Graphical user interface has significantly improved since the early Macintosh/Windows days. When the Macintosh was introduced Chrys Goyens, a journalist, called it “icon-mania” criticizing the use of icons for folders, trash cans, and color palettes. Similarly, Marcia Peoples Halio, an English professor at the University of Delaware argued that Macintosh’s GUI was confusing and caused her students to produce poor work. Steve Jobs fought back against critics and insisted on implementing design that mimicked real world objects to put users at ease. Jobs argued that the Macintosh was catered to be a non complex system, that was visually oriented rather than word oriented, with click driven GUI instead of keyboard-driven commands. He commented to the Macintosh team that they would “put a dent in the universe,” expressing how innovative it would be. The Macintosh’s GUI was groundbreaking and disrupted the personal computing space and although Jobs traded off utility, by slowing down most functions, it had beautiful graphics for the time.
In contrast, Microsoft’s Windows 1.0 was lackluster in comparison and copied some of Macintosh’s GUI with some internal differences. With Windows 2.0 users could minimize, maximize, resize, and overlap windows.With Susan Kare’s contributions for Windows 3.0 she brought a unified style to the GUI, reflecting upon her design principles of meaning, memorability, and clarity. Many of her designs for Windows remained unchanged until Windows XP.
What needs to be approved now that technology is advancing is expanding customization and touchless-gestural interactions. After the pandemic, the future of touchless GUI has exploded from Whole Foods One Checkout hand payment, the NUI mirror concept from the Black Mirror series, and BMW 7 series gesture control. I’m excited to see the expansion of touchless GUI as the world becomes more attune to alternative ways of communicating and interacting.
