands out. Highlight primary content by applying different font sizes and colors or by changing the layout.

Present information according to importance

Offer information based on its degree of importance. For example, deliver simple messages, such as "Deleted" or "Shared", on the indicator to avoid interrupting the user in the main body of the application.

Put the emphasis on fun!

Users should find the process of accessing content an enjoyable one. By designing applications with visually compelling layouts and engaging, interactive graphics, you can enhance the user experience.

Display essential information first

In the Detail view, users should see essential information on the first screen, then be able to scroll down to see additional information.

2. Focused

Major functions are the ones users access the most, so your application design should ensure they are available at all times.

You can differentiate functions by the degree of importance in various application environments, but always make sure you consider the most effective ways to use each function.

When determining focus levels in your application, keep the following guidelines in mind:

Facilitate access to primary functionality

Display the functions users access most on the first screen. Use the Menu key to house any functions users might need less frequently.

Only display essential information as default

Differentiate between the essential information that's always displayed and any additional information that's only displayed when a user requests it.

Minimize user effort

By promoting a user's access to the major functions in your application, you minimize the effort required. For example, when a user wants to create a new item, you can automatically move the focus to the required input field and offer the virtual keypad.

Make it clear what can be done

Disable or hide functions that are not available in certain circumstances. For example, you can disable the Save button to let users know a required field is empty.

3. Tailored: Delivering Customization and Personalization

Users typically want to customize their applications based on their personal needs. That's why any Tizen application you develop should empower users to optimize it according to their personal tastes.

When planning the customization capabilities of your application, keep the following guidelines in mind:

Understand individual user patterns

By taking the behavioral patterns of each user into account, your application can deliver a more personalized experience. For example, by ensuring the most frequently or recently used applications are easily accessible, you support users that want to find an application or content as quickly as possible.

Use customization to enhance usability

Make sure you support customization that not only improves your application's aesthetics but also enhances its usability. By providing accessibility functions, such as font sizes and a screen reader, you can help differently abled users navigate Tizen applications more conveniently.

Make recommendations

Based on a person's usage of your application, you can understand and recommend content he or she may want. For example, by providing recommendations, Favorites, or History, you can help users perform tasks more conveniently and efficiently.

Tags

  • Mobile
  • UX
  • service design

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