This project is to design a revolutionary, intuitive,
and absolutely unique interface for a currently non-existent
system. This system will be constructed as a Senior Design
Project at South Dakota State University. When it is completed
it will have the ability to mix beverages with any combination
of the sixteen liquids contained inside it. As there is no
current system this will be a complete and one-off design
from nothingness.
Overview and Problem Definition
This project will be to design a User Interface for the Self Contained Automatic Beverage Mixing System or S.C.A.B.M.S. This system is currently not in existence so this User Interface will be the first of its kind. Its aim will be to be both visually pleasing and highly functional at the same time. This will be accomplished by using common visual elements to convey action for instance elements that a user may encounter in their everyday life that with no instruction they simply know what steps to take to achieve the desired outcome.
Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works. — Steve Jobs, 2003
This Interface will need to be straight forward, intuitive, and easy to use. The system is not aimed at any particular demographic so the users will have varying levels of technical knowledge as well as very varied ages. For all practical purposes we will assume that the users are not visually handicapped and are able to use at least one of their arms / hands.
System Implementation
At the time of writing this I have completed some of the major tasks within the interface itself and even more interestingly, made these elements fully functional. Currently, the prototype is at lab.derekfernholz.com and is open for you to interact with. As stated, not all elements are implemented yet so have patience while I finish coding the rest of them
Manual
Above: Initial Menu, user is presented with options
Above: After selecting "Drink Menu" the user is presented with a listing of drinks.
Above: After "touching" the down arrow, the user is given the next set of drinks
Above: After "touching" the down arrow, the user is given the next set of drinks
Above: After "touching" the "Morgan Coke" button, the user is given the drink?s information.
Above: After "touching" the "Customize", the user is given the options to configure the drink.
Note: In all of the above steps, the user has many options on the bottom of the screen to ease their navigation through the system and to ensure they don?t get "lost".
Above: Initial Menu, user is presented with options
Above: After "touching" Add a New Drink option, the user is given a list of all available liquids in the system.
Above: After "touching" Captain Morgan Spiced Rum and Sprite.
Above: The user then "touches" Continue which then presents them with this screen with the values of each liquid defaulted to equal portions and gives the option to name the new drink.
Above: After "touching" the "minus" button next to Captain Morgan Spiced Rum twice, the percent of that liquid is decreased by 5 percent (twice) and Sprite is then proportionately increased to accomodate the change and to ensure that the total value for the drink is 1 or 100%.
Representative Scenario
I have implemented the Regular Drink Menu in its simplest state. The user may scroll through the list of available drinks and select said drink. Upon selection, the user is taken from the Drink List to the "breakdown" of the chosen drink. This "breakdown" is currently missing the drink image on the left and also not all drinks have a Description or History / Background in the database (these will be added shortly). Currently most other options from this page are not finished, but a user may select the "Customize" option. Upon selecting said option the user is taken to the "configure drink" page where currently the user is presented with the liquids that make up that drink and the portions (in decimal percentages) that each liquid holds in said drink. The next step for this interface is to allow users to change these values via "sliders" and also to change the image on the left to correspond with the user?s actions. I have also partially implemented the "Add a New Drink" function. So far the user may select any of the ingredients currently in the system by scrolling through the list and selecting which liquids go in this new drink and then select "Continue". Upon "touching" continue, the user is taken to the same "configure drink" page that is mentioned above with the values for the portions of each liquid defaulted to be equal and add up to 1. As above the user will eventually be able to further adjust this new concoction and then save it to the drink database. As you can see from "walking through" my interface, much care has been taken to ensure the user clearly understands what is going on with the system and even further functionality and clarification are on their way. I have created several new and exciting functions behind the scene that make the data appear to be directly manipulated by the user without having to refresh the page and I feel this will have a strong impact and appeal on the users and keep the coming back for more.
Discussion
I will fill this section after I have implemented the entire system as I am sure more implications will arise.