When thinking back on project #3 in regards to the mental model of the user, the user is focused on clarity for the volume control of youtube. When the user approaches this task they are looking to easily adjust the volume of their video and generally focus on the computer's volume controls as opposed to the video controls. Their mental model when concerning volume control is almost entirely separate from YouTube itself.
The implementation model does contrast with this but in many ways actually plays into this idea. The current feature is a single button that grows into a bar as you hover over it, this design puts the feature out of the way unless you need to think about it, in which case it's simply displayed next to the play button. The contrast lies in the complexity of the button, for a feature many users ignore, there are so many features that surround one button.
Hi Zach,
ReplyDeleteYou're getting there, but your idea of what "implementation model" versus "mental model" means seems to be off. A mental model is a design that hides the nuts and bolts of what really happens behind the scenes when you adjust the volume, while an implementation model doesn't. Could you explain what you meant by "the user is focused on clarity for the volume control of youtube" and "The implementation model does contrast with this but in many ways actually plays into this idea"? There are lots of examples in Chapter 5 that could help you describe what you're getting at a little more clearly.