Many of the familiar commands and interface elements we encounter everyday in modern technology are not too far from what was introduced in the first graphical user interfaces. Even the terms like window and desktop have survived from the early interfaces and are used commonly in conversations today. Back in the 1980’s when Xerox Star and the Macintosh were first sold, the interfaces functioned in many of the same ways it does today. The user navigates with their cursor to access their desktop. The desktop is often full of different files and controls, where the user can easily access the different files they have saved into folders through windows such as the finder.
The basic elements such as buttons, menus, and user-centered controls were very crucial to the original interfaces and are still the driving components to our tech interfaces today. User input can also be observed in these early computer interfaces. We see things like file counts displayed within the window for the user to see. These ideas have only been expanded on, simplified, and refined into what they are now.
We have seen, however, a giant shift on the graphics and visual side of interface design. Since the original interfaces, use of various colors, icons, and fonts have been incorporated and built into the computers we now know and love. We did see icons being used within the first interfaces, however they have become much more detailed and beautified as the display technology has improved. Moving forward we will continue to see improvements in the graphical interface side of things, as well as better ways for users to interact and accomplish their needs on their different devices. With the shift toward mobile design, we see all new ways of interacting without the use of a mouse, which could influence the interface immensely moving forward. Although, for now, we will likely continue on the path of using our desktop to access apps, menus, and documents much like what was created all those years ago with Xerox Star and the Macintosh.
Indeed, as graphics have changed from black and white to color, there have been more visual icons. I wonder how it will change in the future!
Definitely agree with the huge shift on graphics from black and white to color and the focus for mobile devices without I/O devices.