September 28, 2010

Bubble Cursor

The Bubble Cursor demo is a demo implementation of a cursor with a «nearest target» system that may help users aim their cursors at on-screen elements without having to hit them precisely. The «active» element is shown visually, using a bubble around the cursor.

Read more about it at Jochen Wolters’ blog, where he writes about all kinds of things related to usability, from airline reward miles to toilet paper.

If you require a short url to link to this article, please use http://ignco.de/332

designed_for_use_small

If you liked this, you'll love my book. It's called Designed for Use: Create Usable Interfaces for Applications and the Web. In it, I cover the whole design process, from user research and sketching to usability tests and A/B testing. But I don't just explain techniques, I also talk about concepts like discoverability, when and how to use animations, what we can learn from video games, and much more.

You can find out more about it (and order it directly, printed or as a DRM-free ebook) on the Pragmatic Programmers website.